Do Drone Strikes Work?

The Inquiry

• Episode: Do Drone Strikes Work?
• Website: The Inquiry
• Feed URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p029399x/episodes/downloads.rss
• Duration: 00:23:06
• Published: 2015-09-29 03:00

The United States, UK, Israel and now Pakistan all use drone strikes to kill. In September a general in the Pakistani army announced their first ever use of an armed drone. It was directed at a terrorist compound, he said, and killed three. Meanwhile the US is thought to have launched a secret drone campaign to kill so-called Islamic State fighters in Syria. Armed drones are the counter-terrorism weapon of choice, capable of killing militants from a distance and without putting military personnel in harm’s way. But critics question how far they bolster wider attempts to defeat terrorism. So, do drone strikes work? (Photo: Reaper flies without pilot. Credit: Getty Images)