Reports last week of a halt to US drone strikes in Yemen, in as much as Yemen doesn’t have a government anymore, didn’t last long, with a drone strike today killing three people in the central Maariv Province.
It was claimed that the three people were “al-Qaeda operatives.,” and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) said that the killed included only one of their fighters, along with an “anti-Houthi” tribesman and the teenage son of another drone strike victim.
The US has long claimed permission from Yemeni presidents for the drone war, but since there isn’t a president since the resignation of Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, they can’t even claim a secret understanding, as they have in Pakistan.
The White House has been keen to insist that their policy toward Yemen won’t change because of Hadi’s ouster, and today’s strike seems to be an effort to underscore that. The legal basis for the killings, however, is even flimsier than usual.
Time, the great arbitrator of truth
A missile shield against killer drones, surely it would be free for the asking from countries like Russia, China or Iran, so what is the new Yemen government really up to? Time will tell.
It is Ma'rib or Marib not Maariv which an Israeli newspaper.Even if the Yemeni government gave permission for the drone strike that wold not make them justified.
Drones aimed straight at the hearts and minds of Yemenies. That should work. Well, this time – maybe.