Yemen -- The U.S. and Britain closed their embassies in Yemen on Sunday in the face of al Qaeda threats, after both countries announced an increase in aid to the government to fight the terror group linked to the failed attempt to bomb a U.S. airliner on Christmas.
The confrontation with al Qaeda's offshoot in Yemen has gained new urgency since the 23-year-old Nigerian accused in the attack, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, told American investigators he received training and instructions from the group's operatives in Yemen. President Barack Obama said Saturday that the al Qaeda offshoot was behind the attempt.
The White House counterterrorism chief John Brennan told the Associated Press that the U.S. Embassy, which was attacked twice in 2008, was shut Sunday because of an "active" al Qaeda threat. A statement on the embassy's Web site announcing the closure cited "ongoing threats" from the terror group and did not say how long it would remain closed.
So, in the country of Yemen, where we have both released detainees to, and as recently as last month, have fired missiles at al Qaeda in, is now considered so much of a threat as to cause evacuation of our embassy. Is it possible that Yemen will be to Obama what Afghanistan was to George Bush?
Cross posted at Say Anything
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No one knows the outcome of the situation in Yemen, but one thing seems certain to me: sending in a small police force and firing a few hellfire missles will not solve the problem. A measured responce will not do the job, but then nothing more will be tolerated by most Americans at this time. Now should another major attack come in our country and be traced back to Yemen stronger steps will have to be taken. The public will demand it.
ReplyDeleteJust as the focus of the GWOT shifted from Iraq to Afghanistan and at times coincided, there may come a day when the focus shifts or must be shared with other countries like Yemen. As a very famous person once said, "These you ought to have done and not left the others undone."
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