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

[fujiyama]

39. The real problem here

is that terrorism itself isn't about just killing one person or a group of persons. That's the shortsighted view held by our government and military - which is still hopelessly stuck in the mindset of facing an actual army with troops. Here in the US we want to view the enemy in the prism of what we're familiar with - hence either a military or corporate hierarchy with Al Qaeda. The reality is we face an ideological conflict that cannot be defeated with remote controlled planes dropping bombs.

For every civilian we kill, we are likely prolonging this conflict which many see as between civilizations. This "war" doesn't end with the death of one evil son of a bitch like Osama or ten of his apprentices. It ends with other people realizing that fighting modernity and civilization is a losing battle. So really it's not a clash of civilizations per se - it's a clash between civilization and the lack thereof. But we're not convincing anyone of anything by dropping bombs on weddings or killing some innocent fruit vendor or a poor woman and her children. And of course the ratio of enemy combatants to civilians killed in combat is much higher now than in say WWII. Technology is light years ahead. GPS alone has improved targeting significantly. But we're not facing armies with tanks, battle ships, and fighter jets.