US preparing for Yemen air strikes
ANNE DAVIES, WASHINGTON
December 31, 2009

THE US and Yemen are considering air strikes against al-Qaeda bases in Yemen in retaliation for the attempted downing of a US airliner on Christmas Day.

The strikes are shaping as President Barack Obama's first serious national security test.

Several US networks reported that US intelligence agencies were preparing a list of possible targets after al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, an offshoot of Osama bin Laden's organisation, claimed responsibility for training and equipping Nigerian man Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

Yemen, with the help of the US, launched two air strikes before Christmas that are said to have killed about 30 al-Qaeda fighters. There are thought to be about 200 in the country.

CNN television cited two senior US officials who said that ''the effort is to see whether targets can be specifically linked to the airliner incident and its planning''.

''Yemen has not yet consented to the type of special forces helicopter-borne air assault that would put US commandos on the ground with the mission of capturing suspects for further interrogation. That is also a capability the US would like the Yemenis to eventually develop,'' the report added, citing another official.

do you have a freedom fries recipe you could post in The Cooking Thread?

When I take action, I'm not going to fire a 2 million dollar missile at a 10 dollar empty tent and hit a camel in the butt. It's going to be decisive. -- Dubya (Newsweek, Sep 24, 2001)

So I guess this means that in 2012 we get to vote for George Bush III or Sarah Palin.

Woooo-hoooooo!!!!! I can't freaking wait.

however much you want to criticize this, it's not Bush. it's American foreign policy for the last 60 years.

war has been very helpful to presidents running for RE-election.

It's not about Bush. It's about Obama. We voted for change, remember???? This isn't change. That was my point.

We voted for change, remember???? This isn't change. That was my point.

what, pray tell, would you have the administration do instead of monetary support, airstrikes and special forces ops?

Obama campaigned on a change in relations w/ other governments. not terrorists organizations.

What has blowing things up and killing a shit-ton of people done to help the situaution so far?

Monetary support is fine. Intelligence sharing is fine. I'm even fine with sending in a few special forces to conduct covert operations to track/capture/kill some of the higher level terrorists. But as soon as these people see us blowing things up in yet another middle east country, we rile them up even more.