March 11, 2012
LOLITA C. BALDOR
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon plans to resume programs that would pay for
military training and equipment in Yemen, nearly a year after halting aid to
the key counterterrorism partner because of escalating internal chaos.
While no agreements have been cemented, U.S. defense officials said as
much as $75 million in military assistance could begin to flow this year. The
officials said the Pentagon and State Department are putting together a letter
to send to Congress to request restarted the aid.
The plan is in line with the Obama administration's intention to provide
significant security and civilian aid to Yemen in 2012-13 as long as the Middle
Eastern country makes progress toward a new government and the money is kept
from insurgents.
One senior military official said discussions have begun over how best
the United States can help Yemen, which is putting a new U.S.-backed government
in place. The official said it may be difficult to relaunch the
counterterrorism training that was suspended about a year ago because Yemeni
forces are engaged in battle with the al-Qaida-linked insurgency based in the
country.
Instead, the training program could shift to focus less on fighting
tactics and more on how to plan combat operations and strategize against the
enemy.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because no final decisions
have been made.
Widespread protests, coupled with pressure from the U.S., led to the
ouster of longtime ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh. U.S. leaders have said they
believe that new president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, will be a good partner to
the U.S.
The renewed effort come as al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula also is
experiencing its own transition. While often described as the chief terrorist
threat for strikes inside the U.S., the group hasn't surfaced as a main source
in any domestic threats for more than a year.
The killing in a U.S. drone strike last fall in Yemen of Anwar
al-Awlaki, the U.S.-born radical militant cleric, has set back the group's efforts
outside Yemen. Al-Awlaki was linked to the planning and execution of several
attacks targeting U.S. and Western interests, including the attempt to down a
Detroit-bound airliner in 2009 and the plot to bomb cargo planes in 2010.
But it's hard to tell how long the lull may last.
"What we don't necessarily know is are they going to be focusing
much more on Yemen, or is it a short-term thing, to be able to build up time
and capacity to be able to strike at a far enemy," said Frank Cilluffo,
director of a homeland security studies program at George Washington
University. He was White House domestic security adviser to President George W.
Bush.
Officials warn that the group has taken broad advantage of the unrest in
Yemen to expand its foothold in the south, capture weapons, ammunition and
equipment and score successes against the Yemeni military.
Yemeni military officials said Saturday that two U.S. airstrikes killed
at least 18 al-Qaida-linked militants in an evening attack on a central
province that had been partly overrun by the group this year. A U.S. Central
Command spokesman declined to comment on any American role in the strikes.
Al-Qaida in the Arab Peninsula "has been degraded by the strike and
the loss of al-Awlaki, but that doesn't mean they are not a threat," said
Stewart Baker, a former assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland
Security who is now with the law firm of Steptoe & Johnson. "Their
talent pool was thin and made thinner."
But counterterrorism experts said the al-Qaida affiliate has proved
willing to attempt attacks and fail, in the hopes of an eventual success. Cilluffo
said the group still represents the most active and focused domestic threat to
the U.S., largely because bomb-maker Ibrahim al-Asiri is alive and active.
The U.S. has poured more than $326 million in security and civilian
assistance into Yemen since 2007, fueled by the escalating threat from the
Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. The aid abruptly stopped last
year as political and security unrest raged.
Initial plans by the Pentagon to send at least $150 million in aid to
Yemen last year were shut down and no new military aid was approved.
Pentagon leaders have as much as $350 million to spend on military aid
to foreign countries this year, and according to congressional restrictions, as
much as $75 million can go to Yemen. Congress also requires the Pentagon and
State Department to defend the spending and assure the proper use of any
assistance.
On the civilian side, the State Department and the U.S. Agency for
International Development, under a directive from the National Security
Council, have begun a new review to assess the situation in Yemen following the
recent presidential election and to determine how best to provide development
support, according to a new government report.
Since 2007, Yemen has received about $316 million in U.S. civilian aid,
including humanitarian, education, development and refugee assistance.
The military money, in addition to providing counterterrorism training,
has also paid for aircraft, radios, rifles, patrol boats, trucks and other
equipment.
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