Armies of Liberation

A big article from News Yemen. Its a very good and complex analysis. The escapees include well trained major AQ operatives including nine previously turned over by SA to Yemen and who have high level contacts inside and outside the region. While ongoing cooperation is important according to the Saudis, the fact that they were housed together for a year is a troubling indication. 400 guns sold by the US to Yemen that were found in SA in the hands of AQ is news, to me at least, and implicates elements of the military in supplying AQ, which is not news, to me at least.

This is interesting, “The arrest of al-Ahdal helped speed up the Saudi American alignment in exercising pressure on Yemen.”

This is freaky; “They disclosed unreality of what was said before on the arrest of Hadi Belqim, mentioning it was proved that Belqim was still free as denying correctness of what was published in Sana’a about the arrest of Abdulrahim al-Nashiri. Saying he was seen free in company with one of Yemeni security men before he was later arrested in the Emirates.” Lying to the US again?

The book mentioned is Sleeping with the Devil, by Robert Baer, who just keeps popping up and is the guy I mentioned in the last article who said that a Saudi military official told him the Yemeni regime is covering up some aspects of the Cole bombing.

Despite the seriousness in trial of tens of those accused of carrying terrorist acts or planning for them, Yemen appears to be amidst a regional and international tempestuous moment towards files it is achieving successes in them. It is Yemen’s cooperation with the international community in fighting terror dating back to the Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh to the White House following the September 11 attacks.

It is strange that the official Yemeni performance seems languid regarding indicators of the tempest as it tries to make use of it domestically and a little farther from the United States of America. This stance is maybe meant for the agenda of the presidential elections and probably to bypass effects of Saada battles, or to put pressure on America that has stepped up its demands concerning requirements of democratic change and its refusal of the Yemeni presence at the millennium fund without achievement of outstanding technical accomplishments.

Despite the Yemeni tepid handling of the 23 who ran away from the Political Security prison on the 3rd of last February, the incident seems to have considerable impact on Yemen in its regional and international relations, even if the authority does not realize that.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has begun “sharp” security and diplomatic activity, as described that to NewsYemen by a high ranking source, to express about its fears from the effect of the escapees outside Yemen. Al-Hayat newspaper in its Saudi edition had quoted Saudi sources as saying that the runaways “from operatives on whom al-Qaeda organization was depending to implement its plans in the region.” The sources that the newspaper described as “reliable”, described the runaways as “possessing highly professional capabilities for carrying out terrorist attacks at both levels of planning and implementation.” The escaped group, “ nine elements the Saudi authorities had repatriated to Yemen according to the security cooperation between the two countries”, included “ dangerous terrorist elements that engineered and took part in planning for big terrorist operations and in their carrying out”, confirming that “ they have large-scale relations and contacts with the rest of the al-Qaeda organization cells and other terrorist organizations inside and outside the region, expecting to “ begin building other terrorist cells inside and outside the region in addition to activating and rehabilitation of other cells to implement new acts .”

The Saudi statements published on al-Hayat newspaper front page, exceeded the talk on the danger of the escapees to queries on the escape operation and said the escaped al-Qaeda operatives “ stayed more than one year in one prison, talking, thinking and planning together until they Managed to dig the tunnel and then escape. ” They wondered “How can a cell experienced in field action be put in one place, a matter that does not serve the course of security investigation and interrogation?” the sources also described the prisoners escape operation as “dangerous” and rather “ dangerous precedence” because of the big number of escapees. But they emphasized the importance of “keeping the security coordination and cooperation between the Yemeni and other security apparatuses” They also stressed the “importance of joining forces and increase in security coordination and cooperation among the region’s countries to arrest the group before they begin to implement sudden terrorist attacks in any available form,” pointing that “the group will seize any available opportunity.”

The Saudi statements on the escapees come at a time when Saudi citizens are standing trial in Sana’a on charges of planning to hit foreign interests in Yemen, after their return from Iraq. In addition there is the more important issue, which is the beginning of Abu A’sim al-Ahdal, whose arrest on 25 November 2003, was accompanied by an indirect tempest in the relations between Yemen and Saudi Arabia, especially that the Americans consider him as “a witness more than an accused in the terrorist operations carried out in Yemen, particularly the Cole and Limburg attacks. The arrest of al-Ahdal helped speed up the Saudi American alignment in exercising pressure on Yemen.

Saudi sources had published news about quantities of weapons, among them shoulder guns that were seized in Saudi Arabia, of American origin sold to the Yemeni defense ministry, in addition to 400 guns carried on shoulder and having serial numbers as part of a deal the United States sold to Yemen defense ministry. Those weapons were seized during one of Saudi raids of gunmen hideout in the kingdom. The sources had wondered on how those weapons were taken from the ministry’s arsenals to be used by al-Qaeda for hitting American interests in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Saudi media had then talked about concerns of American authorities regarding incorrectness of statements published on operations targeting al-Qaeda elements. They disclosed unreality of what was said before on the arrest of Hadi Belqim, mentioning it was proved that Belqim was still free as denying correctness of what was published in Sana’a about the arrest of Abdulrahim al-Nashiri. Saying he was seen free in company with one of Yemeni security men before he was later arrested in the Emirates. Those were statements made by the Saudi interior minister prince Naif Bin Abdulaziz after the arrest of al-Nashiri last year. The political adviser to the president of the republic Dr Abdulkarim al-Iryani had then replied on those statements. At that time Sana’a considered raising the talk on Yemen’s arming of terrorists came to be ahead of information that may be obtained from the detainee Mohammed Hamdi al-Ahdal. Yemen had then said the preliminary information of investigation confirmed involvement of regional personalities in the attack on Limburg and facilitation in the attack on Cole, as part of the local conflict of the country to which those personalities were affiliate. A few days after the capture of al-Ahdal, the Yemeni interior ministry tried to contain the crisis and allowed a Saudi security team to be acquainted with procedures of investigation with al-Ahdal and Yemeni security sources rejected to divulge information by the American intelligence on the author of a book titled “Sleeping with the Satan”, copies of which were given to Yemeni presidency. The book had mentioned about a regional role in the operations of Cole and Limburg. The Yemeni interior ministry had talked in a statement during that crisis about “partied aimed at media excitement with the aim of misleading the world public opinion on the truth of Yemeni serious and decisive stands in fighting terror,” pointing to attempts of “extortion” against Yemen, mentioning “Yemen that suffered damage of terrorist acts, more than any other country, could not submit to any extortion of whatever kind or of whatever source.”

According to Yemeni sources there were previous American intelligence repots delivered to Yemen that mentioned about such information on a role by Saudi prices in supporting al-Qaeda operations in Yemen and the possibility that al-Ahdal, who was among the FBI lists, might have confirmation or denial of the information. Yemen had earlier announced it had sent to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia “what concerned it of al-Ahdal confessions, “who had “talked about names of personalities in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and the Arab United Emirates” who helped him in funding al-Qaeda terrorist acts in Yemen. It is known that al-Ahdal, who Yemen authorities had accused of receiving more than eighty million riyals to spend on tribesmen in the governorates of Al-Jawf and Marib to facilitate hiding the wanted elements, was born in Al-Madina, Saudi Arabia in 1971. He studied in that city as he graduated from secondary school and then worked in trading with honey and established the Caucasus Charitable Society. He is a handicapped, putting on an artificial leg and his left arm paralyzed because of injuries caused in many battles in Bosnea-Hersegovina and Chechnya where his left leg was amputated because of his wound. Yemeni authorities say all his travels to take part in fighting were before going to Yemen as he was forced to go to Yemen after his imprisonment in Saudi Arabia in 1999, spending one year and two months after being deported to Yemen. His first appearance of his name in Yemen was a storming operation by Yemeni Special Forces of Al-Aljalal strongholds in Marib governorate, 140 km to the east of Sana’a on 18 December 2001. Fifteen persons were killed and 20 were wounded in the clashes with Abeeda tribesmen of Marib governorate before the combing up of Balharith area in Shabwa governorate for the same reason. Security authorities said “Abu A’sim” is the connecting link in receiving amounts of money from abroad to finance sabotage activities in Yemen and distribute them among elements of al-Qaeda and that “ the last sum of money he received was $ 500 thousand from Kuwaiti and Saudi sides suspected to be affiliate of al-Qaeda. The purpose is to carry out terrorist acts against American interests and a number of economic and oil installations.

In the second of his trial sessions last February, the prosecution announced that al-Ahdal “Abu A’sim” had confessed before the general prosecution of raising one million and 61 thousand Saudi Riyals from Saudi businessmen in four years to support al-Qaeda organization in Yemen, but the prosecution refused to disclose their identities. Representative of the prosecution Khalid al-Maweri, in the Monday session chaired by judge Najib al-Qaderi, said the accused delivered 20 thousand riyals to the first man in the organization in Yemen, Abu Ali al-Harithi, who was killed in November 2002 in Marib and 50 thousand riyals sent to al-Harithi via a person Abdulaziz, nicknamed “Abu Maath”, a Palestinian carrying Saudi nationality.

When the judge asked al-Ahdal about correctness of his confessions before the general prosecution, he affirmed he had collected 61 million Saudi riyals I four years to support families of the Yemenis killed and imprisoned in Afghanistan, Chechnya, Bosnia-Herzegovina and also families of Yemenis detained in Guantanamo.

On the American side, according to what was announced by military sources that published for the first time text of a letter from the American president to president Saleh, Bush had expressed his disappointment for Yemen’s stance regarding its commitments. However, the letter did not mention about al-Qaeda, the escapees and the detained, but only talked about al-Zindani and Khalid Mishaal. According to the message text Bush told Saleh among data is our joint commitment to strengthening the bilateral cooperation between our to counties, but I have felt a big disappointment when I learned that you have guaranteed Sheikh al-Zindani, the person the United Nation determined as his having ties with al-Qaeda organization, that was in the Yemen official delegation at the Organization of Islamic Conference in Mecca, Saudi Arabia that was dedicated to denounce terror and fighting extremism and enhancement of tolerance. Bush has also expressed his growing concern when he learned that president Saleh received warmly Khalid Mishaal, the leader of Hamas at the beginning of this month.

According to Bush’s letter, he mentioned that Saleh’s close ties with the individuals he mentioned cause skepticism in Saleh’s commitment to the war on terror. He confirmed that the method by which he could prove his being committed partner was by carrying out without more delay Yemen’s international obligations by freezing Sheikh al-Zindani properties and preventing him from future travel. In addition, Bush urged president Saleh to sever the relation with Hamas and its leaders. Bush said Saleh’s cooperation in the war on terror was important and expressed his hope that it was possible to depend on his leadership in scoring victory over terror.