Now it isn't even certain that Yemen is more of a threat than it has been:
Yemeni officials said Wednesday that the country's security forces had broken up several plots by al Qaeda militants but the government distanced itself from those reports later in the day, illustrating Washington's challenges as it tries to work with Yemen's government to combat al Qaeda's branch there.
The relationship between Washington and the government in San'a is under scrutiny now, as the U.S. says Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, is behind a new terror alert that has led the State Department to stop work at embassies and issue world-wide travel alerts.
Though questions remained over whether Yemen had foiled attacks, there is little doubt that AQAP has firm sway over parts of the country. One area of concern is the southern province of Hadramout—where some officials say AQAP militants have regrouped since Yemeni forces launched a massive operation against them earlier in the summer.
Is this all really just to put pressure on Yemen to keep up the pressure on AQAP? The blanket shut-down just doesn't make sense. We really don't have enough information to decide which embassies need to be shut down, which need enhanced security, and which need enhanced awareness?
And we don't have enough information to strike them to preempt them? We have launched drone strikes in Yemen, it is true. And there's the mysterious Derna Incident that remains unexplained.
Yeah, all wars end, as the president presumed to lecture us at the beginning of the year. But this one isn't ending any time soon.
