February 03, 2010

Not something you see everyday, southern Yemeni oppositionist Tarik al Fadhli raises the US flag (with anthem) over his compound in Abyan:

As I mentioned in my article, US flags are popping up at southern demonstrations "like a distress signal for rescue from tyranny."

Should the US outsource its security to a war criminal?

The global reach of al Qaeda in Yemen became clear when a Nigerian disciple of the murder cult nearly blew up an airliner over Detroit. In response, the Obama administration is strengthening its support for Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, one of the regions longest serving dictators and one of the most corrupt

.President Obama said he hopes to communicate to “Muslims around the world that al Qaeda offers nothing except a bankrupt vision of misery and death, including the murder of fellow Muslims, while the United States stands with those who seek justice and progress.” The hypocrisy is stunning.

The US administration is well aware that Saleh’s government is committing atrocities against civilians that rise to the level of war crimes. In a Darfur-like conflict in Sa’ada, northern Yemen, collective punishment of Shiite civilians includes indiscriminate bombing and intentional starvation. A former recruiter for Usama bin Laden leads the military with the help of tribal militias, former Iraqi army officers and foreign jihaddists. Over 200,000 are homeless from the war and largely deprived of aid. When Oxfam warned of a “humanitarian catastrophe of terrifying proportions,” the Yemeni Health Minister threatened to expel the organization.

Journalists who report on the carnage are tried as terrorists, like Abdulkarim al Khaiwani, or disappear like Mohammed al Maqaleh, who reported an air strike that killed 87 war refugees in September and hasn’t been seen since.

In south Yemen, police shot and killed dozens of anti-government protesters since 2007. Thousands were arrested. (Torture in Yemeni jails is brutal.) At a recent demonstration, southerners raised the US flag like a distress signal for rescue from tyranny. Funeral marches snake for miles along dusty roads.

If bombed starving children, disappeared journalists and bloody protesters aren’t enough for those who ascribe to the strongman theory of Middle Eastern politics, there’s also Yemen’s consistent duplicity on the terror issue.President Saleh is a long time al Qaeda appeaser who relies on militants as an essential base of support and deploys terrorists as mercenaries.

It’s no surprise Yemen’s al Qaeda morphed into a transnational threat or that its leadership survived a recent spate of Yemeni air strikes. The surprise is that the US is staking its security on President Saleh, the King of Spin. Saleh promised to reform after the 2000 USS Cole bombing, the 2002 Limburgh bombing and after qualifying for the Millennium Challenge Account in 2005. He said things were going to be different after the 2006 donor’s conference and the 2008 US Embassy attack that killed 13.

In Yemen, al Qaeda is dubbed “the other face of the regime” in reference to the multi-tiered enmeshment between the two. Officials covertly provide training, transport and passports to jihaddists. When Yemen needs fighters, it releases terrorists from jail and puts them on the payroll.If Obama’s goal is to push back on the terror threat from Yemen for a few years, then Saleh’s messy air strikes, botched raids and half hearted hunting may achieve some limited disruption. But at the root of Yemen’s growing terror threat is elite, not popular, support for al Qaeda.

In 1994’s civil war between north and south Yemen, Saleh used veterans of bin Laden’s Afghan jihad to defeat the “Godless communists” in the south. Some of these bin Laden loyalists are now military commanders, governors and ambassadors. Conventional wisdom holds that al Qaeda fanatics could raise a small army in such a poverty stricken, rowdy and largely illiterate country. Saudi money funds the spread of hard core Salafism while most rural areas have no clean water, electricity or medical services. Jobs go to government loyalists. But instead of lining up as suicide bombers, Yemenis all over the country are protesting for civil rights.

Yemen is not, as Maureen Dowd said, a place “that breeds people who want to kill us.” Yemenis are a kind hearted and courageous people. Last week, Women Journalists Without Chains led the 31th weekly demonstration to support banned newspapers. When ten Sana’a University professors, Academics against Corruption, were fired for exposing massive theft, protesters took to the streets in solidarity. In Aden, security forces strafed a peaceful sit-in at al Ayyam Newspaper, an award winning independent banned in May. Police set the offices on fire and arrested its editors, claiming they were hunting al Qaeda.

The Yemeni people have their own narrative that delegitimizes al Qaeda’s bloody imperialism. In Yemen, democracy is not a dirty American word but a constitutional right denied by a thuggish regime.Despite the smiling assurances of Yemen’s legion of Baghdad Bobs, Yemen’s government is a brutal mafia. The idea that has broad resonance in Yemen is not the coming of the global caliphate, but the coming of the democratic state.What Yemen needs, if not a war crimes tribunal, is a major crimes tribunal to purge corrupt officials and foster governmental legitimacy.

Yemen’s public funds and lands, foreign aid and oil revenue were stolen by President Saleh and his relatives for decades, while millions of children wither from malnutrition and never attend school. Stability will be achieved when the Yemeni oligarchy accounts for its crimes against the nation. Maybe with amnesty, they’ll leave quietly and a caretaker government of Yemeni technocrats can take the reins with little bloodshed.

by Jane via 9/11 Families for a Safe and Strong America

January 29, 2010

- Oil income $2bn in 2009, down from $4.4bn in 2008, a decline of 55.4 percent.

Yemen carrier seals $700 mn deal with Airbus.

One-quarter million people displaced in northern Yemen.

Southern Yemen: 70% favor secession poll shows , that one is my article and has some reactions to the recent London conference.

Via IFTSOW

Stretching from Egypt to Yemen, Iran and Pakistan, General David H. Petraeus commands the most challenging area of responsibility in the war against terrorism. In addition to deterring non-state aggressors, he also oversees the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

On Friday morning, January 22nd, the Institute for the Study of War held an on-the-record conversation with General Petraeus hosted by ISW President, Dr. Kimberly Kagan. General Petraeus discussed his competing regional priorities at U.S. Central Command and offered a strategic overview of his AOR, explaining the dynamic effect it has on American national security.

January 27, 2010

What could go wrong?

Via Telegraph

The move would help President Barack Obama achieve his elusive goal of closing the controversial US prison.

The issue will be raised for the first time in an international setting on the sidelines of a ministerial meeting in London on Wednesday[...]

A source close to the Obama administration said the Yemenis had agreed in principle to the establishment of a Reintegration and Risk Reduction Initiative, which would be internationally funded and monitored.

Aimed at steering detainees back into society, it would be modeled on previous efforts in Northern Ireland, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

The project has support from within the US state department and is gaining ground among White House advisers, said the source....

God help us all....

January 26, 2010

The US is contemplating whether it is legal to assassinate Yemeni American Anwar Awlaki in Yemen. Awlaki was never indicted, charged or convicted of a crime. He is an al Qaeda recruiter, and may have taken a more operational role lately. To the extent that Awlaki is involved in planning terror attacks, taking him out would be a strategic plus. But that's not my point. My question is whether authorization that stands the test of time is even possible anymore.

As a near precedent, Kamal al Darwish, an American citizen, was killed in a predator attack in 2002in Yemen, but the target was al Qaeda leader al Harithy who was sitting next to him. But the concept of precedent and lasting authorization may be a thing of the past.

Obama's Attorney General, Eric Holder, overturned the legal findings of a previous Attorney General. And then Holder instituted legal proceedings against persons working for the federal government who followed those legal guidelines. It was the first time in US history.

If Holder determines that the US has legal justification for a hit on Awlaki, what's to say the next Attorney General won't disagree and haul the commander who executed the order into court, as an individual? That's what happened to some CIA operatives. Its no wonder officials are risk averse and dithering for a month, its a whole new world.

Slideshow, click here for photos taken earlier today. "Witnesses in Yemen report that southern leaders speaking at the rally also accused Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh of a secret alliance with al Qaeda, a common charge among Yemenis. While President Saleh is widely recognized as lax in dealing with the threat from al Qaeda, Yemeni oppositionists say the relationship goes much deeper."

January 25, 2010

The ICRC issued a statement today drawing attention to the worsening humanitarian crisis in northern Yemen.

My take:

a) its deliberate collective punishment as it has been for years

b) the involvement of Saudis, Iraqis, tribesmen and al Qaeda in the war exacerbate the disaster.

January 23, 2010

Human Rights Watch has a good list of Seven Principles for Effective International Engagement in Yemen that calls for a UN Human Rights monitoring mission in Yemen and notes,

Rather than go after top al Qaeda members, President Saleh has until recently directed his security forces to concentrate on his domestic political opponents (many of whom, as noted, are ideologically opposed to al Qaeda). Without significant pressure and vigilance, he is likely to exploit any new international support to intensify domestic repression. Indeed, on January 4, within days of President Barack Obama's recent expressions of support for Saleh's government, security forces opened fire on hundreds of protestors peacefully demanding the reopening of Yemen's largest independent newspaper, Al-Ayyam. And on January 16, still under the spotlight of increased US and EU attention, a new Special Press Court sentenced Anisa ‘Uthman of the weekly Al-Wasat to three months in prison for an article that "offended" the president. Even before those two recent incidents, the intensity of the government's crackdown on free expression since 2009 was unprecedented.

My write-up here: Dubbed “Yemen’s Darfur” by Yemeni activists, patterns of collective punishment of the civilian population in the Sa’ada War include denying humanitarian access by aid groups, a blockade on food and medicine and mass arrests including children based on vague suspicions of sympathy for the Houthi rebels. Other repetitive human rights violations by Saleh’s regime include mass arbitrary arrests of dissidents, a brutal crackdown on the independent media and widespread torture by security forces. The torture of children as young as eleven and twelve is well documented.

January 22, 2010

In a recent 48 hr period 6 people on the no fly list tried to board flights to US

Not good considering UK recently raising their threat level to red.

UPDATE: Blotter: Female Suicide Bombers May Be Heading Here From Yemen

U.S. Agents Told Women Believed Connected to al Qaeda May Have Western Appearance and Passports

h/t Mark for update

January 20, 2010

This is one of the six guys who was reported killed in an air strike, confirmed by a postiive ID Yemeni officials said, but was later seen eating lunch. The thrice killed yet living al Qaeda chief Qasim al Reimi is another. As we reported yesterday, Saed al Shiri wasn't captured, nor was Yousef al Shehri.

BBC: The Yemeni air force have bombed the home of a suspected al-Qaeda leader, a week after the military said he had died, official and tribal sources say.

The attack on the home of Ayed al-Shabwani was met with anti-aircraft fire from his village, AFP News agency reported, quoting a tribal source.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula had denied Mr Shabwani had been killed in the 15 January attack in north Yemen.

January 19, 2010

A follow up to our earlier post: Yousef (not Saed) al Shehri Accidentally Captured, Updated: Maybe Saed

Smart money bet that Yemen's announcement of the (accidental) capture of Saed al Shehri would be bogus, as was the three deaths of al Qaeda leader Qasim al Reimi who is quite alive.

The erroneous "exclusive" report announcing Saed al Shihri's capture was not some typo by the Yemen Observer. They pulled the first story that correctly identified the person arrested as Yousef al Shehri, deleted it not corrected it, and replaced it with an article announcing Saed was captured.

Now, after the news is spinning all over the web, they issued a correction. The Yemen Observer is a propaganda front for the Yemeni government and a component of its efforts to delude the world into believing there has been any progress in the battle to diminish the threat from al Qaeda.

So far Yemen's "All Out War" on al Qaeda yielded zero among the top leadership but lots and lots of propaganda to the contrary. Its been like this all along.

Update: Update: Yousef al Shehri was killed in October 2009 trying to cross into Saudi Arabia, dressed in women's clothes. Who the heck had the traffic accident and is custody is anyone's guess at this point, but odds are high that its not anyone of significance or even associated with al Qaeda. Does the Yemeni government just pull a name out of a hat when it comes up with this stuff?

Yemen Observer: YEMEN - The last issue of the Yemen Observer, the al-Qaeda militant that was captured is not Saeed al-Shehri who is the deputy Amir of al-Qaeda AKAP but another militant known as Yusuf al-Shehri. As a result of this error the Yemen Observer apologizes to its readers for this error.

This story is that A car carrying members of al-Qaeda was turned over when attempted to bypass a newly established sudden checkpoint by the Yemeni security units today and resulted in the capture of Yusuf al-Shehri, security source told the Yemen Observer.

The car was going in a high speed and was carrying al-Shehri and other al-Qaeda militants and flipped over in the district of Sylan in Shabwah province near the borders of Marib province. All the militants in the car were captured.

In an interview, al Shabab spokesman Ali Rage said the Somali terror group intended to provide manpower to Yemen's al Qaeda group, and that Yemen's al Qaeda had provided generous support to al Shabab in the past.

Closer coordination between Somalia's al Shabab and Yemen's AQAP heightens risk of a coordinated attack on the NATO anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden. Currently AQAP is asking for any information on the US vessels in the Gulf including the names and home states of individual American sailors, blueprints, suppliers and operating procedures.

In a missive released yesterday, AQAP said, “Today, the duty of our Muslim nation is to declare Jihad against the infidels and their apostate cooperatives; not only on land but on sea and in the air too. The Crusader warships are present in the Gulf of Aden, in the Arabian Sea and in the Red Sea, and the American surveillance jets occupy the sphere over the Arabian Peninsula.." This echoes an earlier statement from AQ Central calling for naval jihad.

Droves of Yemeni jihaddists and Somalis in Yemen traveled to Somalia when the TFG was battling the ICU. Afterward, the US noted an exodus to back to Yemen. The intersection of piracy, arms smuggling, human smuggling and terrorists has been noted by the UN.

Update: Reuters: AQAP military commander Qasim al-Raymi has fought in Somalia and has written on the need to back Somalia's revolt... Some others in that founding group had also fought in Somalia. Security experts say Yemenis make up a sizeable part of a foreign contingent that fights with al Shabaab's Somali rank and file and supplies bomb-making and communications expertise. By one estimate there are about 500 or more foreigners in Shabaab's ranks, which experts say may number 5,000 or more.

Somaliweyn The spokesman of Al-Shabab in Somalia Sheikh Ali Mohamoud Rage has at length talked about their strategy in this new year of 2010.

“We have received fighters from the Arabian Peninsular I mean in Yemen to bolster our fighters on the ground, and there is no any other alternative for us to do, but to do as the saying goes One Good Turn Deserves Another” said the spokesman of Al-Shabab.

The Spokesman has also added that there is no sign of peace and stability in Somalia, unless the African Union troops on the ground to pullout from the country and to overthrow what he called as the apostate government led by President Sheikh Shariff Sheikh Ahmed the former Chairman of the Islamic Courts Union who was officially elected by the Somali national assembly in Djibouti.

On the other hand the spokesman of Al-Shabab has in a broad daylight stated that their faction (Al-Shabab) gets international support from the other Islamists who are fighting across the world, including from Yemen, and thus there is no hindrance from them to send their fighters in Yemen too.

January 17, 2010

It makes me wonder if Mr. Awlaki, who says he is close to the President, ever heard any of Anwar's recent sermons or read his writings. Anwar Awlaki clearly is inciting people to violence. Interview with Nasser Awlaki at the Yemen Post:

In the attacks last month in Abyan and Shabwa against Al-Qaeda, government officials said they were trying to attack Anwar Awlaqi, your son. Is he really an Al-Qaeda leader?

My son Anwar has been attacked in the local, Arab and international media in America, Britain and other parts of the world. They are claiming that he has links to Al-Qaeda. This is completely untrue. And I will give you the reason why. My son is an engineer and an educationist. He studied in the best universities in the United States. But he is also a good Muslim. He published many books about Islam to teach young Muslims in English. His books are sold everywhere. Five million preaching tapes of Anwar Awlaqi have been sold in the west. These accuations against him are because they are jealous of him in the west, especially the governments of America and Britain. They don’t want the word of Islam to spread and now they are claiming that my son is a member of Al-Qaeda.

They want to imprison him or to keep him quiet because he has a positive impact on Muslims who speak English all over the world. Many Muslims used to use drugs and alcohol until they heard his lectures. Now they claim that he has something to do with Major Nidal, or with this Nigerian to tried to bomb a U.S. airliner.

Did he meet the Nigerian bomber?
No, this is the claim by Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi, the Deputy Prime Minister, and this is nonsense. This is a lie and you know why? Because Mr. Al-Alimi said that my son was meeting with Al-Qaeda, and was killed. My son is alive and I hope God will keep him alive.

He is not from Al-Qaeda?
No, I want Dr. Al-Alimi to prove to me that my son is a member of Al-Qaeda. He now probably has some Al-Qaeda members protecting him because they are from the same tribe, and not because he is an Al-Qaeda member. My son’s great grandfather was the Sheikh of Al-Awlaqi tribe, this tribe is helping him because they are Awlaqies.

Update: the Yemen Observer deleted the story below and rewrote the article to indicate it was Saed not Yousef al Shehri that crashed the car and was captured by a fluke. The first link is dead. Tacky tacky.

Original Post: The Yemeni government's English language mouthpiece, the Yemen Observer is conflating al Qaeda operative Yousef al Shehri with top al Qaeda in Yemen leader Saed al Shehri (Saudi, ex-Gitmo).

Yemen Observer A car carrying members of al-Qaeda was turned over when attempted to bypass a newly established sudden checkpoint by the Yemeni security units today and resulted in the capture of Yusuf al-Shehri, the second person in command of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, (ed- No, he's not. That would be Said al Shehri. ) security source told the Yemen Observer...

Yusuf al-Shehri, born on September 8, 1985, is a Saudi Arabian national and former Guantanamo Bay detainee no. 114. According to the U.S. military, he is also the brother of Sa’d Muhammad Mubarak al-Shehri (a.k.a. Abu Abdelrahman al-Najdi), a “known al Qaida operative.

(ed- Saed, not Jousef) Al-Shehri in 2008 was appointed as the vice-Amir of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula after the integration of al-Qaeda in Yemen and Saudia Arabia.

Yesterday, security authorities arrested three al-Qeada militants in al-Jawf who were in disguise wearing military uniforms. (??!!) Six other al-Qaeda terrorists were killed on Friday by an air strike. (ed- no its not clear yet. Reports today indicate only two may have been killed and Qasim al Reimi escaped.) The killed militants were identified as Qassim al-Rimi, Amar Obad al-Wayly, Saleh al-Tais, Aidh Jaber al-Shabwani, Abdullah Hadi al-Tais, and Abu Ayman al-Mesri (Egyptian). Two more terrorists escaped after their two cars were completely destroyed; security forces are currently hunting them down.

Following Yemen's announcement that al Qaeda head honcho Qasim al Reimi was killed in an air strike this week along with five others, news is starting to leak out that ooops, maybe not.

Al Reimi had been reported killed in two earlier air strikes but this time the announcement was based on an identification, officials said. Security sources now say that perhaps it was a "hasty" announcement. Tribal sources say another of the six dead men was recently spotted eating lunch with his family, and al Reimi was wounded in the leg and escaped.

We can call it the al Nabi syndrome, reported dead but still alive. Old habits die hard. At best, now we're back to "maybe al Reimi is dead," and "maybe the Yemeni government told the truth about al Qaeda for once." Wait and see mode.

Its hard to say what's up, really. There were six bodies recovered including al Reimi, the Yemeni officials said. Ah, even I'm doing it now, quoting them like they have a shred of credibility.

Meanwhile the Yemeni journalists are getting smashed (run-over, imprisoned, fined and kidnapped) without a word from the West and/or the hundreds of foreign journalists who recently discovered Yemen. Even for the open source intel value alone, you think someone would make a peep. I knew something was up today when several Yemeni news sites were mysteriously offline.

Update: Yes here we go yet friggin'again... Absolutely predictable. Yahoo News: Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) denied that six of its leaders were killed in a Yemeni air strike last week, according to a statement published by the SITE monitoring group on Monday. "None of the mujahedeen were killed in that unjust and insidious raid; rather, some brothers were slightly wounded," the Qaeda group said in a statement on jihadist forums, SITE reported.

Al Teef Questioned sources (security and tribal) in the accuracy of the information declared by the authorities of Yemen that killed 6 of the al-Qaeda, led by military commander, Kassem al-Raimi in an air raid carried out by forces Security Council on Friday past.

Tribal sources said the "online source," that the information is incorrect and that the air strike, succeeded in killing two members of the organization is only the first Egyptian Abu Yaman, nicknamed "the benefit of the underground", the second son of his brother Amar Waeli, fled with the rest of the group fled. " According to those sources "that Qasim al-Rimi was wounded in one of his legs and hand."

Furthermore, other tribal sources in the province of Marib, the "online source" for the spread of information says that the loss Jaber Alcboigny (Ayedh Jaber al-Shabwani) - official organization in the province - which is the other authorities confirmed killed in the raid, seen on Saturday afternoon at his home and his family, specifically eating lunch at home. "and is not sure that information accurately from other sources.

For his part, a security source refused to confirm the information published yesterday on the Media Center of the Ministry of Interior on the killing of six members of the organization, led by Qasim al-Rimi. He said the security source, who asked not to be named the "online source" it does not have sufficient information on the outcome of the strike so far, but it did not exclude that the information be published in a "hasty."

January 16, 2010

Yemeni MP barred from visit with 66 year old imprisoned editor.

Yahoo News:

SANAA (Reuters) – Three armed al Qaeda militants were captured in Yemen early Saturday, close to the Saudi Arabian border, a Yemeni security official said.

On Friday, six al Qaeda militants were killed in an air strike in northern Yemen in a stepped-up government campaign against the Islamist group.

Yemen, which gained a reputation as a haven for al Qaeda after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, came under the spotlight after crackdowns on the group in Pakistan and Afghanistan raised concern it was becoming a training and recruiting center for militants.

I've seen over and over again where Yemen treats al-Qaeda with kid gloves. Giving them house arrest or just plain releasing them on an, "I Promise not to Jihad anymore OK", thingy. While it beats jails and mistreats people for, you know, writing articles. I've seen Yemen promise to take and hold Gitmo inmates and the next thing you know they are in a terrorist video or found on the battlefield again.

So yeah, if I read "Yemen captures" rather than "Predator kills" about al-Qaeda in Yemen. Its means squat.

January 15, 2010

That's some good targeting right there, if it turns out to be true. Two cars, no civilians, direct hit. Lets wait though, al Qaeda leader Qasim al Reimi was erroneously reported killed in the December air strike.

Reuters: "Two cars carrying eight dangerous al Qaeda members were hit in an area between Saada and al-Jouf," the security official told Reuters.

"Two may have survived and escaped," he added.

"The group included Qassem al-Remi, Ayed al-Shabwani, Ammar al-Waeli, and Saleh al-Teys," said the official, adding that the four are wanted by Yemeni and U.S. security.

The source confirmed Qassem al-Reni was killed: "He is the al Qaeda military leader and senior planner of most operations in Yemen.

"He escaped two previous airstrikes," he added.

January 14, 2010

The sign posts point to southern Yemeni cities, where the independence movement is.

Yemeni President Saleh is quite adroit at playing the terror card. Today he warns the US that he will declare jihad if the US attempts any military action against al Qaeda in Yemen, in a statement from Yemen's Council of Clerics. Its Saleh talking. There's no way they would issue that without Presidental approval.

The message is simple: Just. Give. Me. The. Money.

Saleh has various mouthpieces: the government media, officials, GONGOs (governmental non-govermental organizations) some "experts" and Sheik Abdulmagid al Zindani (oh! scary!), who is classified by the UN's 1267 committee as a terrorist financier. Al Zindani endorsed President Saleh's 2006 "re-election" bid, and Saleh made his first speech of the electoral season from al Zindani's al Iman University. The Minister of Endowments is Judge Hamoud al Hittar, who ran the now defunct dialog program that released hundreds of al Qaeda. (He never dialoged with the Houthi rebels though.)

Al Hittar is often an intermediary between the regime and al Qaeda. For example in 2003 al Qaeda offered Yemen a truce, and al Hittar was in charge of negotiations. At the time he said some demands were non-starters, meaning perhaps others were workable. That marked the beginning of what al Qaeda calls the (quite productive) "quietness period" from 2003-2006 when the group provided logistical support and thousands of jihaddists to various hotspots around the world, especially Iraq.

To follow is the clerics' statement. Also below the fold is Foreign Minister al Qirby's nearly identical statement that US counter-terror aid must be unconditional. The upcoming London Conference on Yemen should not attempt to deal with Yemeni internal affairs like civil rights, political reforms, press freedom, corruption or economic transparency, he said repeatedly.

Update: Alert Net: Yemen, facing a daunting array of security and economic problems, needs about $2 billion a year in aid to stay afloat and double that to turn its economy around, Foreign Minister Abubakr al-Qirbi said on Thursday..."I am not an economist, but I think one is talking about probably $4 billion a year," Qirbi told Reuters when asked how much aid was required to rescue an economy struggling with a sharply rising population and falling oil revenues.

For more on Yemen, visit me at Armies of Liberation (always updated) or see the Yemen Portal for a quick listing of today's Yemen news including automatic translations of Yemeni Arabic sources.

Straits Times: SANAA - YEMEN'S council of clerics called on Thursday for jihad, or holy war, in case of foreign military intervention amid speculation the United States might join Sanaa's pursuit of Al-Qaeda extremists.

'If any party insists on aggression, or invading the country, then according to Islam, jihad becomes obligatory,' said a statement signed by 150 clerics read at a media conference. They stressed also 'strong rejection to any foreign intervention in Yemeni affairs, whether political or militarily.'

The clerics, including the radical Sheikh Abdulmajeed al-Zendani who is labeled by the US administration as a 'global terrorist', also voiced 'rejection to any security or military agreement or cooperation (between Yemen and) any foreign party if it violates Islamic Sharia (law).' They also strongly rejected 'setting up any military bases in Yemen, or in its territorial waters.'.

Foreign Minister al Qirby made a similiar point, reforms and civil rights should be off the table at the London Conference.

Yahoo: The U.S. and its allies helping Yemen fight al-Qaida should not pressure it to carry out reforms or resolve other internal conflicts, the foreign minister said Tuesday, as the military claimed to have killed 20 Shiite rebels in fighting an uprising in the country's north....The conference, to be attended by the United States and European countries, should focus on promises of counterterrorism help as well as economic aid for Yemen, the poorest country in the Arab world, al-Qirbi said. "If we divert from these into other political issues that are within the domain of the Yemeni government, we will compromise the objectives of this conference," al-Qirbi told reporters in San'a.

"The issues of human rights and freedom of the press are all issues that come within the national agenda of reforms ... It doesn't need to come through the London Conference," he added. "On the Hawthis, we will not accept any instructions from anyone because that is an internal Yemeni matter."

January 11, 2010

President Saleh's willingness to negotiate with al Qaeda is not new. In 2005 it became clear that Judge al Hittar's dialog program was an early release mechanism and little else, and the program was discontinued. In June 2006, President Saleh and intelligence chief Gamal al Qamish began direct negotiations with al Qaeda, promising government jobs, more prisoner releases and an easing of travel restrictions in exchange for no attacks within Yemen on government facilities.

After 23 high value al Qaeda escaped prison in 2006, those who surrendered were later released after a pledge of loyalty to Saleh. Although described by the Saleh apologists as a time honored tribal mechanism of conflict resolution, ("we have to understand the neighborhood," they said), naturally the appeasement resulted in both the strengthening and legitimization of al Qaeda.

In January 2009, Saleh negotiated in person with dozens of jihaddists which culminated in the release hundreds of what the Yemeni government called "harmless and aged jihaddists" in exchange for the terrorists supporting the state in its efforts against the southerners. See my article, aptly named Yemen Strikes Multi-Faceted Deals with al Qaeda. Odd how all those al Qaeda training camps popped up in the South after that. Hmmm...

President Saleh to this point has refused to negotiate with Southern protesters, who remarkably have eschewed violence. The police shoot those political oppositionists in the head and arrest them en masse, generally triggering more protests. Its little wonder they want to secede from the unified state. Saleh also refuses to end the food blockade on and carpet bombing of the northern Sa'ada province, although the Houthi rebels do not target civilians, unlike al Qaeda (and the Saudi and Yemeni air forces).

Lets look at the difference in the Yemeni government's approach to the Houthi rebels, who the regime erroneously claims want to re-establish a Shiite theocracy, and their approach to al Qaeda, who do in fact want to establish a global caliphate.

Houthis: an all out relentless military attack, schools closed, preachers replaced, mosques bombed, mass arrests, labeled apostates, blockaded, censored, tortured, sentenced to death.
Al Qaeda: not.

VOA article below the fold. For more on Yemen, drop by me at AOL or go to Yemen Portal, a Yemen news aggregator. Then click on the left sidebar's "English translated pages" for the Arabic news translated. Then click on that right sidebar's "page blocked sites" for the content of all the websites the Yemeni government is censoring, handily google translated. The portal even distinguishes between the government media and the independent and opposition, to give some context on each story. In Yemen, there are some independent papers and websites, but traditionally each political party has its own news papers which advance the party line. The government's media brings Stalinist propaganda tactics to a new level.

VOA: Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh says he is willing to negotiate with al-Qaida members who renounce violence and lay down their weapons. The offer goes against the aims of the United States and other nations that are seeking to help Yemen vanquish the local al-Qaida off-shoot.

Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh says talks are possible with any members of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula who "return to reason."

In an interview with Abu Dhabi Television, Mr. Saleh vowed the military would continue to go after militants who do not give up their fight. But he added that dialogue is the best way to deal with those who do...

January 10, 2010

Hat Tip: Sweet Jane.

Update by Jane: OK, that's funny! In Yemen, you could go to jail for a decade for something like that. Insulting the President is a crime. Does anyone remember comedian Fahd al Qarni, imprisoned for being too funny? But its all good hearted joshing, yes? President Saleh is the guy who had a whole issue of a magazine pulled because he found one of the photos of him to be unflattering. I think it was this one:

January 08, 2010

An in depth profile of Yemen's ambassador to the US at Time today fails to note that Abdulwahab Abdulla Al-Hajjri is President Ali Abdullah Saleh's brother-in-law.

Time: The reason his bosses have kept him there so long, he says, is that "they think it's an investment, because they think you develop experience and an understanding of how the system works."

Yemen's ambassador to the UN is also a relative of the president.

In Yemen, the concentration of power in the hands of Saleh's family goes beyond their control of the instruments of force (military and security forces) and extends to the national economy. The NYT noticed recently that many of President Saleh's relatives are top security commanders.

(Presidential son) Ahmed Saleh is head of the Yemen Republican Guard and the country’s special forces. The president’s nephews — sons of his late brother — include Amar, the deputy director for national security; Yahye, head of the central security forces and the counterterrorism unit; and Tarek, head of the Presidential Guard. The president’s half brother is head of the air force.

President Saleh's Relatives' Economic Interests

Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh, Special Forces and Republican Guards Commander, Eldest Son, Al-Haj Company For Heavy Equipments and Cars

Ali Abdullah Saleh, President, Partner of Tawfick Abul-Raheem, Sole Distributor of Gas and Petroleum Products

Ali Mohsen Al-Hamar Military Commander Northern and Western regions, Hawan For Petroleum Services and Alraida Group for Engineering.

Khalid Alarhabi Deputy Chief of The Presidential Palaces, Son in-law ,Yemen Space Company

Mohamed Saleh Al-Hamar, Air Force Commander, Half Brother, Alhashidi Petroleum Company

Yahya Mohamed Abdullah Saleh Commander Of Security Central Forces, Nephew, Al Mas Company For Petroleum Services and Ha Wi Cable Chinese Company

Mohamed Saleh Al-Hamar Air Force Commander Half Brother

Tariq Mohamed Abdullah Saleh Commander Private Forces Nephew

Yahya Mohamed Abdullah Saleh Commander Of Security Central Forces Nephew

Amar Mohamed Abdullah Saleh Deputy National Security Organization Nephew

Ahmed Abdullah Al-Hajry Governor of Taiz Brother in law to second wife

Abdu-Wahab Abdullah Alhajry Ambassador to Washington D.C. Brother in law to second wife

Abul-Rahman Alkwaa Minster of Youth and Sports Brother in law to third wife

Khalid Abdul-Rahman Alkwaa Under Secretary, Foreign Ministry Son of The Brother in-law

Khalid Alarhabi Deputy Chief of The Presidential Palaces Son in-law

Abdl-Kareem Al-Arhabi Minister of Planning and International Co-Operation In-law

Tawfick Saleh Abdullah Saleh Chairman of The National Tobacco Company Nephew

Abdul-Khalek Al-Qadi Chairman of Yemen Airways Son in-law

Abul-Khalik Al-Qadi Commander of Almajed Forces in Taiz Uncle

Tawfik Abdul-Raheem The sole distributor of Oil & Gas products Business Partner

Shaher Abul-Haq Saba Mobile Phones, Mercedes-Benz, Coca Cola, Yemen International bank, Oil Exploration Business Partner

Here's another version of the same list:

MILITARY

1-Brigaider General Mohamed Saleh Al-Ahmar, Commander of the Air Force
half brother of president Saleh ( one mother ).

2-Brigaider General Ali Saleh Al-Ahmar, chief of staff of the general command
half brother of president Saleh.

3-Brigaider General Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar, commander of the first tank division , commander of the north western military zone . half brother of president Saleh.

4-Brigaider General Mehdi Makwala, commander of the southern military zone
( Hashd tribe and Sanhan village of Saleh ).( Aden Zone )

5-Brigaider General Mohammed Ali Mohsen, Commander of the Eastern
Military Zone ( Hadramout ). (Hashed Tribe and Sanhan Village of President Saleh )

6-Colonel Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh , Commander of the Republican Guards
and Commander of the Special Forces. son of the President Saleh .

7-Colonel Yahya Mohamed Abdullah Saleh , commander of the Central
Security Forces . son of Saleh’s brother .

8-Colonel Tareq Mohammed Abdullah Saleh, Commander of the Special
Guards. son of Saleh’s brother Mohammed.

9-Colonel Ammar Mohammed Abdullah Saleh , Chairman of the National
Security. son of Saleh’s brother Mohammed.

10-Brigaider General Saleh Al-Dhaneen , commander of Khaled Forces
( Hashed tribe and Sanhan Village of Saleh. )

COMMERCIAL

1- President Ali Abdullah Saleh Al-Gar Farm,-Partner of Tawfiq Group for Fuel, The Economy Establishment .

2- Ali Mohsen Saleh Al-Ahmar and his son Mohsen Ali Mohsen
Hadwan Oil Services and Support. Pioneer Engineering Group.

3-Yahia Mohamed Abdullah Saleh (son of his brother Mohamed )
Al-Maz Group, Hawai Cables Company .

4- Mohammed Saleh Al-Ahmar ( half brother of Saleh )
Al-Hashdi Petroluem Company .

5-Ahmed Al-Kuhlani.( brother in-law of Saleh and Governor of Aden )
Pioneer Engenering Group, Al-Atheer Contracting Company. Gavlar Special Company .

6-Khaled Al-Arhabi ( brother in-law of Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh )
Yemen Space Company .

7-Saleh Al-Dhaneen Raidaan Contracting Company

8- Ali Al-Shater , chairman of the political directorate of the armed forces and
editor of the 26 September newspaper. ( his son Bassam Ali Al-Shater )
Al-Qusoor Contracting Company , dealing in contracts with ministry of
defence from buildings to supply etc.

9-Abdul Salam Ghaleb Al-Qamesh ( son of chairman of political security )
Al-Kaoon company for Communications.and oil support and Services.

10-Noman Duwaeed and Ali Ahmed Duwaeed ( brother in-law to Saleh )
The Yemen International United Company

January 06, 2010

Its not a surprise the six detainees transferred from Gitmo to Yemen were released within a week of their return to Yemen, and its no surprise that the Saleh government in Yemen lied to the US with its pledge of continued detention. What's shocking is that anyone on the US side actually believed them to start with.

The Heritage Foundation has some advice on Terrorist Transfers from Gitmo to Yemen:

4- Strictly monitor for at least a year the six Guantanamo Yemenis just transferred to Yemen. According to news reports, the Yemeni government has agreed to detain them indefinitely. If true, that is a good start; however, given the Yemeni government's track record in this area, there is cause for concern that it will not honor this promise. Make it clear to the Yemeni government that if any of the six "escape" from custody, then it will not be receiving any more of their countrymen held at Guantanamo.

However, despite the agreement with the US, as the Yemeni NGO HOOD notes in the following, they were all freed already:

After being held for nearly a week, the Yemeni Political Security Office set free the six Yemenis returned from Guantanamo Naval Base detention facility in Cuba where they were held for more than six years, a Yemeni security authentic source confirm this to HOOD.

Upon their return to Yemen on Dec. 20th, the Political Security Office in Sana’a transferred each detainee to the PSO detention facility at his home governorate where they remained for another week before they were able to secure guarantors.

Jamal Muhammad Alawi Mari, Farouq Ali Ahmed, Ayman Saeed Abdullah Batarfi, Muhammaed Yasir Ahmed Taher, Fayad Yahya Ahmed al Rami and Riyad Atiq Ali Abdu al Haf were cleared to return to Yemen by the U.S. Justice Department.

Heritage also advises the US to:

5- Demand the extradition of Fahd al-Quso and Jamal al-Badawi from Yemen to the U.S. for trial. Both of these Yemeni al-Qaeda members were intimately involved in the October 2000 bombing of the American destroyer USS Cole, which killed 17 American sailors. Al-Badawi was sentenced to death by a Yemeni court in 2004; he then "escaped" from jail in 2006. He is now back in the terrorist game in Yemen along with al-Quso. The Yemeni government has refused U.S. extradition requests. That must change now.

How about just keeping them in jail? The ploy the Yemeni government uses is that its unconstitutional to extradite Yemeni nationals to the US. But these two were convicted in a Yemeni court. Al Badawi was sentenced to death in 2004, and a year later his sentence commuted by President Saleh to 15 years. By my estimates he's got another ten years to go. Dittos on al Quso, who received a ten year sentence but was granted an early release in 2007.

The Christmas airliner plot that originated in Yemen brought renewed focus on Yemen's counter-terror efforts, but not on the crimes against Yemeni citizens systematically committed by the Yemeni government.

Let's see what Yemeni President Saleh is getting a pass on, in exchange for temporarily going through the motions of hunting al Qaeda. There's the collective punishment of civilians in the Sa'ada war, this includes indiscriminate bombing and intentional starvation. Then there's the mass arbitrary arrests of political opponents, Hashemites and often relatives of wanted persons. In the south we have the repetitive murder of protesters by security forces and more arbitrary arrests. And, as you'd probably expect, widespread torture in prisons. Last on our list, the violent repression of the media. It is these practices that are at the root of the instability in Yemen, which Ms. Clinton referred to yesterday as a global threat. The Yemeni oligachy also loots the public budget and officials facilitate a variety of regional criminal enterprises including drug and weapons smuggling.

January 05, 2010

Yes indeed, Prez Saleh of Yemen is salivating at the thoughts of Obmabi sending reinforcements for alQaeda.

For all the news you won't hear about from MSM about Yemen, read Jawa's own Jane Novak

Update: It looks like the Obama admistration are rethinking sending GITMO's detainees to Yemen, no dah!:

"One of the very first things Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula used as a tool was Gitmo," Gibbs said. "We're not going to make transfers to a country like Yemen that they're not capable of handling (the detainees). While we remain committed to closing the detention facility, the determination has been made that right now any additional transfers to Yemen is not a good idea."

January 04, 2010

Well, not a quote exactly, but par for the course for alQaeda sympathizer Pres Saleh of Yemen. With US, Britain, and now France shutting embassies in Yemen and Japan suspended its consular service in Sanaa, and Spain restricted public access to its mission there. One would think the missing trucks have very much to do with all of the heightened security.

According to Yemeni media, it comes after six trucks full of weapons and explosives entered the capital, and the security forces lost track of the vehicles.

Update 3: Yemeni security forces attacked al Ayyam again at 2:49 am Tuesday morning. The attack is in progress with Yemeni security forces firing live rounds and tear gas at the compound which houses the newpaper headquarters and residence of the editors.

Update 2: Reporters without Borders, Army machine guns protestors outside newspaper office amidst growing clampdown

Update from Aden Gulf Net: Northern occupation forces cracked down on Monday afternoon, as some 500 people were in the sit-in in solidarity with the newspaper al-Ayyam. They were forcibly stopped by the Ministry of Information, as the security forces began killing people who were shot dead by security forces, according to witnesses and spokesmen for al Ayyam.

On Monday, civil society organizations in Aden held a sit-in in front of Al-Ayyam Newspaper's building in Aden, Yemen that began at 3:00pm. Around 4:00pm, central security forces arrived and began to attempt to disperse the pro-freedom of the press demonstration. Within several minutes, the soldiers opened fire at the compound with live rounds. The shooting lasted for 30 minutes. None of the protesters or those within the building's compound fired back.

The security forces announced one person was killed and two injured.

By 10 pm this evening, the military was laying siege to the newspaper's compound and cut off all roads leading to the district of Crater. Soldiers have started to station on top of nearby buildings.

The newspaper hasn't published since May, when it was banned for reporting on anti-government protests in southern Yemen. Its delivery trucks were attacked and copies of the paper burned. Several of al Ayyam's journalists have been brought up on charges of "undermining unity" by reporting on the civil unrest in the south. Yemeni President Saleh is largely reviled in southern Yemen as a tyrant and a thief. Some southerners consider their lands illegally occupied by the Saleh regime after 1994's civil war.

One of the most respected and long established independent news papers in Yemen, al Ayyam recently won the ACE Freedom of the Press Award, which noted in its award:

“The Al Ayyam newspaper has shown enormous commitment and bravery by covering sensitive stories despite paying a high price for being out spoken in Yemen, one of the World’s most closed countries. Created in 1958, Al-Ayyam is one of Yemen’s leading dailies. It has no political affiliation but, with headquarters in the southern city of Aden, it acts as a mouthpiece of the inhabitants of the poor southern provinces and has provided extensive coverage of the social unrest in the south in recent months."

January 01, 2010

Al Shabab's announcement yesterday that it is coming to the defense of its Yemeni counterparts overshadows the fact that the intial airstrikes in Yemen on al Qaeda did very little actual damage to the organization. All the targeted leaders survived. The sucess of the strikes were repeatedly over-stated by the Saleh regime in its typical pattern of blatant propaganda for the western audience. Yemen's subsequent "storming" and "hunting" operations are more of the same. The AFP article notes the Yemeni government claims that 60 Islamist militants were killed. Its not true. Its not even close to being true.

AFP however does note the widely overlooked November arrest and later release of an individual at a Mogadishu airport with chemicals and a syringe.

Jihaddists have been going back and forth between Yemen and Somalia for some time. When the TFG was battling the Islamic Courts Union, there was a marked increase in terrorist traffic from Yemen to Somalia. Subsequently, the US noted somewhat of an exodus of Islamist fighters from Somalia to Yemen. Substantial amounts of weapons move from Yemen to Somalia, as the UN's monitoring committee found, and is perhaps the most destabilizing factor in Somalia's continuing chaos. Tens of thousands of Somali refugees cross the Bab al Mendab annually into Yemen. Somali pirates obtain logistical and intelligence support from sources in Yemen.

The overlapping infrastructure of refugee smugglers, arms smuggling and piracy was also noted by the UN, and of course, overlaps with al Qaeda's footprint as well. To the extent that Somali terror recruits are joining Yemeni terrorists, its the Americans among them who pose an enhanced risk to the US homeland. The Yemeni jidaddist fanatics have historical relationships with Al Qaeda Central, which remains intent on a catastrophic attack on the United States. AFP article below the fold. For everything you wanted to know about Yemen but were afraid to ask, stop by Armies of Liberation.

AFP: Somalia's hardline Shebab insurgents Friday said they will send fighters to Yemen to help an Al-Qaeda affiliate behind the failed Christmas Day jetliner bombing in its fight against government forces.

Sheikh Mukhtar Robow Abu Mansour, a senior official of the Shebab militia that pledges allegiance to Al-Qaeda, announced the plan as he presented hundreds of newly-trained fighters in the north of Mogadishu.

"We tell our Muslim brothers in Yemen that we will cross the water between us and reach your place to assist you fight the enemy of Allah," said Robow, to chants of "Allahu Akbar", or Allah is great, by the young fighters.

"Today you see what is happening in Yemen, the enemy of Allah is destroying your Muslim brothers," he added. "I call upon the young men in Arab lands to join the fight there."

Yemeni forces have been battling Al-Qaeda militants in the country and last month launched raids on suspected targets in the central and the Sanaa regions, killing more than 60 Islamist militants... On Thursday, Somalia's police chief said a man had been arrested in November at Mogadishu airport with chemicals and a syringe in a similar incident to the failed attack on the US airliner.

The suspect was however released on December 12 by a Mogadishu court which threw out a case against him for lack of evidence.

December 31, 2009

Internet jihaddist, Yemeni-American Anwar Awlaki has been a busy bee, issuing fatwas, negotiating tribal alliances, and meeting with would-be suicide bombers. In his recent public statements and interviews, Awlaki justified attacks on US military personnel as legitimate jihad. Apparently he promoted also attacks on civilians as acceptable (if not required) by Islamic law. The Freds are looking into charges.

LAT:

Under questioning by the FBI, Abdulmutallab has said that he met with Awlaki and senior Al Qaeda members during an extended trip to Yemen this year, and that the cleric was involved in some elements of planning or preparing the attack and in providing religious justification for it, officials said.

Other intelligence linking Awlaki to Abdulmutallab became apparent after the attempted bombing, including communications intercepted by the National Security Agency indicating that the cleric was meeting with "a Nigerian" in preparation for some kind of operation, according to a U.S. intelligence official....

The FBI has been investigating possible criminal charges against Awlaki stemming from his suspected attempts to spur extremists on to violence, including Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the alleged Ft. Hood shooter, an FBI official confirmed Wednesday.

But counter-terrorism officials say it was only recently that Awlaki forged close ties with the Yemen-based regional affiliate of Osama bin Laden's terrorism network, known as Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula....

Evan Kohlmann, a government counter-terrorism consultant, said Awlaki had been providing fatwas, or Islamic decrees, endorsing attacks by Al Qaeda in Yemen and playing a central role in its recruitment efforts, logistics, strategy and communications.

More recently, he said, Awlaki has been instrumental in negotiating alliances between the Al Qaeda affiliate and powerful Yemeni tribes that protect it from government crackdowns.

U.S. authorities are alarmed by Awlaki's new role within the Al Qaeda affiliate not only because of those alliances and his influence on the Internet, but because of his familiarity with the United States, its customs and security measures, said the U.S. intelligence official.

December 30, 2009

For the Pentagon to craft various war scenarios and work through the tactics and strategies is predictable.

CNN is reporting the US has begun selecting sites in Yemen to attack if President Obama orders a retaliatory strike in the aftermath of the botched Christmas Day airline bombing. US Special Operations Forces and spies are said to be already inside Yemen and working with their Yemeni counterparts to target members of al-Qaeda.

CNN also revealed the existence of a new classified agreement between the two countries that allows the US to fly cruise missiles, fighter jets and armed drones against targets in Yemen with the consent of the Yemeni government.

Under the agreement, the US will remain publicly silent on its military and intelligence actions in Yemen. Investigators are still probing the connections between the failed attack and members of al-Qaeda in Yemen. The alleged airline bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, was in Yemen up until earlier this month.

December 28, 2009

The leader of the Abyan Aden Islamic Army, Khaled Abdul Nabi, is calling for the establishment of an Islamic state in southern Yemen. Scary, yes? However as with all things Yemen, its important to look beyond the initial shock value as the Yemeni President is the King of Spin™. The Yemeni government has been trying to pin the terrorist label on the southern independence movement, so Nabi and his statement deserve a little scrutiny.

One clear example of the duplicity of Yemeni President Saleh's regime is the official propaganda involving Khaled Abdul Nabi, leader of the Abyan Aden Islamic Army. The Yemeni regime told the US in 2003 that they killed al-Nabi in a shoot-out. Yemeni officials later admitted that, no actually they let al-Nabi go, after he was spotted breathing. This was noted in the State Department's Patterns of Terrorism report issued in 2004. In 2005, top Yemeni officials claimed Nabi was completely rehabilitated and living the life of a peaceful farmer. Beginning in 2005 and through 2007, local media reported Nabi and his band of fanatics were training tribal paramilitaries for the government to battle Shiite rebels in Sa’ada.

In 2007, a newspaper (Al-Sharie) that covered the topic of jihaddists fighting for the government in the Sa'ada War was brought up on charges of revealing state secrets. The editor faced the death penalty. In 2008, the Yemeni government announced with great fanfare that they had captured the dangerous terrorist al-Nabi after an intensive five year manhunt. The tickers all said, “Yemen captures al-Qaeda terrorist after five year hunt.” In January 2009, Nabi was at the meeting in Sana'a with President Saleh along with many other state jihaddists.

In March, Nabi was fighting on the side of the regime in the Ja'ar battle (or as we call it now, Ja'aristan). The later April 2009 prison release of 100+ jihaddists was defended by the Yemeni embassy here, which said they were mostly aged members of the Aden Abyan Islamic Army and not real al Qaeda. Currently Nabi is calling for an Islamic state in southern Yemen. It could well be real or yet another ploy of the Saleh regime to link the southern movement with al Qaeda, although al Qaeda is more properly linked with the Saleh regime itself. The original links are somewhere on my site.

Al Tagheer: Khalid Abdul Nabi, the leader of the Islamist "jihadists Abyan" in a speech through the "al Tagheer" invited the sons of the southern governorates to establish an Islamic state, warning them of being dragged into what he called "The Way of the West" and falling into the trap of evil thought, referring to the Communist Socialist Party, of the sons of the south that has experienced the scourges and calamities has been proven with certainty and in fact the failure of this pernicious ideology and also followed by a secular or other ideas are not subject to the law of God has also been proven with certainty and in fact failing."

And advised the people of the South "to return sincere with God and his law .. the way that does not change no matter how times have changed and the place is the path of Islam, the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad is the road to pride and dignity," adding "I am addressing fellow citizens that you do not raise this slogan is not expected but humiliation and humiliation, shame and disgrace in this world and the loss Day of Resurrection."

The terrorist leader (Nabi) warned the sons of the southern provinces not to stand behind any one on behalf of separation or on behalf of the Yemeni unity, saying "If the call is not on the separation of the right or do not follow the law of God, this is unacceptable not to recommend that the brothers followed in Imshaw behind and ultimately deadly days will highlight this speech, but if the call for a separation because the state did not achieve God's law and call for contempt of God's law is another matter.He also added "I do not fall prey to false slogans we hear every day whether through newspapers, TV and radio channels and forums, the more the owners of these logos are people who are known for .. blood on their hands and their books black line had been our history

He called in his speech through the "change" to the people of South Yemen, "the use of Muslim Scholars, truthful and employees the right word and circumvent around them and champion their religion, the religion is the way out and a way to survive"

He also said "for the current situation .. we must stick to our religion, who wants to escape from the narrow case we see, we live today and he also wanted to take the road west and God does not only humiliation and humiliation and disgrace in this world before the Hereafter, and whoever wants to honor and comfort, tranquility, and pride, victory and empowerment he should stick to religion. "

IN light of the recent developments in Yemen, I made a rough timeline of what we actually know happened in the last two weeks. There were two rounds of air raids on al Qaeda training camps in Yemen. First round was 12/17 on two targets: a camp north of the capital Sana'a in Arhab and another in Abyan that was near a Bedouin village. (And yes, the villagers had complained to the local officials who did nothing.) Al Qaeda leader Qasim al Reimi managed to slip away before the raid in Arhab. Yemeni officials claimed 60 al Qaeda were killed but some were al Qaeda family members or the nearby villagers.

Abyan is south Yemen, which has been in Intifada mode since 2007, with ever larger peaceful protests countered by live fire and mass arrests by security forces. Many southerners and opposition members of Parliament assumed the Yemeni government had begun bombing the south (under the guise of counter-terror) as is has been carpet bombing the north, with Saudi help, since August, creating massive displacement. The Yemeni government uses the terrorism card against its opponents regularly.

On Christmas Eve, there was another round of air strikes in Shabwa where internet jihaddist, Anwar Awlaki lives. The target was actually USS Cole bomber, Fahd al Quso's farm where a high level meeting was supposedly taking place to plot revenge for the first attack. None of the terror leaders were killed, and so far two casualties have been identified as Abdul al-Monim Salim Al-Qahtani and Muhammad Aldjadni Aldgari . Although the Yemeni government says 30 were killed, more reliable local reports put the number at seven.

On Christmas Day, a Nigerian tried to blow up a plane as it was landing in the US using explosives obtained from al Qaeda in Yemen, a type that had been previously used in a murder attempt on Saudi Prince Naif. (The Butt Bomber also used PETN.) An additional 25 Brits are thought to be under going training in Yemen for suicide missions in the west.

The al Qaeda training camps are well known and often supported by members of the government. We have pointed out the location of several camps here and the fact that they are often facilitated by the Yemeni intelligence services. Count on that. I have been whining for years about the fact that it is the Yemeni military that often provides the safe houses, training and passports to the jihaddists that travel to Iraq to attempt to kill US troops.

And while it is true that vast swaths of Yemen are beyond the government control, the thing the MSM is missing entirely is the Yemeni government uses al Qaeda as mercenaries in various ways. The Yemeni government has used al Qeda jihaddists since 2005 to fight the northern rebels in the Sa'ada war and to train tribal militias.

To follow, the latest ramblings from the Yemeni al Qaeda fanatics in response to the first air strike, posted at NEFA in which they condemn the raid in Abyan and

“And lastly, we call upon the proud tribes of Yemen—people of support and victory—and the people of the Arabian Peninsula, to face the crusader campaign and their cooperatives on the peninsula of Muhammad, prayer and peace upon him, and that’s through attacking their military bases, intelligence embassies, and their fleets that exist on the water and land of the Arabian Peninsula; until we stop the continuous massacres on the Muslim countries."

I've been concerned that al Qaeda in Yemen would launch some type of "naval jihad" against the assorted western navies which are on anti-piracy ops in the Bab al Mendab. To the extent that Somali and Yemeni al Qaeda are in contact, and the pirates are already paying for intel on where the ships are, the sea is a potential theater of operations as it was in both the 2000 USS Cole and 2002 Limburg attacks.

NEFA also notes in what seems a foreshadowing of the airliner plot: On October 29, 2009, Al-Qaida's network in Yemen (AQIY) released the 11th edition of their official magazine Sada al-Malahim, which included an article written by the top commander of AQIY, Abu Basir al-Wahishi, titled "War is a Trick." In the article, al-Wahishi advised would-be Al-Qaida members on how to utilize all available weapons to kill "apostates" and Western nationals. He urged them to target "airports in the western crusade countries that participated in the war against Muslims; or on their planes, or in their residential complexes or their subways."

For more history on al Qaeda in Yemen, you can also see my archive of articles that dates back to 2005 and outlines the Yemeni government's utilization and facilitation of al Qaeda.

December 26, 2009

Civilian refugees, mostly women and children, are being deliberately starved to death by the Yemeni government. They became refugees when they fled the government's bombing campaign "Operation Scorched Earth" launched in August to combat the Houthi rebels. The Yemeni government refuses to stop bombing long enough to re-stock the camp, or to create a humanitarian corridor to enable the UN to reach the tens of thousands of civilians who are not in a camp. But what good is being in a refugee camp if there's no food, water or medicine?

The Yemeni government is bombing hospitals, villages, cites, mosques and a variety of infrastructure like water tanks. The Saudi bombing campaign which began Nov 2 in support of the Yemeni government continues in Sa'ada as well, with civilian casualties high.

Sahwa Net – Hundreds of the displaced of Al-Mazraq camp in the western Yemeni province of Hajjah protested on Saturday as their essential supplies of food run out.

Reports are that 350 al Qaeda are in an inaccessible area of Shabwa, Yemen.

A reliable source, al Tagheer: According to the sources, Aulaqi returned to the area and began practicing refusal to live a normal life with his family which is still up to this moment with him and then started preaching to people in the mosque every Friday and began to recognize a group of young people and meet them.

Also in the area, convicted USS Cole bomber Fahd al Quso. That's really the news here. The guy already blew up a US warship, what's his follow up going to be? This is the last man standing from the 2000 Malaysia meeting where both the USS Cole bombing and 9/11 were planned. Al Quso is on bin Laden's short list of trusted lieutenants. Al Quso was convicted in Yemen and sentenced to ten years in jail, escaped, returned and then was granted an early release in 2007 by our ally, the war criminal President Ali Abduallah Saleh. Al Quso was indicted on over 50 counts of terror related charges in 2003 but was listed as one of the FBI's most wanted terrorists last month.

And when oh when will the MSM realize the Yemeni dictatorship is not a reliable source. Its a lying al-Qaeda infiltrated, mafia government that spins the western media time after time with out and out BS.

December 24, 2009

Update 5 by Jane: Abdulelah Shayer, who conducted both interviews, just confirmed on al Jazeera that Anwar Awlaki is alive. Its early yet but reports are:

Cole bomber Fahd Al Quso- not dead
Cyber Jihaddist Anwar Awlaki- not dead
Head of al Qaeda in Yemen Nasir al Wahishi- not dead
Saudi al Qaeda deputy, Gitmo graduate Saeed Ali al-Shehri- not dead
There's five confirmed dead, including Mohammmed Saleh Awlaki, shown in a video below who, it turns out, is the son of the former head of the security forces in Lahj governorate.

When the Yemeni government starts shutting down independent Yemeni news websites, as happened today, then usually something is fishy with their story. Maybe not, time will tell.

Update 4 by Jane: In addition to the interview published today with Anwar Awlaki, Fahd al Quso also gave an interview before the raid that was published by al Jazeera today. Al Quso was added to the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists list last month according to the interview.

He said (roughly translated) the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who interrogated him after the attack on the 2000 al Qaeda attack on the USS Cole, believed there is a link between the attack and important Yemeni official figures including Brigadier General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, half-brother of the President, the Yemeni Islamic Reform Party's leader, Sheikh Abdul Majid Al Zindani, and the son of the president, Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Al Quso said he was released by judicial decision in 2007, and that Washington objected to his release from prison. Al Quso also said U.S. investigators interrogated him directly after his arrest in Yemen. They told him that foreknowledge of the bombing of the Cole means "to participate and punishable by death," pointing out that Yemen's judiciary sentenced on such participation.

According to Yemenat, Yemen's Supreme Security Committee said one air strike today was on al Quso's farm. And as noted below, al Quso is not among the dead. It's not yet confirmed that Anwar Awlaki is dead but this guy definately is:

Mohammad Ahmed Saleh al-Oumir (Mohammmed Saleh Awlaki), a relative of al Quso, is dead, killed in today's airstrikes. This Awlaki showed up with other al Qaeda operative at a rally in Abyan and said Al Qaeda's fight is not with the Yemeni military but with the US only.

UPDATE 3 by Rusty: The CIA's Christmas present to America? Fox News reporting that Colorado born American traitor Anwar al Awlaki is dead!

If it pans out this is big. How big? Al Awlaki (no, it's not Aulaqui) was al Qaeda's number one unofficial spokesman online. Al Awlaki like no other imam bridged the gap between cyber jihad and actual jihad.

His website was really a blog devoted to jihad. But his comments section was so active that it took on many of the attributes of a forum - which is why we never publicly called for it to be taken down. His comments were full of self-identified Americans and Europeans who vocally supported jihad.

His blog posts and sermons on the website urged his thousands of online followers to support various Salafi jihadi groups like al Qaeda, the Taliban, and al Shabaab.

This is how we should handle cyber jihadis. Yes, we should kill them.

This is war. They are the enemy. In war you kill the enemy.

And Anwar al Awlaki was cyber enemy #1.

But this is also a two-fer: Anwar was born in the US and spent most of his adult life here which makes him not just the enemy but a traitor.

Buh bye Anwar, I hope you enjoy your goat wives in hell.

~Rusty's vacationing iPhone.

Update 2 by Jane: Yemeni news site Marib Press is reporting the five names of the terrorists killed in the Shabwa strike, and Anwar Awlaki isn't among them. Fox News says US officials believe he's dead.

Update by Jane: Nasser Arrabyee reports the five killed were all associates of Fahd al Quso, convicted in Yemen as a conspirator in the 2000 al Qaeda attack on the USS Cole that killed 17 US service members. Al Quso escaped Yemeni jail in 2003 and was indicted in NY federal court for 50 counts of terrorism. Al Quso was re-jailed in 2004 and has been free since 2006, despite a ten year prison sentence. Al Quso survived the raid, Arrabyee reports. The five who were killed were all of the Awlaki tribe. The New York Times is reporting Anwar Awlaki was killed in the raid. There were multiple air strikes in multiple locations, will update as info becomes available.

Yesterday al Jazeera published a new interview with Anwar Awlaki, Yemeni-American terror cleric, in which he says that Nidal Hassan inquired by email specifically about the Islamic legitimacy of killing US soldiers. These are the emails the FBI said were consistent with research. Later the DC FBI field office said "San Diego failed to communicate the e-mails -- but San Diego (FBI field office) pestered the sh*t out of them, sending e-mails multiple times. The Washington field office didn't do anything on it," Voice of San Diego reports. Excerpts from the Aljazeera.net interview with Al-'Awlaqi, care of MEMRI, below the fold.

Today an air strike targeted Awlaki's house in Shabwa, Yemen where an meeting of top level al Qaeda was taking place. The Washington Post reports: The strike appeared to target the home of Anwar al-Aulaqi, the extremist Yemeni-American preacher linked to the suspected gunman in the Fort Hood army base attack in November. A Yemeni government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said al-Qaeda leaders were believed to be meeting at the house. It was unknown whether Aulaqi was present at the gathering, and, if so, whether he died or escaped, the official said.

Reports indicate the head of Al Qaeda in Yemen, Nasir al Wahishi and several others were gathered to plan retailiation for airstrikes earlier in the week in Abyan and Sana'a. For details and developments, visit AOL (me).

Memri: Following are excerpts from the Aljazeera.net interview with Al-'Awlaqi:

Question: "What is your connection with Nidal Hasan, and when did it begin?"
Answer: "Nidal Hasan prayed at my mosque when I was imam at the Dar Al-Hijra mosque."
Q: "When was your first meeting?"
A: "About nine years ago, when I was imam of the Dar Al-Hijra mosque in the capital Washington, a mosque which is one of the biggest Islamic centers in America."
Q: "[There are] reports that there was more than that."
A: "Brother Nidal used to contact me via email last year, until the middle of this year."
Q: "When did the correspondence with Nidal begin?"
A: "I got the first message from Nidal on December 17, 2008."
Q: "Who initiated the correspondence, you or him?"
A: "He initiated the correspondence with me."
Q: "What did the correspondence contain?"
A: "He was asking about killing American soldiers and officers. [He asked] whether this is a religiously legitimate act or not."
Q: "So he asked you that question about a year before the operation was carried out?"
A: "Yes. And I wondered how the American security agencies, who claim to be able to read car license plate numbers from space, everywhere in the world, I wondered how [they did not reveal this]."
Q: "What did Nidal want from you in his messages?"
A: "Naturally, as I told you, the first message was asking for an edict regarding the [possibility] of a Muslim soldier killing his colleagues who serve with him in the American army. In other messages, Nidal was clarifying his position regarding the killing of Israeli civilians. He was in support of this, and in his messages he mentioned the religious justifications for targeting the Jews with missiles. Then there were some messages in which he asked for a way through which he could transfer some funds to us [and by this] participate in charitable activities."
Q: "There are other indications to your connections with Nidal, one of which is that you blessed what he did three days after he did it."
A: "My support to the operation was because the operation that brother Nidal carried out was a courageous one, and I endeavored to explain my position regarding what happened because many Islamic organizations and preachers in the West condemned the operation. So it was necessary for me [to raise] a voice that is [myself] connected to the Muslims in America and the West, while at the same time is independent and explains the truth regarding what Nidal did, especially since the media tried to connect him to me from the very beginning."
Q: "Why did you bless Nidal Hasan's act?"
A: "Because Nidal's target was a military target inside America, and there is no question about this. Then, also, those members of the military [i.e. the victims] were not regular soldiers; rather they were prepared and preparing themselves to go to battle and to kill downtrodden Muslims and to commit crimes in Afghanistan."....

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December 23, 2009

German newspapers are reporting that three children kidnapped in Yemen along with their parents June 13 were seen alive in a video. There's no indication yet about the circumstances of the video or how it was obtained. The German government hasn't confirmed or denied the reports.

The children, their parents and four other medical workers on a picnic in Yemen's northern Sa'ada region were kidnapped at gunpoint by unknown persons. Three young nurses were found murdered days later. Besides the children and their parents, a British engineer remains missing in Yemen. See my category "nine hostages" for full coverage since the incident.

The Yemeni government instantly blamed the Houthi rebels for the kidnapping, although there were no indications at all of who was responsible. Along with western investigators, Yemeni authorities launched a search, discovering an al Qaeda traning camp in an abandoned military outpost. Other hypothesis pointed to a power struggle among major drug dealers with the authorities.

At the time of the kidnapping, the rebels and others postulated that the Germans' kidnapping was a precursor to another war, pointing specifically to the alleged "false flag" attack on the bin Sallem mosque that preceded the fifth Sa'ada war in northern Yemen. War resumed in August, with devastating consequences on the civilian population.

Berlin - The three children of a German family kidnapped in Yemen have appeared in a video sent to the German government, Bild newspaper reported on Wednesday. The video reportedly showed that the children aged one, three and five were still alive. The newspaper quoted a government official as saying, 'The children look exhausted.' The condition of the parents, who had worked in a hospital in Saada province, remained unclear.

Foreign Office spokesmen refused to confirm or deny having received the video, thought to have been recorded in recent weeks, and said they were 'continuing to look for a resolution.' from M&C

December 22, 2009

The Yemeni government continues to block international aid to the 700,000 affected persons in the northern Sa'ada War. The regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh refuses to consider a humanitarian cease-fire and the lack of food, water and medicine in the war zone has become broadly lethal according to a new report by Doctors without Borders (MSF).

More at Armies of Liberation.

December 21, 2009

Yemeni local sources report that jihaddists who had earlier fought in Iraq and Afghanistan are now fighting for the Yemeni military in the Sa'ada War against the Houthi rebels.

During the siege of Old Saada City last week, "mujahadeen" fighters or state jihaddists included Mohammed Ali Misrat who was killed in battle. Al Qaeda operatives were spotted on the roofs of the city with their guns. "Others were advancing (as an) army are fully armed and equipped (for) combat during the raid (on Old Sa'ada City)," Attagammua reported.

Their leader (and ally of the state of Yemen) is Mohammed al-Edha Shabebah, a 45 year old "well known personality" who returned from Afghanistan. Known as a hardline Islamist, he was seen calling on the rebels to surrender through a megaphone. Local press reports Shabebah was arrested two years ago in Saudi Arabia on terror related offenses and released after a year to Yemeni custody. He is suspected of recruiting and smuggling fighters to Iraq.

The Yemeni government has been using al Qaeda operatives to train tribal fighters or to fight the Saada War since 2005. I wrote about this particular flow in March and the jihaddist build-up in Sa'ada several times after.

3/29/09: In the north, newly arrived foreign terrorists have begun organizing. Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh reportedly struck a deal with Ayman al Zawahiri late last year. Zawahiri would supply Saleh with al Qaeda terrorists to aid the military’s efforts in the Saada War against northern Shiite rebels. A significant number of terrorists arrived in Sa’ada by March. The Yemen Times reported, “Jihadist groups, or Salafia – including Yemenis and foreigners from neighboring Arab and non-Arab countries – started gathering in areas around villages and towns where Houthi supporters live.” The report indicated the Yemeni military was overseeing the build-up.

Al Tajamo described the “striking emergence of Salafi groups” which included “members of various Arab nationalities as well as citizens from different provinces.” The groups were in the process of organizing a unified structure, the paper said. The Yemeni government deployed al Qaeda terrorists as both fighters and trainers in the Saada War since 2005.

There have been numerous recent reports of some al Qaeda migration from Iraq and Afghanistan to Yemen. The assumption is that they are going to Yemen to fight against Saleh or because of pressure in other theaters or to launch attacks against Saudi Arabia. However, the possibility is very real that they are coming to President Saleh's assistance.

Even discounting aforementioned intercept from Saad bin Laden on behalf of Zawaheri, its in al Qaeda's best interests to keep Yemeni President Saleh marginally in power; there will never be another more leader accommodating.

Aspects of the Yemeni government are thought to provide training, passports and travel accommodations to jihaddists traveling to Iraq. Moreover, Sa'ada itself is a strategic location for al Qaeda.

In news regarding the recent US assisted counter-terror air strikes, during which the intended al Qaeda target escaped and 29 civilians were killed, the Yemen Post reports, "Dozens of locals informed the government of the Al-Qaeda training camp, which has been there for more than four months, but the government did nothing about it." The Yemen Times has new casualty figures and notes, "most of the civilian causalities were located between one to two kilometers away from the jihadist’s camp."

Attagamnua translated, and a direct link.