Push-button War

Unmanned drones, viruses, wiretapping systems: Can peace be achieved by using increasingly smarter weapons?

Sometimes, a complete picture can be formed from three disparate elements. To do so, each element has to be prefaced by the word “ostensibly,” because no one can be sure what is factual and what is just planted rumor.

First things first. According to various media reports, the United States has succeeded in thwarting terrorist attacks in Europe by using drones to attack al-Qaida strongholds in Pakistan. Important information also came from a German terrorist being held captive in Afghanistan. Drones are remotely guided, unmanned aircraft outfitted with missiles. The CIA has launched more drone attacks in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area this month than ever before. Unmanned drones have become the most important weapon in the war on terror.

Report number two: Barack Obama’s administration wants to eavesdrop on communications made via the Internet. Currently, an applicable law is being drafted to allow this. It will enable American intelligence services to monitor practically every online communication worldwide, whether encrypted or not. E-mail services such as Blackberry and Facebook, as well as telephone services like Skype, will be included.

Report number three: A cyber attack involving the virus “Stuxnet” infected 30,000 computers at Iranian nuclear facilities. Rumor has it that this was a “digital first strike.” Targets of the attack were obviously the Bushehr nuclear power plant and the Natanz uranium enrichment facility. All indications bear the fingerprints of Western intelligence services. Founded four months ago at Fort Meade, Maryland, the United States Cyber Command (CyberCom) will oversee and direct cyber warfare initiatives. It reports to the Pentagon, employs about 1,000 personnel and is responsible for the security of some 15,000 computer networks at 4,000 military installations in 88 countries. Unofficially, it is also responsible for exploring offensive capabilities, for which read: cyber weapons.

The pushbutton war: Tanks, machine guns and fighter jets will exit the stage; the battlefield of the future is digital. American troops have already left Iraq and the search for plausible exit strategies in Afghanistan has been ramped up. The neo-conservative belief in forcibly exported democracy has proven illusory. Besides, traditional warfare has become unpopular and terribly expensive. It is no wonder that the American government, above all, is turning more and more to high-tech. Regarding the Stuxnet virus, an expert is quoted in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as saying, “This is what big countries do when a failed alternative might cause a real war.”

Indeed, cyber-sabotage is quite likely to be less bloody, less expensive and more effective than a military attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Technology versus terror. Apart from many legitimate objections, that is the new vision.