soon cia was able to deploy them without need for military backup. president obama inherited the program from his predecessor but greatly expanded it. today the white house addressed claims from countries like afghanistan and pakistan who say the strikes have killed several hundred innocent civilians. >> we endeavor to reduce civilian casualties as much as possible. and i think that the broader record here of success in taking the fight to al qaeda is one that has made the united states safer. >> there have been at least six u.s. drone strikes conducted already this year, shep. >> shepard: james, the president and john brennan say the drone program is illegal. >> yes. and they have erected all kinds of elaborate legal justifications for carrying out the strikes. the goal of all of that lawyering was to shield the u.s. from challenges under international law. but civil liberty advocates