This is the VOA Special English Technology Report.

Late last month, for the first time, President Obama publicly confirmed the American use of drone strikes in tribal areas in Pakistan. He answered a question on the subject during a Google video conference with people around the United States.

BARACK OBAMA: "I want to make sure that people understand that actually, drones have not caused a huge number of civilian casualties. For the most part, they have been very precise precision strikes against al-Qaida and their affiliates. And we are very careful in terms of how it has been applied."