Word: africas
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...final hour of flight. Now the Administration is assessing the wisdom of various military strikes on supposed al-Qaeda training sites inside Yemen. But there are few good options. Obama doesn't want to end up like Bill Clinton, whose futile 1998 cruise missile "retaliation" for the East Africa embassy bombings did al-Qaeda more good than harm. Given the partisan sniping already breaking out following the failed airline bombing, the last thing Obama needs right now is to be accused of launching what General Tommy Franks once derided as "pinpricks." (After the 9/11 attacks, Franks voiced his glee that...
Across the highway from the towering and luxurious Hilton Hotel is one of the smartest neighborhoods in the Nigerian capital of Abuja. There, on Asa Street, is the residence of Alhaji Umar Mutallab, a household name in Nigeria and the former chief of the United Bank for Africa and the First Bank of Nigeria, two of the country's largest financial institutions. In the past few days, however, he has become better known around the world as the father of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the young man accused of trying to blow up Northwest/Delta Flight 253 over Detroit on Christmas...
...been pushing for, in large part because going after the Islamist group hasn't always been in the government's best interests. Indeed, some experts say that al-Qaeda seeks not to overthrow the government but only to establish a base in Yemen - a link between the Horn of Africa and the rest of the Arabian Peninsula - and that so long as Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh leaves al-Qaeda alone, they'll do the same...
...Nigeria connection: Until now, al-Qaeda's operations in Africa have been concentrated in the east and north. But there have been some sporadic reports of increased Islamic extremism on the west coast. It's not clear whether Abdulmutallab was recruited in London or Nigeria, but if he made contact with al-Qaeda in his home country, then that opens up a new front in the fight against terrorism. (See how Nigeria is struggling with its Islamist insurgencies...
While some western analysts say that al-Qaeda seeks to overthrow Yemen's government, Hassan disagrees, saying that al-Qaeda only seeks to establish a base there - a link between the Horn of Africa and the rest of the Arabian Peninsula - and that so long as Saleh leaves al-Qaeda alone, they'll do the same for him. "The government still sometimes thinks it is too costly for it to fight al-Qaeda. If you ask them to go and fight al-Qaeda, they say 'Why? And what do I get back?'" says Hassan. Fighting al-Qaeda would mean losing...