Over the past decade U.S. drone strikes have killed between 1,800 and 3,100 people in Pakistan, along with hundreds more in drone attacks in Yemen and Somalia, as a result of the United States’ efforts to combat al-Qaeda and its affiliates. The rise in strikes since the beginning of the Obama administration, and the growing stridency of questions surrounding the legal, moral, and practical efficacy of the program, have led to a lively debate among the commentariat. This debate is indeed important, but it is also crucial to understand how the drone program has affected the jihadis, and how jihadis have deployed the issue of drones in their propaganda. This is a necessary part of gaining a wider understanding of whether the program is a worthwhile endeavor.
Surprisingly, one does not see much discussion of drones by al-Qaeda Central (AQC), or by the Taliban (though it is possible that individuals in these groups are talking more about this in face-to-face encounters than online). Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), on the other hand, has exploited the drone issue extensively in the newsletter put out by their front group, Ansar al-Shari’ah (AS). As a result, question of whether drones are drawing more individuals into the arms of AQAP has been raised frequently in the past year.
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Check out my new article for Foreign Policy's AfPak Channel: "Dodging the drones: How militants have responded to the covert US campaign"
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Asalamoilekum a ts mes tres chers freres et soeurs , une fois de plus les mensonges et les tromperies americaines sont de rigeurs les drones c avion sans pilote lache et inutile tuent malheureusement 95 % de civils innnocents femmes et enfants sont les premieres victimes de c mecreants en cole blanc maudits sois t ils gardez espoirs et courage avc une foi devoué a votre createur Allah l omnicient voit tout et sera tjr aux cotés des oprimes muslims la victoire é deja acquise et bientot leurs matériels militaires ne leurs seront d aucune utilité inchallah amine
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September 4, 2012 at 8:59 AM Asalamoilekum a ts mes tres chers freres et soeurs , une fois de plus les mensonges et les tromperies americaines sont de rigeurs les drones c avion sans pilote lache et inutile tuent malheureusement 95 % de civils innnocents femmes et enfants sont les premieres victimes de c mecreants en cole blanc maudits sois t ils gardez espoirs et courage avc une foi devoué a votre createur Allah l omnicient voit tout et sera tjr aux cotés des oprimes muslims la victoire é deja acquise et bientot leurs matériels militaires ne leurs seront d aucune utilité inchallah amineLog in to Reply Leave a Reply Cancel replyEnter your comment here…Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2012 12:21:18 +0000
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Salaam to u all, i’m asking myself if those drones could not be fired down just by little remote planes charged with explosives,cause some of these remote control planes are very efficience in flying high enough!