Panetta Cites Yemen in Warning of Another 9/11

Comes in Wake of Crocker's Claim Afghan Occupation Prevents This

Speaking during a photo-op at ground zero, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta warned that the potential of another 9/11 is “very real” and tapped Yemen as a likely source for the next attack.

This comes just a day after US Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker claimed that the decade-long occupation of Afghanistan was “the ultimate guarantee that there will not be another 9/11.

Panetta, however, still saw threats coming out of both occupied Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan, as well as growing threats across the rest of the planet. He offered no solutions to this.

The reality, of course, is that both the Crocker and Panetta claims are grounded not in reality, but in expediency. Crocker was hoping to sell continuing the Afghan occupation for decades to come as a cure-all, while Panetta is hoping to add to his department’s already record budget by claiming threats are on the rise.

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.