Charts on the number of US airstrikes inside Pakistan per yer, the frequency of strikes in 2008 and 2009, the number of deaths in 2008 and 2009, a distribution of strikes by tribal agencies, and the territories targeted. Click image to view.US Predator Strikes In Pakistan: Observations -- Long War Journal
The dramatically increased use of covert US air power to target al Qaeda and Taliban assets in Pakistan's lawless tribal zones has sparked a controversy in the US and abroad. Critics of the airstrikes, which are carried out by unmanned Predator attack aircraft, contend that the actions violate Pakistan's sovereignty, kill innocent civilians, and make enemies of Pakistani tribesmen. Proponents of the airstrikes say that they are necessary to prevent the next major attack against the West and to disrupt al Qaeda and the Taliban's operations directed against Coalition forces in Afghanistan.
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My Comment: As the war escalates in Afghanistan .... expect the use of drones to escalate also. As to the debate on the validity of doing drone strikes .... the consensus is that there is "No Longer A Debate About Targeted Killings".