WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says decisions to strike potential terrorist targets with unmanned drones don't "come lightly."
Panetta says those who authorize the drone strikes make sure they "are focused on somebody who is ... a direct threat to the United States." In an interview released Sunday by NBC, he describes it an "intricate process" of establishing targets, going through legal requirements and trying to limit collateral damage.
Asked about resentment caused by drone strikes, Panetta says the U.S. "has to always pay attention to these issues." But he also says "you've got to use everything you can" against the enemy.
The Pentagon chief says he realized when he became CIA director that he was "making life-and-death decisions." As a Catholic, he says, he's "got to really think about it."
Panetta: Drone strike decisions don't come lightly
US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta speaks to the media during a news conference with the Secretary of State for Defense Philip Hammond at Lancaster House in London on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013. Britain's defense minister says it appears the hostage situation in Algeria has come to an end and resulted in further loss of life. Philip Hammond calls the loss of life appalling and unacceptable. He says "it is the terrorists that bear the sole responsibility for it." Hammond spoke at the start of a news conference with U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. AP/Jacquelyn Martin