Resentment Against U.S. Drone Strikes Grows In Yemen

In Yemen, Drones' Ill Effects Linger Long After Dust Settles -- Christian Science Monitor

Locals in Yemen's Mareb province say they live in constant fear that drones will damage more than their intended targets.

The impact crater faded back into the sands long ago, but locals can still point out with ease the site of the May 12, 2012, US airstrike near al-Husoon village. The Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) later acknowledged that six of its fighters were killed when a drone fired two missiles at two vehicles carrying the militants.

It was a clean strike: It didn't kill any civilians, nor did it damage any property. But because of its location – a few hundred feet from farms and homes, a 10-minute drive from the center of the provincial capital – it continues to fuel trepidation among locals.

It’s been months since an American airstrike has occurred in Mareb Province, but past strikes still cast a heavy shadow here. Many say that they associate the United States almost solely with one thing: intermittent, unannounced drone strikes. Despite the fact that Yemen’s government openly allows the drone campaign, opposition runs deep in Mareb. Locals say the strikes have inflamed preexisting resentment of the central government, stoked fear among civilians and fueled anti-American sentiment. They also argue that the strikes have ultimately hampered the fight against Al Qaeda.

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My Comment:  If there was a better alternative to drone strikes .... I am sure that it would be employed instead of using drone strikes. But with radical Islamists in Yemen not even hiding their desire and intentions to attack the West .... and with only a few tools available for the West to respond .... drone strikes are still the rule and not the exception.