It is a false equivalency to those that convince themselves it is. Whatever helps you support one and denounce the other.
Situation A: Know terrorist is at a home in Yemen, send Seal team in, capture and take him to a site and waterboard him for 3-4 days and then put him in a cell.
Situation B: Know terrorist is at a home in Yemen, bomb home via drone killing him and family.
Premeditated torture, bad. Premeditated murder, ok. It's a stupid coping system that has been instilled.
BTW, as for unpopular, we are the only country in the world that the majority supports drones.
This is a serious wtf moment from you. You think sudden death (air strike, lethal injection, etc) is the same as shoving hot iron pokers up someone's arse while they're being drawn and quartered? Yeah right.