Senator suggests drones in Yemen

WASHINGTON – A Senate chairman said Wednesday that the U.S. should consider airstrikes, armed drones and clandestine operations in Yemen to defeat an emboldened al-Qaida force there.

The remark by Democratic Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, is a rare public admission by a senior U.S. official that direct U.S. military action in Yemen is possible in coming months.

The U.S. was involved in at least one airstrike in December that missed a key al-Qaida leader but killed others. Such operations are highly classified and closely guarded by Yemeni authorities, who fear that a visible American role in the country will fuel an internal conflict.

Short of a ground invasion, “we ought to consider a broad range of options in Yemen because the broad-ranging threat of al-Qaida,” Levin told reporters following a three-day trip to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Al-Qaida forces in Yemen have emerged in recent months as a pressing threat to U.S. security, with ties to the recent airline bombing plot and Fort Hood shooting.

The White House and Pentagon have said there are no plans to send ground troops there, and Yemen has made clear it wouldn’t want them. Remaining options would include covert strikes against al-Qaida targets and increased aid to help train and equip Yemen’s own security forces.

Levin said drone attacks similar to those conducted in Pakistan should be considered because they have been successful in crippling al-Qaida forces along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. He said he would expect the quiet permission of Yemen’s government.

“We think the government of Yemen now understands this is a threat to them,” he said.