The latest assessment from the CIA shows a disturbing growth in the capabilities of al-Qaeda’s various offshoots, and the al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) group in particular.
According to The US has been providing aid to the Yemeni government for quite some time, and has launched a few missile strikes of its own in the nation, including a failed attempt to assassinate US citizen Anwar al-Awlaki on Christmas Eve.
Ironically it was a day later that the failed bombing attack of the Christmas Day Underbomber brought renewed attention to Yemen and calls for the US to start launching a more formal war against the AQAP in the nation.
The endless “calls to action” against Yemen come as the Yemeni government is contending with two distinct separatist movements on opposite sides of the country and a crumbling economy. The US military aid to the government has grown considerably under the Obama Administration, but with fighting on so many fronts it seems that they are fighting a losing cause.
