Areen khan is currently pursuing her Law degree from University of London.
On the historic night of May 2, 2011, a covert operation unfolded in Abbottabad, Pakistan. In the early hours, several Navy SEALs descended onto Bin Laden’s compound. The carefully planned operation and tireless efforts of more than a decade finally bore fruit as Osama Bin Laden, the notorious leader of Al-Qaeda and the mastermind behind the tragic 9/11 attacks, was finally killed. This marked the end of his reign of terror. This plan owes its success to the CIA and its fake vaccination drive.
This pivotal moment resulted from a decade of efforts by American intelligence agencies, who, driven by their pursuit of capturing the leader of Al-Qaeda, had often disregarded the sovereignty and rights of other countries. The CIA has had a long history of involvement in Pakistan, going as far back as 2005 with the start of Operation Cannonball—part of the much larger “War on Terrorism.”
Just two months after the historic death of Bin Laden, an article was published by The Guardian. This piece unveiled a controversial operation conducted by the CIA in March 2011 in the city of Abbottabad, Pakistan.
It was revealed that the CIA had used the guise of a Hepatitis B vaccination program to try and collect DNA samples from children present at the compound. These samples were to be compared with those of Laden’s sister, who died in Boston in 2010, to try and confirm if any of the children were related to Bin Laden, which would then confirm his presence there.
They organized a fake vaccination drive in poor areas of Abbottabad and, after some weeks, moved it to the rich suburbs of Bilal town, where the compound was thought to be located. Pakistani authorities were unaware of this operation taking place on their soil. It is still unclear how successful, if at all, this operation was. There were also suspicions of the charity organization “Save the Children” being involved, but they have since denied their involvement.
To achieve their objective, the CIA enlisted a local doctor, Shakil Afridi, who then employed other low-ranked medical workers who were unaware of the actual motives behind the faux vaccination drive. Shakil Afridi was charged with 33 years behind bars for his involvement in the operation (later acquitted but still imprisoned due to murder charges). There is speculation by some that Afridi was used as a mere scapegoat.
Vaccines were already a controversial issue in Pakistan, especially in the less developed areas. Islamist groups were spreading propaganda against vaccines. Several rumors were being circulated, such as polio vaccines being part of a Jewish or Christian conspiracy, used to make Muslim girls infertile or to stunt the growth of Muslims. Additionally, there were claims that pig fat was used in the vaccines, and some religious leaders even claimed that it was un-Islamic to take medications before a disease was contracted.
For the less educated Pakistanis, whose only source of information was these Islamic leaders or word of mouth, such rumors were enough for them to avoid vaccines. This proved to be extremely dangerous for both the people and the healthcare workers in the country. There were several reported incidents of attacks against workers, even fatalities.
Several organizations questioned the ethics of such a fake program.
“The CIA’s fake vaccination program overstepped a boundary in that they engaged in an activity that is purely humanitarian and purely medical and health-related,” Sam Worthington, the CEO of InterAction, an alliance of international non-governmental organizations, told The Daily Beast. “By introducing a degree of lack of trust associated with vaccinations I think there’s harm done on vaccination programs in sensitive areas around the world.” In response to the criticism, the White House announced that the CIA had pledged not to use vaccination programs as a cover for espionage.
Moreover, this scheme took place during the rapid spread of poliovirus. Several parents refused to give their children polio drops. During such a dire health emergency, the CIA’s plan only added fuel to the fire.
The Taliban, especially, were running campaigns against vaccines. The CIA’s operation contributed to the dissemination of these rumors, adding to the existing distrust and resistance regarding vaccines. The number of children contracting diseases, especially polio, increased due to this, as did the violence against the health workers who were going door to door to perform their duty.
Recently, a research paper published in the Journal of the European Economic Association brought attention to this issue again. It was found that after the CIA’s plot was uncovered, there was an estimated 30% decline in the vaccination rate, corresponding to an 11-percentage-point reduction in the likelihood that any child is vaccinated.
There was a trend of vaccination rates going down in areas where the Islamist groups were more dominant. Pakistan had worked hard to achieve some credibility with its public and the CIA’s ruse, which aided the spread of misinformation in the country and set them back.
However, on a brighter note, in 2013, trust in vaccination increased. This is due to the relentless efforts of the Pakistani healthcare workers, who did not back down despite low funding and threats to their lives. They got the help of other Islamic leaders and showed the families videos to make them accept that vaccines are indeed safe and halal. There were also TV ad campaigns that helped with this mission. But there are still suspicions among many people, several years later.
Due to the CIA’s hunger for catching Bin Laden, they paid no regard to the possible consequences of such actions on normal civilians. In the aftermath of the CIA’s covert operation, not only the public’s confidence was undermined in humanitarian and vaccination efforts, but it also strengthened the radical groups spreading anti-vaccine propaganda, which then led to a surge of disease outbreaks and violence against healthcare workers across the country.
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The views and opinions expressed in this article/paper are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Paradigm Shift.
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