Al-Qaida threats have forced Britain and the United States to close their embassies in Yemen today amid increasing concern about the roots of terrorism in the Arabian peninsula in the wake of the Christmas Day bomb plot.A Foreign Office spokeswoman said the British embassy in the capital, Sana'a, was closed today "for security reasons" and a decision would be taken later as to whether it would reopen tomorrow.A statement posted on the US embassy website said its bureau was closed due to "ongoing threats" from al-Qaida. It said the embassy sent warning last week to US citizens in Yemen urging them to be vigilant. A US embassy spokesman would not comment on whether there had been a specific threat.Yemen has been under scrutiny since the failed attempt by the Nigerian-born Umar Abdulmutallab to blow up a US airliner on Christmas Day. Abdulmutallab was trained in Yemen and yesterday Barack Obama said al-Qaida's branch there was behind the attempted attack.Gordon Brown today confirmed that he and Obama had agreed to back a counterterrorism police unit in Yemen. In a statement, Downing Street said the unit was part of a plan to "intensify joint US-UK work to tackle the emerging terrorist threat from both Yemen and Somalia".
Al-Qaida threats have forced Britain and the United States to close their embassies in Yemen today amid increasing concern about the roots of terrorism in the Arabian peninsula in the wake of the Christmas Day bomb plot.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said the British embassy in the capital, Sana'a, was closed today "for security reasons" and a decision would be taken later as to whether it would reopen tomorrow.
A statement posted on the US embassy website said its bureau was closed due to "ongoing threats" from al-Qaida. It said the embassy sent warning last week to US citizens in Yemen urging them to be vigilant. A US embassy spokesman would not comment on whether there had been a specific threat.
Yemen has been under scrutiny since the failed attempt by the Nigerian-born Umar Abdulmutallab to blow up a US airliner on Christmas Day. Abdulmutallab was trained in Yemen and yesterday Barack Obama said al-Qaida's branch there was behind the attempted attack.
Gordon Brown today confirmed that he and Obama had agreed to back a counterterrorism police unit in Yemen. In a statement, Downing Street said the unit was part of a plan to "intensify joint US-UK work to tackle the emerging terrorist threat from both Yemen and Somalia".
The British government has announced plans to join the United States in funding "anti-terrorist" forces in Yemen. The announcement on Saturday was made ahead of an international conference later this month to deal with what Western governments have called "rising extremism" in the country. The US government has said it would be more than double its military assistance to Yemen after Barack Obama, the US president, blamed the al-Qaeda group there for the attempted bombing of a US airliner bound for the city of Detroit on Christmas day. "We're learning more about the suspect. We know that he travelled to Yemen, a country grappling with crushing poverty and deadly insurgencies," the US president said on Saturday.
The British government has announced plans to join the United States in funding "anti-terrorist" forces in Yemen.
The announcement on Saturday was made ahead of an international conference later this month to deal with what Western governments have called "rising extremism" in the country.
The US government has said it would be more than double its military assistance to Yemen after Barack Obama, the US president, blamed the al-Qaeda group there for the attempted bombing of a US airliner bound for the city of Detroit on Christmas day.
"We're learning more about the suspect. We know that he travelled to Yemen, a country grappling with crushing poverty and deadly insurgencies," the US president said on Saturday.
double its military assistance
as usual... ~"When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate." Karl Jung~
What is really going on with the GWOT?
Some of the "dissidents" in Yemen have been attacking targets of opportunity in Saudi Arabia and the Saudi have been hitting back, inside Yemen. The Saudi royal family is no less despised and hated by many Yemeni that is their own government. Plus, a lot of Yemeni have a love-hate relationship with Saudi. They can get jobs there but are looked down upon. I recall a joke "rules of the road" by a Brit expat in Saudi in the mid '80s. One of the rules was: "If you hit a Yemeni, go to the nearest police station to collect your prize!" Hyperbole, but.... Add to that the fact that the Bin Laden family is from Yemen. As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
Isn't this a bit of an overreaction?
Yemen (Arabic: اليَمَن al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen (Arabic: الجمهورية اليمنية al-Jumhuuriyya al-Yamaniyya) is a country located on the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia. It has an estimated population of more than 23 million people and is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden to the south, and Oman to the east. Yemen is just under 530,000 km2 in land area. Its territory includes over 200 islands, the largest of which is Socotra, about 415 kilometres (259 miles) to the south of mainland Yemen, off the coast of Somalia. Yemen is the only republic on the Arabian Peninsula, and one of eight in the Arab World. Its capital is Sana'a. Between 2000 and 2006, 17.5% of the population lived on less than US$ 1.25 per day.
Yemen is just under 530,000 km2 in land area. Its territory includes over 200 islands, the largest of which is Socotra, about 415 kilometres (259 miles) to the south of mainland Yemen, off the coast of Somalia. Yemen is the only republic on the Arabian Peninsula, and one of eight in the Arab World. Its capital is Sana'a. Between 2000 and 2006, 17.5% of the population lived on less than US$ 1.25 per day.
Failed attack on Detroit-bound plane was retaliation for American military ops in the Arabian country, sources say Welcome to the Afghanistan of Arabia. Yemen, the likely source of the failed Christmas Day airliner bombing at Detroit, has just rudely intruded into the west's awareness. Sources there claim the attack by a young Nigerian was retaliation for extensive covert U.S. military operations in Yemen. I first explored Yemen in the mid-1970s. This magical land of fierce tribesmen was just then creeping into the 11th century. At the southwest corner of the Arabian Peninsula, mountainous, verdant Yemen was the Biblical land of the Queen of Sheba and originator of perfume. Sana'a, the walled capitol, was straight out of Arabian Nights. At dusk, a ram's horn would sound and its gates would close for the night. Beyond lay warlike tribesmen who would slit your throat for a watch.
Failed attack on Detroit-bound plane was retaliation for American military ops in the Arabian country, sources say
Welcome to the Afghanistan of Arabia.
Yemen, the likely source of the failed Christmas Day airliner bombing at Detroit, has just rudely intruded into the west's awareness. Sources there claim the attack by a young Nigerian was retaliation for extensive covert U.S. military operations in Yemen.
I first explored Yemen in the mid-1970s. This magical land of fierce tribesmen was just then creeping into the 11th century. At the southwest corner of the Arabian Peninsula, mountainous, verdant Yemen was the Biblical land of the Queen of Sheba and originator of perfume.
Sana'a, the walled capitol, was straight out of Arabian Nights. At dusk, a ram's horn would sound and its gates would close for the night. Beyond lay warlike tribesmen who would slit your throat for a watch.
