Word: yemens
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...strategic national security response is much less clear-cut. After the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the U.S. military reacted with missile attacks in Afghanistan and the Sudan-by some considered terrorist acts in themselves. Not surprisingly, the reaction to the USS Cole attack in Yemen was much less drastic. In this case, the U.S. is trusting in the Yemen court system to punish the alleged terrorists...
These revelations raise two critical questions. First, is the Yemeni source reporting valid information, or is Yemen hyping the level of external involvement to deflect attention from its own civilian and government involvement? Subsequently, did the embassy and Central Intelligence Agency station recognize the danger and, if so, did they relay this information quickly to Washington and military planners? The embassy could ill afford to make inherently subjective security decisions on its own, without senior consultation; while providing a unique, direct perspective on Yemen-specific security issues, their closeness to the host country could actually inhibit objective analysis...
...second set of more disturbing questions emerges if Yemen failed to pass threat information to the U.S. Although withholding such information would likely be intended to prevent American over-reaction and damage to U.S.-Yemeni relations, the consequences of such actions are measured in American dead. Having characterized the Yemeni government as a "strategic partner" beforehand, it seems that Ambassador Barbara K. Bodine--the highest-ranking U.S. official in Yemen--viewed it as a trustworthy partner willing to provide warnings on possible threats. If any information was withheld, this not only speaks to the Yemeni government's untrustworthiness, but also...
...agenda and a lack of faith in the ship's crew to implement appropriate defensive procedures. Such blatant disregard for American lives is unacceptable. Regardless of whether the U.S. was aware of past attempts against American naval vessels or the de-miners, it is clear that the embassy in Yemen, the Navy and the ship's captain were clearly aware of the threat environment, one that included precedent for attacking U.S. military interests and a national context of violently anti-American groups. The onset of Palestinian-Israeli fighting and Baghdad's renewed efforts to break sanctions should only have heightened...
...Situation Report: Investigators are as near as they're ever going to get to proving a Bin Laden connection in the attack that killed 17 sailors aboard the U.S.S. Cole. They've named the mastermind as a Bin Laden lieutenant who escaped Yemen for Afghanistan before the blast. And Osama, by most accounts, is no micromanager - he provides the money, maintains the networks, issues the fatwas (pseudo-religious decrees to attack Americans all over the world, for example) and then lets his military planners and allies take care of the details. Bin Laden is currently hiding out in the mountains...