"Every male always carries a large dagger with him and usually an automatic weapon"

But there is no “made in America” answer to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Drones can kill key operatives if we have good intelligence on where they are, but that primarily comes from the Yemenis. Controlling lawless spaces where al Qaeda thrives must be a Yemeni mission. We can and should help with military and economic assistance, but the Yemenis have to buy into the job. Despite years of bad relations between Riyadh and Sana’a, we also need the Saudis and the Gulf Arabs to help provide the economic aid and jobs that are the only long-term solution to salvaging Yemen’s anemic economy. Thankfully, they seem to be recognizing that a failed Yemen will destabilize the entire Arabian Peninsula.

We also need to keep in mind that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula still takes its strategic guidance and direction from the terror organization’s core leadership in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The merger between the Yemeni and Saudi factions of al Qaeda that created al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula last January was directed by bin Laden. Yemen is a vital battlefield in the war against al Qaeda, but the epicenter is still in Pakistan.