Obama’s Shadow Wars

Missile-wielding drones and elite Special Forces units are the new face of American power, and the White House is increasingly relying on them to fight terror in the farthest corners of the globe.

MARCH/APRIL 2012

Unsurprisingly, Pakistanis aren't happy about the drones. Above, a protester burns an American flag as a crowd shouts slogans during a protest against the drone attacks in the city of Multan on Feb. 9, 2011. A 2011 Pew Research Center poll found that a paltry 12 percent of Pakistanis had a favorable view of the United States, and 69 percent saw the United States as more enemy than friend.

But they're effective. According to New American Foundation data, U.S. drone strikes have killed more than 1,000 militants in Pakistan since Obama's inauguration.

S.S. MIRZA/AFP/Getty Images