U.S. could gain more from capturing rather than killing Al-Qaeda leaders, claim experts

Washington, June 7 (ANI): The United States might be losing out on valuable intelligence on the Al-Qaeda by killing off its leaders and operatives by means of unmanned drones rather than capturing them, leading to loss of information that might also be crucial in defeating the terror group, say experts.

The White House trumpeted the killing of Al-Qaeda's second-in-command, Abu Yahya al-Libi by a drone strike, as bringing the terrorist organisation responsible for the 9/11 attacks "closer to its demise than ever."

While few voices are lamenting the demise of the man considered to have become Al- Qaeda's global ambassador for Islamist extremism following the death last year of Osama Bin Laden, some critics are beginning to find fault with President Barack Obama's increasing use of drones in targeted killings, reports the Christian Science Monitor.

The reason of their concern is that the U.S. is wiping out potential troves of intelligence by killing the Al-Qaeda members instead of capturing them.

Terrorism experts concur that there can be a "loss' in terms of uncollected intelligence in an over-reliance on drone strikes. But they also note that the alternative is boots-on-the-ground intervention, even if only by small special-operations teams, that incur their own risks and potential costs.

Other critics even accuse the White House of relying on the high-profile strikes, and in particular of building up their national-security impact, as a means of boosting Obama's image as a successful anti-Al-Qaeda warrior, states the paper.

"Certainly there is a considerable benefit from a tactical point of view" in eliminating a high-profile terrorist like Mr. al-Libi, said Yonah Alexander, director of Potomac Institute's International Center for Terrorism Studies in Arlington.

"But from a strategic point of view the picture is not as clear," he adds, noting that, like Bin Laden's, al-Libi's "legacy will live on ... especially as he is transformed into a martyr."

"If you could capture and interrogate someone of this level, presumably you could get some very valuable information," Alexander added. (ANI)