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While drone attacks have generated outrage in Pakistan, another U.S. ally with a serious terrorism problem, in Abyan I hear little complaint about the U.S. role in the military campaign. Ahmed, who joined the citizens' militia in Zinjibar, laughs off suggestions that American participation is an affront to Yemeni sovereignty. "Al-Qaeda brought Saudi, Somali and Afghan fighters into my town," he says. "If the American drones help to kill them, we won't mind."
Najib Ghallab, a Sana'a University political-science researcher, has another explanation for why complaints about the drone campaign have quieted: in Abyan, there was no doubt that the Yemeni forces were leading. "If Yemenis think we're helping the U.S., they won't support it," he says. "If they think the U.S. is helping us, they will."
Back in Sana'a's Saba'een Square, al-Jarbani, the drill major, doesn't care about drones or missiles or politics. "This is our fight now. Whether the Americans help or not, that doesn't bother me," he says. When he has fully recovered from his injuries, he doesn't want to go back to his job drilling cadets for parades. "For me, the time for marching is over. It's time to take revenge. They talk about jihad? This is mine."