Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

-----and, overwhelmingly, they miss the target. In one case in Yemen, it took seven drone strikes before the US killed its target. In those strikes, as many as 164 persons died, including 11 children. In Pakistan, 221 persons, including 103 children, have been killed in attempts to kill four men, three of whom are still alive - the fourth has died from natural causes.

Not only is President Obama's drone programme one of the most glaring acts of terror being perpetrated on earth today, it is one of the best recruitment instruments for those who may be willing to take up arms against US forces and its allies.

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