U.S. to Step Up Drone Strikes Inside Yemen
Source: New York Times
The White House has given the Central Intelligence Agency and the Pentagon broader authority to carry out drone strikes in Yemen against terrorists who imperil the United States, reflecting rising concerns about the country as a safe haven for Al Qaeda, a senior administration official said Wednesday night.
The policy shift, approved this month, allows the C.I.A. and the military’s Joint Special Operations Command to strike militants in Yemen who may be plotting attacks against the United States, but whose identities might not be completely known, an authority that already exists in Pakistan, the official said.
Previously, the United States focused on a list of known leaders of the Qaeda affiliate in Yemen, which many American officials now says poses a bigger immediate threat to the United States than do militants in Pakistan.
“This broadens the aperture slightly” for the C.I.A. and the military command, the official said, noting that any targets must be approved by the White House and top administration officials before the strikes can take place.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/26/world/middleeast/us-to-step-up-drone-strikes-inside-yemen.html
If we had a voting populace that valued civil liberties as much as what the politicians could do for voters' personal economic condition, everyone would be marching down the street about this. Instead we're stuck with either Obama keeping the social safety net yet insisting on the military poking around in other countries or Ron Paul for isolationism yet leaving the poor to seek private charity. (Don't ask about Romney the Hawk.)
Also from the same publication: "Little lobbying opposition to bill opening up U.S. airspace to drones"
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