receives authorization, pushes a button, and a small missile is fired. but some are asking whether years from now we ll debate drones the way we re debating torture. the use of these unmanned aerial vehicles that you refer to as drones in the counterterrorism effort has done tremendous work to keep this country safe. reporter: the cia s clandestine fleet of armed drones has become central to its counterterrorism mission. the secretive nature of the program means no one can tell for sure how many of the estimated 3500 people killed mostly in pakistan and yemen were insurgents and how many were innocent civilians. in u.s. public opinion, there is greater support for killing people than torturing them. reporter: why? it s hard to know why. i think we believe that individuals we can see with this high technology precise discriminate weapons platform is better at identifying who they are. but in fact, most of the individuals who we kill, we have
military casualties. but critics argue it s killed thousands of innocent civilians in yemen and pakistan. here s our chief foreign correspondent, richard engel. reporter: it s become the weapon of choice in the war against islamic terrorists. a u.s. drone flies over a target thousands of miles away. the cia tracks the location, receives authorization, pushes a button, and a small missile is fired. but some are asking whether years from now we ll debate drones the way we re debating torture. the use of these unmanned aerial vehicles that you refer to as drones in the counterterrorism effort has done tremendous work to keep this country safe. reporter: the cia s clandestine fleet of armed drones has become central to its counterterrorism mission. the secretive nature of the program means no one can tell for sure how many of the estimated 3500 people killed
justice reporter evan perez. take a listen. your agency is involved in overseeing the drone program. in which we know from the government s own statements, you know, that there have been some innocent civilians killed alongside terrorists. i m wondering if you feel that there s enough control over those programs and we re not going to be here in a few years with another director having to answer these same questions about the loss of trust from the public, from policymakers. i m not going to talk about any type of operational activity this agency is involved in currently. during my tenure at the white house, as the president s assistance for counterterrorism, that the use of these unmanned aerial vehicles that you refer to as drones in the counterterrorism effort has done tremendous work to keep this country safe. evan, you re joining us now,
overseeing the drone program. and which we know from the government s own statements that there have been some civilians innocent civilians killed alongside terrorists. i m wondering if you feel that there s enough control over those programs and that we re not going to be there in a few years with another director having to answer these same questions about the loss of trust from the public, from policy makers. i m not going to talk about any type of operational activity that this agency is involved in currently. i m just not going to do it. i will tell you, though, during my tenure at the white house as the president s assistant for counterterrorism, the use of the unmanned aerial vehicles that you referred to as drones in the counterterrorism effort has done tremendous work to keep this country safe. evan is with us here in the situation room. what did you think of that answer? wolf, what he was trying to do is maintain that this is still a covert program.
counterterrorism effort or our national security interests. moreover, the president writes, these techniques did significant damage to america s standing in the world, and made it harder to pursue our interests with allies and partners. that is why i ll continue to use my authority as president to make sure we never resort to those methods again. as commander-in-chief, he writes, i have no greater responsibility than the safety and security of the american people. we will therefore continue to be relentless in our fight against al quirked its affiliates and other violent extremists. we will rely on all elements of our national power, including the power and example of our founding ideals. that is why, he says, i have consistently supported the declassification of today s report. no nation is perfect. but one of the strengths that makes america exceptional is our willingness to openly confront our past, face our imperfections, and make changes and do better, rare than another