CIA, JSOC join forces in Yemen drone war

Yemen is the latest country to have U.S. drones scouring it as CIA Director Leon Panetta – nominee for U.S. defense secretary – and the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) have teamed to hunt down al-Qaeda terrorists, writes Spencer Ackerman of Wired.com’s Danger Room blog.

Nearly a decade after the last drone left Yemen, the United States is taking its drone war back to the country in an effort to impede the nation’s al-Qaeda cell, Panetta said, and to diminish the effects of the current government upheaval, though some believe this might ignite anti-American sentiment in Yemen instead, the article reports.

The drones will be used in a covert game of gatherer-hunter so to speak, gathering essential data and intelligence for JSOC while quietly hunting down al-Qaeda members in Yemen.