Echoing Jabar, a report released on June 26th by the Stimson Center, a Washington DC think tank, concludes that extremist groups have only grown in influence. Indeed, the “blowback” from drones is “a potent recruiting tool for terrorist organisations” in places like Yemen and Pakistan. Naturally, the death and destruction left by the strikes provide perfect postcard images for terrorist recruiters. Drones have traction even among the Muslim masses. The legendary Pakistani cricketer, Imran Khan, ran a popular election campaign last year vowing to shoot down drones.
Perhaps more surprisingly, the reverberations from the collateral damage are even being felt in the West. In fact, the hum of the drone may be partly responsible for some of the radicalisation at home. Indeed, a few years back, I sat in with a client being interrogated by Canadian security agents. He appeared on intelligence radars after a visit to Afghanistan.
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