U.S. weighs plan to send military aircraft to aid Yemen
Senior U.S. commanders say deploying cargo aircraft could be key to a
U.S.-backed offensive in Yemen against Al Qaeda militants. Critics warn of a
backlash.
By David S. Cloud, Los Angeles Times
June 21, 2012
WASHINGTON -Spurred by recent battlefield gains,
<
http://www.latimes.com/topic/unrest-conflicts-war/defense/the-pentagon-PLCU
L00216.topic> the Pentagon is making plans to send
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http://www.latimes.com/topic/unrest-conflicts-war/defense/u.s.-military-ORG
OV000021106.topic> U.S. military aircraft to
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http://www.latimes.com/topic/intl/yemen-PLGEO00000072.topic> Yemen for the
first time to help move government troops and supplies more quickly into
battle against Islamic militants, U.S. officials said.
Senior U.S. commanders responsible for the Middle East argue that deploying
American cargo aircraft could be crucial to carrying on a U.S.-backed
offensive that has driven members of
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http://www.latimes.com/topic/unrest-conflicts-war/terrorism/al-qaeda-ORCIG0
00003751.topic> Al Qaeda in the
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http://www.latimes.com/topic/intl/arabian-peninsula-PLGEOREG000002.topic>
Arabian Peninsula and allied groups out of several cities and towns.
"This wasn't an American idea. It was a Yemeni idea and one worth
considering given our common fight against Al Qaeda in the Arabian
Peninsula," said a U.S. official, who, like others, spoke on condition of
anonymity because the plan is not public. "Nothing's been decided, and it
may take some time before the Yemenis themselves sort out whether they need
this kind of support or not."
The proposal does not have final
<
http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/government/executive-branch/white-hou
se-PLCUL000110.topic> White House approval yet and has prompted concern
among officials in the White House, the
<
http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/government/u.s.-department-of-state-O
RGOV000000150.topic> State Department and even within the Pentagon.
Militants who have targeted the U.S. are based in Yemen, which also is riven
by regional and tribal differences, and skeptics fear the conflict is
looking increasingly like a civil war.
Deploying aircraft would invite a backlash in the country and the wider
Middle East, said administration officials critical of the idea.
"We have to be very mindful of the fact that there is a lot of attention
being paid to the role of the United States in Yemen," said another U.S.
official. "We want it to be appropriate, and not something which is taking
kind of a controlling role, if you will, in these activities. And that I
think is where the concerns lie now."
The plan, which could include providing Yemen's troops with vehicles and
other supplies, would still limit the U.S. to a support role, which White
House officials have insisted is as far as
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http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/government/barack-obama-PEPLT007408.t
opic> President Obama will go.
Obama, who has withdrawn U.S. troops from Iraq and is in the process of
drawing down American forces in Afghanistan, has said he has no intention of
putting U.S. boots on the ground in Yemen.
U.S. officials have insisted for months that they will not be drawn into a
civil war and do not intend to put ground troops in Yemen, other than
trainers and small special-operations units. But a decision to use U.S.
aircraft and air crews in Yemen would be another sign that the United States
is taking on a more active role in the country.
Recent gains by Yemeni forces have strengthened the hand of U.S. military
commanders. They argue that sending aircraft and other additional assistance
could help turn the tide in Yemen. Over the last year, militants appeared to
be gaining strength and setting up fledgling governments in southern
provinces under their control, several officials said.
In contrast to its recent successes, the Yemeni military's previous efforts
to conduct operations in the country's rugged hinterlands have frequently
ended with the government suffering bloody defeats at the hands of Islamic
militants and well-armed tribes.
Yemen's armed forces rely on an aging fleet of Soviet-era helicopters and
poorly maintained trucks to transport its forces.
The questions of how many and what types of U.S. aircraft would be required
are being studied by the Pentagon's Joint Staff and by planners at U.S.
Central Command, which is responsible for U.S. military operations in the
Middle East, officials said.
Dozens of U.S. Special Forces troops deployed to Yemen this year and have
been supplying intelligence and advice on tactics that have aided the
operations, officials said.
The U.S. military and
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http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/espionage-intelligence/central-intell
igence-agency-ORGOV000009.topic> CIA are coordinating a separate but related
campaign of airstrikes against members of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula,
which U.S. intelligence officials say poses the greatest threat to America
and is one of several militant groups fighting the Yemeni government. The
group claimed responsibility for recruiting "underwear bomber" Umar Farouk
Abdulmutallab, who tried to blow up a passenger plane heading to Detroit on
Christmas Day 2009.
The group exploited a security vacuum last year during a popular uprising
against Yemen's longtime president,
<
http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/government/ali-abdullah-saleh-PEPLT00
008114.topic> Ali Abdullah Saleh, to seize territory in the southern
provinces of Abyan and Shabwa. That raised fears it could use the area as a
foothold from which to launch more attacks on U.S. targets.
A senior U.S. official said the further expansion of direct U.S. military
support for the Yemeni armed forces was being considered seriously by the
administration to capitalize on the recent gains in the south. U.S.
commanders are eager to move quickly because Yemen's president, Abdu Rabu
Mansour Hadi, is proving far more willing than Saleh to accept and even
solicit U.S. military assistance.
Hadi, who took office in February, has vowed to defeat the insurgency,
unlike Saleh, who allowed militants take control of large parts of Yemeni
territory.
Marine Gen. James Mattis, who is in charge of Central Command, met with Hadi
and other Yemeni officials this week in Sana, Yemen's capital, and "affirmed
the United States' readiness to support Yemen's efforts to defeat Al Qaeda,
which threatens Yemen and the international community alike," according to a
statement issued by
<
http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/diplomacy/u.s.-embassy-ORGOV000016138
.topic> the U.S. Embassy.
Mattis' visit came less than a month after a visit by Army Brig. Gen. Ralph
Groover, the deputy director for plans and policy at Central Command.
"We're all trying to be as helpful as we can to President Hadi and the
campaign that he and the Yemeni armed forces are waging in the south to
dislodge the AQAP presence and allow civilian authorities to return," said
the U.S. official critical of the Pentagon plan, using an acronym for Al
Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
"If American aircraft were ferrying Yemeni government troops, it would be
evident that we were involved in a substantial way," the official said. "It
invites a lot of attention that would not be helpful."
A senior military official involved in the discussions described them as
"nascent." He declined to go into details because of the danger of tipping
off militants.
But other officials said that the discussions were well advanced and that
details were being circulated to departments and agencies involved in Yemen
policy. The Pentagon's Joint Staff is preparing specific operation plans,
including what types of aircraft would be deployed to Yemen and other
military assistance that would be required, the officials said.
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Received on Thu Jun 21 2012 - 07:36:06 EDT
