On September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center was attacked by the terrorist group known as Al Qaeda. At 8:46 A.M. Flight 11 crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center at 490 mph. At 9:03 A.M. Flight 175 flew into the south tower. After the initial explosions of the two impacts, fire erupted within the two buildings, igniting the contents of the structures aflame. This attack resulted in the loss of 2,700+ lives, and the destruction of 15 million square feet of buildings.

After this attack on the United States, the Bush administration authorized the Predator program as a part of the War on Terror. By October 7 the first of the UAVs, or unmanned aerial vehicles, were put in Afghanistan. Since then, drone strikes have killed over 3,500 militants of terrorist groups. However, there has been controversy regarding whether or not the United States of America should continue its use of drone strikes abroad. Although the use of unmanned drones potentially kill and frighten civilian’s living in these countries, it is actually true that drone strikes keep the United States and other countries safe, as well as U.S military personnel.

The U.S military drone strikes are intended to combat and prevent terrorism. However, sometimes these strikes kill or injure unintended targets or civilians, and people fear this will further create resentment of the United States within these countries. There is an estimation of between 174 and 1,047 civilian deaths due to drones (Procon.org 1). Despite this, drones aren’t as lethal as this statistic indicates. Drones have killed a fewer percentage of civilians than any other traditional weapons of war. Drones are safer and more effective than sending in ground troops or other forces due to the drones’ ability to ensure the least amount of civilian casualties as possible. Between 8-17% of drone casualties are from the deaths of civilians, compared to wars in which troops are sent in, like the Korean War, which had an estimation of 70% of civilian casualties (procon 1). The drones have proved their effectiveness through their low civilian casualties and higher number of successful anti-terrorist operations. This effectiveness should encourage the United States to continue the use of drones as opposed to sending in more troops.

Additionally, U.S. drone air strikes keep countries that contain terroristic groups within their borders safe from acts of terrorism in their homelands. Pakistan has the Taliban and Al Qaeda within its borders, Al Shabaab threatens the country of Somalia, and Yemen Algeria, and Mali are in danger of Al Qaeda (pro con1). To continue the well-being of these nations, the United States of America uses drone strikes against the Taliban and Al Qaeda. With the aid of the United States and its drones, these countries are able to become safer against terrorist threats.

         For the safety of the United States of America, as well as the members of the military, drones strikes are used to maintain the prosperity of our nation. Drone strikes have successfully killed over 3,500 members of terroristic groups, and have successfully stopped potential  plots of acts of terrorism. Al Qaeda and Taliban commanders, trainers, bombers, leaders, and operatives have been swept by drones (procon 1). With these deaths of evil groups, the U.S is able to be at peace of mind against future attacks that could potentially fall upon this nation. In addition, the use of drones limit the number of U.S soldiers on foreign and dangerous soil. With the operation of the drones being controlled  by pilots in nearby countries, the risk of injuries and deaths of military personnel is drastically reduced. The military is able to send in drones to do missions instead of risking the lives of those in the military. This allows for our military to remain safer as a whole.

         Drone strikes do present problems to local civilians, however, abandoning them creates more problems. Without drone strikes, the United States and military personnel, as well as other countries are in danger against acts of terrorism if terroristic groups are left at large. To send in more troops into foreign countries as opposed to even more troops would be a risky and foolish thing for the United States to do.