Yemen

Obama Order Looks To Deter Disruptions In Yemen

Eric Lach | May 16, 2012, 3:56PM

Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour

An executive order issued by President Obama today authorizes sanctions against people and entities who "obstruct" Yemen's political transition, the latest sign of the administration's increased focus on the country.

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Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula

New Details Reported About Saudi Role In Foiled Bomb Plot

Eric Lach | May 9, 2012, 5:00PM

Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, Saudi Arabia's counterterrorism chief. (Reuters)

CNN is reporting new details about the alleged double-agent credited with foiling Al Qaeda in the Arabian Penisula's latest underwear bomb plot. Some of the details square with what has previously been reported, while others complicate the picture.

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Bahrain

Does The Administration Have A Bahrain Problem?

Eric Lach | February 16, 2011, 3:24PM

The spirit of popular uprising that in a matter of weeks has toppled regimes in Tunisia and Egypt has now spread to several other countries in the region. Iran, Libya and Yemen have all seen protests this week. But the trickiest situation for the American government to react to could be the one in tiny Bahrain.

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Barack Obama

Obama: Packages From Yemen Contained Explosive Material

Rachel Slajda | October 29, 2010, 4:32PM

President Barack Obama

President Obama, speaking this afternoon about the suspicious devices discovered on flights to the U.S., said the packages constituted a "credible terrorist threat" and that an "initial examination of those packages has determined that they do apparently contain explosive material."

Obama said that the packages, which were found last night on U.S.-bound flights in Dubai and near London, were addressed to "two places of Jewish worship in Chicago." He confirmed that the packages had originated in Yemen, and suggested that Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula might be responsible.

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Terrorism

White House: Two Suspicious Packages From Yemen Caused Checks In Newark And Philly

Rachel Slajda | October 29, 2010, 2:10PM

President Obama was notified last night that two suspicious packages from Yemen -- one near London and one in Dubai, both on flights bound for the U.S. -- were examined, triggering heightened security measures that lead to UPS planes being isolated in Newark, N.J. and Philadelphia.

The statement from the White House is the clearest picture yet of what happened today, when at least two planes were isolated and checked for bombs after a suspicious package was found on a Chicago-bound flight in London. The package, an altered ink cartridge with protruding wires and covered in white powder, was not found to contain explosives.

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Mohammed al-Awfi

Ex-Gitmo Detainee Who Joined Al Qaeda Accuses U.S. Of Torture At Bagram

Justin Elliott | January 14, 2010, 10:16AM

Mohammed al-Awfi

In a new interview with the BBC, a former Gitmo detainee and former member of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula accused the United States of torturing him while at Bagram prison in Afghanistan.

The BBC interviewed Mohammed al-Awfi in the well-appointed apartment where he is being held by Saudi authorities. A Saudi national, al-Awfi's journey took him from Bagram to Guantanamo to the Saudi rehabilitation program to the Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and finally back into the hands of Saudi authorities.

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Northwest Flight 253

Flight 253 Intel: What Did They Know And When Did They Know It?

Justin Elliott | January 7, 2010, 2:19PM

Later today President Obama is scheduled to talk about the latest details from the security review of the failed Flight 253 attack.

National Security Adviser James Jones is predicting that Americans will feel "a certain shock" by the results of the review.

But in the meantime, as Josh noted on the Editors Blog, we thought it would be worthwhile to compile what has been publicly reported about what U.S. government agencies knew about Abdulmutallab, including the supposed "warning signs" that were missed.

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Guantanamo

The Gitmo-Yemen-Flight 253 Connection: What We Know And How We Know It

Justin Elliott | January 6, 2010, 10:12AM

With the news Tuesday that the Obama Administration has decided to halt transfers of Gitmo detainees to Yemen, it's worth taking a closer look at what we do -- and do not -- know about the activity of former detainees in the group known as Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

That's the al Qaeda "affiliate" that claimed responsibility for the failed Christmas attack over Detroit, and that President Obama has fingered as training and equipping Umar Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian man arrested in that incident.

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