U.S. Getting Ready To Retaliate Against Al Qaeda Targets In Yemen

A Yemeni army helicopter carries out operations against al Qaeda suspects
on December 17 in the Sanaa province.

Officials: U.S., Yemen Reviewing Targets For Possible Strike -- CNN

Washington (CNN) -- The U.S. and Yemen are now looking at fresh targets in Yemen for a potential retaliation strike, two senior U.S. officials told CNN Tuesday, in the aftermath of the botched Christmas Day attack on an airliner that al Qaeda in Yemen claims it organized.

The officials asked not to be not be identified because of the sensitive nature of the information. They both stressed the effort is aimed at being ready with options for the White House if President Obama orders a retaliatory strike. The effort is to see whether targets can be specifically linked to the airliner incident and its planning.

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My Comment: This blog has been covering the civil war and conflict in Yemen for the past year, and was one of the first to point out U.S. involvement and support of the Yemeni Government in its civil war. I have also pointed out continuously the dangers that the U.S. has in confronting threats in this region, and why any U.S. military action should only be limited to supporting the regional players who are also our allies in the region.

It appears that this strategy is not going to be the strategy anymore, and the U.S. is now positioning itself to be a major player in one of the most forbidding conflicts in the world. I wish this was not the case, but by positioning its own forces to respond to what is now perceived as a threat to U.S. security, it is only a question of time before we are reading reports of U.S. forces being engaged in missile strikes and commando raids in Yemen.