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From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Sun Sep 19 2010 - 06:11:01 EDT
Aid to Fight Qaeda in Yemen Divides U.S. Officials
By ERIC SCHMITT
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/eric_schmitt/i
ndex.html?inline=nyt-per> and SCOTT SHANE
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/scott_shane/in
dex.html?inline=nyt-per>
Published: September 19, 2010
WASHINGTON - Senior State Department and American military officials are
deeply divided over the pace and scale of military aid to
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/ye
men/index.html?inline=nyt-geo> Yemen, which is emerging as a crucial testing
ground for the Obama administration's approach to countering the threat from
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/al_qaed
a/index.html?inline=nyt-org> Al Qaeda.
A package would aim to strengthen Yemeni forces, like these in Sana Province
last year, so they can counter the Qaeda threat.
As the terrorism network's Yemen branch threatens new attacks on the United
States, the United States Central Command has proposed supplying Yemen with
$1.2 billion in military equipment and training over the next six years, a
significant escalation on a front in the campaign against terrorism, which
has largely been hidden from public view.
The aid would include automatic weapons, coastal patrol boats, transport
planes and helicopters, as well as tools and spare parts. Training could
expand to allow American logistical advisers to accompany Yemeni troops in
some noncombat roles.
Opponents, though, fear American weapons could be used against political
enemies of President
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/ali_abdullah_s
aleh/index.html?inline=nyt-per> Ali Abdullah Saleh and provoke a backlash
that could further destabilize the volatile, impoverished country.
The debate is unfolding as the administration reassesses how and when to use
American missiles against suspected terrorists in Yemen following a botched
strike in May. That attack, the fourth since December by the American
military, killed a provincial deputy governor and set off tribal unrest.
The Yemen quandary reflects the uncertainty the administration faces as it
tries to prevent a repeat of the Dec. 25 attempted bombing of a
Detroit-bound airliner by a Nigerian man trained in Yemen. American
officials say a central role in preparing the attack was played by
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/a/anwar_al_awlak
i/index.html?inline=nyt-per> Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born radical
cleric now hiding with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the network's
branch in Yemen.
"Yemen is the most dangerous place," said Representative
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/h/jane_harman/in
dex.html?inline=nyt-per> Jane Harman, a senior California Democrat on the
House Homeland Security Committee who visited Yemen in March. "We're much
more likely to be attacked in the U.S. by someone inspired by, or trained
by, people in Yemen than anything that comes out of Afghanistan."
Administration officials acknowledge that they are still trying to find the
right balance between American strikes, military aid and development
assistance - not only in Yemen, but in Pakistan, Somalia and other countries
where Islamic extremist groups are operating.
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/daniel_benjami
n/index.html?inline=nyt-per> Daniel Benjamin, the State Department's
counterterrorism coordinator, said in a policy talk last week that
American-backed assaults by Yemeni forces on Al Qaeda may "deny it the time
and space it needs to organize, plan and train for operations." But in the
long term, he added, countering extremism in Yemen "must involve the
development of credible institutions that can deliver real economic and
social progress."
American military aid to Yemen has soared already, to $155 million in fiscal
2010 from less than $5 million in fiscal 2006, but American commanders say
the assistance has been piecemeal.
The proposal by the Central Command, which runs military operations in the
Middle East and Central Asia, would represent a shift to a more
comprehensive approach to strengthening Yemeni troops, proponents say.
"If we're going to do this, we need to do it right, not dribble aid in and
wonder why, if things worsen," said one senior defense official involved in
the debate, who agreed to speak candidly if he was not identified. "It's
like a forest fire. You fight to put it out, not watch it."
As many as 75 American Special Forces troops now train Yemeni forces, and
some proponents of the plan envision these advisers also accompanying Yemeni
troops on helicopter missions as logistical advisers.
Military officials say that the aid would be phased in to avoid overwhelming
Yemen's tiny military, and that safeguards would ensure that equipment and
troops trained by American counterterrorism experts were not diverted to
domestic conflicts. In addition to Al Qaeda, Yemeni forces face so-called
Houthi rebels in the north and a secessionist movement in the south.
But senior State Department officials in Washington, as well as
<http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/87540.htm> Stephen A. Seche, who just
completed a three-year tour as the American ambassador to Yemen, oppose the
plan, saying the threat - about 500 to 600 hard-core members of the Qaeda
branch - does not justify building a 21st-century military force in the
poorest country in the Arab world, which has no hostile neighbors, according
to two senior administration officials.
The critics say that security aid should be parceled out year by year to
retain American leverage, and that it must be part of a far broader plan to
promote development and stability. State Department officials offer a
scaled-back alternative that focuses on providing Yemeni special forces with
transport helicopters to allow them to operate from remote bases and deploy
quickly against Qaeda cells, guided by American surveillance photographs and
communications intercepts.
Under this plan, American advisers would train Yemeni troops at upgraded
operating bases in four or five remote locations. The goal would be to have
Yemeni forces develop better informant networks to make ground strikes more
precise, avoiding civilian casualties and the provocative American label on
missile strikes.
A senior military official said that Adm.
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/michael_g_mull
en/index.html?inline=nyt-per> Mike Mullen, the chairman of the
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/j/joint_c
hiefs_of_staff/index.html?inline=nyt-org> Joint Chiefs of Staff, supported
the aid package, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal earlier
this month. Its most enthusiastic proponent was Gen.
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/p/david_h_petrae
us/index.html?inline=nyt-per> David H. Petraeus, before he left his position
as head of the Central Command in July to oversee allied forces in
Afghanistan, two senior military officials said. His successor, Gen.
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/james_n_mattis
/index.html?inline=nyt-per> James N. Mattis, initially viewed the proposal
with skepticism, but now embraces the plan "lock, stock and barrel," a
senior defense official said.
The Pentagon and State Department are reconciling differences as part of the
budget process for next year, officials said.
State Department officials said the May 25 strike that killed the deputy
governor of Marib Province underscored the need for less reliance on
American airstrikes and greater emphasis on improving the ability of Yemeni
forces. For their part, American commanders say they have tightened the
procedures for airstrikes against Qaeda suspects.
If the Saleh government was once seen in Washington as too cozy with Islamic
militants, that has changed, in part because Al Qaeda has stepped up its
attacks. In recent weeks, Yemeni security forces have rousted Qaeda fighters
from the southern city of Lawdar. In retaliation, Al Qaeda on Friday
published the names of 55 regional security, police and intelligence
officers, calling them "legitimate targets."
"That response shows Al Qaeda sees a real threat from security forces," said
Gregory Johnsen, a Yemen scholar at Princeton. But Mr. Johnsen said the
priorities of President Saleh, an autocrat whose family has ruled for three
decades, do not coincide with those of the United States.
"If we're just pouring money and equipment into the Yemeni military in the
hopes that it will be used against Al Qaeda," Mr. Johnsen said, "that hope
doesn't match either with history or current reality."
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