A lot of these theaters of conflicts particularly where drones are being used, I believe this is the US military’s way of testing out their new toy. Whether or not the drones are effective, whether or not the drones are called for, I think that this is just a giant laboratory, in a sense, for the United States military to be testing out these weapons in order to demonstrate their effectiveness on the weapons market.”
Washington has stepped up its drone attacks in Yemen since the country’s new President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi took office in February.
Press TV has conducted an interview with Mark Glenn, Crescent & Cross Solidarity Movement, to further discuss the issue. The following is a transcription of the interview.
Press TV: If you may, tell us and our viewers what’s going on in Abyan, and the operations that have taken place in the “al-Qaeda held site” as claimed by Sana’a.
Glenn: We have to look at the timing of this. I certainly don’t think it was a certain coincidence that John Brennan is flying into Yemen to meet with Yemen’s new leader [while] at the same time this massive government operation against al-Qaeda is taking place.
Yemen is an impoverished country and needs US dollars specifically in the form of military aid because there’s basically no industry and no economy in the country outside of the money that the United States gave Yemen for military expenditure.
The fact that Yemen’s army is such an important part of its economy in that the United States is funding this, obviously it’s important that at a time when Obama’s [counter Arab advisors] are going to be meeting with the new president, that it looks like the new president is busy doing the bidding of the United States in order to keep those dollars continuing.
Press TV: If you may, share your thoughts with us regarding the expansion of the drone strikes in Yemen. One account back in 2009, in the al-Majala region, which left many women and children dead, no one has been held accountable for that incident.
Glenn: Yes, of course. This is just one of dozens if not hundreds, if indeed not thousands, of similar incidents where innocents have been killed not just in Yemen but in Pakistan and in Afghanistan.
I think for the most part, it’s more politically expedient to use drones to carry out these operations rather than to actually have American boots on the ground which may as well bring American casualties which, of course, have political limitations for an election year.
The case in Yemen, the United States doesn’t have a proportional and exceptionally large force of troops there, it would make sense to use drones in this region and also for research and development as well.
A lot of these theaters of conflicts particularly where drones are being used, I believe this is the US military’s way of testing out their new toy. Whether or not the drones are effective, whether or not the drones are called for, I think that this is just a giant laboratory, in a sense, for the United States military to be testing out these weapons in order to demonstrate their effectiveness on the weapons market.
We cannot rule out the financial issue in all of this that while our president is maybe talking about keeping our men safe from al-Qaeda and terrorism as well, he has to answer to the powerful military and industrial complex that helps get him elected.
In order for that military and industrial complex to keep humming along, they need wars in order to be able to test out their various products so that they will be able to sell them on the world market.
