Mullen Frets al-Qaeda Presence in Restive Yemen

Downplays Already Occupied Failed States in Comments

Speaking at a conference related to the release of the “Failed States Index,” Admiral Michael Mullen sought to downplay the fact that two countries currently enduring US occupations found their US-backed regimes in the top 10 of the list, insisting that Iraq in particular might have a theoretically bright future because it “has oil.”

He also downplayed Afghanistan, though in less glowing terms since “Afghanistan does not have such resources” (oil) and instead sought to focus on a nation which did not make the top 10 – Yemen.

In his comments Mullen said the US was extremely concerned about al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and warned that the group has “taken full advantage of the chaos” brought about by pro-democracy protests against the US-backed dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The US has dramatically increased military aid in Yemen over the past several years, and has recently been pressuring Saleh, currently in exile in Saudi Arabia after a near-fatal attack, to hand over power formally to his deputy, Major General Hadi.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.