Stephan: No one should be surprised about this. If drones began striking selected houses in your neighborhood, in the middle of the night, blowing them up and killing your neighbors, what would your reaction be? These wars have been irrational from the beginning, completely ignoring obvious cultural and human issues -- in effect sowing hate. How could it be otherwise? We have exploited the honor, sense of duty, and bravery of American young men and women, and set it to an ill-conceived goal that is going to haunt us for generations.
During meetings with young, reform-minded activists last month in Yemen, the talk invariably turned to accelerating CIA drone strikes against Islamist militants, and the temperate voices quickly turned angry. The youths’ comments underscored how swiftly the U.S. is losing hearts and minds as it battles Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and its local affiliate, Ansar al-Sharia.
‘These drone strikes are stupid policy,