13 more killed in U.S. drone strike in Yemen

A tribal chief reports that an air strike in central Yemen Sept. 2 on a vehicle killed 10 suspected Al Qaeda members and 3 women companions. There were two vehicles targeted but only one was hit.

The tribal chief claimed the raid killed the guards of Abdulraouf al-Dahab and their companions but the missiles missed the vehicle of al-Dahab a local Al Qaeda leader who escaped unharmed. The plane, probably a drone, fired two missiles.

The attack and the toll were confirmed by other security and local sources. The U.S. is the only country in the area that has drones capable of making these attacks but they are rarely admitted to be drone attacks either by the U.S. or Yemeni authorities.

Dahab is the brother of another militant leader Tarek al-Dahab who overran the town of Radaa that is 80 miles southeast of Sanaa the capital.in January although he left the city later the same month after pressure from local tribal chiefs. However, militants continue actions against the governnment. Tarek was later killed.

Militant Islamists took over much of several provinces and several cities last summer but Yemeni security forces aided by U.S special forces advisors drove the militants out of most areas. However, the militants made a tactical retreat into the mountains and have struck back with many terrorist attacks. In turn the U.S. has attacked militants with drones with increaasing frequency. With Americans concentrating on the upcoming November elections little attention is paid to the U.S. involvement in Yemen.

In a separate incident Sunday a number of people were killed in clashes between pro-government tribesmen and militants in South Yemen. Two militants were among those killed in the attacks. Areas recently retaken by government forces still suffer from insecurity and constant attacks. There is also a separatist movement in the south that is also opposed to the central government of President Hadi.

Leon Panetta: U.S. can deal with spreading militancy in Yemen without boots on the ground.

Everything the U.S. is involved in within Yemen is always described as related to Al Qaeda. While some conflict involves other militant groups they are described as Al Qaeda linked or Al Qaeda affiliated as soon as they come into conflict with the Hadi government. As soon as they are attacked by U.S. drones they do become very much of the same disposition as Al Qaeda even though before their concern was local. The result is that Al Qaeda is said to be spreading throughout Yemen. In effect the U.S. by its own actions contributes to this spread of Islamic militancy in Yemen.

Leon Panetta says that Al Qaeda's spreading presence in Yemen can be handled by targeted operations rather than boots on the ground. Of course Panetta does not add that there are already special forces on the ground in Yemen. In many cases they are active in directing Yemeni forces and providing information for drone attacks. In one event a group were attacked and at least one wounded.

Panetta defended the use of drones as the most precise weapons the U.S. has in the campaign against Al Qaeda. Yet we know that some attacks have been not precise at all. The earliest attack killed almost all women and children in a remote mountain village.At that period the U.S. had the Yemeni government claim responsibility even though it was later proved to be by the Americans. Another attack killed a tribal elder who was traveling to negotiate with a militant. Of course Panetta says nothing of this but says:“Our whole effort there is aimed at going after those terrorists who threaten to attack our country,” He added:“We’ve been successful. We’ve gone after a number of key targets there. We’ll continue to do that.” The U.S. has also been successful in helping spread Islamic militancy and continued drone strikes will further that collateral effect as well.

While the Yemeni armed forces guided by the U.S. have recaptured some ground there are heavy casualties on both sides and a suicide bomber in revenge killed about a hundred Yemeni troops in Sanaa. The new U.S. supported president (vice-president under Saleh) has sworn to defeat Al Qaeda at his swearing in ceremony. This ensures that he will have the help of the US. against any rebellion. Any opposition will be termed Al Qaeda or Al Qaeda linked. Soon the U.S. will not be involved in counter terrorism but counter insurgency. More drones and other weapons will be required and more boots on the ground who will not be described as such since they will be special forces. For more see this article.

Yemen: Militants kill 32 troops in army base attack

Although the Yemeni military is claiming that it is winning the battle against militants who have occupied territory in Southern Yemen the actual situation seems more complex. The military does seem to have regained some territory including a strategic town of Lawdar.

However other areas are still under control of militants of Ansar al-Sharia and AQAP (Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula). The press and official pronouncements tend to link groups together perhaps to convince the U.S. that these are all Al Qaeda militants or Al Qaeda linked. It works.

The U.S. has been involved in several air strikes, including one that is said to have killed some militant leaders. Often strikes that are said to be by the government are no doubt by the U.S. Wikileaks cables revealed that at least the former government took credit for U.S. attacks so as to downplay U.S. involvement. Probably the present government is doing the same. There are U.S. Special Forces units operating in Yemen as well.

The struggle against militants has been costly as the most recent attack killed at least 32 soldiers. Some time ago the rebels raided a base outside of Zinjibar killing 185 soldiers and captured many others. Those captured were later released. See this article. The U.S. is strongly backing President Hadi as he has made a strong commitment to defeating Islamic. However Hadi faces opposition from within his government and two separatist movements as well as the Islamic militants who oppose his government. For more see this article.

CIA asks to expand targets in Yemen drone strikes

According to an article here, the CIA is requesting authority to expand its covert drone mission n Yemen. The CIA wants to launch attacks even though it does not know who the targets are.

These "signature strikes" would target people solely on intelligence that indicates patterns of suspicious behavior..For example images of militants gathering at known al-Qaida compounds or performing certain actions such as unloading explosives. This extension will no doubt lead to many more mistakes and civilian deaths.

Even the existing strikes often cause collateral damage. Sometimes the targets and those killed are not militants at all but at the most the families of suspected militants. The first horrendous attack of the Obama regime on a remote village killed mostly women and children. See this article.

These signature strikes have been used in Pakistan for some time. Director David Petraeus now wants to use this type of strike in Yemen.

Obama is already increasing the rate of strikes in Yemen. There have been at least 8 strikes this year already. Often the Yemen government denies U.S. involvement in strikes. There are also U.S. Special Forces operating in Yemen but nothing is said about them unless they happen to come under attack as has happened. Obama ruled out signature attacks more than a year ago. However, it would seem that the CIA has on occasion not followed the more restrictive rules in any case.

The U.S. is in danger of being to drawn in to a conflict that is often simply directed at the government so that hostilities may be as much a civil war as Al Qaeda gaining influence. The U.S. and the Yemeni government routinely identify any significant Islamic militant group as Al Qaeda related or even a branch of Al Qaeda. For more see this article.