Yemen’s future after Saleh worries U.S. officials

[alp227]

Source: The Washington Post

The flight of Yemeni leader Ali Abdullah Saleh to Saudi Arabia deprives the United States of a fitful ally in the fight against al-Qaeda’s most dangerous affiliate and injects new uncertainty into counterterrorism operations that were already hampered by the country’s bloody internal strife, according to Yemen and security experts.

While Saudi Arabia, with U.S. backing, will almost certainly prevent Saleh’s return to Yemen, it is unclear who will replace him and whether there will be a change in attitude toward American efforts to target Islamic militants in the country.

The Pentagon and the CIA, which have steadily deployed more men and equipment to Yemen, including armed drones, will have to forge fresh relationships with whatever new leadership emerges in Yemen. And some in the opposition to Saleh have expressed skepticism about even the existence of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), describing the terrorist group that has come to preoccupy Washington in recent years as a myth.

Officials in the United States and elsewhere fear that the al-Qaeda group will exploit the turmoil in Yemen to solidify its base and launch fresh attacks.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/yemens-future-after-saleh-worries-us-officials/2011/06/05/AGyAvmJH_story.html

[bemildred]

1. Saudi Arabia is what they are worried about. nt

[unkachuck]

2. "...injects new uncertainty into counterterrorism operations..."

....then we should stop spreading the rumor that we believe in democracy....

[bemildred]

3. And stop pretending that there is some certainty about counterterrorism operations.

When will the next batch of women and children get blown up for hiding in the wrong place?

[rpannier]

4. If I was the new leader I would have

a change in attitude toward American efforts to target Islamic militants in the country

You get more money and better weapons from the US the more you waffle in support of the US