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Drones: The new threat to peace

Sep 15,2019 - Last updated at Sep 15,2019

Military strategists now say that the advent of the drone has changed the military landscape in the Middle East, and made the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict even more complicated.

It is now possible for any person or group to strike at their enemies with relative ease from a distance without being detected. What is even more ominous is the fact that the unmanned aerial vehicles can be flown against their targets from hidden bases.

We have already seen how the advent of the drone has affected the Israeli-Hizbollah tensions, and provoked an almost full-scale war. 

The now frequent use of drones by the Houthis against Saudi oil facilities and civilian airports threatens to widen the war in Yemen. 

This means that the use of drones needs regulation and an international regime to govern its production and deployment. Otherwise, the use of drones could become free for all, and in the process disturbing peace and security between nations.

What better occasion and venue to start this process of regulating the production and deployment of drones than the upcoming UN General Assembly session. Jordan can take the initiative in inviting a group of like-minded states to introduce a resolution on the subject to the next ordinary session of the UN General Assembly, with the hope that it could be the start of a process that deals with drones in all their manifestations.

There is fear that the implications of unregimented use of drone will go beyond security relations between neighbouring states, especially if they are in a state of war. This also applies to internal conflict where irregular or terrorist groups could resort more often to drones.

With Daesh still present in Syria and Iraq, it can inflict heavy damage to both countries if it can procure drones to their arsenal with relative ease. The sooner the world becomes prepared for this new threat to peace and security, the better.

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