In Pakistan, one in three drone kills are civilians

A new study (pdf) by the New America Foundation finds some harrowing statistics regarding drone use in Pakistan. According to the report, one in three deaths from Obama's drone strikes is a civilian fatality. Not a good average.

Rethink Afghanistan compiled some of the highlights:

Our study shows that the 114 reported drone strikes in northwest Pakistan from 2004 to the present have killed between 830 and 1,210 individuals, of whom around 550 to 850 were described as militants in reliable press accounts, about two-thirds of the total on average. Thus, the true civilian fatality rate since 2004 according to our analysis is approximately 32 percent.

…[A]lthough the drone strikes have disrupted militant operations, their unpopularity with the Pakistani public and their value as a recruiting tool for extremist groups may have ultimately increased the appeal of the Taliban and al Qaeda, undermining the Pakistani state. This is more disturbing than almost anything that could happen in Afghanistan, given that Pakistan has dozens of nuclear weapons and about six times the population.

It's worth repeating: "Their value as a recruiting tool for extremist groups may have ultimately increased the appeal of the Taliban and al Qaeda, undermining the Pakistani state."

I don't see how this is a valuable tool in curbing extremism or sympathy for terror. For every one suspect killed, how much "extremism" is created? Somebody explain the upside, please, because I don't get it.