Washington: Obama Administration has said that it is supportive of the actions being taken by the Government of Yemen against Al Qaeda terrorists inside that country.
"We are strongly supportive of the efforts by the Yemeni government to take strong action and root out terrorists that are members of al Qaeda in the Arabian
Peninsula.
We`ll continue to do so and continue to be supportive of those efforts," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters at his daily news conference yesterday.
At the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department, the Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, P J Crowley, said the Obama Administration has made
it clear to the Government of Yemen that there are things that they need to do.
"Now clearly, things like the action taken yesterday are a step in the right direction, but we need to see out of Yemen a much more consistent approach to dealing with
extremism within their borders," he said.
"Those actions addressed a specific area of concern and contributed to the Embassy?s decision to resume operations today," Crowley said.
Nonetheless, the threat of terrorist attacks against American interests remains high and the Embassy as well, he added.
Crowley said there are layers of conflict within Yemen.
"There is the threat from al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. There is the ongoing struggle between Shia and Sunni elements within the country. There`s the conflict on the
border which has drawn Saudi Arabia at times into this struggle," he noted.
"What we want to see is -? and part of what the Secretary talked to her counterpart from Qatar yesterday was, in fact, how do -? does the United States, working collectively with countries in the region, how do we provide important support to Yemen, but also make sure that we help Yemen improve its own performance in terms of dealing with these threats," Crowley said.
In view of the foiled December 25 attack, Crowley said the State Department is looking for ways in which it can do more, update procedures so that ultimately the people of
the United States can feel confident that they are secure, and other countries can feel confident in the security cooperation they have with the United States.
"I think this is a constant process. But obviously, it`s in sharp relief given the events of December 25," he said.
Bureau Report
