Posted on 04/21/2014 7:54:08 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Last week, CNN reported that an al-Qaeda conference took place in Yemen, headed by the number-two man in the global structure, and that the US appeared to have missed it. If so, we may be making up for lost time. A series of drone attacks in Yemen has killed dozens of terrorists from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the most dangerous of the constituent networks in the AQ umbrella:
An operation targeting al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is under way in Abyan and Shabwa, Yemen, a high-level Yemeni government official who is being briefed on the strikes told CNN on Monday.
The official said that the scale of the strikes against AQAP is “massive and unprecedented” and that at least 30 militants have been killed. The operation involved Yemeni commandos who are now “going after high-level AQAP targets,” the official said.
A day earlier, suspected drone strikes targeted al Qaeda fighters in Yemen for the second time in two days, killing “at least a dozen,” the government official said.
CNN’s Mohammed Jamjoom reports that the Yemenis are a little skeptical of these operations, and that the embarrassment of missing the convention last week may be driving the claims now:
But other Yemeni officials, who asked to remain anonymous as they are not authorized to speak to the media, said there was growing frustration within the government about the lack of clarity and expressed concern that some of the information being reported by the military may be propaganda.
“I’m worried this is an attempt to convince Yemenis that the U.S. and Yemen have turned a corner and are in the process of destroying AQAP,” one of those other officials said. “At this hour, the numbers of militants being reported as being killed keeps changing, and we still aren’t sure if any civilians have been killed or wounded in these strikes.”
“Yemenis are smart enough to doubt initial reports of this type,” he added. “If this does turn out to be exaggeration, it will make the people here trust their government even less than they do and fuel growing anger over the drone program.”
It’s also possible, as I noted last week, that the US (and Yemen) had in mind a longer operation from the beginning. They may have wanted to see where all of these operatives went after the meeting in order to identify harder-to-find cells that would later metastasize on their own if left undisturbed. In that case, it makes sense that the operation would take place now — especially after AQAP began bragging about the meeting on social networks. Or it could very well be that the drone strikes are just a semi-impotent reaction to the bragging.
It may be a while before we can tell which was which. The meeting gave US and Yemen a chance to take out AQAP leader Nasir al-Wuhayshi, who also serves as Ayman al-Zawahiri’s #2 in the global network. If the drone strikes leave him undisturbed after this very public demonstration, it’s not going to be seen as a success no matter what strategy prompted it.
Question: is it more difficult to find Al Qaeda operatives than a missing Boeing 777?
When’s the headline gonna change to “Drone kills dozens of domestic terrorists near Mesquite NV.”?
The left said all through the Bush administration that fighting terrorists only makes them hate us more. That you will create more terrorists than you destroy. That we should just empty Gitmo and say we’re sorry. I wonder what changed?
And we should believe this why?
CNN is losing its touch. Not one word lamenting the deaths of innocent women and children.
Good question. Why don't we give a couple of thousand al Qaeda folks some diving goggles and lead shoes, tell them that they can keep the jet if they find it and then drop them into the Indian Ocean?
The Tea Party with its ties to other domestic terror organizations including the NRA, GOA and JFPO has been a threat to the safety of government employees for a number of years. Their constant threat to reduce the size of government has been taken very seriously by the administration. Our courageous federal agents learned of the secret meeting and were able to kill a number of top operatives suspected of being active in a number of the aforementioned organizations without a single government operative being injured.
Searches of some of the deceased terrorists homes yielded cash and assault weapons which were confiscaed by the authorities.
A number of independent sources claim that the dead domestic terrorists were not breaking any laws but simply exercising their right of assembly, but 0bama Executive order 182937564892764259287 gives the government the power to attack suspected terrorists with lethal force when the government really really feels there is a threat to public safety or the election chances of Democrats. Rumors that a number of children were also killed in the attack have been denied by the FBI. "Terrorists always kill their own children when confronted by legitimate authority. Look at the Branch Davidians" stated FBI spokesperson Jasmine Jackson.
Those are Obama’s drones.
Who signs off on these killings, the area commanders or does it filter all the way up to the oval office?
CNN is waiting for 0bama to go and get face time with the grieving country.
Just like Clinton fell in love with cruise missiles, Obama has fallen in love with drones.
Clinton really hated aspirin and baby milk factories, too. If 9/11 had happened on his watch, there wouldn’t be one still standing in the Middle East.
Al Qaeda operatives are pretty difficult to identify especially when they enter the country as political refugees.
I found myself asking the same thing. Was it not CNN who just last week have one of their national security reporting execs declare right wingers as more dangerous than jihadists??
The difference between Clinton and Obama is Obama wouldn’t bomb the aspirin factory at night when only the janitor was there. He’d hit it in broad daylight when all the workers were there. Wag the kennel.
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