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June 14, 2011

CIA to Intensify Covert Killing Campaign in Yemen, Modeled After Pakistan Drone Program 
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More details have emerged about the Obama administration's plan to wage
a secret war inside Yemen. In what The Wall Street Journal describes as
a major expansion of U.S. counterterrorism efforts in Yemen, the CIA is
preparing to launch a secret program to kill al Qaeda militants in the
country. Since December 2009, U.S. strikes in Yemen have been carried
out by the U.S. military with intelligence support from CIA. Now, the
spy agency is preparing to carry out drone strikes itself alongside the
military campaign. The Yemen program is modeled on the CIA's covert
drone program in Pakistan. The Wall Street Journal also reports the CIA,
in coordination with Saudi Arabia, has been ramping up its intelligence
gathering efforts in Yemen in recent months to support a sustained drone
campaign.



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