---
title: "Continued Support for U.S. Drone Strikes"
description: "Overview While U.S. drone strikes have faced new scrutiny in recent weeks, a majority of the public continues to support the program. Overall, 56% approve of the U.S. conducting missile strikes from pilotless aircraft to target extremists in countries such as Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia; just 26% say they disapprove. Opinion is largely unchanged from […]"
date: "2013-02-11"
authors:
  - name: "Pew Research Center"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2013/02/11/continued-support-for-u-s-drone-strikes/"
categories:
  - "Defense & National Security"
  - "International Affairs"
datasets:
  - name: "February 10-13 2013 Weekly Survey"
    url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/dataset/february-10-13-2013-weekly-survey/"
---

# Continued Support for U.S. Drone Strikes

## Table of Contents
1. [Continued Support for U.S. Drone Strikes](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2013/02/11/continued-support-for-u-s-drone-strikes/markdown)
   - [Democrats, Independents More Concerned about Civilian Casualties](#democrats-independents-more-concerned-about-civilian-casualties)
   - [Gender Gap over Drone Strikes](#gender-gap-over-drone-strikes)
2. [About the Survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2013/02/11/about-the-survey-220/markdown)

## Overview

While U.S. drone strikes have faced new scrutiny in recent weeks, a majority of the public continues to support the program. Overall, 56% approve of the U.S. conducting missile strikes

[![2-11-13 - 2 #1](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/02/2-11-13-2-1.png)](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/02/2-11-13-2-1.png)

from pilotless aircraft to target extremists in countries such as Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia; just 26% say they disapprove.

Opinion is largely unchanged from last July, when 55% approved of the program. Support for drone attacks crosses party lines: 68% of Republicans and 58% of Democrats say they approve of U.S. drone strikes.

There also are stark gender differences in opinions about the use of drones: Men approve of drone strikes by more than three-to-one (68% to 21%). Among women, 44% approve, while 31% disapprove.

The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center, conducted Feb. 7-10 among 1,004 adults, finds that while drone strikes draw

[![2-11-13 - 2 #2](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/02/2-11-13-2-2.png)](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/02/2-11-13-2-2.png)

continued support, there is widespread concern that the attacks endanger innocent civilians.

Overall, 53% say they are very concerned about whether drone strikes put the lives of civilians in danger. Even among those who approve of the program, 42% say they are very concerned the attacks risk lives of innocent civilians.

Other possible consequences from drone attacks spur less public concern: 32% are very concerned they could lead to retaliation from extremist groups, 31% are very concerned the attacks are being conducted legally and 26% worry they could damage America’s reputation around the world.

### Democrats, Independents More Concerned about Civilian Casualties

Democrats are much more likely than Republicans to express concern over whether drone attacks endanger civilian lives. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of Democrats and 53% of

[![2-11-13 - 2 #3](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/02/2-11-13-2-3.png)](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/02/2-11-13-2-3.png)

independents say they are very concerned about whether U.S. drone strikes endanger the lives of innocent civilians, compared with just 37% of Republicans.

The partisan gaps are smaller in concerns over other possible consequences from drone attacks. For each, fewer than half of Democrats – and even smaller percentages of Republicans –express a great deal of concern.

Among those who approve of U.S. drone strikes, 42% say they are very concerned about whether the attacks endanger the lives of

[![2-11-13 - 2 #4](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/02/2-11-13-2-4.png)](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/02/2-11-13-2-4.png)

innocent civilians. No more than a quarter of drone supporters say they are very concerned about the three other possible consequences tested.

Among those who disapprove of U.S. drone attacks, nearly eight-in-ten (79%) are very concerned about possible civilians casualties; About half say they are very concerned over whether the attacks are being conducted legally (52%), whether they could lead to retaliation from extremist groups (52%), and whether they could damage America’s reputation around the world (49%).

### Gender Gap over Drone Strikes

[![2-11-13 - 2 #5](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/02/2-11-13-2-5.png)](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/02/2-11-13-2-5.png)

Women are much less supportive of U.S. drone strikes than are men and they express far greater concern over the possibility of civilian casualties. Overall, 44% of women approve of the U.S. conducting missile strikes from pilotless aircraft, 31% disapprove while 25% offer no opinion. By contrast, men support drone strikes by more than three-to-one (68%-21%).

Six-in-ten women (60%) say they are very concerned about whether drone strikes endanger the lives of innocent civilians compared with 46% of men. Less than half of women say they are very concerned about other possible consequences, though they offer somewhat more concern on these issues than do men.

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**Next:** [About the Survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2013/02/11/about-the-survey-220.md)