Obama's Next War: Yemen, or Iran?

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Yemen PM says country needs "tens of billions" in aid

(Reuters) - Yemen needs billions of dollars in aid and has received assurances of financial help from oil-rich Gulf Arab neighbors after a year of violent political turmoil over the fate of its president, Prime Minister Mohammed Basindwa said on Monday.

Basindwa, who leads a government tasked with preparing for a February election to pick a successor to President Ali Abdullah Saleh, also said he wanted Saleh to leave Yemen before the vote.

"I'm hopeful he will leave (before February 21)," he told Reuters in the interview, on the sidelines of a conference in the United Arab Emirates, one leg of a regional tour aimed at drumming up aid.

"But let us wait and see," he added.

Saleh has agreed to step down under the terms of a deal crafted by the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) - and backed by a U.N. Security Council resolution - aimed at ending nearly a year of protests demanding he steps down.

Forces loyal to Saleh are believed to have killed over 200 protesters during the uprising, in which a rebel army division and militias loyal to tribal chieftains have waged bouts of open war with his forces in the capital Sanaa and elsewhere.

Basindwa's government signed off on a law granting Saleh and those who worked with him immunity from prosecution, a central element of the deal rejected by youth protesters, who denounce the interim government for agreeing to it.

Basindwa said aid from Yemen's neighbors was crucial to rebuilding the country, one of the poorest in the Arab world, and which the United States and Saudi Arabia view as a potential foothold for al Qaeda.

"In late March or early April they will establish a fund for Yemen," he said. "Yemen needs a lot of money to rebuild to achieve prosperity, to eliminate poverty, unemployment and thereby also terrorism. It needs billions of dollars, tens of billions of dollars."

He said Yemen has received assurances of financial help from the GCC countries led by Saudi Arabia, but no set figures or a timeline for disbursing the funds.

Any aid would bypass his government and be spent directly on approved development projects, he said.

"Our role will be just to submit a list of projects Yemen needs in all its governorates," Basindwa said.

"They'll after (that) hold tenders and choose the right companies to implement. We will have nothing to do with choosing the consultants, companies that will carry out such projects... We don't want cash money from that fund going to our Treasury."

Any successor to Saleh will face multiple, overlapping regional conflicts including resurgent separatist sentiment in the south, where Islamist fighters have also seized chunks of territory and control large parts of the province of Abyan.

Yemen's political chaos has deepened a pre-existing humanitarian crisis, with about half a million displaced and one-third of children suffering from moderate or acute malnutrition, according to a recent government and U.N. survey.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/16/us-yemen-aid-idUSTRE80F16520120116

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Al Qaeda in Yemen captures town south of capital

SANAA, Yemen – A band of Al Qaeda militants seized full control of a town 100 miles south of the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Monday, overrunning army positions, storming the local prison and freeing at least 150 inmates, security officials said.

The capture of Radda expanded already significant territorial conquests by the militants, who have taken advantage of the weak central government and political turmoil roiling the nation for the past year during an uprising inspired by Arab Spring revolts. Authoritarian President Ali Abdullah Saleh recently agreed to step down, but he remains a powerful force within the country and a spark for ongoing unrest.

The group had previously taken control of a string of towns in the mostly lawless south. But its capture of Radda is particularly important because it gives the militants a territorial foothold closer than ever before to the capital, where many sleeper cells of the terror network are thought to be located.

An Associated Press photographer who visited Radda on Sunday said the militants were armed with rocket-propelled grenades, automatic rifles and other weapons. He quoted residents as saying the black Al Qaeda banner has been raised atop the mosque they captured over the weekend.

The opposition accused Saleh, who is to step down this month in line with a power transfer deal, of allowing the militants to overrun Radda along with two other towns in southern Abyan province captured previously -- Zinjibar and Jaar -- to bolster his claims that he must remain in power to secure the country against the rising power of Islamist militants.

Some tribal leaders also accused Saleh of giving the "green light" to the militants to overrun the city.

"We are surprised by the silence of the security forces," said opposition activist Abdel-Rahman al-Rashid, who lives in Radda. "They have not moved, which only means that this is all arranged to spark chaos."

The United States and its western and Gulf Arab allies such as Saudi Arabia long considered Saleh a pivotal ally in the fight against Yemen's active Al Qaeda branch, which has been linked to terror attacks on U.S. soil and is believed to be one of the international terror organization's most dangerous franchises. The U.S. withdrew its support last summer and said Saleh should step down.

According to security officials, a band of about 200 militants pushed into Radda on Monday from several points they had captured over the weekend, including an ancient castle that overlooks the town, a school and a mosque. They stormed the local jail and freed 150-200 inmates, including an unspecified number of militants loyal to Al Qaeda.

Some of the freed inmates joined the militants after they were given arms, according to the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the media.

The officials said the Al Qaeda fighters were led by Tariq Al-Zahab, a Yemeni whose sister was married to U.S.-born Al Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, killed in a U.S. airstrike last September.

The fighters later threw up a security ring around Radda, preventing residents from leaving or entering, and killed two soldiers and wounded a third in clashes with army troops. They also seized weapon caches and vehicles from the security headquarters.

In midday, clashes erupted between Al Qaeda militants and armed tribesmen, leaving one dead and two wounded, according to a member of al-Qayfa tribe which took part in the clashes. He also spoke on condition of anonymity because of security concerns.

Monday's attack prompted stores and schools in Radda to close. Thousands demonstrated in the provincial capital of Bayda to protest the perceived failure of security forces to protect the town, which has a population of about 40,000.

Radda is part of Bayda province, a key transit route between the capital and Yemen's southern provinces where Al Qaeda-linked militants have already seized control of a swath of territory and towns in Abyan province. Radda is only about 16 miles away from a main road that links Sanaa to eight provinces, raising the specter that taking the town could be a prelude to isolating the capital.

Al Qaeda-linked militants began seizing territory in the southern Abyan province last spring, solidifying their control over the town of Jaar in April before taking the provincial capital, Zinjibar, in May. Abyan borders Bayda.

Yemeni security forces have been trying unsuccessfully to push them out since then in fierce fighting that has caused many casualties on both sides. The conflict has forced tens of thousands of civilians from Zinjibar and the surrounding area to flee, many to the port city of Aden.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/01/16/report-al-qaeda-militants-capture-town-in-yemen/#ixzz1jdpchMGY

[웃 910]

We live in a very dangerous world. We need a bigger military to investigate and patrol these countries.

Edited January 16, 2012 by ☠

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

We live in a very dangerous world. We need a bigger military to investigate and patrol these countries.

Or, we can just stay home, and let them work it out without us.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

We live in a very dangerous world. We need a bigger military to investigate and patrol these countries.

No, just let them be. Whatever they do, whatever aid they give, whatever they buy, whoever they make war with...they need to sell oil to do it. they have NO other way to make money. Turmoil results in more oil sales and a drop in prices. During the Iran-Iraq war oil prices dropped to less than $10 per barrel after being as high as $50.

the THREAT of turmoil sends oil prices up but ACTUAL turmoil and war drop the prices right out the bottom. Bad news for Texas, which is why Bush supported the interventions.

Bring our troops home, we will buy their oil cheap so we can sell them bullets and rifles.

Edited January 17, 2012 by Gary and Alla

[luckytxn 2,264]

Or, we can just stay home, and let them work it out without us.

That would be my idea. Send CNN to cover their spats and we can text how we think it will end. The ones that come closest wins a trip somewhere nice.

If this idea gets picked up as a reality show I want royalties.