RAMESH THAKUR writing for The Japan Times concludes that the cost of the Drone War is continual antagonism towards the United States and a secretive foreign policy lacking any accountability. Thakur observes:
Another cost is the deepening antagonism of several Western as well as Islamic peoples toward the U.S. Public opinion polls show that most Americans support but most others oppose drone strikes, often by substantial margins. Being unilateral, they reinforce the widespread perception of the U.S. as a self-concerned state that acts without consideration for others.
The moral qualms over a president claiming the right to kill foreign and U.S. citizens based on a secret process with no contestability, checks and balances have grown and deepened. The inflection point of diminishing utility and returns has been reached. The U.S. risks becoming world leader in killing people with no connection to 9/11, to al-Qaida or to any other terrorist group. On the balance of consequences test, drone strikes are doing more harm than good.
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