We are seriously looking at al Qaeda, as a terror organization, literally taking over an entire country. I'll let that sink in for you. Yemen is in deep shit - not that it was some sort of pillar of democracy or non-terrorism before but let's face it, with the country of Yemen in the hands of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, there is absolutely nothing but chaos and world havoc in store for the region.
Perhaps we need to look at a recap of the region here:
- Lebanon has all but been taken over by the islamic terror group, Hezbollah
- Egypt appears headed for a government and military controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood
- Libya stands a good chance of al Qaeda linked forces taking at least temporary control of that country
- Yemen has lost a provincial capital to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Here's some from the article at The Telegraph:
Residents of Zinjibar, a town on the southern coast that is home to some 18,000 people, said that 200 masked Islamist militants, some of them members of al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula, or AQAP, launched an attack that began on Friday afternoon.
The fighters were accused of pillaging the town, burning down buildings and launching violent reprisals that left corpses strewn across dusty streets.
Eyewitnesses claimed that by yesterday (SUN) the militants had taken the town largely unopposed after most government troops stationed there were withdrawn.
However, battles have been reported on the outskirts of the town as the fighters surrounded the headquarters of the 25th Mechanised Brigade.
Thousands of civilians fled the town, despite appeals broadcast through loudhailers urging residents to return to work.
"They burned down buildings and said they were going to establish an Islamic caliphate," one resident said. "People were very scared."
Al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula has emerged as a powerful force since its leader Nasir al-Wuhayshi, Osama bin Laden's former secretary, escaped from prison in 2006 and rebuilt the group after it had been all but destroyed in a US predator drone strike in 2002.
You know, I can only think of one thing that could make the entire Middle East situation more treacherous than it already is....and that would be for the United States to have some limp-wristed, terrorist appeasing, Muslim supporting President in charge.
Oh wait...that's right....we do.
Al-Qaeda fighters take control of Yemen town
Residents of Zinjibar, a town on the southern coast that is home to some 18,000 people, said that 200 masked Islamist militants, some of them members of al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula, or AQAP, launched an attack that began on Friday afternoon.
The fighters were accused of pillaging the town, burning down buildings and launching violent reprisals that left corpses strewn across dusty streets.
Eyewitnesses claimed that by yesterday (SUN) the militants had taken the town largely unopposed after most government troops stationed there were withdrawn.
However, battles have been reported on the outskirts of the town as the fighters surrounded the headquarters of the 25th Mechanised Brigade.
Thousands of civilians fled the town, despite appeals broadcast through loudhailers urging residents to return to work.
"They burned down buildings and said they were going to establish an Islamic caliphate," one resident said. "People were very scared."
Al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula has emerged as a powerful force since its leader Nasir al-Wuhayshi, Osama bin Laden's former secretary, escaped from prison in 2006 and rebuilt the group after it had been all but destroyed in a US predator drone strike in 2002.
It has since been involved in a number of attempted attacks on US soil, most notably an attempt by one of its recruits to bring down an airliner over Detroit on Christmas Day, 2009, with explosives secreted in his underpants.
The group has officially been classified as posing the single biggest threat to US homeland security.
Aides of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, under pressure to resign after months of street protests, yesterday sought to present the fall of Zinjibar as evidence of how al-Qaeda could emerge as a major force in Yemen if he was forced to step aside.
But dissident generals who have defected to the opposition accused the president of deliberately allowing the town to fall in order to play on Western fears.
Washington has come to see Mr Saleh as a vital, if not always dependable, ally. He allowed US forces to strike at AQAP targets, but often seemed unwilling to take action himself.
But after Mr Saleh three times reneged on a US-backed regional proposal that would see him stand down within 30 days in exchange for immunity from prosecution, the Yemeni president is now regarded as more a liability than an asset.
The president has consistently portrayed himself as a bulwark against al-Qaeda, but, in a country known for its complex political and tribal alliances, he has also forged close relationships with powerful Jihadis who fought with Bin Laden against the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
Some observers have suggested that the attack on Zinjibar was led by Khalid Abdul Nabi, an Islamist with ties to the president – an indication of possible official collusion.
AQAP has already gained strength in Abyan province, of which Zinjibar is the capital. In August last year, fierce clashes erupted in the city of Loder, in the north of Abyan, as government troops tried to flush the group out of one of its main strongholds. AQAP was also accused of launching a daring raid in March to seize weapons from an ammunitions store in Jaar, another Abyan town.
AQAP's growing strength in Abyan is attributed to an unlikely alliance it has forged with southern secessionists, whose Marxist and secular heritage would make them ideological enemies in ordinary circumstances.
The pact was allegedly forged by a powerful local kingpin, Tariq al-Fadhli, a veteran of Afghanistan who was once close to the president until they fell out in 2009.
Mr Fadhli has been declared one of country's chief outlaws, but in an another example that things are not always as they seem in Yemen, the Daily Telegraph found him living openly in Zinjibar when it visited the town last year.
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