Word: qaeda
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...That was back when nations waged war against one another; today's bad guys are increasingly "non-state actors." Near the top of the list right now are Naser Abdel-Karim Wahishi and former Guantanamo detainee Saeed Ali Shehri, the leaders of the Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). AQAP is believed to have trained and outfitted alleged airline bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. There is also intelligence suggesting that radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, the Yemen-based cyber pen pal of Major Nidal Hasan, who is accused of killing 13 Army personnel at Fort Hood in November...
...foiled bombing attempt on a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day has raised talk of striking at al-Qaeda in Yemen, where the plot is believed to have originated. Yet the extremists operating from Yemen present the military with precious view good "aim points." In the old days, the enemy had airfields, early-warning radars, ammo depots - even big defense and intelligence headquarters - that could be destroyed from the air. A general could stride manfully out to the Pentagon podium, wave his pointer like a magic wand at a map where little explosion drawings had been inked, and gleefully tally...
...evidence has yet demonstrated this to be the case. And there's scant chance those men will allow themselves to end up in the U.S. military's crosshairs by straying far from the human shield provided by innocent Yemenis. (Read "Despite U.S. Aid, Yemen Faces Growing al-Qaeda Threat...
...attempted bombing of Flight 253, Washington often reacts simply to calm a jittery public. That's what led to initial dubious orders to keep airline passengers in their seats for the 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...
...Whatever action he takes, Obama will have to pay attention to the concerns of the weak pro-U.S. Yemeni government of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Washington wants to continue its cooperative relationship with Saleh, and is encouraging his government to take the lead in rooting out al-Qaeda within Yemen's borders. The U.S. is helping, boosting counter-terrorism funding for Yemen from less than $5 million in 2006 to $67 million in 2009, and dispatching CIA and military personnel to train Yemeni forces. But the al-Qaeda problem has been a lesser security priority for Yemen than...