All of Us Must
Hope That U.S. Finds Every Suspicious Package
"Yemen,
Saudi Arabia, or for that matter Afghanistan and Pakistan, all countries facing
the extremist threat, can do only so much to check, prevent and neutralize sinister
plots like these."
The latest terror plot
targeting the U.S. is shocking, but not altogether surprising. Also not
unexpected is the Middle East connection (in this case, Yemen). The security
and political situation in Yemen has been deteriorating for some time. Deservedly
or not, this Arab state has a reputation as a breeding ground for groups like al-Qaeda.
While Yemen has to be more vigorous in its efforts to get a handle on terror
and its Arab neighbors must do everything possible to help the government in
Sanaa, U.S. authorities and the West should see the big picture. Otherwise
they'll end up repeating history and the mistakes of the recent past.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
The fact that this is the
second plot in less than a year traced back to Yemen can be no coincidence. The
case of Nigerian underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab,
who allegedly tried to blow up a U.S.-bound airliner over the Atlantic last
December, is still fresh in public memory. Ten years ago this month, the USS Cole was
hit by a suicide attack while it was berthed at Yemen's Port of Aden. Seventeen
sailors were killed. Two years ago, in an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa, 16
people were killed - including six attackers.
Yemen, a Texas-sized country
at the confluence of Asia and Africa with a desperately impoverished population
of 23 million, has clearly emerged as a safe haven/incubator for all sorts of
extremist groups that pose a clear and present danger - not just to the West,
but Yemen, Saudi Arabia and others in the region.
With a separatist movement
and a rebellion by Shiite/Houthi
tribesmen raging at the same time, and government control being increasingly challenged
by tribal groups and forces like al-Qaeda, Yemen is doubtless experiencing an
existential crisis.
Interestingly, many of those
joining al-Qaeda in Yemen are Americans, such as fiery cleric Anwar al-Awlaki [video below], who
now has a price on his head, and misguided men like Abdulmutallab, who either
grew up in the West or have a Western education. They claim to be waging a so-called
jihad against America to avenge its perceived injustices, unjust wars in the
Muslim world and its blind support and protection of Israel.
It’s hardly a coincidence, therefore,
that the purported targets of the latest plot were Jewish synagogues in and
around Chicago. There is a clear method to their madness. While Yemen needs all
the support it can get from the U.S., its Arab neighbors and the global
community in tackling this latest challenge to its security and sovereignty, the
source of the malaise lies elsewhere.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
Yemen, Saudi Arabia, or for
that matter Afghanistan and Pakistan, all countries facing the extremist threat,
can do only so much to check, prevent and neutralize sinister plots like these.
Imagine the terrible consequences if this plot had reached its logical conclusion.
What U.S. president wants to be seen as being “soft” on national security? But
what's really needed is surgical attention to the source of the cancer, good
intelligence and police work.
It is however heartening to
learn that Yemeni authorities are checking dozens more packages in a search for
the terrorists. Investigators are examining 24 other packages in the capital of
Sanaa. U.S. President Obama said on Friday that the United States would spare
no effort to find the source of the packages. We hope that America succeeds, for
in the final analysis, that is in the interest of Yemen and its neighbors.
