Ties to failed airline bombing illustrate growing problem in Yemen

The botched terrorist bombing by a Nigerian national placed the focus of our nation back on airport security, the TSA and, of course, the political discourse between the left and the right.  What is a bit more under the radar (pardon the pun) is the increasing threat that has become of a little country named Yemen.

But a closer look reveals we may want to be taking a closer look at Yemen.

With war being waged in Afghanistan/Pakistan on Al-Qaeda, and war in Iraq being waged on, well, whatever, Yemen has become an increasing cause for concern in the broader, hard to specifically define war on terror.  Located directly south of Saudi Arabia, Yemen covers 203,000+ square miles, over 60,000 square miles less than the state of Texas.  There is an estimated population of over 23.5 million people living there.

The idiot charged with the failed atrocity on Northwest flight 253 claims to have received his material and training for this act of lunacy while in Yemen.  But he is not the first to do so.  The infamous "shoe bomber", who also failed miserably in an attempt to bring down an American Airlines flight bound for Miami in 2001, also claimed to have received his materials and training in Yemen.

Thankfully in these two cases, it has been proven that not just any moron can successfully detonate an explosive device after basic instruction.

But Yemen has also had ties to far more destructive happenings in the past 10 years.

In 2000, suicide bombers sailed a boat of explosives into the hull of the USS Cole, killing 17 American sailors.  In March of 2008,  a rocket attack on the U.S. Embassy in Yemen killed two Yemenis, followed in September by an attack on the same embassy by two suicide bomber vehicles, and militants with suicide bombs strapped to their torsos attacking with machine guns, killing 16 people, but failing to breach the embassy.

The Fort Hood killings on November 5th of this year were carried out by a man said to have ties with a radical cleric in Yemen.  A recent air strike in Yemen was originally claimed to have resulted in the death of this Imam, but later reports showed he is still alive.

The bottom line is while the United States media has been primarily focused on Afghanistan and Pakistan, Al-Qaeda has been strengthening their position in Yemen, a country whose government is unstable and whose economy is weak.  These conditions are fertile ground for radical groups such as Al-Qaeda.

The United States has been attempting to work with Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh in suppressing these militant thugs, but recent attacks that have resulted in civilian casualties are feeding anti-American sentiment there, strengthening Al-Qaeda's grip on the impoverished nation.  It is clear that Yemen could become the next big threat as a home to radical terrorists bent on causing destruction in the United States.

The rising problems in Yemen presents our next question.  How far do we go in the War on Terror?

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