Patterns of Terrorism
An aptly titled report by the US State Dept. 2003:
There were no reported terrorist attacks against Western targets in Yemen in 2003. The Government of Yemen made a number of key al-Qaida-related arrests in 2003, but it raised concerns with its release of extremists without full disclosure of information and its inability to recapture escaped USS Cole suspects. The United States and Yemen continue joint counterterrorism training and cooperation, and there has been significant progress on standing up the Yemen Coast Guard….In October 2003, despite repeated statements that AAIA leader Khalid Abd-al-Nabi was dead, Yemeni officials revealed that he was not killed in the confrontations between the hardline Islamic group and a Yemeni army antiterrorism unit. Instead, al-Nabi surrendered to the Yemeni authorities, was released from custody, and is not facing charges for any of his activities. Earlier in 2003, authorities arrested al-Qaida operative Fawaz al-Rabi’I (a.k.a. Furqan) and al-Qaida associate Hadi Dulqum. …
The escape of 10 prisoners — including several suspects in the USS Cole bombing of October 2000 — from an Aden jail in April was a setback to bilateral counterterrorism efforts. Although Sanaa responded quickly, dismissing two senior security officers and several prison guards, eight of the escapees have not yet been apprehended….
In the latter part of 2003, senior government officials, including President Saleh, publicly announced the detainees’ release — some of whom may have ties to al-Qaida and other extremist groups — because they reportedly had renounced violence. The public announcement of the releases preceded the sharing of information with the US Government, which has now identified specific concerns with several of the individuals released and is working with the Government on the issue….
Al-Qaida is attempting to reconstitute an operational presence in Yemen. Other international terrorist groups with a presence in Yemen include remnants of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad and al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya.
Well thats a little duplicitious of the Yemeni government, huh? Pretending to the US that an al-Qaeda guy is dead but actually releasing him. The “escaping” and “rehabilitating” is bad enough, but reporting that somebody’s dead in order to hide him from the US? Habitually.
