From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Wed Jan 06 2010 - 12:05:51 EST
Yemen opposes any US troops in terror fight
By LEE KEATH, Associated Press Writer Lee Keath, Associated Press
Writer – 22 mins ago
- Jan 6, 2010
SAN'A, Yemen – Yemen's foreign minister said Wednesday that his country
opposes any direct intervention by U.S. or other foreign troops in the fight
against al-Qaida.
Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi told The Associated Press in an interview
that "there is a lot of sensitivity about foreign troops coming to Yemeni
territory."
The United States has ramped up its counterterrorism aid to Yemen in an
intensified campaign to uproot al-Qaida's offshoot here, which Washington
warns has become a "global" threat. U.S. military personnel have already
been on the ground training Yemeni security forces in the fight, and
intelligence cooperation has increased.
Al-Qirbi said Yemen's government would welcome more military trainers, "but
not in any other capacity."
"There is a lot of debate among them about how far they should get involved
in Yemen," al-Qirbi said, referring to the United States and its allies.
"I'm sure that their experiences in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan will be
very useful to learn from — that direct intervention complicates things."
So far the U.S. has indicated it is not aiming to deploy ground forces in
Yemen. President Barack Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan,
said earlier in the week, "We're not talking about that at this point at
all."
But al-Qirbi's comments underscored how Washington must tread carefully as
it strengthens its partnership with Yemen's fragile government, which has
little control over large parts of the country outside the capital and rules
over a population where Islamic conservatism and mistrust of the Unites
States is widespread.
There have been media reports that U.S. cruise missiles or warplanes were
involved in strikes carried out last month against several al-Qaida
strongholds, which Yemen says killed at least 30 militants. U.S. officials
have not confirmed the reports. Yemen says its air force — which has
Russian-made MiG warplanes — carried out the strikes with U.S. intelligence
help.
Earlier this week, al-Qirbi insisted there is no agreement between Yemen and
the United States allowing the American military to use cruise missiles,
drones or warplanes in strikes on Yemeni territory, "and there is no
proposal for such an agreement."
The issue is highly sensitive for the Yemenis. In 2002, the government was
infuriated when U.S. officials made public that U.S. cruise missiles were
used in a strike that killed a top al-Qaida figure, Abu Ali al-Harithi —
believed to be the mastermind of the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole off Yemen.
San'a complained that the exposure embarrassed it before the Yemeni public.
Complicating the situation, a number of women, children and other civilians
were killed in one of the recent strikes, a Dec. 17 attack on a suspected
al-Qaida training camp in southeastern Yemen. The deaths raised an outcry
among Yemenis — and San'a is deeply wary of the possibility strikes could
turn the population against it and the fight on al-Qaida.
Yemen has intensified its campaign against the hundreds of al-Qaida
militants that have built up strongholds in lawless regions of the
impoverished mountainous nation.
Security forces arrested three suspected al-Qaida militants from a cell that
the U.S. has said was linked to a plot against the American or other
embassies, the Interior Ministry said Wednesday.
The three were captured Tuesday at a hospital where they were being treated
after being wounded in clashes with security forces a day earlier. In those
clashes, Yemeni forces attacked a group of al-Qaida fighters moving in the
mountains in the Arhab region. The troops were aiming to capture al-Qaida's
suspected leader in the area, Mohammed Ahmed al-Hanaq, and a relative,
Nazeeh al-Hanaq, the ministry said.
They escaped, but two fighters with them were killed and several others were
wounded.
No identities were given for the captured militants.
Al-Qirbi told AP that Yemen seeks Western help in "establishing more
counterterrorism units, training them, equipping them and providing them
with logistical support." He ruled out the possibility of any joint command
for those forces between Yemen and the United States.
He also called for greater economic aid to Yemen, the poorest nation in the
Arab world, "because this is the way to deal with radicalization, extremism
and terrorism."
Obama has vowed a close partnership with San'a against al-Qaida, but there
are also deep concerns over the stability of the Yemeni government, which is
burdened with crises. Heavily armed tribes dominate large parts of the
country, where the military and civilian administration have almost no
authority.
Many of the tribes resent the central government, saying it neglects
development in their areas, and some tribes have given refuge to al-Qaida
fighters.
Moreover, President Ali Abdullah Saleh's government is fighting a war with
Shiite rebels in the north and contending with separatist unrest in the
south, which was once independent. Corruption is rampant, and Saleh has to
balance among the unruly factions that keep him in power — including
influential Islamic fundamentalists who many worry will resist close
cooperation with Washington against al-Qaida.
___
AP correspondent Ahmed al-Haj in San'a contributed to this report.
____
On the Net:
U.S. Embassy in Yemen:
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