U.S. authorities urged Yemen to help in the pursuit to stop the al-Qaeda threat that is increasingly becoming even more aggressive. Authorities worry that the country of Yemen could become the next major ground for terrorism.
As terror attacks have increased in the Middle East nation for over the past year, the U.S. has strengthened counterterrorism training there to shore up Yemen’s borders and help combat arms trafficking and terror financing.
Considering the increased strength of al-Qaeda, which has been training more new recruits in Yemen’s ungoverned areas, the U.S. government is toying with the idea of increasing sales of military equipment and financial aid to Yemen’s government.
Senior State Department counterterrorism adviser Shari Villarosa said that Yemen’s security condition has “deteriorated significantly” and that Yemen’s will to battle against al-Qaeda’s terrorism has changed at times.”
“The U.S. wants to help Yemen because we do not want to see Yemen become another Afghanistan where al-Qaeda can train, plan, and execute terrorist actions against us,” Villarosa said.
About a week after the visit of the top commander in the Middle East, U.S. Gen. David Petraeus, to Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh last month, the country’s forces started anti-terrorist operations in areas thought to be al-Qaeda safe havens. But the Yemeni government’s efforts stopped as the forces were diverted a few days later to a fight against rebels in the north.
“Al-Qaeda in Yemen is stronger now than it has ever been in the past,” said Gregory D. Johnsen, a Yemen scholar. “The organisation is attracting more recruits than ever before and it is growing increasingly more skilled at utilising its members.”
