UN closes some offices in Yemen
At first blush you might think yesterday's attack on the tanker Takayama off the east coast of Yemen was the reason the United Nations put up blast walls around its main headquarters and closed some of its offices in Yemen.
Actually, the UN, as well as other foreign entities, has had security problems in the country for some time. Earlier this month there was an attack on a housing complex (including U.N. buildings) for Western diplomats in Yemen's capital (1) and in March a failed mortar attack on the U.S. Embassy injured 13 schoolgirls from a nearby high school (2).The past few years has seen a number of attacks in Yemen targeting foreign tourists and businesses, oil infrastructure, U.S., French, and yesterday, Japanese ships.
Yemen ostensibly joined U.S.-led efforts to fight terrorism after the 11 Sept 2001 attacks but has been unable to purge itself of al-Qaeda and may never be able to do so without the help of the local tribes nor does it have the political will to do so. The main problem of course is that the tribesman do not view al Qaeda as the enemy:
BBC, 3 Aug 2002, Yemen's al-Qaeda supporters
On a windswept hill in the mountains of Yemen, I met a man who loves Osama Bin Laden. It was not difficult.
This man, Khaled, was one of countless Yemeni tribesmen I met, who feel a secret admiration for the man who struck America and survived.
Khaled was keen that I broadcast his message. Dressed in a white robe, combat jacket and chequered head cloth, he clearly followed the Bin Laden school of fashion.
As he cradled his Kalashnikov, he lectured me on how Osama Bin Laden was not a terrorist, nor was al-Qaeda a terrorist organisation.
In addition, Yemeni President Saleh openly admits that he has a truce with al Qaeda (3). The Yemeni regime, in exchange, has a pledge from Osama bin Laden not to attack Yemen. Because the defeatist Liberals in Congress so demoralized our country over the War on Terror, Bush did not have the Big Stick he needed to force the Yemeni regime to stop supporting al Qaeda. If Congress had only shown moral support for our President he could have warned Yemen to really destroy bin Laden's operatives in that country "or else." But how can you say, "Or else," when your enemy knows that you are a House divided, that half your government wants to turn tail and run? That America will do nothing? History will one day record the names of Murtha, Reid, Pelosi, and all the other cowardly opportunists who thwarted the War on Terror for their own personal political gain, as traitors and true enemies of this Republic.
It is noteworthy that Yemeni prisoners make up one of the largest national contingents of detainees at the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay. Yemen will remain a haven for terrorists as long as we continue to elect defeatist, cowardly Liberal scum to Congress.
As for the UN, all their years in Yemen has not yielded one single positive result. Despite all their efforts, the United Nations Development Programme is an abject failure: Yemen has become one of the worst hellholes on earth (4).
The only real solution is for UN offices to be replaced with drug stores that dispense condoms. Yemini women are very fertile. They can expect on average 7.9 children compared to an average of 2.7 in the rest of the world. Because the Muslim faith keeps them ignorant and primitive, Yemini women will continue to spit out tons of potential new al Qaeda terrorists for the next few decades unless we in the West find the resolve to stamp out Islam and replace that fake religion with a benign faith. It doesn't matter to me if it's Christianity or Buddhism or whatever. Anything but Islam.
Tick, tick, tick...
ENDNOTES
(1):
CBC News, 06 Apr 2008, Explosion strikes housing complex in Yemen's capital
An explosion shattered windows late Sunday at a housing complex used by foreign companies in Yemen's capital, but no one was hurt, security officials said.
The blast went off on the south side of San'a in an upscale neighbourhood that houses Western diplomats, including Americans, said three security officials on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to media.
One of the officials who described himself as the head of security in the area said the blast was caused by multiple "projectiles." He would not give his name or elaborate.
...
The officials said the housing compound is used by foreign companies of different nationalities and that the larger area includes diplomats' homes.
(2):
Blog, 24 Mar 2008, Yemen al Qaeda group claims U.S. embassy attack-Web
An al Qaeda-linked group has claimed responsibility for a failed mortar attack on the U.S. embassy in Yemen last week that wounded girls at a nearby school and a group of soldiers.
"One of the (mortar rounds) missed its target and fell on a school near the embassy. We ask God to hasten the recovery of the schoolgirls," Yemen Soldiers Brigades said in an Internet statement dated March 21.
"We have previously warned Muslims not to come near government and foreign facilities," added the group, which says it is part of al Qaeda in Yemen, in the statement posted on a Web site often used by al Qaeda.
Yemen said 13 schoolgirls and five soldiers were injured in the "terrorist attack" on Tuesday which Washington said targeted its embassy but had failed.
(3):
The Weekly Standard, 31 Oct 2007, Yemen's Truce with al Qaeda
THE AMERICAN ATTEMPTS to rehabilitate the Yemeni regime of Ali Abdullah Saleh have not succeeded. Yemeni authorities recently pardoned Jamal Al-Badawi, convicted mastermind of the 2000 USS Cole bombing. All the terrorists who bombed the American warship and killed 17 American sailors are free, except those dead or in U.S. custody.
Jamal Al-Badawi was originally sentenced to death in 2004 as the lead planner of the USS Cole bombing. The sentence was reduced to 15 years. He escaped twice, the last time in February 2006. He has been on the loose since. He spent less than three years physically inside a jail, where, by the way, he was very well treated. One of the FBI's top ten most wanted terrorists; he is currently at home receiving well wishers.
Yemeni President Saleh says openly that he has a truce with al Qaeda. However, it's more than a truce; it's a mutual support pact. That pact is long standing, mutually beneficial, and responsible for much of the carnage around the world, including the deaths of U.S. soldiers in Iraq.
(4):
The Yemen Microfinance Network, Staff Turnover Study for Microfinance Institutions in Yemen [PDF]
Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the Arab region, ranked 153rd on the Human Development Index (HDI), which places among low human development countries.
...
At 3.02%, the country has one of the highest population growth rates globally, with the population expected to double in 23 years to around 40 million. This increases the demand for educational and health services, drinking water and employment opportunities. Yemen faces a severe water shortage, with available ground water being depleted at an alarming rate. The Yemeni economy is caught in a jobless slow growth cycle leading to stagnant per capita incomes and rising levels of unemployment, particularly amongst the youth.
Poverty is widespread, with about 45% of the population living on less than US$ 2 per day and social development indicators, such as child malnutrition, maternal mortality, and education attainment remain poor. There are also large gender disparities, with significant gaps in women’s access to economic, social and political opportunities.
