U.S. weighs Yemen drone strikes

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration is debating a plan to begin drone strikes against militants in remote areas of Yemen, a move that would represent a major escalation of U.S. involvement, according to two U.S. officials.

Use of missile strikes by unmanned drones is one of several options that administration officials have been discussing in recent days in response to the attempt by militants in Yemen to place explosives on cargo jets bound for the U.S. two weeks ago, the officials said.

The U.S. has been flying unmanned aircraft over Yemen since earlier this year, but the drones have been used for surveillance and not for attacking militants who have taken refuge in the country’s rugged hinterlands.

The option under consideration by the White House would escalate the effort by enlisting Yemeni government support for drone strikes and developing more intelligence sources about where militants are hiding, the officials said.

The plan, along with other options, is expected to be debated by senior officials in coming weeks. The two U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the discussions.

A senior Obama official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said Sunday that the U.S. “is engaged in a robust dialogue with the Yemeni government about a range of things, and have been even before the recent events.”

The prospects that the strikes will go forward remains unclear. Winning Yemeni approval for airstrikes carried out exclusively by the U.S. could prove difficult.

In a rare admission Sunday, Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Abdullah Al Qirbi told CNN that U.S. drones were currently used in “surveillance operations” and that there is “intelligence information that is exchanged about the location of the terrorists by the Americans.”

But in a sign of the sensitivity Yemen feels about allowing U.S. military operations on its territory, he said that recent airstrikes against militant hideouts had been conducted by the Yemeni air force.

The discovery last month of the plot to blow up airliners with bombs hidden inside computer printers has forced officials to reassess the U.S. approach in Yemen, amid growing evidence that an al-Qaida faction in the Arabian Peninsula is intent on attacking the U.S. and its allies.

But use of drone strikes in Yemen also carries risk, including the possibility that an escalation of the campaign could worsen unrest within Yemen, especially among tribes who are currently giving sanctuary to militants. Such a move could also weaken Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, whose grip on power is already showing signs of slippage.

If a campaign of drone strikes begins, the U.S also would have to be careful not to be maneuvered by Saleh into going after his internal opponents among Yemen’s powerful tribes.

Enlisting the support of Saleh is considered vital before deciding whether to proceed, the two U.S. officials said, because he has shown in the past a willingness to break off cooperation if the U.S. undertakes operations on Yemeni territory without his approval.