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Al-Qaeda focused on Yemen as launchpad: US
Harrying them from pillar to post, are we?
[Al Arabiya Latest] Al-Qaeda has suffered setbacks due to U.S. pressure but its presence in Yemen threatens to turn that country into a dangerous base for training and plotting attacks, a top U.S. counterterrorism official said Wednesday.
Isn't that true for any country in which al-Qaeda sets up?
The extremist network has been steadily weakened since its attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001, with its haven in northwest Pakistan smaller and less secure, Michael Leiter, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, told a U.S. Senate hearing. But Leiter said the group's regional affiliates were a growing threat, citing a branch in Yemen as cause for serious concern.

Saudi and Yemeni arms of al-Qaeda announced in January their merger into "al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula" (AQAP), and U.S. officials are worried the group is gaining a dangerous foothold in Yemen.

"We have witnessed the reemergence of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, with Yemen as a key battleground and potential regional base of operations from which al-Qaeda can plan attacks, train recruits, and facilitate the movement of operatives," Leiter said.

"We are concerned that if AQAP strengthens, al-Qaeda leaders could use the group and the growing presence of foreign fighters in the region to supplement its transnational operations capability," Leiter said before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

A suicide attack in August on Saudi Arabia's anti-terror chief Prince Mohammed bin Nayef was carried out by a bomber who crossed from Yemen.

The senate hearing came as reports that more than 30 people in northern Yemen were killed in a series of clashes between the army and its Shiite rebel foes.
Wouldn't it be more likely that the Yemeni Shiites were tools of Iran rather than tools of Iran wielded by Al Qaeda? It seems to me that in other semi-anarchic countries Al Qaeda thrived by getting along with the government rather than directly confronting it. Even in Pakistan Al Qaeda isn't involved in the Taliban vs. government fight, but rather trying quietly to train up its next generation of management and technicians off in the corners of the wilder provinces.

Posted by: Fred 2009-10-02
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=280161