US: “no boots on the ground in Yemen”

Chiara Onasssis | 13 March 2012

SANA’A: The Yemeni government admitted today that the US was indeed behind recent air strikes in the country which allegedly were allowed as to rid the country of the growing al-Qaeda threat.

Ever since the presidential elections last month, Ansar al-Sharia, an offshoot of al-Qaeda in the region declared war on the central government, vowing to turn Yemen into an Islamic caliphate. The group’s threats were soon put in practice as their armed militants launched a series of bloody attacks against the armed forces, spreading fear and death everywhere they went.

Non content to assault the military, the group also targeted government buildings in highly populated cities across several provinces of the South, creating a sentiment of insecurity amongst civilians.

The Americans which so far have been using drones, unmanned planes to strike alleged al-Qaeda bases and leaders are now believed to be preparing for a more “visible” presence on the ground as sources close to the presidential palace are claiming troops have arrived near the southern city of Aden to land a hand to Yemen’s armed forces.

The US government, for the past few years, has emphatically said that ‘boots on the ground’ were not an inevitability in Yemen.

Although President Abdu Rabbo Mansour Hadi vowed to destroy the terror threat and to assist the Pentagon in every possible way in its fight against terrorism, many Yemenis who already are less than kindly looking upon an invasion of their air space, might not keenly welcome the arrival of American soldiers.

 “Al-Qaeda is a Yemeni problem, if the Americans want to assist fine, let them send money and supplies. A military base or even the coming of a few soldiers is not tolerable!” said a former General.