The Merger of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula

This article here, written by renowned author Jane Novak is stellar in describing just what al Qaeda is up to in the Arabian Peninsula. These are the kind of articles that never see the light of day in ANY sort of media coverage worldwide - the kind of articles that we all needed to see leading up to 9/11. I encourage all of you to go and read the entire piece. I have excerpted some of the shocking details about what strategies al Qaeda is working on in the Middle East and just who is involved. This is the set up folks, this is gonna shape terror in the Middle East for years to come:

The new head of AQAP is Nassir al Wahishi, the al Qaeda in Yemen leader and former personal secretary to Osama bin Laden. He was extradited by Iran to Yemen in 2003. AQAP’s second-in-command is Said Ali al Shihri, who was released from Guantanamo to Saudi Arabia in November 2007. Said al Shihri was accused in Department of Defense documents of providing logistical support to al Qaeda operatives in Iran including briefing them on how to enter Afghanistan. Al Shihiri is accused of participating in the bombing of the US embassy in September 2008. Wahishi’s former lieutenant, Qasim al Reimi, appears in the video saying, “The calamity which you experience suffices for you to realize who your true enemies are: [They are] those who speak your language … but besiege you and deprive you of medical treatment, food and water, and those who prevent your brothers in Amman, Cairo, Damascus, Beirut, Riyadh and San’a from assisting you.”

AQAP will construct training camps in Yemen for fighters who wish to join the jihad in the Gaza Strip. The group declared, “From here we start and in Aqsa we meet!” Gaza has also been the topic of propaganda statements issued this month by bin Laden, Ayman Zawahiri, Yeyah al Libi, the Taliban, and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. According to Sada al Malahim, the group’s strategy will focus on cutting supply lines of Western nations supporting Israel.

The group promised attacks on oil facilities, tourists, and security forces. The statement also said that the governorates of Abyan, Shabwa, Hadhramout, Marib, Al Jawf, and Sa’ada are on the verge of falling into al Qaeda control.

What this article is framing is how the past terroristic enabling of Yemen will not only continue but will increase. This land is a fertile field for al Qaeda and I would even put forth that if things get too hot and heavy for bin Laden and al Zawahiri in Pakistan, they could eventually set up shop in Yemen.

Arabian Peninsula al Qaeda groups merge

In the face of Saudi Arabia’s success against the al Qaeda organization, many Saudi operatives have fled to the more hospitable climate in Yemen, joining others who recently arrived from Iraq, Somalia, and Pakistan. Al Qaeda in Yemen announced its merger with Saudi Arabia’s al Qaeda organization to form al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP. The announcement came in its latest release of the online journal Sada al Malahim, or the Echo of Epics. A propaganda video was also released by the group on Friday.
President Saleh has focused considerable efforts on strengthening Hamas. Saleh ordered all public employees to donate one day’s salary to Gaza and called for the activation of the Arab Joint Defense Agreement against Israel on Jan. 20 during a summit in Kuwait.
Yemen is a main supplier of weapons to jihadist groups throughout the region, and Israel said that Yemen smuggles weapons to Hamas through Sudan and Egypt. Yemen will host Hamas leader Khalid Mishaal on Tuesday. Hamas maintains an office in Yemen with strong support from the Yemeni government.
On Jan. 17, Yemen’s Naba News, a news source close to the government, announced that Yemen had opened its first camp to receive foreigners to train for jihad in Gaza. The would-be jihadists will be received at al Iman University, headed by Sheik Abdulmajid al Zindani who is designated as a terrorist financier by the UN’s 1267 committee and as a spiritual advisor to bin Laden by the US Treasury. Zindani is a strong ally President Saleh. An al Iman spokesman later denied a training camp was on the premises.
The US has alleged that al Iman University is a recruiting and training center for al Qaeda operatives. Its alumni include American John Walker Lindh and French convert Willie Brigitte. Within Yemen, allegations have centered on the proximity of al Iman to a military camp run by President Saleh’s half-brother Ali Mohsen al Ahmar, a recruiter for bin Laden in the 1980s. Yemen’s security forces, military, and administration contain a strong contingent of bin Laden sympathizers and “rehabilitated” jihaddists.