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Yemen’s fight with al Qaeda

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The US and its allies helping Yemen fight al-Qaeda should not pressure it to carry out reforms or resolve other internal conflicts, Yemen’s foreign minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi said this week. Jeb Sharp speaks with Ali Muthana, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs for Yemen about his country’s relationship with the US. (Photo: Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images)

• Embassy of Yemen in Washington DC
• Obama rules out sending US troops to Yemen
• The BBC’s Jeremy Bown: Yemen: Exotic, remote and ‘a little bit scary’

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JEB SHARP:  Meanwhile, in Yemen, the government has dispatched more than 10,000 security forces to three provinces. Their mission is to flush out Al Qaeda operatives.  Ali Muthana is the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Yemeni government.  He acknowledges that most of the militants are native born Yemenis.

ALI MUTHANA:  But in any way it’s not in huge numbers.  There has been some exaggeration in the media about the numbers of those who are supposed to be affiliated to Al Qaeda.

SHARP:  How many would you say are inside Yemen, Al Qaeda fighters?

MUTHANA:  Well our [INDISCERNIBLE] has recently said that there may be around 300 members of Al Qaeda who are supposed to be in Yemen.

SHARP:  And you need 10,000 security troops to go after these several hundred men?

MUTHANA:  Well this is remote areas and there are very big areas so that’s why, I mean these troops are [INDISCERNIBLE].

SHARP:  Now President Obama has spelled out quite clearly that there will be no U.S. troops going to Yemen to help in the offensive.  What help are you receiving from the U.S.?

MUTHANA:  Mainly in helping, the ability of the security forces, helping in some areas of intelligence and helping, providing some improvements.

SHARP:  And is there concern within the government of being labeled as a pawn of the U.S. government if you are too openly welcoming foreign military aid?

MUTHANA:  Yes, we are welcoming foreign military aid but not the [INDISCERNIBLE] of four year troops, really because I mean this is what we, this would cause maybe a negative result.

SHARP:  Explain that.

MUTHANA:  [OVERLAPPING] the experience in Afghanistan and this [INDISCERNIBLE] that the physical business of foreign troops is not a positive one.

SHARP:  So intelligence and training and advice is okay but not troops, not boots on the ground.

MUTHANA:  Exactly, exactly.  That’s what we are expecting, exactly.

SHARP:  Now what about this military offensive and how it’s seen inside your country?  Is it unpopular?  Is it seen as something that’s being pushed by the United States?

MUTHANA:  No, as long as it is done by Yemeni forces and within the hand of the Yemeni government.  This is of course, I mean we’re under siege [INDISCERNIBLE].  Because I mean, people are not happy with what those members of Al Qaeda are doing.

SHARP:  Why is that?

MUTHANA:  Because I mean they are sustaining losses on the, on human side inside the country, on the economy.  What they are doing is not the proper way to achieve any of what we are looking for.

SHARP:  Dr. Muthana, the Yemeni government is facing an armed revolt in the north and a separatist movement in the south and critics charge that Yemen’s president is using the western backed war against Al Qaeda to simply bolster his regime and muzzle opponents.  What’s your response to that?

MUTHANA:  I think the problems are [INDISCERNIBLE], I mean they are not connected to one another.  I mean the government is not in need to convince the western countries to help Yemen by creating or by [INDISCERNIBLE] or this issue.

SHARP:  How would you say Yemen has been affected by the events that transpired here on Christmas Day?

MUTHANA:  Well we are mostly concerned.  First of all, we are concerned that he talked about training in Yemen so it’s a big concern for Yemen that we are pointed out.  We do not like to be in that situation and Yemen is part of the international report to combat terrorism and this is creating a bad reputation for the country so this is a big concern.

SHARP:  Ali Muthana is the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Yemeni government.  He spoke with us from the capitol, Sanaa.

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