From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Tue Jul 20 2010 - 07:57:17 EDT
U.S. cleric warns Yemen could be next Iraq, Afghanistan
Tue Jul 20, 2010 11:25am GMT
DUBAI (Reuters) - A U.S.-born Muslim cleric linked to al Qaeda and wanted
dead or alive by Washington warned U.S. President Barack Obama that he
risked getting the United States bogged down in Yemen as it was in Iraq or
Afghanistan.
The warning by Anwar al-Awlaki was posted on an Islamist website late on
Monday, days after the U.S. Treasury blacklisted him as a "specially
designated global terrorist," a move that freezes any assets he may have
under U.S. jurisdiction.
The remarks appeared to be a repackaged fuller version of an audio clip
initially aired on CNN in March, reissued with Arabic and Russian subtitles,
rather than a fresh appearance of Awlaki, who is thought to be in hiding in
the south of Yemen.
The U.S. government has stepped up its assistance to Yemen in a recent
crackdown on a resurgent Yemen-based al Qaeda wing, and in April authorised
operations to capture or kill Awlaki.
"If George W. Bush is remembered as being the president who got America
stuck in Afghanistan and Iraq, it's looking like Obama wants to be
remembered as the president who got America stuck in Yemen," Awlaki said in
his message.
"Obama has already started his war on Yemen by the aerial bombings of Abyan
and Shabwa," Awlaki said, referring to two provinces in south Yemen where
airstrikes have been carried out against al Qaeda members.
Yemen, next to top oil exporter Saudi Arabia, leapt to the forefront of
Western security concerns after a Yemen-based regional al Qaeda wing claimed
responsibility for a failed attempt to bomb a U.S.-bound plane in December.
The U.S. Treasury said New Mexico-born Awlaki had helped direct the failed
bomb attack and had also facilitated training camps for militants in Yemen.
U.S. officials say Washington plays a supporting role in Yemen by helping
its forces track and pinpoint targets, while Washington has downplayed any
direct role in strikes, wary of stoking anti-American sentiment and widening
al Qaeda's appeal.
In another message also posted on Monday, Al Qaeda's No.2 leader Ayman
al-Zawahri mocked Obama for voicing confidence over victory in Afghanistan
and said Arab government leaders allied to the West were more harmful to the
Palestinians than Israel.
Zawahri is thought to be in hiding in mountainous territory close to the
border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
(Reporting by Raissa Kasolowsky; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)
C Thomson Reuters 2010 All rights reserved
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