If you were a villager in Pakistan or Afghanistan, would you be scared to walk around?

[Bonobo]

With drone missile attacks at an all time high, would you be terrified to walk around with large groups of people? Go to a mosque? Go to the wrong part of the village near where the tribal elders are? Go to a wedding?

Would you be terrified to enter a van? Drive near a van? Drive past an airfield? Go to vote?

Would you be terrified knowing an invisible speck could fire a joystick-controlled missile at you -possibly just by mistake?

Would you be terrified that your son, daughter, mother or father might do any of those things?

Would you be terrified to go to sleep? Go to work?

Would you?

So... what does that make the USA in the eyes of those people.

I won't say it. I don't think I have to.

[Robb]

1. Compared to the fear of getting killed by the local thuggery?

I'd put "drone attack" pretty far down my list, statistically speaking.

[Bonobo]

2. Thugs you know, thugs you can see.

Invisible things appearing out of the blue? Now that to me is terrifying.

It has nothing to do with statistics on that level.

[Robb]

4. You have different sensibilities.

Living in constant fear of getting your business burned to the ground for something you say is foreign to you. You can't claim to understand that.

[Bonobo]

6. That's true, but irrelevant to the point I want to make.

The point being that the United States must be considered, to some over there, from their perspective, to be a "terrorist state".

We are not petty tribal warlords and there is no point in comparing which is scarier to them, because like me, you also can't claim to feel what they feel.

But we are the citizens of the USA and we are practicing what amounts to terrorizing behavior (read terrorist).

"They may be brutal warlords, but they're OUR brutal warlords."

[Robb]

7. Well, true enough.

If the internet has taught me anything, it's that somewhere, someone believes everything.

Sure, some in Waziristan think we're the biggest thing to fear. Most, however, have bigger fears than whether they're going to get hit by a drone because they're in a van -- because they're not that likely to ever get in a van. More likely in their day-to-day, someone in their family is going to get braced for cash, food or ammunition -- and if they say no, the whole family gets killed as an example. That's worth worrying about.

"They may be brutal warlords, but they're OUR brutal warlords."

Well, I don't believe anyone feels that way when they live in fear. There's no comfort there; it's like saying I'm happier being killed in a car wreck than a plane crash. You're making what may be a valid point in a way that doesn't show a lot of understanding of the situation. :shrug:

[Jennicut]

3. Hanging children and making women fearful. I would say I would be terrified of that a bit more.

Still, drones would just add to that hellish experience.

[JerseygirlCT]

5. If I were in Afghanistan or Pakistan, I'd be afraid - but that would be the

case, drones or no drones.

I'm female, you see.

[NeedleCast]

8. Yes and No

You're just looking at this from one side it seems. Having served in Afghanistan, I'll again share the wise words of a village elder I met there. When asked which side he was on (Taliban or non-taliban) he said "I'm on whichever side is currently pointing a gun at me."

Truly a choice between a rock and a hard place. That's what the locals deal with day in and day out. I'd say the majority of them (90%) would prefer just to live their lives with neither the Taliban or the occupying forces being present, but they don't have that choice. Kinda sucks.

[Mudoria]

9. Very true

I would imagine most people in the world just want to live their lives and not be bothered. In some places like Afghanistan, Pakistan etc etc
unfortunately just trying to live your life can be dangerous.