The relentless American attacks on innocent Yemenis with unmanned drones this week are creating a flood of new recruits for al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.
The view from abroad about the death and destruction wrought from the skies is completely different from the one we are getting via U.S. media.
I blogged about this in detail this morning in “U.S. recruits for al-Qaida with drone strikes.”
One has to look at foreign media to get the world view of what the Obama administration has justified as a proportionate response to terrorism.
The BBC and Al Jazeera are both reporting that the innocent victims of the bombings in Yemen are outraged and powerless … their government is conniving with the U.S. The only outlet they have is al-Qaida – and support for the militant Islamic movement is growing rapidly everywhere.
Is this the outcome we want?
It seems like the “solution” to the threat from the region is worse than the “problem.” The goal is to annihilate a terrorist organization; instead U.S. policy is making it ever stronger.
It is a clear case of unintended consequences. It is time to take stock of a policy that is so clearly having an effect opposite to the one it proclaims to desire.