Quote:In his first three years, Obama has unleashed 268 covert drone strikes, five times the total George W. Bush ordered during his eight years in office. All told, drones have been used to kill more than 3,000 people designated as terrorists, including at least four U.S. citizens. In the process, according to human rights groups, they have also claimed the lives of more than 800 civilians. Obama's drone program, in fact, amounts to the largest unmanned aerial offensive ever conducted in military history; never have so few killed so many by remote control.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/new...print=true

Quote:The poll shows that 53 percent of self-identified liberal Democrats — and 67 percent of moderate or conservative Democrats — support keeping Guantanamo Bay open, even though it emerged as a symbol of the post-Sept. 11 national security policies of President George W. Bush, which many liberals bitterly opposed.

Obama has also relied on armed drones far more than Bush did, and he has expanded their use beyond America’s defined war zones. The Post-ABC News poll found that 83 percent of Americans approve of Obama’s drone policy, which administration officials refuse to discuss, citing security concerns.

The president only recently acknowledged the existence of the drone program, which some human rights advocates say operates without a clear legal framework and in violation of the U.S. prohibition against assassination.

But fully 77 percent of liberal Democrats endorse the use of drones, meaning that Obama is unlikely to suffer any political consequences as a result of his policy in this election year.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/p...ml?hpid=z3

one of the very few things obama has done right.

(04-20-2012 06:52 PM)wild bill Wrote:  one of the very few things obama has done right.

He's the republican version of Dick Chaney, torture cells and all.

What's the approval rate of Republicans/conservatives about these drones? I'd be interested to see how they differ.

(04-20-2012 06:52 PM)wild bill Wrote:  one of the very few things obama has done right.

Yeah, actually knowing who you're killing is such a drag.

Collateral damage is tolerable on the other side of the globe, right?

Wait, so the current president is using a new technology moreso than any other past president??

(04-20-2012 10:04 PM)UCF08 Wrote:  Wait, so the current president is using a new technology moreso than any other past president??

I'm sure that's what you were saying a few years ago.

Pretty much, yeah.