Counter-Terrorism: Yemen Cleans House

Archives

August 31, 2008:  After years of trying to avoid coming down hard on Islamic radicals, Yemen has lost patience. Local politics, more than any affection for Islamic terrorism, led to years of tolerating Islamic radicals. Many were arrested, but many more were left alone. No more. Islamic radicals, being what they are, kept stepping over the line, and now the government is rounding all the ones it can find. And in the last few weeks, over 30 have been arrested in the eastern part of the country. Many of those picked up were Saudis, seeking a secure base while they planned attacks back in their home country. There's trouble enough with the Saudis because of rebellious Shia tribes on the border, so tolerating an al Qaeda cell was out of the question.