“Viewpoint” host Eliot Spitzer and Fred Kaplan, author of “The Insurgents: David Petraeus and the Plot to Change the American Way of War,” discuss the impact of former CIA Director David Petraeus’ security strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan and how drone warfare can actually increase the presence of insurgents.
“Part of the problem with [drone warfare] is that it’s a little too tempting. You look at a situation that’s very complicated and go, ‘Oh, well, look — there’s that guy. We can hit him. Let’s do that.’ It’s easy. It’s too easy. This was another side to counterinsurgency. Let’s say you killed the wrong guy, very accurately — you turn all of his cousins into insurgents,” says Kaplan.
