This according to an Op-Ed in the NY Times by the Yemeni activist Ibrahim Mothana. It's a convincing argument, well worth reading. I don't see how it could be anything but true.
http://www.nytimes.com/...
Isn't there anyone in the government as weary as I am of the utter stupidity of America's counterterrorism efforts? Shouldn't it be obvious to any educated congresscritter that killing innocent civilians in the process of killing terrorists would logically turn entire families and clans against the USA? Is this so very hard to understand? A ten year old child might easily grasp the concept, but the POTUS and the entire US Congress seem unable to do so.
Setting aside the very doubtful morality of using aerial robots to murder adversaries whose culture, history, and motivation is largely unknown to us, we might consider this strategy from a purely utilitarian viewpoint. It is not, and it cannot possibly be effective in the long term.
You identify and kill one Al Qaida leader (and perhaps some entourage) but in the process of this "successful" operation, you have simultaneously created, on account of the "collateral damage" you have inflicted, several dozen new recruits - whose hatred of America will undoubtedly be deep and long lasting.
We are trying to define and control the world with abstractions, and neglecting to notice the fact that it is actually composed of human beings. We are blinded by ideology.