Trump Attacks Al Qaeda

Suspected U.S. drone strikes killed three alleged al-Qaida terrorists in Yemen’s southwestern Bayda province, including Abu Anis al-Abi, an area field commander. The strikes occurred on Saturday and were the first to be reported during Donald J. Trump’s presidency.

U.S. drone strikes against suspected al-Qaida became commonplace under President Obama:

Obama embraced the US drone program, overseeing more strikes in his first year than President George W. Bush carried out during his entire presidency. A total of 563 strikes, largely by drones, targeted Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen during Obama’s two terms, compared to 57 strikes under Bush.

The Associated Press reports that Thursday, U.S. intelligence officials said as many as 117 civilians were killed in drone and other counterterror attacks in Pakistan, Yemen and elsewhere during Obama’s presidency.

 CBS reports that last summer, then-President Obama acknowledged that U.S. drone strikes in the Middle East have caused civilian deaths. But Obama also claimed that the U.S. has now “constructed a fairly rigid and vigorous set of criteria” to justify continued drone strikes that kill whole groups of people at once.

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