A Reaper drone aircraft lands during a training program at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada. U.S. commanders in Afghanistan and Iraq have demanded an increase in number of drone aircraft in the next three years. Rick Loomis/Los Angeles Times/MCT/NewscomPrecision Strikes Are New Weapon Of Choice -- USA Today
WASHINGTON – The United States will increasingly turn to precision airstrikes to counter the threat from radical Islam as it shrinks its military presence in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"This administration has made a very conscious decision that it wants to get out of large conventional-warfare solutions and wants to emphasize counterterrorism and a lighter footprint on the ground," said Bruce Riedel, a former CIA official.
On Friday, a U.S. airstrike in Yemen killed Anwar al-Awlaki, an anti-American cleric who was behind several high-profile attempted attacks on the United States. His rhetoric also helped inspire Maj. Nidal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist who is charged with killing 13 people during a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, a military base in Texas.
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My Comment: A must read commentary on the growing importance of drones is the following .... Sex and the Single Drone: The Latest in Guarding the Empire.