William Katz:  Urgent Agenda

HOME      ABOUT      OUR ARCHIVE      CONTACT 

 

 

 

 

BULLETIN:  ATTACK IN YEMEN – AT 8:29 A.M. ET:  From AP, via Fox:

SANAA, Yemen – A masked gunman assassinated a Yemeni security official at the U.S. Embassy in a drive-by shooting in the capital Sanaa on Thursday, officials said.

The Yemeni officials said the killing bore the hallmarks of an Al Qaeda attack, but it was too early to determine if the group was behind it. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The assassination resembles other attacks targeting Yemeni intelligence, military and security officials in retaliation for a wide military offensive by Yemen's U.S.-backed government against Al Qaeda's branch in the country.

Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which Washington considers the most dangerous offshoot of the terror network, had taken advantage of a security and political vacuum created by last year Arab Spring-inspired uprising and seized territories and cities in the south. The government-led offensive has pushed the militants out to mountainous areas from where they have been staging suicide attacks and assassinations inside cities.

COMMENT:  This is preliminary information.  However, I hope Obama doesn't blame that YouTube video.  I also hope administration officials, including the secretary of state, get their stories straight on this one.

It's clear that our opponents feel they can attack American embassies and their personnel with impunity.  I wonder why.  Do you think, maybe, they believe they'll get away with it?  I don't know.  Maybe we should ask Big Bird.

More on this when available.

October 11,  2012