* Yemen hot bed

              Radical US cleric survived airstrike in Yemen: family

Back to the wild west mentality.The "Bush Doctrine" made it possible for any and all countries to bomb the heck out of another country whose government is "suspected" of being an enemy. As seen from the Iraq debacle, no proven evidence required.. You just need a couple of "maybes," "perhaps," "mights." It's also perfectly OK to bomb the heck out of a country with a "suspected terrorist" living among it's borders. Again, no proven evidence required. 

With the US media focus on Afghanistan, it's easy for Americans not to notice what is going on in Yemen. On Thursday (Dec 24) an US cruise missle targeted suspected al-Qaeda training camps in Abyan and Sanaa, Yemen in an attempt to kill US born Muslim cleric, Ansar al-Awlaki. Supposedly on that day al-Awlaki was attending a meeting of al-Qaeda leaders. Al-Awlaki was to provide the religious justification for retaliation attacks against Yemeni and US targets in response to the Thursday Dec 17 Yemeni (with Saudi and US backing), attack that killed many innocent women and children.

Al-Awlaki is accused of advising three of the 9/11 hijackers. In 2002 al-Awlaki fled the US and went to London where he preached at the Masjid al-Tawhid mosque. Supposedly while there he encouraged Muslims to seek martyrdom. In 2004 al-Awlaki and his family left London to live in Shabwa province in Yemen. In Yemen al-Awlaki was giving lectures at Iman University. Recently he was accused of advising the US Army major who went on a shooting spree at Fort Hood, Texas.


Al-Awlaki's friends and family have claimed that al-Awlaki was not killed in the Dec 24th attack. They refuse to disclose if he was at the meeting or if there was indeed a meeting or if al-Awlaki has ties with al-Qaeda. More than 30 people were killed in the Dec 24th strike in Yemen. 

According to the US, Yemen is the new launchpad for al Qaeda's attacks against the West. Now with the recent attempt by Abdul Farouk Abdul Mutallab to"blow up" a Northwest Airlines flight, Yemen is getting some attention.(Supposedly Mutallab obained his fire crackers... I mean explosive device and instructions for the device in Yemen). Abdul Mutallab supposedly told investigators he was a MEMBER of al-Qaeda and received training in Yemen.


US attack kills 120 in Yemen (Dec 17)

Radical US cleric survied airstike in Yemen: family (Dec 24)