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al-Qaeda
Islamic scholar issues anti-terrorism fatwa
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An influential Muslim scholar has issued a global ruling against terrorism and suicide bombing. Dr Tahir ul-Qadri says his fatwa completely dismantles al-Qaeda’s violent ideology. The scholar describes al-Qaeda as an “old evil with a new name.” Dr Qadri’s organization, Minhaj ul-Quran, is growing in Britain. Marco Werman talks with The World’s religion editor Jane Little about the fatwa. Download MP3
Radicalized at a British university?
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The alleged attempt to blow up a US airliner on Christmas Day sent a shock through the security system. Prosecutors say Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (pictured) tried to detonate a bomb sewn into his underwear. Abdulmutallab’s former London university is now launching a review into whether he became radicalized there. The World’s religion editor Jane Little reports. Download MP3
Yemen and national security
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Yemen didn’t feature in President Obama’s State of the Union address despite the country’s role in the attempted Christmas Day bombing. Washington has halted transfers of Yemeni detainees from Guantanamo because it’s concerned that some of them might join terrorist groups. Now Yemen says it will build a rehabilitation center for former detainees. The World’s Katy Clark looks at the success rate of such rehab programs. Download MP3
The state of national security
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President Barack Obama will deliver his first State of the Union address tonight before Congress. The economy and healthcare reform are sure to be high on the President’s agenda. But he will also likely focus on counter terrorism measures. The World’s Jason Margolis tells us what the President might say, and what some counter terrorism experts say he should say. Download MP3Is Yemen in trouble?
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Download MP3Yemen is the subject of a high-level international conference in London today. There are fears the Arab nation could become a failed state and a haven for al-Qaeda. Anchor Marco Werman speaks with the Middle East editor of London’s Guardian newpaper, Ian Black.
Yemen
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On this week’s history podcast a look at the archaeology and history of Yemen. First we hear from University of Chicago archaeologist McGuire Gibson. He’s worked in Yemen since the 1970’s. Then Bernard Haykel, professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton, fills us in on Yemen’s recent history. Thomas Kuehn of Simon Fraser University in Vancouver tells us about Yemen under the Ottomans and how it might be relevant today. Among other things these folks emphasize Yemen’s strategic location and geography, its stunning beauty and its continuous and unbroken history going way back.
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. Download MP3 (Photo: Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images)
“We are at war”
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In his report about the attempted Christmas Day airliner bombing, President Obama said “we are at war against al Qaeda.” The unclassified summary stated that US intelligence officials had received unspecified “discrete pieces of intelligence” to identify the alleged bomber as an al-Qaeda operative. The World’s Matthew Bell explores what the President means by being “at war”. Download MP3 (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) The President’s report on Flight 253
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President Obama has spoken of the intelligence failures uncovered by the White House inquiry into the attempted Christmas Day airliner bombing. He said the government had the relevant information – scattered around the system, as he put it – to possibly prevent the attack, but failure to follow up on the information, coupled with a failure of analysis, had left the US exposed. Anchor Jeb Sharp talks with The World’s Matthew Bell about the President’s speech. Download MP3 Failure “to connect the dots”
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Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair has promised action after sharp criticism from President Barack Obama over the failed attempt to blow up flight 253 on Christmas Day. The intelligence community had failed to “connect the dots”, Mr Obama said in a statement, adding: “That’s not acceptable, and I will not tolerate it.” Matthew Bell looks at the fallout after the President’s remarks. Download MP3
Yemen, the new terrorism front
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Download MP3Yemen has become a hotbed of radical Islamic militant activity. Many of Osama bin Laden’s former associates now live there. Anchor Marco Werman finds out more from Sudarsan Raghavan, Baghdad Bureau Chief for the Washington Post, who’s in Yemen and met bin Laden’s former personal bodyguard.
The Jordanian connection
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The suicide bomber who killed seven CIA agents in Afghanistan was an al-Qaeda double agent, media reports say. He is said to have been a doctor from Jordan, arrested there a year ago. He was then reportedly recruited by the Jordanians and CIA, who wrongly thought they had turned him, and given a mission to find al-Qaeda leaders. Marco Werman talks with the BBC’s Saad Hattar in Amman about Jordan’s role. Download MP3
Fighting terrorism in Yemen
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The US and Yemen share an interest in stamping out the Yemen-based group, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which has been blamed for the attempt to blow up flight 253 to Detroit on Christmas Day. So Washington has ramped up counter-terrorism aid to the Yemeni government. Jeb Sharp talks with the BBC’s Jonathan Head, who is currently in Sana’a. Download MP3
Hacking into American drone aircraft
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Insurgents in Iraq have hacked into live video feeds from unmanned American drone aircraft, US media reports say. Shia fighters are said to have used off-the-shelf software programs to capture the footage. The hacking was possible because the remotely flown planes have an unprotected communications link. Alex Gallafent reports. Download MP3
The drone war
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At least three suspected militants have been killed in a US drone attack in north-western Pakistan, officials say. The area is a major sanctuary for al-Qaeda and Taliban militants. Pakistan has publicly criticized drone attacks, saying they fuel support for the militants. The US military does not routinely confirm drone attacks, but the US armed forces and CIA in Afghanistan are the only forces capable of deploying drones in the region, analysts say. Noah Shachtman of Wired magazine is just back from the region. Download MP3 (Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images) 
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