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Located on the Arabian Peninsula that juts out into the Red Sea and Arabian Sea, Yemen is bordered by Saudi Arabia and Oman. It is highly dependent on oil exports, which are estimated to run out in a few years, according to a report from the Christian Science Monitor. The country faces both a water crisis and civil unrest in the north and south.
The chaos has appeared to allow terrorist organizations to take up shop: in 2000, 17 American sailors died in the bombing of the USS Cole in a Yemen port. Yemen is also the birthplace of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
Christmas Day bombing attempt had roots in Yemen
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After the attempted bombing, President Obama will announce new airline security regulations. |
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Following an attempt by a Nigerian man to blow up a Detroit-bound airplane on Christmas Day 2009, reports came out that the alleged bomber was trained in Yemen by an al-Qaida offshoot, known as al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
"We see global implications from the war in Yemen and the ongoing efforts by al-Qaida in Yemen to use it as a base for terrorist attacks far beyond the region," said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who is visiting the region.
General David Petraeus, the top U.S. military official in the Middle East met with Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to offer support to the country's fight against al-Qaida terrorist cells.
Currently, U.S. and Yemeni forces are looking for Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical Muslim cleric of Yemeni origin who resided for many years in northern Virginia, who was linked to the Christmas Day bomber as well as Nidal Malik Hasan, the U.S. Army psychiatrist who shot 13 people on an Army base in Fort Hood, Texas in November.
Yemen poverty and rural power structure
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Click here to learn more about Yemen. |
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Yemen is the Arab world's poorest country: more than a third of its population is out of work.
Richard Barrett, who leads a task force on al-Qaida for the United Nations told the NewsHour that Yemen’s unpopular government has limited authority in much of the country and tribal leaders control much of the rural areas and are known to sometimes cooperate with al-Qaida leaders
"The al-Qaida groups have been able to form alliances themselves with the tribes -- some of them are members of these tribes, too -- and, in a way, sort of take advantage of the hospitality offered by the tribes," Barrett said.
Al-Qaida militants in Yemen have also claimed responsibility for an attack on the U.S. embassy in San'a in 2008 in which 19 people where killed.
Growing increasingly concerned about Yemen's role in the terrorist community, the U.S. has ramped up aid to the country, pledging to double aid this year after giving $67 million last year.
President Obama's counter-terrorism strategies questioned
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President Obama said that U.S. intelligence agencies have failed to sufficiently integrate information about possible terror attacks. |
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The Christmas Day plane attack brought the ongoing war on terror back into focus after months of debate about health care and the economy.
Some critics accuse President Obama of not responding forcefully enough, and deciding to try the suspect in a criminal court instead of in a military terrorist trial.
There are also questions about why the man was allowed to enter the country after his father, a leading banker in Nigeria, warned U.S. authorities before the attack that his son might be involved with Islamic extremists.
NewsHour political analyst David Brooks argued that the administration's attempt to sort through massive amounts of intelligence information was chaotic and disorganized.
"We should have some sort of steady, level-headed response. That is the sign of a resilient nation. We don't have it," Brooks said.
Britain has announced plans for an international meeting in London Jan. 28 to define a collective strategy toward Yemen that will include both Western countries and a few Arab states such as Saudi Arabia.
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I think we've been witnessing violence for years, whether in reality through the media or through video games, and I don't think that's a first-hand effect.
