*** Idiots ruining it for all those who actually want to study the language. MS ***
FROM: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6531XM20100604
(Reuters) - When Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab enrolled in an Arabic course in Yemen last year, few who met him could have guessed what this withdrawn young man was really up to, nor the devastating impact he would leave behind.
World
Staff at the now-deserted language center where he studied are still reeling from the actions of the Nigerian, suspected of trying to blow up a U.S.-bound plane in December, just weeks after leaving the Arabian peninsula country.
Adil Badi, a teacher at the Sanaa Institute for the Arabic Language, said radical Muslims such as Abdulmutallab, a student from a wealthy family who had no criminal record, had used the Arabic courses on offer in Yemen as a pretext for entering the country to meet fellow militants there.
"They had something else to do in Yemen but their excuse was to study Arabic," Badi said.
Prized for the purity of its dialect and cheap living costs, Yemen was long a popular destination for students of Arabic. But over the years, a number of foreign militants have arrived in Yemen in the guise of Arabic students, only to join al Qaeda training camps.
Sherif Mobley, a U.S. citizen currently being held in Yemen on suspicion of belonging to al Qaeda, also first came to the country as a student of Arabic at a language institute, before attending a university run by prominent hardline Muslim cleric Sheikh Abdul-Majid al-Zindani, officials say.
Abdulmutallab was on his second visit to Yemen when he enrolled at the center in August 2009. When his visa expired in September, he disappeared for around two months, during which officials believe he moved to al Qaeda's main hideout there.
Four months after the attempted bombing, an al Qaeda video showed Abdulmutallab attending a militant training camp in the desert and also showed footage of him in an apparent martyr's farewell.
During this time, the former engineering student also met Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical U.S.-born preacher who is wanted dead or alive by Washington.
"His goals and objectives came prior to Yemen," said Sabri Saleem, president of the Yemen College of Middle Eastern Studies, one of Sanaa's oldest Arabic language schools. "He just came to implement."
VISA BAN
Yemen has a long history with al Qaeda, whose resurgent regional wing has its base in the impoverished country and continues to attract Islamist militants from abroad.
Saleem's institute keeps close tabs on its students, screening academic records, keeping track of their movements while they are in the country, and making them sign a declaration that they would adhere to the centre's rules.
Of the 9,000 students who have passed through his school over the past two decades, Saleem said only one of them was radical, and that was John Walker Lindh.
Dubbed the "American Taliban," Lindh was captured in 2001 during the Afghanistan war and jailed under a U.S. plea deal for 20 years for fighting alongside the Taliban.
The Yemeni government has made it clear that it does not believe Abdulmutallab was radicalized in Yemen, but that this happened in London, where he was a student.
But in the immediate aftermath of the attempted bombing, it banned visas issued at arrival in the airport.
Foreign Minister Abubakr al-Qirbi told Reuters that Yemen had also begun to screen individuals applying for tourist visas from its embassies abroad.
That U.S. and many European citizens could previously obtain visas at the airport had turned out to be a major security problem for the government, he said.
"That's how some of these extremist groups managed to get into the country," the minister said.
BAD FOR BUSINESS
While security concerns have kept potential students away for several years now, language schools say that enrolments have fallen sharply in the months since the failed plane attack, particularly as the government tightens visa restrictions.
Pictures displayed in the reception of the Sanaa Institute for the Arabic Language tell of better times. One shows a class listening attentively to the teacher, while in another a group of students poses in the now-empty garden outside.
"We are on the verge of bankruptcy," said Badi, adding that he had only two students left, one from South Korea and the other from the United States.
Belman Sihombing, a chef from Indonesia who came to study Arabic with his wife and daughter, said his family only managed to obtain their visas with help from the school's director.
"The visa was a problem from my embassy in my country. They wouldn't give it to us because of the Nigerian trying to bomb the United States, so all embassies don't give visas," he said.
Saleem said recent events had hit his institution badly too.
This summer, Saleem's center, which is accredited with over 100 universities across the world, will host 32 students, compared to 85 last year and 230 students in 2008, he said.
Concern over security in Yemen, which is also facing rising violence between government forces and separatists in the south and has just ended a bloody round of fighting with northern rebels, has long been an issue for his business.
"It was really building up, but the Nigerian was the worst case," he said. "If I didn't own the building we are in, then we would have closed by now."
(Editing by Lin Noueihed)
Showing posts with label terrorism in yemen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label terrorism in yemen. Show all posts
Friday, June 4, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
AMERICANS & OTHERS IN YEMEN ARRESTED
*** This bloody episode of war and war - killing and killing - will eventually lead all of us to our deaths. MS ***
FROM: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100602/world/ml_yemen_al_qaida
SAN'A, Yemen - Yemeni authorities have detained several foreigners, including Americans, Britons and an Australian woman, in connection with an investigation into al-Qaida's increased activity in the country, security officials said Wednesday.
The arrests were made after foreign intelligence agencies provided lists of names of people they wanted detained or put under surveillance, the two security officials said.
They would not discuss details about most of those targeted — a group that also included Frenchmen, Africans and Asians — or specify how many they were.
Al-Qaida's offshoot in Yemen has steadily increased in strength since key leaders escaped from a Yemeni jail in 2006. In January 2009 it got another boost by merging with Saudi al-Qaida militants to form al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.
Under U.S. pressure and with the help of American aid, training and intelligence, Yemen's government has battled the al-Qaida militants. But the weak government's control barely extends beyond the capital, and the militants have found shelter among powerful and sympathetic tribes that are hostile to the government.
The two Yemeni security officials said some of the recently detained foreigners are believed to be linked to the Nigerian man suspected of attempting to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner in December. U.S. investigators say the Nigerian, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, has told them he was trained and instructed in the plot by al-Qaida in Yemen.
Some of the detainees are also thought to be connected to radical American-Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who is believed to have inspired attacks on the U.S. and is hiding in Yemen, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not permitted to brief journalists.
The detained Australian woman moved to Yemen with her two children in 2006 after converting to Islam, her Yemeni lawyer said.
He identified her as 30-year-old Shyloh Giddins and said she was arrested May 15. The lawyer, Abdel-Rahman Berman, said he was not allowed to discuss details of the investigation, but he said she has not been charged.
According to Australian government documents obtained from the lawyer, Giddins' Australian passport was cancelled in April because the intelligence service there believes she is a security threat.
The documents state that Giddins has an extremist interpretation of Islam, without elaborating.
After arriving in Yemen, she studied Arabic and Islam and taught English in private institutes, her lawyer said.
Berman said authorities have not allowed Giddins' two children, who are 5 and 7 years old, to leave their home in Yemen's capital, San'a.
FROM: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100602/world/ml_yemen_al_qaida
SAN'A, Yemen - Yemeni authorities have detained several foreigners, including Americans, Britons and an Australian woman, in connection with an investigation into al-Qaida's increased activity in the country, security officials said Wednesday.
The arrests were made after foreign intelligence agencies provided lists of names of people they wanted detained or put under surveillance, the two security officials said.
They would not discuss details about most of those targeted — a group that also included Frenchmen, Africans and Asians — or specify how many they were.
Al-Qaida's offshoot in Yemen has steadily increased in strength since key leaders escaped from a Yemeni jail in 2006. In January 2009 it got another boost by merging with Saudi al-Qaida militants to form al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.
Under U.S. pressure and with the help of American aid, training and intelligence, Yemen's government has battled the al-Qaida militants. But the weak government's control barely extends beyond the capital, and the militants have found shelter among powerful and sympathetic tribes that are hostile to the government.
The two Yemeni security officials said some of the recently detained foreigners are believed to be linked to the Nigerian man suspected of attempting to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner in December. U.S. investigators say the Nigerian, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, has told them he was trained and instructed in the plot by al-Qaida in Yemen.
Some of the detainees are also thought to be connected to radical American-Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who is believed to have inspired attacks on the U.S. and is hiding in Yemen, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not permitted to brief journalists.
The detained Australian woman moved to Yemen with her two children in 2006 after converting to Islam, her Yemeni lawyer said.
He identified her as 30-year-old Shyloh Giddins and said she was arrested May 15. The lawyer, Abdel-Rahman Berman, said he was not allowed to discuss details of the investigation, but he said she has not been charged.
According to Australian government documents obtained from the lawyer, Giddins' Australian passport was cancelled in April because the intelligence service there believes she is a security threat.
The documents state that Giddins has an extremist interpretation of Islam, without elaborating.
After arriving in Yemen, she studied Arabic and Islam and taught English in private institutes, her lawyer said.
Berman said authorities have not allowed Giddins' two children, who are 5 and 7 years old, to leave their home in Yemen's capital, San'a.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
DRONE STRIKE KILLS GOOD GUY - AGAIN.
*** This is precisely why you should not rely so heavily on technology to do this kind of job. As we have seen many, many times - these strikes cause more long-term harm than good. Beef up the HUMINT sections people! MS ***
FROM: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/100525/n_top_news/cnews_us_yemen
SANAA (Reuters) - An airstrike in Yemen targeting al Qaeda missed its mark on Tuesday and killed a mediator by mistake, prompting members of his tribe to blow up a crude oil pipeline in clashes that followed, a provincial official said.
A Yemeni news website seen as aligned with the opposition said the strike was carried out by a drone, a weapon that the Yemen military is not believed to have. U.S. forces helping Yemen fight al Qaeda have used drones in the past, but a U.S. diplomat declined to say if the United States was involved.
The strike could heighten anti-U.S. sentiment and broaden al Qaeda's appeal among some influential Yemeni tribes, threatening efforts to stabilize a country neighboring oil power Saudi Arabia and busy international shipping lanes, analysts said.
The botched bombing of a U.S. airliner on December 25, claimed by al Qaeda's Yemen-based wing, spurred Washington to step up security help to President Ali Abdullah Saleh's government, which faces multiple grave challenges apart from militancy.
The Yemeni mediator, who had been trying to persuade members of the global militant group to surrender, was killed instantly in a pre-dawn strike on his car in Yemen's mountainous Maarib province that also killed three other people.
"Jaber al-Shabwani, the deputy governor of Maarib, was killed with a number of his relatives and travel companions in an airstrike targeting the Wadi Obeida area, where al Qaeda elements are present," the provincial official said.
"The deputy governor was on a mediation mission to persuade al Qaeda elements to hand themselves over to the authorities, but it seems that the airstrike missed its target and struck his car, killing him instantly in addition to three companions," he added, declining to be named. Two others were wounded.
The strike provoked clashes between the army and members of Shabwani's tribe, and the tribesmen attacked the pipeline that ferries crude oil from Maarib, east of the capital Sanaa, to the Red Sea coast, the official said.
Yemen, which borders the world's top oil exporter Saudi Arabia, moved to the forefront of Western security concerns after al Qaeda's Yemen-based regional arm claimed responsibility for a failed attempt to bomb a U.S.-bound plane in December.
The United States and Saudi Arabia want Yemen, which is trying to end a conflict with Shi'ite rebels in the north while separatist sentiment bubbles over in the south, to focus its efforts on fighting al Qaeda, seen as a greater global threat.
NO EXPORT DISRUPTION
A statement from a Yemeni High Security Council source expressed sorrow for the death of Shabwani and called him a martyr, but did not specify who carried out the strike or what type of aircraft was used.
A U.S. diplomat would not discuss the attack. Washington backed Sanaa's fight against al Qaeda by training Yemeni forces, sharing information and providing equipment, and recognized al Qaeda in Yemen was a threat to both countries, he said.
"So we are working together. The Yemeni forces always take the lead in operations carried out in Yemen using some of that support that we have provided for them through training and information sharing..." the diplomat said.
Asked directly if the U.S. was involved in the strike, he said: "If you want operation-specific details you need to contact the Yemeni government."
Yemen and U.S. military targeted al Qaeda figures in Yemen, the ancestral home of the network's leader Osama bin Laden, after the September 11, 2001, attacks. A CIA drone fired a missile that killed al Qaeda's leader in Yemen in 2002.
Yemen's foreign minister said earlier this year that Yemen needed logistical support to help fight al Qaeda but would not allow foreign covert operations against the group on its soil.
In Maarib province where Tuesday's airstrike took place, clashes with the mediator's tribe spread from the countryside to Maarib town, where dozens of tribal gunmen opened fire on government buildings. The army was returning fire. At least seven people were injured, a local official said.
Security officials said angry tribes blocked the main road between Sanaa and Maarib, preventing trucks carrying cooking gas and petrol from reaching the capital.
Tuesday's strike had likely intended to hit Ayed al-Shabwani, an al Qaeda leader whose farm in Maarib province was the target of a strike in January, the provincial official said. Shabwani is a relative of the mediator who was killed.
Shipping companies said there was no impact on exports from the attack on the pipeline, which ferries crude to the Ras Isa offshore export terminal. Authorities could not immediately reach the affected area.
FROM: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/100525/n_top_news/cnews_us_yemen
SANAA (Reuters) - An airstrike in Yemen targeting al Qaeda missed its mark on Tuesday and killed a mediator by mistake, prompting members of his tribe to blow up a crude oil pipeline in clashes that followed, a provincial official said.
A Yemeni news website seen as aligned with the opposition said the strike was carried out by a drone, a weapon that the Yemen military is not believed to have. U.S. forces helping Yemen fight al Qaeda have used drones in the past, but a U.S. diplomat declined to say if the United States was involved.
The strike could heighten anti-U.S. sentiment and broaden al Qaeda's appeal among some influential Yemeni tribes, threatening efforts to stabilize a country neighboring oil power Saudi Arabia and busy international shipping lanes, analysts said.
The botched bombing of a U.S. airliner on December 25, claimed by al Qaeda's Yemen-based wing, spurred Washington to step up security help to President Ali Abdullah Saleh's government, which faces multiple grave challenges apart from militancy.
The Yemeni mediator, who had been trying to persuade members of the global militant group to surrender, was killed instantly in a pre-dawn strike on his car in Yemen's mountainous Maarib province that also killed three other people.
"Jaber al-Shabwani, the deputy governor of Maarib, was killed with a number of his relatives and travel companions in an airstrike targeting the Wadi Obeida area, where al Qaeda elements are present," the provincial official said.
"The deputy governor was on a mediation mission to persuade al Qaeda elements to hand themselves over to the authorities, but it seems that the airstrike missed its target and struck his car, killing him instantly in addition to three companions," he added, declining to be named. Two others were wounded.
The strike provoked clashes between the army and members of Shabwani's tribe, and the tribesmen attacked the pipeline that ferries crude oil from Maarib, east of the capital Sanaa, to the Red Sea coast, the official said.
Yemen, which borders the world's top oil exporter Saudi Arabia, moved to the forefront of Western security concerns after al Qaeda's Yemen-based regional arm claimed responsibility for a failed attempt to bomb a U.S.-bound plane in December.
The United States and Saudi Arabia want Yemen, which is trying to end a conflict with Shi'ite rebels in the north while separatist sentiment bubbles over in the south, to focus its efforts on fighting al Qaeda, seen as a greater global threat.
NO EXPORT DISRUPTION
A statement from a Yemeni High Security Council source expressed sorrow for the death of Shabwani and called him a martyr, but did not specify who carried out the strike or what type of aircraft was used.
A U.S. diplomat would not discuss the attack. Washington backed Sanaa's fight against al Qaeda by training Yemeni forces, sharing information and providing equipment, and recognized al Qaeda in Yemen was a threat to both countries, he said.
"So we are working together. The Yemeni forces always take the lead in operations carried out in Yemen using some of that support that we have provided for them through training and information sharing..." the diplomat said.
Asked directly if the U.S. was involved in the strike, he said: "If you want operation-specific details you need to contact the Yemeni government."
Yemen and U.S. military targeted al Qaeda figures in Yemen, the ancestral home of the network's leader Osama bin Laden, after the September 11, 2001, attacks. A CIA drone fired a missile that killed al Qaeda's leader in Yemen in 2002.
Yemen's foreign minister said earlier this year that Yemen needed logistical support to help fight al Qaeda but would not allow foreign covert operations against the group on its soil.
In Maarib province where Tuesday's airstrike took place, clashes with the mediator's tribe spread from the countryside to Maarib town, where dozens of tribal gunmen opened fire on government buildings. The army was returning fire. At least seven people were injured, a local official said.
Security officials said angry tribes blocked the main road between Sanaa and Maarib, preventing trucks carrying cooking gas and petrol from reaching the capital.
Tuesday's strike had likely intended to hit Ayed al-Shabwani, an al Qaeda leader whose farm in Maarib province was the target of a strike in January, the provincial official said. Shabwani is a relative of the mediator who was killed.
Shipping companies said there was no impact on exports from the attack on the pipeline, which ferries crude to the Ras Isa offshore export terminal. Authorities could not immediately reach the affected area.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
YEMEN CLERICS THREATEN JIHAD FATWA
*** One of those things we certainly do NOT need in that place. MS ***
FROM: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/cbc/100114/world/world_yemen_clerics_jihad
WINNIPEG (CBC) - A group of clerics in Yemen signed a statement Thursday warning that they would call for a jihad, or holy war, if any foreign military intervenes in the conflict-ridden country.
The warning did not name the United States specifically but appeared to be directed at America's potential for involvement in a fight between the Yemeni government and al-Qaeda in the Arabian country.
"If any foreign country insists on aggression and the invasion of the country or interference, in a military or security way, Muslim sons are duty bound to carry out jihad and fight the aggressors," the clerics said in a statement.
The group of 15 clergymen includes Sheik Abdul-Majid al-Zindani, whom the U.S. says has been a spiritual mentor to Osama bin-Laden, but who remains influential in Yemen and is being courted by the Yemeni government for his backing.
U.S. President Barack Obama has said he does not plan to send America troops to Yemen, but Washington sent nearly $70 million in military aid and training to Yemeni forces last year aid in their fight to root out al-Qaeda, which has made substantial gains in the country in recent years.
The conflict between the Yemeni government and al-Qaeda gained international attention after news that an al-Qaeda-related group in Yemen was reportedly behind a failed Christmas Day attempt to bomb a U.S. passenger jet flying from Amsterdam to Detroit.
Since then, Yemen has stepped up missile strikes and assaults on known al-Qaeda strongholds.
Yemeni political analyst Nasser Arrabyee said the government wasn't always a willing participant in the fight against al-Qaeda, but said recent missile strikes and assaults on known al-Qaeda strongholds demonstrate its renewed commitment.
"I think in the past the Yemeni government was somewhat lenient, but [now] it is completely different. It has declared open war" on al-Qaeda, he said.
Yemeni authorities on Thursday said they have increased security in areas around the capital of San'a in an effort to find al-Qaeda suspects who escaped a raid earlier this week in the southern province of Shabwa.
Yemen's government has little control over large areas of the mountainous country, allowing well-armed tribes to exert control over regions with little interference from the capital.
FROM: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/cbc/100114/world/world_yemen_clerics_jihad
WINNIPEG (CBC) - A group of clerics in Yemen signed a statement Thursday warning that they would call for a jihad, or holy war, if any foreign military intervenes in the conflict-ridden country.
The warning did not name the United States specifically but appeared to be directed at America's potential for involvement in a fight between the Yemeni government and al-Qaeda in the Arabian country.
"If any foreign country insists on aggression and the invasion of the country or interference, in a military or security way, Muslim sons are duty bound to carry out jihad and fight the aggressors," the clerics said in a statement.
The group of 15 clergymen includes Sheik Abdul-Majid al-Zindani, whom the U.S. says has been a spiritual mentor to Osama bin-Laden, but who remains influential in Yemen and is being courted by the Yemeni government for his backing.
U.S. President Barack Obama has said he does not plan to send America troops to Yemen, but Washington sent nearly $70 million in military aid and training to Yemeni forces last year aid in their fight to root out al-Qaeda, which has made substantial gains in the country in recent years.
The conflict between the Yemeni government and al-Qaeda gained international attention after news that an al-Qaeda-related group in Yemen was reportedly behind a failed Christmas Day attempt to bomb a U.S. passenger jet flying from Amsterdam to Detroit.
Since then, Yemen has stepped up missile strikes and assaults on known al-Qaeda strongholds.
Yemeni political analyst Nasser Arrabyee said the government wasn't always a willing participant in the fight against al-Qaeda, but said recent missile strikes and assaults on known al-Qaeda strongholds demonstrate its renewed commitment.
"I think in the past the Yemeni government was somewhat lenient, but [now] it is completely different. It has declared open war" on al-Qaeda, he said.
Yemeni authorities on Thursday said they have increased security in areas around the capital of San'a in an effort to find al-Qaeda suspects who escaped a raid earlier this week in the southern province of Shabwa.
Yemen's government has little control over large areas of the mountainous country, allowing well-armed tribes to exert control over regions with little interference from the capital.
Monday, January 11, 2010
YEMENI CLERIC WARNS AGAINST OCCUPATION
*** Consider how powerful the motif of foreign (read, American) "occupation" is throughout the world so far. This man is not to be underestimated - he can trigger a civil war in Yemen as well as mobilize hundreds of thousands of fighters in various parts of the Muslim world. Tread with sensitivity. MS ***
FROM: http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=19481
SAN'A, Yemen (AP) - Yemen's most influential Islamic cleric, considered an Al Qaeda-linked terrorist by the United States, warned the government on Monday against allowing "foreign occupation" of the country in the growing cooperation with the U.S. against the terror group.
Sheik Abdul-Majid al-Zindani's comments reflected a deep mistrust among Yemenis of Washington's intentions as it ramps up counterterrorism aid and training for San'a to combat Al Qaeda's offshoot here.
Al-Zindani, a radical cleric who once associated with Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, is highly influential among Yemenis and the government is careful to maintain at least his tacit support.
"We accept any cooperation in the framework of respect and joint interests, and we reject military occupation of our country. And we don't accept the return of colonialization," al-Zindani told reporters.
"Yemen's rulers and people must be careful before a (foreign) guardianship is imposed on them," he said. "The day parliament allows the occupation of Yemen, the people will rise up against it and bring it down."
President Barack Obama said he does not plan to send American combat forces to Yemen, and San'a has said it will not allow such a deployment.
"I have no intention of sending U.S. boots on the ground in these regions," Obama said in an interview with People magazine to be published Friday.
U.S. military personnel are helping train Yemeni counterterror forces and gave Yemeni forces intelligence and logistical help in heavy airstrikes last month against suspected Al Qaeda hideouts that Yemen says killed dozens of militants.
Al-Zindani is a controversial figure in Yemeni politics. The United States has labeled him a "global terrorist," alleging he helps fund and recruit for Al Qaeda and that students from Iman University, which he heads, were involved in past attacks. But Yemen's government courts his support. The deputy prime minister last week denied al-Zindani is a member of Al Qaeda.
Addressing a news conference held at his San'a home, al-Zindani denied U.S. accusations against him, saying "it's become well known among the people that a lot of lies come out of" Washington. He also denied any knowledge of Al Qaeda's activities in Yemen. He also denied he had any influence on an American-Yemeni radical preacher Anwar al-Awlaki, who is being hunted by Yemeni forces for alleged Al Qaeda links.
Al-Awlaki is a young cleric popular among extremists for his calls for jihad, or holy war, against the Americans.
Yemeni officials say he may have met with Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in Yemen before the 23-year-old Nigerian allegedly tried to blow up a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day. Al Qaeda's offshoot in Yemen is accused of plotting that attack.
Al-Awlaki also had e-mail contact with the accused Fort Hood shooter before he allegedly opened fire at the military base in Texas, killing 13 people. Al-Awlaki later praised the attack, and he has also praised al-Zindani's writings in Internet speeches.
"I was never a direct teacher for Anwar al-Awlaki," al-Zindani said, his white beard dyed red with henna in the style of some Islamic hard-liners.
"I am general lecturer and a writer of books. If someone says they listened to my lectures or read my books, am I to blame if he then, say, divorces his wife, or if he attacks someone? If that's the case, then all teachers and professors should be accused," said al-Zindani, who also denied any connection to Abdulmutallab.
Al-Zindani, who often preaches in favor of holy war to defend the Muslim world, was careful not to directly criticize the Yemeni government's cooperation with the United States and avoided any comments that suggested a call for violence.
But he said San'a must regulate its counterterror partnership with Washington with written agreements approved by parliament. "The constitution says agreements must be put before parliament. I demand the implementation of the constitution," he said. He sharply criticized a U.S.-backed Yemeni airstrike against a suspected Al Qaeda hideout on Dec. 17 in which dozens of civilians were reported killed. "Is this right? What about a government that calls in any force to strike whoever it wants in this way, without any restrictions?" he said.
FROM: http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=19481
SAN'A, Yemen (AP) - Yemen's most influential Islamic cleric, considered an Al Qaeda-linked terrorist by the United States, warned the government on Monday against allowing "foreign occupation" of the country in the growing cooperation with the U.S. against the terror group.
Sheik Abdul-Majid al-Zindani's comments reflected a deep mistrust among Yemenis of Washington's intentions as it ramps up counterterrorism aid and training for San'a to combat Al Qaeda's offshoot here.
Al-Zindani, a radical cleric who once associated with Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, is highly influential among Yemenis and the government is careful to maintain at least his tacit support.
"We accept any cooperation in the framework of respect and joint interests, and we reject military occupation of our country. And we don't accept the return of colonialization," al-Zindani told reporters.
"Yemen's rulers and people must be careful before a (foreign) guardianship is imposed on them," he said. "The day parliament allows the occupation of Yemen, the people will rise up against it and bring it down."
President Barack Obama said he does not plan to send American combat forces to Yemen, and San'a has said it will not allow such a deployment.
"I have no intention of sending U.S. boots on the ground in these regions," Obama said in an interview with People magazine to be published Friday.
U.S. military personnel are helping train Yemeni counterterror forces and gave Yemeni forces intelligence and logistical help in heavy airstrikes last month against suspected Al Qaeda hideouts that Yemen says killed dozens of militants.
Al-Zindani is a controversial figure in Yemeni politics. The United States has labeled him a "global terrorist," alleging he helps fund and recruit for Al Qaeda and that students from Iman University, which he heads, were involved in past attacks. But Yemen's government courts his support. The deputy prime minister last week denied al-Zindani is a member of Al Qaeda.
Addressing a news conference held at his San'a home, al-Zindani denied U.S. accusations against him, saying "it's become well known among the people that a lot of lies come out of" Washington. He also denied any knowledge of Al Qaeda's activities in Yemen. He also denied he had any influence on an American-Yemeni radical preacher Anwar al-Awlaki, who is being hunted by Yemeni forces for alleged Al Qaeda links.
Al-Awlaki is a young cleric popular among extremists for his calls for jihad, or holy war, against the Americans.
Yemeni officials say he may have met with Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in Yemen before the 23-year-old Nigerian allegedly tried to blow up a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day. Al Qaeda's offshoot in Yemen is accused of plotting that attack.
Al-Awlaki also had e-mail contact with the accused Fort Hood shooter before he allegedly opened fire at the military base in Texas, killing 13 people. Al-Awlaki later praised the attack, and he has also praised al-Zindani's writings in Internet speeches.
"I was never a direct teacher for Anwar al-Awlaki," al-Zindani said, his white beard dyed red with henna in the style of some Islamic hard-liners.
"I am general lecturer and a writer of books. If someone says they listened to my lectures or read my books, am I to blame if he then, say, divorces his wife, or if he attacks someone? If that's the case, then all teachers and professors should be accused," said al-Zindani, who also denied any connection to Abdulmutallab.
Al-Zindani, who often preaches in favor of holy war to defend the Muslim world, was careful not to directly criticize the Yemeni government's cooperation with the United States and avoided any comments that suggested a call for violence.
But he said San'a must regulate its counterterror partnership with Washington with written agreements approved by parliament. "The constitution says agreements must be put before parliament. I demand the implementation of the constitution," he said. He sharply criticized a U.S.-backed Yemeni airstrike against a suspected Al Qaeda hideout on Dec. 17 in which dozens of civilians were reported killed. "Is this right? What about a government that calls in any force to strike whoever it wants in this way, without any restrictions?" he said.
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