Why we need to stop shooting drones at Pakistan

David Kilcullen and Andrew Exum actually present several reasons; here’s a snippet —

First, the drone war has created a siege mentality among Pakistani civilians. This is similar to what happened in Somalia in 2005 and 2006. … The use of drones displays every characteristic of a tactic — or, more accurately, a piece of technology — substituting for a strategy. … First, they often overestimate the degree to which a population harboring an armed actor can influence that actor’s behavior. … The drone campaign is in fact part of a larger strategic error — our insistence on personalizing this conflict with Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

In short, drone warfare directly undercuts “hearts and minds” work. Add in their relative lack of success, with only a 2 percent terrorist-to-civilian “kill rate,” at least per official casualties, and it’s no wonder Pakistani citizens hate the Predators.

President Barack Obama may not read the full story (he has increased drone attacks from the Bush Administration), but you should.