U.S. Divided on Aid to Counter Al Qaeda in Yemen

The New York Times deeply discusses the debate on aiding Yemen, an important testing ground for Obama's approach on alleviating the threat of terrorism present like Al Qaeda. Over the course of the next six years, the U.S. has proposed the idea of supplying Yemen with over 1.2 billion in military aid and training. Along with coastal boats, automatic weapons, tools and spare parts, and transport planes and helicopters, the training could possibly extend to allowing Americans eventually help Yemeni troops in noncombat roles. Those not in favor of this aid, however, fear that our own weapons could be eventually used against the political enemies of President Ali Abdullah Saleh further weakening and destabalizing the country. American military aid to Yemen has already drastically increased from $5 million in fiscal 2006, to $155 million. Also, around seventy five percent of American Special Forces are already training Yemeni troops. The debate is yet to be concluded.

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Courtney Ecton- International Relations

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