The New Center of Obama’s Drone War

03-19-2014 • http://www.slate.com, By Joshua Keating

The pause corresponds with the Pakistani government’s halting efforts to hold peace talks with the Taliban, but also reported discussions within the U.S. government about whether to kill a U.S. citizen accused of collaborating with al-Qaida in the country.

But while the pace of the U.S. drone war may be slowing in Pakistan, it seems to be picking up again in Yemen. Bill Roggio and Oren Adaki of the Long War Journal discuss:

The US has stepped up the targeting of AQAP's network in Yemen over the past two weeks after a more than five-week-long pause that began at the end of January. Since March 3, the US has executed four drone strikes inside Yemen.

The most recent strike killed Moajab bin Aziz, an alleged local al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula commander, and his bodyguard.

The strikes have targeted AQAP operatives in the northern province of al-Jawf—the same province where the U.S.-born Anwar al-Awlaki was killed in 2011. In total there have been seven strikes this year.