Clinton in Yemen to broaden fight against al-Qaeda

SANAA (Agencies)

Hillary Clinton made the first trip by a U.S. Secretary of State to Yemen in 20 years on Tuesday to
underline to the Sanaa government the urgency and importance of fighting al-Qaeda at its grassroots. The U.S. embassy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa said that Clinton had arrived in the country for a half-day visit “bearing the message of a ‘long-term partnership’.” Washington is anxious for Yemen, next door to the world’s top oil exporter, to step up its fight against an al-Qaeda wing based in the Arabian peninsula state where militants have attempted ambitious attacks against U.S. and Western targets.

The top U.S. diplomat would meet Saleh to “exchange views on emerging issues and discuss common interests,” said an embassy statement.

Saleh’s government is fighting not just al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), but also a rebellion in the north, a secessionist movement in the south, an acute water shortage, vanishing oil revenues and a deep economic crisis.

U.S.-based analysts fear Yemen’s problems are so serious the country risks becoming a failed state like Somalia and allowing al-Qaeda to take a firm grip on both sides of the world’s oil shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden.

“Yemen is increasingly a very strong partner in our counter-terrorism efforts,” Clinton said in a briefing to reporters before undertaking a trip given tight security.

However, she acknowledged the limits of such cooperation.

“It’s not enough to have military-to-military relations,” she said earlier on a five-day tour of the Gulf Arab region. “We need to try to broaden the dialogue.”

General public interest in Yemen has grown since a botched bid on Christmas Day 2009 to blow up a U.S. airliner over Detroit by a Nigerian passenger allegedly trained by the Yemeni-based AQAP.

Clinton’s visit to Yemen could also help clear the air after ties were tested by WikiLeaks’ disclosure of U.S. state department cables about U.S.-Yemen security coordination.

The cables said Saleh had offered to mask U.S. cruise missile strikes in Yemen on al-Qaeda targets that could have inflamed public sentiment, claiming they were instead carried out by his own armed forces.

U.S.-Yemen relations had also been strained by Washington’s desire for a quicker pace of economic and political reforms, which it hopes would slow recruitment by militants, an aide to U.S. President Barack Obama said last month.

A Yemeni government official said talks with Saleh would focus on security and military issues and ways Washington could support Sanaa in its fight against al-Qaeda.