Troy Sullivan Drone Strikes As you all know on September 11, 2001 terrorists from the organization Al Qaeda hijacked four planes and flew two into the twin towers. But what I did not know is that less than a week after this President Bush authorized unmanned aerial strikes to kill Osama Bin Laden. These are more commonly called Drone Attacks, which are vehicles that have no pilot but are controlled by people behind computers where they can not get hurt. Obama has used these in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia, and Yemen. Since President Obama took office, he has increased the amount of attacks since George Bush, launching 275 attacks in Pakistan alone. Robert Grenier who was the head of the CIA’s counter terrorism center said that these attacks have been dangerous to civilians because of the broad target the U.S. has. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism has estimated that up to 830 civilians have been killed in Pakistan, 138 in Yemen, and 57 in Somalia. Totaling to 1025 deaths, in attempt to kill off Al Qaeda, this is over a third of the people that died in 9/11. Over this past weekend U.S. drone attacks targeted a funeral gathering in Pakistan for a militant that had died over a past attack. It is not sure but they say they might have hit a mosk, a place of worship for Muslims. On the other hand people think that it is an effective way to eliminate this organization. Over the past week Al Qaeda’s number two Abu Yahya al-Libi was said killed in a drone attack. It hasn’t been confirmed besides the fact that 18 militants died in the attack and one of them might have been him. An insider in a close-by village said that people are moving out of areas that are commonly targeted therefore abandoning their lives they have had before. Attacks like this are causing a lot of anger in these countries and might not be worth killing of Al Qaeda if so many civilians’ lives are at stake. My question to you is 1. Do you believe that the drone strikes are a good weapon and should continue to be used? 2. Will this affect President Obama's re-election if he decides to continue these attacks?