Drones.

This is coolbert:

"Fight the enemy with weapons you have, and he does not" - - Suvorov.

Here thanks to DangerRoom.

"Call Off Drone War, Influential U.S. Adviser Says"

"an influential adviser to American policymakers is raising his voice against the unmanned attacks"

This from David Kilcullen. A very influential "expert" on counter-insurgency. A man whose ideas are listened to by the top echelons of command.

Drone strikes against Al Qaeda and Taliban targets in Pakistan are at issue here. Too many civilians are getting blown away along with bad guys?

Becoming counter-productive, alienating the populace of Pakistan, reducing the possibility of Pakistan continuing as a viable and important partner in the global-war-against-terror [GWOT]? Drone attacks must either cease or be severely limited. "Fight the enemy with weapons you have, but he does not" is no longer an option here?

And if David says it is so, it must be so. He is an "expert".

According to David:

"using drones to attack those militants 'increase the number and radicalism of Pakistanis who support extremism, and thus undermine the key strategic program of building a willing and capable partner in Pakistan'"

And it should be noted that the protocols for USING A DRONE TO ATTACK A TARGET, FIRE A HELLFIRE MISSILE TO TAKE OUT HIGH-VALUE TARGETS IS MOST RIGOROUS. IT IS NOT LIKE THESE WEAPONS ARE BEING USED IN A PERMISSIVE WAY, HELTER-SKELTER BEING FIRED ALL OVER THE PLACE IN A CALLOUS AND UNFEELING MANNER!! Consider:

"Before U.S. Air Force drones hit targets in Afghanistan as part of pre-planned operations, lawyers and intelligence officers in the Combined Air and Space Operations Center match it with cell-phone intercepts, informants’ tips, and 'pattern of life' analyses on the intended targets. Other airmen estimate the likelihood of civilian casualties, with 'Raindrop,' a classified simulation tool that models local traffic patterns, structural compositions, and bomb blast patterns. It’s a process so rigorous that even Human Rights Watch says that the chances of civilian casualties are near nil, when it’s followed"

David too qualifies his statement by saying that there certainly is a need and use for drones to "take out" your opposition, if used judicially. Exactly, and that is the value type of judgements already being made!!

coolbert.