In a Jan. 31, 2010 file photo, a U.S. Predator drone flies over the moon above Kandahar Air Field, southern Afghanistan.
AP Photo
PAST EVENT
What is a High-Value Target Really Worth? Evidence from U.S. Drone Strikes in Pakistan
Brown Bag Lunch
Series: International Security Brown Bag Seminar
Open to the Public - Belfer Center Library, Littauer-369
December 9, 2010
12:15-2:00 p.m.
| Speakers: | Patrick B. Johnston, Research Fellow, International Security Program |
| Anoop Sarbahi, Research Fellow, International Security Program |
Related Project: International Security
Description:
This seminar will examine the effectiveness of the United States' classified targeted killing program against high-value militants in Pakistan. The United States' controversial use of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology, or drones, as a counterterrorism instrument has raised many concerns, yet a fundamental question underwriting U.S. drone attacks has not been systematically investigated: Does targeted killing work? Using publicly available data on drone strikes in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), the speakers conduct microlevel empirical analysis on this question. Their preliminary results suggest that (1) neutralizing high-value targets reduces terrorist violence according to certain metrics but not others, and that (2) the duration of these effects varies. Based on these preliminary results, theoretical conjectures are developed for future research.
Please join us! Coffee and tea provided. Everyone is welcome, but admittance will be on a first come–first served basis.
Contact:
ISP Program Coordinator
International Security Program,
79 John F. Kennedy St., Mailbox 53,
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
HARVARD Kennedy School
Email: susan_lynch@hks.harvard.edu
Phone: 617-496-1981
Fax: 617-495-8963
Url: http://www.belfercenter.org/ISP/
