Yemenis call U.S. drone strikes an overreaction to al Qaida threat

[unhappycamper]

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/08/09/198991/yemenis-call-us-drone-strikes.html



Yemenis call U.S. drone strikes an overreaction to al Qaida threat
Posted on Friday, August 9, 2013
Adam Baron | McClatchy Foreign Staff

SANAA, Yemen — The United States’ launching of eight drone strikes in Yemen in the span of 13 days has ignited widespread outrage in the country.

The anger over the strikes, which came as an al Qaida-related threat shuttered U.S. embassies and consulates in Yemen and 15 other countries, has overwhelmed attention to the threat itself, which many here view skeptically anyway.

“In the end, I think the American reaction has been far more than has been reasonable,” said Abdulghani al Iryani, a Sanaa-based political analyst. “It comes off almost as a show of strength. But, ultimately, it may end up backfiring, as al Qaida is getting more attention now than they would have even if they carried out an attack.”

The U.S. State Department announced Friday that it would reopen all its diplomatic missions Sunday except for the embassy in Yemen and the consulate in Lahore, Pakistan, which had been evacuated early in the day because of an unspecified threat. There was no word on when the embassy here might be reopened. On Tuesday, what the State Department called “non-emergency” embassy staff members were flown to Germany.

[JayhawkSD]

1. Oh really?

"The United States’ launching of eight drone strikes in Yemen in the span of 13 days has ignited widespread outrage in the country."

I cannot possibly imagine why it would do that. If some other country, say Russia, carried out eight drone strikes in Kansas and Nebraska and killed fifty or so Americans we would not have the slightest objection to that. Russia would say that we have been unfriendly and have been accusing them of "returning to Cold War mentality" which justified their strikes. We would apologize, throw flowers at Russia and write articles in our papers about the wonderfulness of Russia bring democracy to our nation.

Wouldn't we?

"...has overwhelmed attention to the threat itself, which many here view skeptically anyway."

News flash. Many here view the threat with a great deal of skepticism too. Personally, I regard the threat as utter bullshit.