Drones and its psychological impact on victims and pilots Introduction Since America embarked on its war on terror,

one of the weapons in its arsenal that is being increasingly deployed against alleged overseas terrorists is the use of unmanned drones. It was known that as early as October 2001, drones has been flown into Afghanistan though the first known killing by CIA occurred in February 2002 in which 3 men were shot dead (1). Because of the secrecy of the nature of this program, very little has been known about how these weapons have been used, what kind of safeguards were in place to prevent abuse, and the number of people being killed by them. It was only in recent years, as a result of relentless investigative journalism and the tireless work of NGOs that the public has learnt more about these drone programs. In October 2012, the Columbia Law School published a report, assessing the work done by 3 organisations tracking the number of deaths caused by drones. They concluded that only the Bureau of Investigative Journalism has kept the most accurate and up to date record based on meticulous and whenever possible, cross-referencing methodologies (2). To date, the Bureaus tally shows that in Pakistan, between 2,548 and 3,549 were known to have been killed by drone strikes; in Yemen, 240 - 349; in Somalia, 7 - 27. These figures do not include other extra US strikes, other covert operations and those injured by the operations (3). The Columbia Law School report has stated that even figures collected by the Bureau are not authoritative as they could possibly be underestimates (4). While the American government, under the Obama administration has defended these strikes as legal under international law, international law scholars and the UN have questioned these claims. For instance, on March 2013, Ben Emmerson, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counter-terrorism has said that drone strikes in Pakistan are a violation of state sovereignty (5). The US government has also reiterated that drone strikes are accurate machines that maim and kill only militants though increasing civilian deaths have challenged this argument. Furthermore, some has questioned the US definition of militants. Psychological harm on victims While the initial focus from NGOs has been on the number of deaths and injured by drones, there is growing attention on the psychological harm inflicted on those who lives under the skies where drones fly over.

To date, the most authoritative report on the psychological impact of drones has been done by the Stanford Law School and NYU School of Law. The researchers interviewed more than 130 victims, witnesses and experts in Pakistan and concluded that there has been psychological harm done to the lives of ordinary citizens, Drones hover twenty-four hours a day over communities in northwest Pakistan, striking homes, vehicles, and public spaces without warning. Their presence terrorizes men, women, and children, giving rise to anxiety and psychological trauma among civilian communities. Those living under drones have to face the constant worry that a deadly strike may be fired at any moment, and the knowledge that they are powerless to protect themselves. These fears have affected behavior. The US practice of striking one area multiple times, and evidence that it has killed rescuers, makes both community members and humanitarian workers afraid or unwilling to assist injured victims. Some community members shy away from gathering in groups, including important tribal dispute-resolution bodies, out of fear that they may attract the attention of drone operators. Some parents choose to keep their children home, and children injured or traumatized by strikes have dropped out of school. Waziris told our researchers that the strikes have undermined cultural and religious practices related to burial, and made family members afraid to attend funerals. In addition, families who lost loved ones or their homes in drone strikes now struggle to support themselves (6). Others have weighed in, claiming that this psychological harm is tantamount to torture, and prohibited under international law. According to Metin Basoglu, 1960s shock experiment using animals show that unpredictability and uncontrollability of stressor events lead to anxiety and fear (7). However, to distinguish torture from merely stressful events, it is necessary to examine the context. Stressful events lead to torture if two conditions are met. Firstly, victims must be exposed to these stresses that are often, multiple, unpredictable and uncontrollable which undermines their physical and/ or psychological well-being. Secondly, this lack of control over the stress events ought to culminate in a state of complete helplessness. Based on the report findings from the Stanford report, Basoglu claims that these conditions are met and therefore, drones exposure constitute a form of torture (8). The UN has also documented similar concerns about the well-being of children living under drones. In a Secretary- General report to the Security Council, it has noted that the mixed use of armed and surveillance drones has resulted in permanent fear in some communities, affecting the

psychosocial well-being of children and hindering the ability of such communities to protect their children (9). Moral and psychological impact on the President and drone pilots The psychology of the other side i.e. the drone pilots and the U.S. administration has also been analysed. According to the neuropsychologist, Ian Robertson, Obama who is perceived as a well-meaning politician is increasingly becoming less empathetic. This empathy gap is the result of having the power to determine the lives of others (10). This power increased the production of testosterone, which triggered an increase of dopamine in the brain, altering his capacity for empathy. Research by Deborah Gruenfeld and colleagues for instance, has demonstrated that wealth is a form of empowerment that activates the dopamine, causing businessmen to treat people as means to end. This means they have less empathy for others (11). The moral psychology and well-being of drone pilots has also been studied. According to one hypothesis, this can be framed as the trolley problem. In this thought experiment, individuals are given hypothetical scenarios on whether they would feel more guilty pushing or using a button to kill someone, so that five others can be saved. Psychologists have conducted various versions and modifications of such laboratory experiments with majority of findings supporting the notion that the moral judgements of individuals can be clouded when there is less physical contact with the victim (12). When compared to the drone situation, the physical distance that pilots feel when they engage in shooting at alleged militants would mean that they are less likely to feel any moral quandary. The skills required of drone pilots are no longer those of earlier days, but instead, qualities expected of experienced video gamers. This is part of millitainment, a process which is blurring the boundaries between entertainment and war (13). If soldiers operate drones in labs which allow them to immerse in a setting that are simulations of video games, they would think of their jobs as a kind of game as well. Their targets would appear less human and therefore, acceptable kills. Not only is drone piloting a moral blackhole, there are also accompanying health hazards. In an initial research by the Armed Forces Health Surveillance, drone pilots are found to have suffered from mental health problems such as depression and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at the same rate as those who are deployed to the front line. The potential causes have since been identified as seeing distressing combat violence from live video feeds and inflexible working hours amongst others (14). Conclusion

Based on available research and findings, it is getting clearer that drones cause much psychological harm to those who lives under its patrol. Its high frequency presence and randomness creates stress amongst the population which leads the latter to live in a permanent state of vulnerability. Affected communities report disruption to their lives such as children failing to attend schools. This further erodes social trust and community welfare. It has even been argued that these drones could constitute a form of mass torture that is illegal under international law. Similarly, drones also have a negative impact on the moral psychology of drone pilots. Initial research also indicates that there are occupational hazards involved that could lead to PTSD and depression. Leaving aside ones political views on Americas war on terror and the human rights violations as a result of using drones, and based solely on available psychological research, it is reasonable to pose the question whether drones are indeed the effective weapons against overseas terrorists as the Obama administration has maintained. References
1. International Human Rights And Conflict Resolution Clinic (Stanford Law School) And Global Justice Clinic (NYU School Of Law), Living under drones: death, injury, and trauma to civilians from US drone practices in Pakistan, September 2012, viewed on 17 June 2013, p. 8; 10. Available for download at: <http:// livingunderdrones.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Stanford-NYU-LIVING-UNDER-DRONES.pdf>. 2. Human Rights Clinic (Columbia Law School), Counting drone strike deaths, October 2012, viewed on 17 June 2013, p. 4 - 5. Available for download at: <http://web.law.columbia.edu/human-rights-institute>. 3. Bureau of Investigative Journalism, Covert war on terror - the datasets, viewed on 18 June 2013, <http:// www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2011/08/10/pakistan-drone-strikes-the-methodology2/>. 4. Human Rights Clinic, op. cit., p. 4. 5. UN denounces US drone use in Pakistan, Al Jazeera English, viewed on 18 June 2013, <http:// www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2013/03/201331523115707202.html>. 6. Living under drones op. cit., p. vii.; Drones have also been used by the Israeli government to monitor the Gaza strip for security reasons. According to this news report by S A. Habeeb, The other psychological war on Gaza, The Palestine Telegraph, published on 17 January 2012, viewed on 17th June 2013, <http:// www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/gaza-strip/10481-the-other-israeli-psychological-war-on-gaza.html>, residents could never get used to the buzzing of the drones even after exposure to them for more than 10 years. 7. M Basoglu, Drone strikes or mass torture? - a learning theory analysis, blog post, published on 25 November 2012, viewed on 17 June 2013, <http://metinbasoglu.wordpress.com/2012/11/25/drone-warfareor-mass-torture-a-learning-theory-analysis/>. 8. ibid. 9. Report of the Secretary-General, Children and armed conflict, published on 15 May 2013, viewed on 18 June 2013, p. 3 - 4. Available for download at <http://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/annual-report-of-thesecretary-general-on-children-and-armed-conflict/>. 10. I Robertson, Predator drones, empathy, and the President, Psychology Today, published on 29 September 2012, viewed on 17 June 2013, <http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-winner-effect/201209/ predator-drones-empathy-and-the-president>.

11. ibid. 12. T Lombrozo, Death by drone: the moral way to go?, npr.com, 18 March 2013, viewed on 17th June 2013, <http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2013/03/17/174558797/filibusters-can-t-stop-human-psychology>. A version of the trolley problem is offered by J D. et al. Pushing moral buttons: the interaction between personal force and intention in moral judgment, Cognition, vol. 111, no. 3, 2009, p. 364 - 371. Available for download at <http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/~jgreene/GreeneWJH/Greene-MoralButtons-Cogn09.pdf>. 13. See P. W. Singer, War games in Foreign Policy, published on 22 February 2010, viewed on 18 June 2 0 1 3 , < h t t p : / / w w w. f o r e i g n p o l i c y. c o m / a r t i c l e s / 2 0 1 0 / 0 2 / 2 2 / w a r _ g a m e s ? print=yes&hidecomments=yes&page=full>; P. W. Singer, Meet the Sims... and shoot them, Brookings Institution, March/ April 2010, viewed on 18 June 2013, <http://www.brookings.edu/research/articles/ 2010/02/22-video-game-warfare-singer>. 14. J Dao, Drone pilots are found to get stress disorders much as those in combat do, New York Times, published on 22 February 2013, viewed on 17 June 2013, <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/23/us/dronepilots-found-to-get-stress-disorders-much-as-those-in-combat-do.html?pagewanted=print>.