The Common Ills: Yemen and The Drone War

Tuesday, August 06, 2013

Yemen and The Drone War

As most Americans are just waking up today, the State Dept has already issued a notice:

Press Statement

Jen Psaki
Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

August 6, 2013

Today, the Department of State ordered a reduction in the number of emergency U.S. Government personnel in Yemen. As we have said, we are concerned about a threat stream indicating the potential for terrorist attacks against U.S. persons or facilities overseas, especially emanating from the Arabian Peninsula. As such, the Department is taking appropriate steps to protect our employees, including local employees and visitors to our facilities.
U.S. citizens remaining in Yemen despite the Travel Warning in effect should limit nonessential travel within the country, be aware of their surroundings whether in their residences or moving about, make their own contingency emergency plans, enroll their presence in Yemen through the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP), and provide their current contact information and next-of-kin or emergency contact information.
The U.S. Embassy in Yemen is located at Dhahr Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, P.O. Box 22347. The telephone number of the Consular Section is (967) (1) 755-2000, extension 2153 or 2266. For after-hours emergencies, please call (967) (1) 755-2000 (press zero for extension) or (967) 733-213 509. From time to time the Embassy may temporarily close or suspend public services for security reasons. Emergency assistance to U.S. citizens during non-business hours (or when public access is restricted) is available through Embassy duty personnel.

Donna Abu-Nasr and Mohammed Hatem (Bloomberg News) explain, "The warning followed the temporary closure of 22 U.S. embassies and consulates from West Africa to South Asia on Aug. 4." They explain that the UK has evacuated their embassy staff in Yemen as well.

What's going on? Abdullah Ghorab (BBC News) offers an analysis which includes, "A security source confirmed to the BBC that Yemeni intelligence services had discovered that tens of al-Qaeda members had arrived in Sanaa over the past few days in preparation for the implementation of a large plot. The source described the plot as dangerous and as including explosions and suicide attacks aimed at Western ambassadors and foreign embassies in Yemen, in addition to operations aimed at the Yemeni military headquarters."

Haroon Siddique (Guardian) is providing live updates. The Yemen Post reports, "It comes hours after a drone strike killed four suspected al-Qaeda militants in the country." Elise Labott and Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) report, "A pair of suspected U.S. drone strikes killed four al Qaeda militants in Yemen as the United States maintained a heightened security alert in the country and urged all Americans to leave immediately."

No one deserves to be targeted with violence -- in Yemen or elsewhere. But no one should address this topic -- in conversation, in policy -- without being willing to consider how The Drone War impacts others. If you're in a country -- such as Yemen or Pakistan -- where drone strikes in Barack's Drone War regularly kill innocents, where is your warning? Where are you told to evacuate yourself and your family?

You're not. Your life is treated as far less important and the White House regularly lies about you claiming you were a suspect.

Thursday, Chris Woods and Mushtaq Yusufzai (Bureau of Investigative Journalism) reported:

A field investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism in Pakistan’s tribal areas appears to confirm that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) last year briefly revived the controversial tactic of deliberately targeting rescuers at the scene of a previous drone strike. The tactic has previously been labelled a possible war crime by two UN investigators.
The Bureau’s new study focused mainly on strikes around a single village in North Waziristan – attacks that were aimed at one of al Qaeda’s few remaining senior figures, Yahya al-Libi. He was finally killed by a CIA drone strike on June 4 2012.
Congressional aides have previously been reported as describing to the Los Angeles Times reviewing a CIA video showing Yahya al-Libi alone being killed. But the Bureau’s field research appears to confirm what others reported at the time – that al-Libi’s death was part of a sequence of strikes on the same location that killed up to 16 people.

The following community sites -- plus Dissident Voice, Antiwar.com, Jody Watley, Pacifica Evening News, On the Wilder Side, PBS' NewsHour and Ms. magazine's blog -- updated last night and this morning: