U.S., Britain close embassies in Yemen

Theats from al Qaeda just keep coming. Threats from the terrorist group on the Arabian Penninsula promted U.S. and Britain to close their embassies because the threat lead them to believe that an attack may be targeted there. The decision to close the embassy was made because it is very important to keep America's diplomats and citizens abroad safe according to John Brennan, an assistant to the president for homeland security. The U.S. is trying to work out the situation with the Yemeni government. Britain said they also closed their embassy for security reasons. The Nigerian man who tried to detonate an explosive on the flight from the Netherlands to Detroit was thought to be linked to an al Qaeda group based in Yemen which the al Qaeda group later claimed as true. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown enforced the fact that these youngh people have been radicalized and aren't thinking clearly. He stated that security measures of course will be strenghthened but, "we're fighting a battle for hearts and minds ehre as much as everything else." The al Qaeda group responsible for the potential bomb on the plane said they were merely retaliating for the airstrikes against them on Dec. 17th and Dec. 24th. These airstrikes were precaution for an alleged attack against the U.S. embassies in Yemen said a U.S. military official. Head of U.S. Central Command, David Petraeus spoke with the Yemen President last Saturday. The President expressed his gratitude towards the U.S. and thanked them for their help in the fight agains terrorism. He also said he would continue to support the U.S. and would continue to provide assitance in counterterrorism strikes. Also on Saturday President Obama reenforced his promise to "disrupt, dismantle, and defeat" al Qaeda. AbdulMutallab, the man who attempted a suicide bombing on Northwest Airlines on Christmas Day, was apparently trained by al Qaeda on the Arabian Penninsula. He was then strapped with explosives and given directions to bomb the plane. Brennan told CNN that al Qaeda is still a major threat even though the U.S. has succeeded in beating down its forces. They will continue to do everything they can to diminish al Qaeda's forces not only in Yemen but all over the Middle East.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/01/03/yemen.us.embassy/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29


After reading this I'm starting to feel like this war against terrorism is getting to be too much for us to handle. We are no longer targeting one person or group. Organizations from all over the Middle East are targeting the U.S. and we have no idea who all of them are. I also think that we've been on our heels for a little bit and we are very lucky the explosives didn't work on AbdulMutallab on Christmas Day. Al Qaeda also said this response was in retaliation which makes me question the U.S.'s motives in the Middle East. It seems like a lot more bloodshed is taking place then necessary. Peace between all seems like a safer and more probably resolution to me at this point. Again, the question remains: where is the line drawn? The U.S. is trying to not only protect ourselves but help Middle Eastern countries settle arguments and create democratic governments. I feel like one of the main reasons these terrorist groups are targeting us is because they don't like us in their country and we are killing them as well. I do think it is very noble of the U.S. to try and help these third world countries on the other hand. We are definately putting ourselves at risk by doing so, so we are taking a chance to help others.