AP IMPACT: study suggests drones kill far fewer civilians than many Pakistanis believe

[Igel]

15. Except we can't.

Look at it from another's POV--that of the Pakistani government's and ISI's.

If most of those the US/NATO kills are militants, then we're not so bad. In a country built on being not so great but certainly better than all the other losers, this is not a good thing. But then the questions get nasty.

If it's mostly militants that are killed, then the problem is there are too many militants in Pakistan. If so, then why isn't Pakistan doing anything about it? Is it lethargy? Or is there another reason? Where do the militants get funding, if any? What effect do they have on the local population? Why has Pakistan defended them in the past? Why has Pakistan repeatedly struck deals with militant groups if they're really that bad?

Pakistan has the Arafat problem. Say--in English--how horrible it was that some Jewish kids were killed and that such acts hurt the PA cause while not ever saying a bad word about the perp. Then shout out in Arabic, "A million martyrs to Jerusalem! A million martyrs to Jerusalem." American hear the first bit and then "blah-blah-blah." Palestinians hear "blah-blah-blah" and then the last bit. The reporters that understand both suddenly forget how to translate.

That's Pakistan, too.