By Kevin McCauley
Qorvis Communications, which represents Saudi Arabia, is now promoting its poor and unruly southern neighbor, Yemen, via a subcontract with Britain's Bell Pottinger.
Yemeni flag |
The New York Times (Dec. 3) called Yemen a "magnet for would-be jihadists from around the globe" that "draws high-level American attention far out of proportion to its size." Those jihadists are part of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which was formed in 2009 via the merger of Saudi and Yemeni terror groups.
The Saudis, according to U.S. cables released by WikiLeaks, consider Yemen a "dangerous failed state."
Its president Ali Abdullah Saleh is losing grip over the rural parts of the country because "many Yemenis were more sympathetic to Al-Qaeda's goals that were the Afghans," according to the cables. He warned American officials that Yemen would be "worse than Somalia" if he did not receive requested aid.
Saleh, 68, has headed the Texas-sized country of 23M for more than three decades. He has given the U.S. the okay to launch missile strikes against suspected terrorists, but rejected General David Petaeus' offer to send American forces into Yemen.
Saudi intelligence tipped off U.S. officials about the Fedex, UPS parcel bomb threat hatched in Yemen in October.
Yemeni militants also provided training to the would-be Nigerian terrorist who planned to blow up a plane over Detroit.
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