BY_ AZMAT KHAN SAM BAILEY and JASON BRESLOW
FROM_ FRONTLINE
MAY 29 2012
Most of Al
Qaeda’s most significant, known terror plots directed at the U.S. homeland in
the last several years — including the 2009 Christmas Day Bomb Plot or the 2010
Printer Cartridge Bomb Plot — originated in Yemen, where, since President Obama
took office in 2009, the U.S. has ramped up a campaign of air, missile and
drone strikes against the organization’s regional affiliate, known as Al Qaeda
in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
“AQAP
continues to be Al Qaeda’s most active affiliate, and it continues to seek the
opportunity to strike our homeland,” John Brennan, President Obama’s chief
counterterrorism adviser, said last month in a speech justifying how U.S. officials
decide to use drone strikes to target suspected terrorists.
This
interactive map illustrates the two critical elements of the war in Yemen: the
red dots represent 63 known U.S. drone, missile or other air strikes carried
out since 2002, and the blue dots show 19 major terror plots against Western
targets believed to be directed by Al Qaeda or AQAP since 2000.
You can
explore by year, or zoom into the heavily clustered areas to see multiple
events.
[The data on
strikes has been drawn from a number of news reports, as well as from The
Bureau of Investigative Journalism and The Long War Journal, but as with all
covert operations, it is difficult to verify the identities of those killed. We
have included as much information as possible about controversial strikes, but
cannot confirm all the identities or locations in question.]