7 - 13 March 2002
Issue No.576
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 7 - 13 March 2002 Issue No.576 |
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Trooping across the world
Last week, it was confirmed that the United States will be sending troops to Yemen as part of its "war on terror." The governments of both countries faced opposition to the policy, reports Anayat Durrani from Washington
Yemeni officials have confirmed that around 100 US troops are to be deployed in Yemen. They will "help to train" and "share intelligence" with 2,000 Yemeni military personnel, in a joint effort to combat Al-Qa'eda cells believed to be operating within the country, the birthplace of Osama Bin Laden's father.
Though an exact date for deployment has not yet been mentioned, what is known is that US forces will enter Yemen in small groups of 20 to 30 people, and each team will stay for about 15 to 20 days. American troops, including security experts and intelligence officers, will take part in anti-terror training and will provide equipment assistance for operations by the Yemeni military.
On Saturday, the United States announced that it would also supply Yemen with coast guard vessels and help build a new naval training facility in the country. The measures are intended to bolster security along the Yemeni coastline.
A US official, who wished to remain anonymous, told Al-Ahram Weekly that the US will initially deliver 15 boats -- fully fitted out with hi- tech communications equipment -- to the Gulf state's coast guard units.
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has been under increasing pressure from US President George W Bush's administration to cooperate further in the "war against terrorism." Agreeing to allow US army experts into the country is, therefore, being seen as a capitulation by Saleh.
US officials have said that there are terrorist cells spread across some 60 countries. They believe there may be some Al-Qa'eda soldiers taking refuge in Yemen.
Several Al-Qa'eda fighters found in Afghanistan, including those detained by the US, were from Yemen.
Yemen was itself the centre of a terrorist attack in October 2000, when 17 American sailors were killed in a suicide-bomb attack on the US warship USS Cole in the Yemeni port of Aden. US officials have since linked the attack to Al- Qa'eda.
Cooperation between the United States and Yemen has increased since the 11 September attacks, and the two countries are now jointly targeting terrorist groups in Yemen.
President Bush was asked about the role of Yemen in the anti-terror effort during a visit to Iowa on Friday. He restated his "you're either with us or against us" rhetoric directed at world leaders. He had made it clear to Yemen that "if you're with us, we expect results" in the war on terrorism.
"The Yemeni government is responding," Bush told journalists. "I'm not going to talk about ongoing operations, but I will tell you that wherever we find an Al-Qa'eda presence, we will work with governments to root them out. In other words, this war against terror is far broader than just Afghanistan. And we're making good progress."
He added that through continued cooperation with governments around the world, there have been over 1,000 arrests of suspected Al-Qa'eda members made to date.
The proposed US military presence in Yemen will add yet another front to the expanded "war on terrorism" outside the borders of Afghanistan. There are still around 5,000 American troops on the hunt for Osama Bin Laden and Al Qa'eda leaders in Afghan hills.
Already, 660 US troops including 160 Special Forces have been deployed in the Philippines. They are under similar orders to their future counterparts in Yemen: to "train" Philippine soldiers to combat the Abu-Sayyaf, a separatist group with alleged links to Al-Qa'eda, in the southern Philippines.
The US also has plans to send as many as 200 soldiers to the former Soviet republic of Georgia later this month. They will once again be helping to train the local military in counter-terrorism operations.
Some Al-Qa'eda and Taliban fighters are believed to have escaped Afghanistan to take refuge in the Pankisi Gorge area, a remote region of northeast Georgia.
Meanwhile, opposition voices in Washington are beginning to express concern about the extended "global war on terrorism." The campaign is being seen by many as too expansive, too costly, and too long-term.
Senator John McCain, for example, said that the American people should be informed of "exactly what our strategy is and what our overall immediate objectives are." Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia went even further. "If we expect to kill every terrorist in the world, that's going to keep us going beyond doomsday," he said. "How long can we afford this?"
In Sanaa, too, there was strong opposition to the move. Which is why, fearing negative domestic reaction and the strong influence of militant Islamic groups, the Yemeni government sought to play down the importance of the arrival of US troops.
The forces would not really be troops, the Yemeni public was told. The United States "will not send troops but a limited number of expert- instructors who will train units involved in the anti-terrorist struggle," an official spokesman said. The length of the mission "will not exceed two months in total," he added.
The elite anti-terrorism unit in Yemen is led by President Saleh's son, Ahmed.
The Pentagon acknowledged that it was also discussing a package of military aid to Yemen, but refused to provide details.
In a bid to spur Yemen into action, a stream of senior US officials have visited the country over the past month. CIA director George Tenet, FBI chief Robert Mueller and General Tommy Franks, the head of military operations in Afghanistan, have all paid visits to Sanaa.
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