Utilizing Predator and Reaper drones (unmanned aerial vehicles), which are made here in San Diego at General Atomics, an increasingly attractive option for the US military because it saves American lives and money. As the New York Times reports today, the CIA has "drastically increased" its bombing campaign in the mountains of Pakistan in recent weeks as part of its covert war, with at least 21 drone attacks in September, the most ever during a single month.
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But the mounting civilian toll begs the question: are drones the right strategy in Pakistan, both tactically and morally? The strikes are fueling anger in the Muslim world. The Pakistani-born U.S. citizen who attempted to detonate a truck filled with explosives in Times Square told a judge that the C.I.A. drone campaign in his native country was one of the factors that led him to attack the United States.
