- Joined
- Feb 26, 2012
- Messages
- 56,981
- Reaction score
- 27,029
- Location
- Chicago Illinois
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Private
Re: U.S. Flees Yemen
Heya Matchlight. :2wave: Its more of a problem than BO and his team is letting on. Parties are split 3 ways and with the supporters of Selah in the mix.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Once hailed by President Barack Obama as a model for fighting extremism, the U.S. counterterrorism strategy in Yemen has all but collapsed as the country descends into chaos, according to U.S. and Yemeni officials. Operations against militants have been scaled back dramatically amid the fall of the American-backed government and the evacuation of U.S. personnel. What had been consistent pressure on Yemen's dangerous al-Qaida affiliate has been eased, the officials say, and a safe haven exists for the development of an offshoot of the Islamic State group.
It's a swift and striking transformation for an anti-terror campaign Obama heralded just six months ago as the template for efforts to fight the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The shift has left Obama open to criticism that he failed to anticipate the risks of a light footprint strategy that aims to put fragile governments and beleaguered local security forces, not the U.S. military, at the forefront.
"Certainly, repositioning our forces out of Yemen will make our fight against AQAP more difficult. There is no question about that," Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren said Tuesday. Former CIA director Michael Hayden told Congress that U.S. intelligence relationships in Yemen "will erode over time because of our lack of physical presence in the county.".....snip~
US counterterrorism strategy in Yemen collapses amid chaos - AP News 3/24/2015 12:41 PM
It's obviously not desirable no longer to have 125 members of the special forces training the forces of Yemen's nominal government to fight jihadists. But I don't see how they could have been gathering intelligence. And Djibouti is still available as a drone base, as are U.S. ships. If the U.S. wanted to kill a jihadist in Shabwa province, a Fire Scout launched from a destroyer could do the job.
There must be locals in Yemen who can be recruited, for pay, to let us know what is going on there. I would think friendly Arab countries like Jordan or Oman might also be able to send someone who could blend in there and report back. After all, they have an interest in what is happening there, too. And obviously Saudi Arabia will have someone in Yemen watching events. This does harm the credibility of Mr. Obama's policy in the area, but how much credibility did it have to begin with?
Heya Matchlight. :2wave: Its more of a problem than BO and his team is letting on. Parties are split 3 ways and with the supporters of Selah in the mix.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Once hailed by President Barack Obama as a model for fighting extremism, the U.S. counterterrorism strategy in Yemen has all but collapsed as the country descends into chaos, according to U.S. and Yemeni officials. Operations against militants have been scaled back dramatically amid the fall of the American-backed government and the evacuation of U.S. personnel. What had been consistent pressure on Yemen's dangerous al-Qaida affiliate has been eased, the officials say, and a safe haven exists for the development of an offshoot of the Islamic State group.
It's a swift and striking transformation for an anti-terror campaign Obama heralded just six months ago as the template for efforts to fight the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The shift has left Obama open to criticism that he failed to anticipate the risks of a light footprint strategy that aims to put fragile governments and beleaguered local security forces, not the U.S. military, at the forefront.
"Certainly, repositioning our forces out of Yemen will make our fight against AQAP more difficult. There is no question about that," Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren said Tuesday. Former CIA director Michael Hayden told Congress that U.S. intelligence relationships in Yemen "will erode over time because of our lack of physical presence in the county.".....snip~
US counterterrorism strategy in Yemen collapses amid chaos - AP News 3/24/2015 12:41 PM
Last edited: