On Drones, Ideas and Narratives

On Drones, Ideas and Narratives

Unmanned aerial vehicles ( UAV’s) commonly known as drones have emerged as a weapon of choice in America’s war against terror in Pakistan’s frontier areas. They have rather effectively eliminated some of the Al Qaeda/ Taliban cadre hiding in these areas of Pakistan. Controversial and a bit of a sticking point between the United States and Pakistan, drones continue to be employed on a regular basis by the United States. Whatever the military significance and effectiveness of drone attacks these, in the final analysis, amount to pin pricks and of marginal utility in the broader fight against terrorism. Why?

The reasons are rather prosaic. While drone attacks may be effective in physically eliminating the Al Qaeda cadre, they have no utility in combating the real cause and issue. The reference here is to the ideas that feed the Al Qaeda narrative. This narrative, roughly speaking, is premised on an extreme interpretation of Islam where armed and offensive Jihad is elevated to the status of one of the duties of Islam. Incubated in the authoritarian milieu of the Arab Muslim world and forged in the battlegrounds of Afghanistan, this narrative feeds on the alleged victim hood of Muslims and Islam. This victimhood, in the Al Qaeda scheme of things, can be reversed through military means. Muslims, in the Al Qaeda narrative, have been betrayed by their rulers who in turn are supported by the so called ‘distant enemy’, the West or more accurately, the United States. The alliance systems in place held validate and prolong the rule of the autocratic regimes in the Arab Muslim world who then crush dissent or alternate points of view by employing violence. These linkages get pronounced and vivid in the Al Qaeda imagination and the means to break this is counter violence against those who allegedly support these regimes. This line of thinking helps explain September 11.

Terrorism gets legitimated as a weapon and tactic of the weak against the strong.   The attendant violence is viewed as cathartic, eliminating the encrustations that the Muslim mind and imagination are allegedly in the grips of. Given this legitimization and the sanction of Islam, brand Al Qaeda has enormous appeal. Young Muslims who get drawn towards this brand then cherish and seek martyrdom. Death is seen as kind of nirvanic helping the Muslim attain liberation. It is, in modern day parlance, a curious mixture of Fannon and religion or an extreme interpretation/rendition of religion. This begs the question of the overall effectiveness of drone strikes. While the body count forming Al Qaeda, may get somewhat diminished, the ideas informing the narrative remain intact. Al Qaeda continues at attract followers and its brand equity, so to speak, remains intact or even gets a new lease of life. The question then is: how to diminish this appeal and render Al Qaeda’s appeal infructuous and delegitimize its narrative?

First and foremost, the United States, which is leading the campaign on the ‘war on terror’ needs to understand and put into perspective the reasons for Al Qaeda’s genesis and appeal. This then may be followed by vigorously changing the contours of its relationship with the Arab Muslim world. Specifically, it means reviewing the alliance systems in place and making it clear that the politics of clientism and oil will not be countenanced and a healthy alliance structure put in place.

Contemporarily, it may mean vigorous support for the Arab spring and even military intervention in Syria.  This may bring the Islamists to power. However, given the noises made my the Islamists president in Egypt , it may well be worth the risk. Shunting Islamists, driving them underground, and denying them a voice has historically manifested itself in terrorism. Governance, power and government may give short shrift to this and lead to the moderation of Islamists. In the process then, the Al Qaeda narrative may lose steam and get marginalized. This could be followed by the demonstration of the United States soft power and making its real nature clear to Muslims. Anti Americanism in the Muslim world flows largely from stereotypes which, in turn, are premised on ignorance. Revealing its real nature to Muslims could potentially obviate this.

Last, it is also incumbent upon Muslims to introspect and review. Violence may be temporarily cathartic but in the final analysis, it is the choice of losers and a mug’s game. Yes: our condition is defined by torpor and political decay. But this can be reversed by engaging with the world and not by withdrawing, retreating and lashing out. It is incumbent upon us to review, understand and present Islam in an idiom that reveals its real nature. A regressive and reactionary approach will only redound negatively to/for us.

It is then in a dialogue with the world, especially the west, that political decay in the Islamic world can be reversed. The impetus for this must come both from the West and the world of Islam. Drone attacks merely reduce the body count; not the impetus and impulse behind Al Qaeda’s narrative. Dialogue, reconciliation and fighting on the domain of ideas is the real Jihad. It is about time that Muslims re engage the world and contribute to its efflorescence and progress.