The United States has "relaxed" its rules regarding unmanned drone attacks in Yemen, giving the CIA and the military the authority to fire on suspected militants even when their identity can't be totally confirmed.
In the three days since the United States resumed drone strikes in Pakistan after a two-month hiatus, it's carried out two attacks, killing 10 people and indicating the tactic of targeting terrorists with drones is fully back in favor with U.S. commanders.
At least some U.S. officials say the military got 'played' when it acted on local intelligence to conduct a drone strike in Yemen last year, killing not a terrorist but a political rival of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
A new militant group called the Khorasan Mujahedin has sprung up in the tribal areas of Pakistan, kidnapping and murdering people it believes are helping the U.S. drones that routinely target Al Qaeda and Taliban commanders.
"Ask Osama bin Laden" has become President Obama's catchphrase and policy when it comes to the fight against al-Qaeda, but the successful results of America's drone program only provide one answer--and perhaps it's not the only one we want.
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