State Department coordinator for counterterrorism Daniel Benjamin told journalists yesterday that while the growing presence of terrorist groups in Yemen is increasingly evident, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (or FATA) of Pakistan still poses the greatest threat to dismantling al-Qaida. According to Benjamin, tribal governments have more interaction with al-Qaida than any other group, and actively support its efforts in this region of the country. Despite the dangerous situation in Pakistan, and the fact that the country remains the strongest area of support for al-Qaida, Benjamin did not dismiss Yemen as an important target for U.S. efforts to uproot terrorist cells. The attempted Christmas Day bombing of a U.S. airliner by an al-Qaida offshoot based in Yemen has brought increased international visibility to the nation, but according to Benjamin the country has been of concern to intelligence officials. This comes on the heels of a report by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday that claims three dozen Americans traveled to Yemen for training with al-Qaida.
Chris Bilbro
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