The United States says its drone program has been successful in eliminating members of al Qaeda in various countries. Some Yemenis say had it not been for such strikes, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) could have seized more territory across Yemen.
Yemeni foreign minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi told Reuters in September that the drone strikes were a "necessary evil" and a "very limited affair" that happens in coordination with the Yemeni government.
Other Yemenis, and some U.S. politicians, say the strikes and civilian casualties are increasing sympathy for AQAP and resentment against America. AQAP, which has scattered across the country, is now targeting local police and security officials, who have only tenuous control in Yemen.
I do worry that there will be a backlash with these strikes. It's something I've worried about since they began in the Bush administration.
Yes, we'll make mistakes sometimes. But as long as our enemies deliberately target civilians, we will always have the edge in persuasion if we aren't totally inept in our information operations.
But despite constant cries of such a backlash in Afghanistan, the Afghans don't seem to really have the problem that Western journalists and Taliban propaganda would like us to believe.
So do Yemenis really have a problem with our drone strikes on al Qaeda? The way Afghans are supposed to have a problem?
Yemen's parliament certainly voted to halt the strikes:
"Lawmakers have voted to ban drone strikes in Yemen," Saba reported after a parliamentary meeting.
Is this a a real move or just an easy vote knowing jihadis won't come after them and knowing the government wants the necessary strikes to continue? That's how Pakistani parliamentarians act, certainly.
The Yemen government, after all, still stands by the particular strike in question and not just the overall program:
The Supreme Security Committee, headed by President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, issued a statement Friday insisting that the strike had targeted a car belonging to a leader of Al-Qaeda.
So I can't judge whether there is real anger against the drone strikes.
And if there is sympathy for the jihadis given our careful use of this weapon, our problem is way bigger than just the jihadis, isn't it?
