Yemenis Call US Drone Strikes an "Overreaction" to Al Qaida Threat
Playing Whack-A-Mole droning suspected "terrorists" isn't so much fun, if you are
the "suspect" or if you happen to live next door to one.
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Yemenis Call US Drone Strikes an Overreaction to Al Qaida Threat
10 August 2013 07:05 * By Adam Baron * McClatchy Newspapers | Report
SANAA, Yemen The United States launching of eight drone strikes in Yemen in the span of 13 days has ignited widespread outrage in the country. The anger over the strikes, which came as an al Qaida-related threat shuttered U.S. embassies and consulates in Yemen and 15 other countries, has overwhelmed attention to the threat itself, which many here view skeptically anyway.
In the end, I think the American reaction has been far more than has been reasonable, said Abdulghani al Iryani, a Sanaa-based political analyst. It comes off almost as a show of strength. But, ultimately, it may end up backfiring, as al Qaida is getting more attention now than they would have even if they carried out an attack.
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The surge of strikes, the most concentrated series of drone hits since 2002, has come in four provinces, Abyan in the south, Shabwa and Hadramawt in Yemens southeast and Mareb in the countrys center. That alone underscores the difficulty of combating al Qaidas Yemen affiliate, al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.
Earlier this year, the central government was able to push one of al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsulas main affiliates, Ansar al Shariah, from strongholds it had seized during the push by dissidents to topple the government of then-President Ali Abdullah Saleh. But the bulk of the fighters were able to escape to other parts of the country, including areas with comparatively little history of an al Qaida presence, such as Hadramawt, which has emerged as a focus of recent U.S. strikes. A number of the strikes appear to have been aimed at senior al Qaida figures in this country, but it isnt clear how many of the targets have been killed.
http://truth-out.org/news/item/18090-yemenis-call-us-drone-strikes-an-overreaction-to-al-qaida-threat