Page 12 - The Indian EYE 030124

OPINION MARCH 01, 2024 | The Indian Eye 12

Targeted assassinations now have

a buffet of tech options—flying

Ginsu, drones, AI guns

Kataib Hezbollah leader Abu Baqir al-Saadi was assassinated using a ‘flying Ginsu’ this month.

It’s among the increasingly sophisticated weapon systems being used in targeted killings

COL RAJNEESH SINGH (RETD) in an orchard or sleeping families, but
we can set a high price for our blood.
he United States and Isra- A price too high for the Arab settle-
el have reportedly launched ment, the Arab army and the Arab
Tseveral targeted assassination government to pay. … [Retaliation
operations since the outbreak of the operations] are not for vengeance.
Gaza War on 7 October 2023. The It is an act of punishment and warn-
most recent involved the use of a ‘fly- ing, that if that state does not control
ing Ginsu’, a modified Hellfire mis- its population and does not prevent
sile fitted with six blades, against Abu them attacking us – the Israeli forces
Baqir al-Saadi, leader of the Kataib will cause havoc in its land.”
Hezbollah, for his role in killing US What do countries hope to
soldiers. achieve from such operations? What
Although weapons of choice are the objectives and the long-term
have become increasingly sophisti- consequences? Does the neutralisa-
cated, such assassinations have been tion of terrorist leaders lead to the
a tool of statecraft throughout histo- The ‘flying Ginsu’, or AGM-114R-9X, a CIA-developed variant of the Hellfire air-to-ground demise of the organisation or even
ry. Despotic rulers, tyrannical mon- diminish their ability to conduct ter-
archs, and repressive political leaders missile, became a weapon of choice in drone strikes against terrorist leaders (File photo) rorist acts in the long run?
have all been targeted in pursuit of There are studies that suggest
political interests. Similarly, mili- missile, became a weapon of choice cameras. Additionally, AI software terrorist groups depend on the cha-
tary leaders have been neutralised in drone strikes against terrorist was reportedly used to factor the rel- risma of their leaders, making them
to obtain favourable outcomes in leaders. The Hellfire R9X was orig- ative speed of the two vehicles and seemingly irreplaceable. However,
wars. In ancient Greece, several city inally developed as an anti-tank the shaking of the truck when the such studies may overemphasise the
states authorised and rewarded such missile, with variants featuring blast bullets were fired. Thirteen bullets difficulties of leadership succession,
actions to defend democratic rule, fragmentation and thermobaric war- were fired when the vehicle carrying as evidenced many times, including
while in 15th and 16th century Eu- heads. However, to reduce collateral the scientist reached a U-turn, killing in the case of al-Qaeda. It has also
rope, targeted assassinations were damage in counterterrorist opera- him and his guard. Israel, which has been argued that the terrorist group
widespread and morally acceptable. tions, the explosive warhead was re- been blamed by Iran for the attack, is weakened when a leader with both
While there have been calls to placed with six stainless-steel blades has neither confirmed nor denied its operational and inspirational roles is
ban such operations, these have not that deploy just before impact with involvement. eliminated. However, over time, ter-
had much success. In the US, the the target. The missile is extreme- In the absence of any concrete rorist groups have been observed to
Abraham Lincoln administration or- ly accurate with a lethal zone of 30 evidence, this operation may seem to become functioning bureaucracies,
dered Union Forces to refrain from inches, serving the goal of minimis- be in the realm of fantasy. However, with their own systems and processes,
assassinations, and later, in 1963, ing collateral damage. rapid technological advancements making them resilient to such attacks.
President Gerald Ford issued Exec- With the development of new- may see a more frequent employ- So, why do governments persist
utive Order 11905, prohibiting gov- er technologies there has been a ment of such systems in the not-so- with such operations?
ernment employees from engaging transformation in the conduct of distant future. As Moshe Dayan said over six
in political killings. However, the such operations. For instance, a sat- Israel has unabashedly pursued a decades ago, a message needs to be
practice continued through the Cold ellite-controlled machine gun with policy of neutralising ‘terrorists’ who sent—either you control your people
War, with both blocs targeting gov- ‘artificial intelligence’ was reportedly have allegedly harmed its people or or we will be forced to do so, in the
ernment officials, dissident leaders, used to assassinate Iran’s leading nu- interest. The guiding principle of this hope of reducing terrorist actions.
lawyers, and investigative journalists, clear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, approach was perhaps outlined in a Col (Dr) Rajneesh Singh (Retd) is a
often through proxies. on 27 November 2020. Remarkably, July 1955 lecture by Moshe Dayan, Research Fellow at MP-IDSA, New
The Global War on Terror wit- the scientist’s wife, who was sitting then Chief of Staff of the Israel De-
nessed technologically advanced just 10 inches away in the same vehi- fense Forces (IDF). Titled ‘Retalia- Delhi. Views are personal.
platforms and systems used for such cle, was unharmed. The machine gun tion Operations as a Means of Ensur- This article first appeared in the Com-
operations. The ‘flying Ginsu’, or used in the operation was reportedly ing Peace’, the lecture to IDF officers ments section of the website (www.idsa.
AGM-114R-9X, a CIA-developed mounted on a Nissan pickup and was sent a clear message: “We cannot al- in) of Manohar Parrikar Institute for De-
variant of the Hellfire air-to-ground remotely operated using multiple ways prevent the murder of workers fence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi

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