Ria Novosti quotes Rafik Hariri Center Deputy Director Danya Greenfield on US drone use in Yemen and in the campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham:
US plans to use counter-terrorism tactics from Yemen and Somalia on Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria and Iraq are “short-sighted” and over-dependent on drones, Danya Greenfield from the Atlantic Council think-tank told RIA Novosti.
“Despite President Barack Obama’s assertion that the US counter-terrorism strategy against militants in Yemen and Somalia provide a successful model to be emulated in its fight against IS, the approach in these two turbulent countries is actually short-sighted and threatens US national security objectives,” Greenfield told RIA Novosti on Thursday.
“An over-reliance on drone strikes has a negative impact of civilian casualties, intelligence and targeting mistakes, and the rise of anti-American sentiment that can increase safe havens for extremist groups. A long-term, sustainable policy would focus on the pervasive lack of economic opportunity, structural unemployment, cronyism and the inequitable distribution of state resources,” the pundit said.