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| Terror Networks |
| Standing by for Yemen? |
| 2002-09-17 |
| The CIA and U.S. military are standing by off Yemen, ready to mount an operation to grab or kill what officials fear could be a growing number of al Qaeda fighters there, intelligence sources told ABCNEWS. Boy, that'll be a ratsnest! Military sources say more than 800 special operations troops — including some from the secret Delta group that specializes in "snatches" of accused criminals on foreign soil — have been gathered in the nearby nation of Djibouti. Also part of the package is a large amphibious ship, the USS Bellieu Wood, which has been detached from other duties and is standing by off the coast of Yemen to act as a floating launch platform. It would allow an American force to assemble and launch without being observed, and if prisoners were taken, to immediately remove them from Yemen. And get them out of the range of the screaming... Sources say the CIA is running the operation and has its own small paramilitary force in the area. Parts of Yemen remain beyond control of the central government, especially the vast eastern third of the country known as the Hadramawt. U.S. sources say Yemeni leaders are secretly negotiating over allowing an American operation within their borders. It'd be hard to mount an operation like that without Saleh's at least tacit agreement. But he'd probably be really happy to get rid of some of the more unruly Bad Guys infesting the Hadramat. There's a reason the Yemenis get along with the Pashtuns... |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |