planet earth looks blue

The US military launched another drone attack on suspected al Qaeda and Taliban militants in the Waziristan region of Pakistan.  Although this violated Pakistani sovereignty, this is the 35th of such attacks.  It is reported that 13 people died, including some foreign fighters when the drone bombed the house of a suspected Taliban supporter.  According to the Pakistan government, 1 in every 6 of these attacks ends of killing civilians, and only serves in inflame the militants.  Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud said that his men attacked a police training center in Lahore, Pakistan as a response.  He also claims to be behind the shooting in Binghamton yesterday that left 14 people dead, although no one believes this.  

Regardless, the question remains, what are the repercussions of these drone attacks?  First, are they killing civilians?  How does the US military know they are only killing militants in such remote areas?  They are not there to assess the damage.  Second - since when was it alright to attack in a sovereign nation, an ally nonetheless?  As these attacks push militant groups deeper into the country, the US is putting the people of Pakistan at risk.  And of course, the age old question - what purpose does this killing serve in the first place?  Isn’t it an extreme negative action, attracting more negative re-action, flaring more hate for America, more burning flags.  This doesn’t benefit anyone.