More Drones says WSJ

U.S. Relaxes Drone Rules

Obama Gives CIA, Military Greater Leeway in Use Against Militants in Yemen

The Obama administration has given the Central Intelligence Agency and U.S. military greater leeway to target suspected al Qaeda militants in Yemen with drones, responding to worries a new haven is being established from which to mount attacks on the West.

The policy shift, as described by senior U.S. officials, includes targeting fighters whose names aren't known but who are deemed to be high-value terrorism targets or threats to the U.S. The White House stopped short of authorizing attacks on groups of lower-level foot soldiers who are battling the Yemeni government, the officials said.

European Pressphoto Agency

Yemeni soldiers on a vehicle patrol in the southern province of Abyan, Yemen, on April 22.

The U.S. already authorizes drone strikes in Pakistan against those suspected of militant activities but who haven't necessarily been identified by name.
The expansion of the drone campaign in Yemen, to which the administration agreed earlier this month, underlines the difficulty the White House faces in balancing concerns about al Qaeda's apparently growing foothold in southern Yemen against fears that greater CIA and military involvement could propel the U.S. into another regional conflict.