US Set for Fresh Yemen Attacks, but Where?

Officials Say Talks With Yemeni Govt Aimed at Picking New Targets

by Jason Ditz, December 29, 2009

In the shockingly rapid run-up to war in the wake of Friday’s failed lap bomber attack, officials say the United States is poised to launch fresh attacks against sites inside Yemen.

The problem, officials say, is picking where to lob the missiles. Officials say American special forces are working with the Yemeni government to try to figure out which would be a good place to attack next. The ideal, they say, would be if they were able to link some site to the lap bomber.

The US has been attacking Yemen for awhile, including a series of cruise missile attacks earlier this month against a suspected al-Qaeda hideout, killing several civilians. The full details of what is being called a covert war are just now coming to light, as the abortive Detroit attack has given them opportunity enough to convert it into an overt war.

Yemen has been eager to include the United States in its assorted civil wars, as the nation is committing what little money it has almost exclusively to the military efforts, with only dubious success. America’s deep pockets and endless supply of military hardware seem an ideal solution for the government as it tries to crush secessionist movements and combat al-Qaeda, and the lap bombing has created an immediate upswing of support for such a mission.

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