Clinton Watts and Frank Cilluffo debate Gregory Johnsen on whether they do more harm than good:
Johnsen argues that AQAP is more emboldened, “largely as a result of US air strikes between December 2009 and May 2010.” The airstrikes equal radicalization argument is popular amongst critics of drones. However, in the case of Yemen, the populace has never been particularly pro-U.S. The 2000 U.S.S. Cole bombing, the recruitment of John Walker Lindh, the droves of AQ foreign fighters of Yemeni descent, and countless other historical indicators demonstrate more than a decade of Yemeni-based extremism against the U.S. Prior to the airstrikes noted by Johnsen, AQAP situated in Yemen in part because of its natural base of Yemeni popular support. Yemeni “hearts and minds” were not lost in recent American airstrikes and will not be immediately lost if limited drone operations hunt key AQAP leaders. Yemeni popular support for the U.S. was lost long ago.
The Dish 