A new study out of New York University and Stanford University has questioned the efficacy of military drone strikes. The authors make 3 main points:

1. First, while civilian casualties are rarely acknowledged by the US government, there is significant evidence that US drone strikes have injured and killed civilians.
2. Second, US drone strike policies cause considerable and under-accounted-for harm to the daily lives of ordinary civilians, beyond death and physical injury.
3. Third, publicly available evidence that the strikes have made the US safer overall is ambiguous at best.
4. Fourth, current US targeted killings and drone strike practices undermine respect for the rule of law and international legal protections and may set dangerous precedents.

The study finds that drones have a marked effect on civilian behaviour:

Drones hover twenty-four hours a day over communities in northwest Pakistan, striking homes, vehicles, and public spaces without warning. Their presence terrorizes men, women, and children, giving rise to anxiety and psychological trauma among civilian communities. Those living under drones have to face the constant worry that a deadly strike may be fired at any moment, and the knowledge that they are powerless to protect themselves.

The findings can be found in depth on a dedicated website, Living Under Drones. The complete report is available here.