#9 of 14

2010-Present: Al-Qaeda Drone Strikes (Yemen) & Taliban Drone Strikes (Pakistan)

The crazy drone war that President Bush, the Younger, started and that President Obama expanded upon and President Trump  continues. It’s actually pretty unbelievable how big the scope of this ongoing operation has become and how many resources our military and Defense Department have thrown at it just to take out Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), basically militant by militant. For those of you not in the know, AQAP basically operates out of Yemen, and in the past 15 years, the U.S. military has launched anywhere from 100 to 150 drone strikes in various parts of that country. That doesn’t even begin to take into account the drone strikes in Pakistan against Taliban militants, a tactic begun by President Bush, who ordered 59 such attacks during his years in office, and something President Obama continued to the end of his administration. For your edification, each “Reaper Drone,” which is the type often used for these strikes, costs just under $13 million to manufacture.