Internet Anthropologist Think Tank: Yemen Cluster F***

Iran, al Qaeda, working to take Yemen.
Not to mention the possibility of a bottle neck for oil ships.

Yemen - New evidence indicates that both Iran and al-Qaeda are exploiting Yemen as a base for increasing terror against the west and Saudi Arabia.
Yemeni forces embarked this week on a full-scale military campaign to eradicate the al-Qaeda’s network in the conflict-ridden country after reports surfaced that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the suspect in the failed attempt to blow up a passenger airline en route to Detroit from Amsterdam on Dec. 25, received training and explosives for the attack from an al-Qaeda cell in Yemen.[1]

Another connection to al-Qaeda’s Yemen network surfaced last month when it was discovered that Maj. Nidal Malik Hassan, the Fort Hood shooter that killed 13 on Nov. 5 at the Texas military compound, was in E-mail communication with Anwar Al-Awlaki, a radical Islamic cleric in Yemen with ties to al-Qaeda.[3]

At least two former terror suspects released from Guantanamo Bay in November 2007 are in Yemen commanding al-Qaeda operations.[4]

Yemen has evolved as a hub for al-Qaeda activity in the Gulf and is the birthplace of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s father.[7] In October 2000, al-Qaeda Islamists in Yemen attacked the U.S. navy ship USS Cole, killing 17 U.S. servicemen.[8]

Iran, another former al-Qaeda enemy turned ally, is also increasing its activities in Yemen.

Arab and Egyptian sources reveled that intelligence agencies in the region report a secret meeting in Yemen took place in November between high-level officials from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, Hezbollah and the Yemen-based Shia al-Houthi militants to plan and coordinate a new strategy for escalating the Saudi-Yemen border conflict.[9]

Yemen’s National Security Chief Ali Muhammad Al-Anesi confirmed “Iran supports the Houthi rebels in Saada financially, politically and through the media,”[11] in an interview with Al-Hayat at the Manama Dialogue security summit in Bahrain on Dec. 15.

In November 2008, security officials intercepted a letter written by bin Laden’s son Saad, thanking Iran for "monetary and infrastructure assistance” in carrying out a double car bombing on the American embassy in Yemen that killed 16.[17] Signed by al-Qaeda’s second in command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, the letter lauds Iran’s Revolutionary Guards for aiding al-Qaeda establish a Yemen network and Tehran’s “vision” for assisting the organization set up new terror bases throughout Yemen after cells in Iraq and Saudi Arabia were forced to disband.[18]

The Yemeni Navy seized an Iranian ship on Oct. 26 off of Yemen’s northwestern coast in the Red Sea, carrying anti-tank missiles intended for the Houthi militants.[27] Government sources also revealed that the five Iranian crewmen aboard the ship were weapons experts.[28]

· Iranian Fourth Fleet’s presence in the Gulf of Aden facilitates the Islamic Republic to increase its weapon smuggling operations to terrorist groups and Shia Islamists in Yemen and in Somalia, according to experts in an interview with the Egyptian government weekly Akhbar Al-Yaum.[29] Experts also said that Iran was smuggling weapons to Yemen via Eretria.[30]

Iran’s role is arming the northern Yemenite minority is now threatening neighboring Saudi Arabia, forcing the Kingdom’s involvement in the conflict.[33] Saudi Arabia imposed a naval blockade in the Red Sea on Nov. 10 to prevent Iran from attempting to ship additional weapons to militants in northern Yemen.[34]

Referencing Saudi Arabia’s involvement, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki warned "Those who pour oil on the fire must know that they will not be spared from the smoke that billows."[35]

In a March 28 interview with the London daily al-Hayat, Salih said “Lebanese Hezbollah activists are giving wide-scale aid to the Al-Khawthi group in Yemen. They are providing military and logistics training: The Al-Khawthis received training from a number of specialists and entities associated with Hezbollah, in assembling bombs, mines and explosives.”[37]

On Nov. 16, the Shiite militants in Yemen claimed they launched a Katyusha rocket in their attack at on a Saudi military base.[39]

The Katyusha rocket is the primary weapon Iran provides to Hezbollah. The Lebanese-based Iran proxy group is in possession of more than 40,000 Katyusha rockets.[40]

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From one of our sources inside the Beltway.

The Saudis are all puckered up because Yemen is their backyard and there is no border security. Anyone with a Landrover can drive from Yemen across KSA to Riyadh in one long day and no obstacles.

Field Marshal Ali Abdullah Saleh (Arabic: علي عبد الله صالح‎), born March 21, 1942, is the current President of Yemen.
Saleh is very difficult to work with, he is a cross between Saddam and Idi Amin, a dictator, plays both sides of the fence. No one can trust him, he is very tight with AQAP though a guy named Tariq al Fahdli. He is an old school AQ Afghan muj, very chummy with UBL and Z and is related by marriage to Saleh.

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It seems the American drone attack on al Qaeda missed the AQ leaders in Yemen.
Did they have advanced notice?

Who knew it would turn out like this?

Internet Anthropologist Think Tank: Yemen the NEW Pakistan 01.27.09