Most Americans approve of foreign drone strikes
Posted by John Sides on March 10, 2013 at 12:25 pm
... the main targets of drones have been mostly foreigners living in countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen. The irony, given all the attention and some plaudits given to Paul’s filibuster, is that most Americans support the use of drones to fight terrorists abroad. While Paul inveighed against a hypothetical killing, the actual killings that do happen are not that controversial in the minds of most Americans. An open question, however, is whether their minds could be changed.
... there is little reason to expect public opinion about the drone program to change without concerted and prolonged dissent from political leaders. That does not seem to be forthcoming. Paul’s dissent — which didn’t even emphasize foreign targets of American drones — was met with harsh rebuttals from Lindsay Graham, John McCain and the Wall Street Journal editorial page. Democrats were not exactly rushing to stand with Paul either ...
... the public was the least supportive of the mission that would result in Yemeni civilian casualties. As Walsh notes, “This is a real surprise, since it means that respondents attach as much or more value on the lives of foreign civilians as they do on U.S. military personnel.”
... support is unlikely to soften if there is no one to lead the opposition. And when Republicans like Graham are saying that drone strikes against terrorists are “one of the highlights of President Obama’s first term,” I wouldn’t expect opposition leaders to emerge any time soon.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/03/10/most-americans-approve-of-foreign-drone-strikes/
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