Live
Audio Only
Drones are striking targets in Afghanistan more often than warplanes for the first time, shows data from the U.S. Air Force. Drones released 56 percent of bombs and missiles deployed in 2015. This is a dramatic rise from just 5 percent in 2011. Furthermore, in just the first four months of 2016, 61 percent of the 300 weapons deployed were drones.
RELATED:
This trend aligns with the U.S. military’s plan to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, with the current plan to reduce the number of troops in the region to 5500 by 2017.
With concerns from human rights groups about high civilian casualties from drone strikes, President Barack Obama said in 2013 he would “reduce the need for unmanned air strikes.” In 2015, however, they reversed course and have ordered more airstrikes, in order to combat Islamic State group militants in particular.
The strikes in Afghanistan are the most underreported aspect of drone operations. According to Sarah Kreps, a professor at Cornell University who studies unmanned aircrafts, activists have tended to focus largely on drones in Pakistan and Yemen, both countries in which the use of them has largely been criticized.
Newsletter
