ISLAMIC STATE is 鈥渢he threat of our generation鈥�, says UK prime minister David Cameron. To help counter it, he wants an expanded fleet of drones, the controversial uncrewed aircraft. But don鈥檛 expect them to win the war.
UK forces already use drones. Most are small, unarmed tactical devices, designed to help frontline troops move safely through inhospitable terrain, so operating them requires people on the ground. But small numbers of bigger, armed Reaper drones have been sent by the UK to the Middle East to fight ISIS. They can be controlled via satellite from the other side of the world. They loiter high above the battlefield, sucking up intelligence to feed into air strikes 鈥� launched either by themselves or crewed aircraft.
While the US dominates use of offensive drones, the UK is one of a handful of NATO nations using Reaper. It has only used them for attacks in Afghanistan and Iraq. The US has deployed them in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Somalia and Libya.
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However, drones like Reaper are not a panacea for the ISIS threat. The UK has used them along with conventional bombers to strike the group鈥檚 fighters and supply lines in Iraq. But it has taken local ground forces to push ISIS back.
Air power alone is not going to roll back ISIS, just as US drones failed to shift Al-Qaida after it took parts of Yemen in 2011. Drone strikes alone could not dislodge it. That was only achieved after months of fighting by the Yemeni army, backed up with drones. Even then, Al-Qaida was beaten not defeated. This year it captured Mukalla, a key Yemeni port.
鈥淎ir power alone is not going to roll back ISIS, just as US drones failed to shift Al-Qaida from Yemen鈥�
Drones are not all-conquering, and they are far from infallible. They have sophisticated sensors but the nose camera gives a limited view: operators liken it to looking down a drinking straw. Similarly, while Reaper and older drones can accurately fire missiles, claims by US officials that no civilians died in CIA drone strikes in Pakistan are not true. Critics argue their use can even fuel recruitment to enemy groups.
Drone missile strikes are only as accurate as the intelligence behind them, and only as discriminating as the policy that governs them. More drones alone will not win the war against ISIS.
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淥n a wing and a prayer鈥�
