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Subscribe to RSSOfficials have said the attack is likely the work of al-Qaida. The terrorist network has grown in Yemen because the country hasn't had an effective government for an entire year. NBC's Richard Engel reports.
A terror attack Monday on a Yemeni military parade rehearsal that killed scores occurred amid increasing cooperation between the Yemen and U.S. governments, with the latter stepping up assistance to the Yemeni military and regularly targeting purported terrorist cells with drone strikes.
The cooperation reflects a growing belief in U.S. national security circles that al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the Yemeni al-Qaida affiliate, is now a bigger and more dangerous threat than the central al-Qaida group in Pakistan. (AQAP on Tuesday claimed responsibility for the attack on the military parade and a shooting that targeted U.S. military trainers in the country. There were apparently no injuries in the second incident.)
The cooperation is not limited to counter-terrorism. The U.S. is openly helping the new Yemeni government in counterinsurgency efforts against an AQAP-affiliated group, Ansar al-Sharia, in the south of the country. The assistance includes “a small contingent” of military trainers and intelligence officers assisting the Yemeni forces.
The presence of the American personnel in Yemen is raising concerns that Washington risks opening another front in the war against al-Qaida before it has fully extricated itself from long, bloody conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.
But a senior U.S. counterterrorism official, who spoke with NBC News on condition of anonymity, said the AQAP’s successes in recent months give Washington little choice but to increase support for the new Yemeni government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
Reuters
Click to enlarge image.
“AQAP’s enhanced footprint in southern Yemen increases the chances that the group will establish a regional safe haven,” said the official. “This would be a dangerous development because AQAP’s anti-government fight and its terrorist plotting against the West are its two main goals. Unless its gains are reversed, AQAP will have more flexibility to conduct external attacks from a position of strength.”
The Yemeni government position is about survival. Like Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, Yemen is under new management, after former President Ali Abdullah al-Saleh’s replacement by Hadi, his former deputy, in February.
Hadi’s position is precarious. Ansar al-Sharia, an Islamist insurgent group, is trying to further destabilize the water-starved, tribal-riven state, with the ultimate goal of toppling his government.
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'Massacre" as suicide bomber targets military parade rehearsal in Yemen
But Hadi’s increasing reliance on U.S. help has likewise caused him some difficulties, triggering protests among middle- and upper middle-class Yemeni youth who are resentful over the U.S. role in the country, particularly the drone strikes and surveillance.
Mohammed Huwais / AFP - Getty Images
Yemeni military police collect evidence at the site of a suicide bomb attack in Sanaa on Monday, which killed nearly 100 members of a Yemeni army battalion
Michael Leiter, former director of the National Counter Terrorism Center and now an NBC News analyst, said the deaths of nearly 100 Yemeni soldiers in Monday’s bombing are likely to bring two countries’ counter terrorism efforts closer.
“Hadi's rise has probably brought greater legitimacy to cooperation with the U.S.,” said Leiter. “… The president (Hadi) and elements of the security and defense establishment cooperate with the U.S. but want to keep that relatively quiet in order to avoid enflaming the domestic population. .. . And, frankly, with horrific attacks like today, U.S. assistance often becomes more rather than less welcome.”
A Yemeni official, also speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak with the press on security operations, contended that “broad cooperation” with the U.S. is necessary and marks a “new level” of friendly relations between the two countries. He said the U.S. role in Yemen is limited in terms of numbers, but significant in helping the government turn back Ansar al-Sharia, which he characterized as “militants, drug dealers and foreign groups.”
'Intelligence, satellite images and technical advice'
“The U.S. is providing intelligence information, satellite images and technical advice” valuable in both counterterrorism and counterinsurgency efforts, said the official. Both the U.S. intelligence community and the Joint Special Operations Command, JSOC, are involved. He emphasized there are “no boots on the ground” fighting with Yemeni forces.
Neither the U.S. nor Yemeni official would put numbers on the U.S. involvement. Nor would the Yemeni deny the presence of CIA officers on the ground.
The most high profile product of this cooperation has been the drone attacks on both counterterrorism and counterinsurgency targets. High profile attacks have killed three top AQAP officials in the past eight months, but there also have been an increasing number of attacks on lesser figures and even suspected gatherings of terrorists. The attacks, said the Yemeni official, have taken place “all over the country.”
In September, apparently helped by material uncovered in Osama bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan, U.S. drones killed two American citizens in Kashef, about 85 miles east of the capital, Sanaa. The dead were Anwar al-Awlaki, an AQAP leader blamed for recruiting other Americans to the group’s violent cause, and Samir Khan, co-editor of “Inspire,” a magazine whose articles included “How to Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom.”
Then, earlier this month, the director of AQAP’s external operations, Fahd al Quso, was similarly killed by a drone attack in a remote mountain valley -- his whereabouts reportedly exposed by a British-Saudi-U.S. undercover intelligence operation. The penetration of AQAP by an informant also resulted in the interception of a new, more sophisticated version of the underwear bomb previously used unsuccessfully to try to down U.S. airliners. (Yemeni intelligence, said the Yemeni official, had “no role” in that operation and was unaware of it.)
By some estimates, the tempo of the drone strikes against AQAP and Ansar al-Sharia is now even greater than in Pakistan, with the number of attacks in May surpassing even the most intense month of attacks against al-Qaida central in Pakistan. According to the “Long War Journal” website, which uses local reporting to track Predator strikes, 30 AQAP fighters (and seven civilians) have been killed in five drone strikes in the past 10 days alone. (Both U.S. and Yemeni officials say that such local reports are often inaccurate or exaggerated.)
The larger concern in terms of U.S. involvement may be the counterinsurgency effort. The Los Angeles Times reported last week that at least 20 U.S. Special Operations troops are using satellite imagery, drone video, eavesdropping systems and other technical means to help pinpoint targets for the Yemeni military offensive that’s currently under way in the south.
The Yemeni official would only say that targeting is “very selective” and that “No Americans are fighting on the side of the Yemenis,” a point on which U.S. officials agree.
While the Yemeni official said the offensive has made great strides recently, there have been setbacks, including the killing of 32 Yemeni soldiers on May 7 when AQAP overran a Yemeni position. That was the deadliest single encounter for government forces in the war with AQAP until Monday’s attack.
The Yemeni official said that the public is supportive of both operations, despite a social media protest by the country’s youth that has drawn some attention.
He claimed that no civilians have been killed in the drone strikes and stated that that care has been taken to strike at times and places where only AQAP and its allies are present.
There’s no doubt that U.S. cooperation -- and the drone strikes—will continue. The U.S. wants to kill Ibrihim Hassan Al-Asiri, the AQAP’s expert bomb-maker, before he trains others in his craft.
But the mere presence of U.S. military personnel in the country carries risk of a confrontation that could quickly escalate. This weekend, for example, a local Yemeni newspaper reported unidentified gunmen opened fire on a car that belonged to U.S. military trainers as they left the tourist al-Hodeida Land Resort in the western part of the country. None of the Americans were believed to have been injured.
Robert Windrem is a senior investigative producer for NBC News.
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Yemen - the new flavor in the Military/Industrial/Congressional Complex's Pig Trough.
http://www.salon.com/2012/05/16/obamas_new_free_speech_threat/singleton/
Be careful how you exercise your "free" speech.
he also signed HR347 , took care of your "right to free speech" , if you are protesting anywhere near a building or grounds under Secret Service watch it is now a felony
Obama/Biden 1984
@who is
right on , tru dat , 'nuff said , and touche'
@who is,
re: 1984
Can you see it in the shadow ?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samdrukr/908002678/in/photostream
Pres.Obama portrayed at the NATO meeting Yemen's democracy as his shining example in the Arab world. how Pres.Hadi and he )Obama) are bringing democracy to the Arabs.Did US/Obama ever read Yemen's history to start with? Terrorist training camps for Western terrorists -trainers Germans asnd Palestinians. Communists who did not practice religion- Osama Bin Laden's family is from Yemen- his latest concubine/wife is Yemeni. US/Obama are killing with the drones' missiles anyone moving/driving for 'suspicion- not certainty. Saudi Arabia before US/Obama's willing executioner policies were airstriking the mountaineous North to US/Obamathe threat of terrorists crossing the border and US?Obama is not even getting paid for their ffavours to the Saudis-now boots on the ground next. As US/Obama's ddemocracy drives- Linya- rebel militias still killing each other/Benghazi seceding desires- NO WOMEN on the streets-strict burqa country now (Scandinavian female politicians on factfinding tour to Libya. Egypt- MB parliament law- genital mutilation for women/girls- marriage age 14 yrs,no rights to schooling-strict imposing of decency police policies. Syria- opposition splintered in infighting- who's the boss- MBs not trusted- there are sztill secular people -not wanted by the outsiders.US/Obama's bossom adviser Turkey's PM Erdogan has joined the Arab paranoics- Israel is spying in Turkey (counterterrorism officials investigating) with European Bee-eaters (birds)- the latest Mossad spies in avian costume- Mossad sharks were in Egypt- Mossad squirrels spooked them in Iran- Mossad vultures spying in Saudi Arabia. This is the mindset of some you are dealing with.
We are "helping" again?? Just let them kill each other off as they have done for thousands of years..........
america! fk yeah! freedom is the only way yeah!!terrorists your day is through! team america world police! comin to save the motherfkn day yeah!!!
we arent in any posistion economicly to play "cops and robbers" anymore
That's some pretty deep stuff there JP.
We already have military trainers on the ground in Yemen, how long can it be before we start sending troops in. My guess is it will not happen until after the election at the earliest. There is no way that Obama is going to start sending combat troops to another Middle Eastern country before the election, his polls tell him it would cost him too many votes. It does not matter how many people get killed, Obama will stay on the sidelines for now. I am not saying that we should or should not get involved, just pointing out the political reality of the situation. Knowing the way our leaders think, we will eventually take action in Yemen, whether it is under the UN or NATO banner remains to be seen. The big problem that prevents us from completely ignoring what goes on in Yemen is it's strategic location at the straights connecting the Red Sea to the Arabian Sea. This is a critical shipping lane that must be protected. Allowing Yemen to fall into the type of chaos that currently exists in Somalia could have serious consequences for the global economy if the security of that shipping lane were to be jeopardized.
they're Playing Us, and we're falling for it, hook line & sinker..what better way to take henious strikes at us, then we put billions into war efforts with spilled blood of Our Troops in their turf..they are working us for benefits one can say..if water is their weakness, perhaps this can be a leverage tool..either We take away their Resource & bring them to prayer or WE do the humanitarian thing..their Attitudes must Change, We are WISE to them..if they continue to be UGLY, i say Treat Them Ugly..We want, World Harmony; the Choice is Theirs..We will NOT take Abuse/ Terrorism Lightly.....
"We will NOT take Abuse/Terrorism Lightly..." but we don't want to interfere.
Make up your minds which way you want to play their game and stick to it. If you don't continue to disrupt your enemy on his turf he'll bring his hate to you - again.
Maybe we can have another medal toss this afternoon.
The Military Industrial Complex (MIC), war lovers and war profiteers always have another war ready just incase the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan fizzle out. Yemen is ready as the next destination for America's young men and women soldiers as well as the departure point of their body bags draped in American flags shipped home. Body bags from the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli will now includes the deserts of Yemen. The most tragic aspect of all these wars are the tens of thousands of innocent women, children, and men slaughtered by massive American firepower.
The American government has been lying to the American people and the world for decades about WMD, Osama in the hands of the Taliban, and terrorist suspects in Pakistan. Waging four wars for over ten years without formal Declarations of War by Congress, the Federal government is a rogue government. Incredibly, the American people are so gullible they believe everything issued by their rogue government.
As the world's most powerful nation and undisputed nuke power, America once again will invade a poor, backward tiny nation, and slaughter the defenseless people in the name of American security. How pathetic. Tragic.
Sunni Saudi Arabia and other Sunnis ME rulers invented Sunni extremist and militant groups like al Qaeda, Muslim Brotherhood and their Salaffi and Wahhabi networks through their mosques.
Yemen is next door. Why are Saudis, Kuwaitis and other Sunni Arab League rulers not handling the problems they invented?
They sent their forces to Bahrain.
Why do they outsource all their dirty jobs likes Iraqi wars, Yemen, Syria, Iran and others to the US, British, French and NATO?
Oh goody. Yet another pointless, asinine quagmire we'll be drawn into.
Barry is "change" , he wouldn't do such a thing , and our involement in Lybia "wasn't" what it appeared to be , you know "military involvement"
Meet the new war ... same as the old war. (Apologies to The Who)
As long as it doesn't cost $1Trillion and 5,000 young Americans.
If you hadn't noticed, some of the people in Yemen are sending bombs to the US. I'm not really in favor of leaving them along until they are successful.
US, British and NATO forces have a long list of doing dirty jobs for the Saudis, oil companies, Jewish extremists, bankers and manipulators.
After Iraqi wars, we have Afghanistan, AQAP in Yemen (for now), AQP (al-Qaida in Pakistan), Syria, Iran and other places.
Each place has become a mess; we are hated more; and economic situation could not be messier!!!!
Oil prices higher, higher, higher... choke Iran oil supplies!
Still: war, war, war ..... war!!!
This mentality of invading a country when you have afew suicide bombers needs to stop at some point. They spend $100.00 per suicide bomber and we spend billions in return. We invaded Afghastan, running the Taiban out of government control. We stay in Afghastan for twelve years. Now it's a no brainer once we leave, the Taiban will take over Afghastan. We gained nothing in return after spending billions and billions of tax payers money. We invade Iraq and now who gets most of Iraq's oil?(China,that haves the money) What did we gain after billions and billions spent? (Not a blasted thing) Arms sells and Halliburton made a mint oh.
Who dreamed up that America is totally responsible for policing the world? While China is making money, we are throwing our money away. Take a look on how many billions that China have invested in Canada oil. Waiting for the Keystone pipeline to be completed for their supply of oil. Instead of learning something from the Vietnam war, we have went backwards and out of control, spending billions and billions for what?
The money isn't so much what bothers me. It's the sacrificing our fine troops lives for a bunch of seventh century goobers who wouldn't know what to do with democracy any more than an antelope would know what to do with a bowling ball.
These people neither deserve nor need our help. Seems like every time we try to help it only makes things WORSE, for THEM and US. They could rid their countries of these dirtbags if they really wanted to.
hotticket, you got some cattle talk going on in there...
"7th century goobers"
"democracy"
"our help" <- classic
"every time we try to help it only makes things worse" <- mega classic
hey beachole- SHAADDUP!!!!!!!!! go hug a tree and stop farting. youre depleting my ozone! you smell like piss you hippie! you all do!
i hate people im gonna assume by both your name and comments you are a troll and a very bad one at that. cool beans with that?
I think the plane crashes into the the world trade centers and the pentagon was slightly more then a few 100 dollars.
deb-3232690 "We gained nothing in return after spending billions and billions of tax payers money." You are absolutely right, we gained nothing at all. But McDonell Douglas is billions richer, General Electric is billions richer, Lockheed Martin is billions richer, Halliburton is billions richer, Blackwaters is billions richer, hundreds of defense contractors are billions richer, and so on... and on... and on.....
and you are trillions poorer after Barry got to your wallet , interesting eh'?
Where does NBC dig up these writers and those that make the bylines.? Next it will be "dead chickens to blame for being eaten by wolf" Give me a break.!The murders are due to the pyscho brainwashed Islamic terrorists called alquida that want to put another sharia type monster police state and murder all opponents They want tol set up a terrorist based country like in Somalia or Iran.The U.S is fighting the demon.The responsibilty is completely the fault of the brainwashed terrorist Islamist wolves,The U.S is trying to send all these demons to h--l .Get real NBC!!
Excellent points "bart" and let me further ask...if all this information is coming to us via "anonymity" when the hell are people goign to keep their mouths shut and let these NBC "news" reporters just lie, invent and fantasize all their news. One report here has enough anonymous sources to make a coup and change a country's policies, not to mention reap a sizable load of that good old "You got to hate 'em, but gotta love their American currency in your pocket" Yemenis.
Send em more money
So talking out of one side of their mouth to us, they're saying, we are in total cooperation with you, but we need more money and out the other side of their mouth they want to keep that relatively quiet in order to avoid enflaming the domestic population.
Why do we bother?
Bart...could not have said it better. Al-Qwackos thrive off fear. If people unite and decide they will not let these people exist then they will be defeated.
Since when has Yemen NOT been an inviting terrorist target? Now suddenly it's the fault of the U.S.? Sure, why not? Everything else is our fault. We are the world's punching bag and for some reason we keep coming when they cry wolf.
Washington lives under the misinformed assumption that with russia and chinas help iran will aquire a nuke and hit manhattan. So to eep one big islamic state from being created the US has to fight the islamic radicals whereever they can find them either with our forces or by supplying money to other which tradicals untries (dictatorships) to fight the islamic radicdicals which the dictatorss not relize is that hips will do to stay in power.
What washington does not realize is in the event that one group of islamikazis took control of an arab country there would be so much infighting as to render the country useless. I submit somalia.
US spending billions policing the world and China is buying up the world. Drones kill some terrorist and others take their place. Iraq, Afganistan, Yemen, etc. They can recruit terrorist faster than we can kill them. They will win when the US defaults and can no longer borrow money to sustain our bloated government.
Terrorist spend less than $100 bucks for bomb strapped to a person while the US spends millions to kill a few terrorist....this can't keep going on indefinately. Our policiticans are morons.
FBI Agent in Charge John P. O'Neill knew the conspirators were in Yemen.. he was denied re-entry to complete his investigation into the USS Cole bombing. If he had done so, 9/11 would have been averted. Look it up.
Just add Yemen to the list that the US is making an easier target. If you don't see what the US is doing your head is in the sand or up your rear.
WARS are HUMAN. Many wars fought and many to fight. Just completed NATO in CHICAGO. It failed to rename itself Global FATO-Friends And Foe Treaty Organization. Because it is now GLOBAL where Chinese who are foes are friends and mid-east Israel if friend but behaves like foe. The Mideast Islamic dictators were friends but now foe. Pakistan kills NATO but is Friend. OBL was friend Mujaheddin and Afghanistan a FRIEND is Foe today-Taliban. Panama's Noriega friend to Foe. Words do not convey any meaning and Language convey no sense. Lawless WORLD and Crackpot Leaders. Everything is propaganda and Love Liquor and Loot-The Wall Streets of the World. It is poor nations whose citizens pay through GOLDMAN SUCKS.
i disagree that wars are human... but you hit the nail on the head with everything. thanks for a great comment.
Thank you, Mr. President. I'm so glad to see how you condemned the previous administrations foreign policy, and now, you have utterly changed the tide by generating more hatred for the U.S., causing more civilians to lose their lives because of your perpetual interference, and spending even more money that the U.S. can't afford to spend. You truly are a master of ignorance!
On a side note, I know of a short pier, care to take a long walk?
Knowing the people's needs in the US, the Narcotics will, if not already, flow like water. I have a question for all the brains out there. Why in the hell do we put people in harms way when a drug forest is found? I mean come on. In Nam we used agent orange like it was Tang. And that was just to defoliate. A little Napalm here and a little more there and the money made on the drug forests would slow to a crawl. I know it's not the subject here but it's part of the overall picture. Think about it.
Why the hell is this government taking it upon themselves to waste MY tax dollars - ALL AMERICANS' TAX DOLLARS - on this hell hole?? I don't care about Yemen. Let the Yememi government deal with it! I'd rather these elected ar$eholes start taking care of the people in this country; they need to address our economy, deficits, and unemployment. Yemen is irrelevent and insignificant.
Why didn't anybody send the memo to the terrorists that Obama won the peace prize?
Amen, Caffeine Queen!!!! That is how we improve our economy- by starting wars and fabricating enemies and situations that need our "help." GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!! Keep the "war machinery" running and that will protect our 401 K.
you libs never cease to point out how much smarter you guys are than everyone else in the country. you sir, are retarded. ha morons
you give no reasons for your inflammatory statements. that's called flaming/trolling.
Never waste a good opportunity to keep an armed conflict going forward.
hahahaha
I am tired of sending our hard earned tax money into places that can't manage their own government they just keep sucking more and more money out of our economy....well enough about California...I guess we should talk about Yemen now.
Just another lie to justify. As long as people keep buying these BS lies these wars for profit against terrorism will continue. Just ask yourself this: If the U.S. is under such an eminent threat then why 10 years later after 9/11 are the borders and ports still wide open? I guess people still believe the planes took the buildings down regardless of all the evidence. Its becoming harder and harder to admit being an American, truely sad times we live in cant imagine what its going to be like for are kids
yemen, check! the obsessed victor frankensteins of wwwiii will soon be screaming "it's aliveeeeeee!!!" - hold up, american idol's back
I wonder what would happen if the US just dropped a massive payload of bacon and pork products on the Capital of Yemen?