Don’t Fall into Al-Qaeda’s Trap

The failed attack on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on December 25 sounds like a warning to the western countries, especially the United States. The jihadist terrorists are still active and are always on their quest to cause death. Afghans, Pakistanis and Iraqis did not need this reminder; they suffer on a daily basis because of the wrath of these “religious fanatics.” The question now is to design a dignified and effective response.

The terrorist, a 23-year-old Nigerian, recently spent time in Yemen. Barack Obama’s administration, ever the target of Republican opposition claiming its incompetence, is studying ways to fight al-Qaeda (who claimed the attempted attacks) in this poor country in the south of the Arabic peninsula.

In fact, even before Christmas, Americans had already begun to fight al-Qaeda there: between December 17 and 24 two cruise missile attacks against training camps of alleged terrorists killed hundreds of people in Yemen, affecting a number of civilians along with dozens of activists.

The danger which Obama’s administration is facing is that of sinking into a new front. After the bloody Afghan and Iraqi quagmires, to say nothing of Pakistan, the massive involvement of Americans would be a clear victory for al-Qaeda, which would find another excuse to draw a growing number of activists around its radical proposals. Especially if, as in the examples above, extensive “collateral damage” fuels the anger of the people.

As a precaution, despite the real risk of unpopularity, the Yemeni regime, a weak republic undermined by corruption, incompetence, tribalism and sedition, has chosen to cooperate with Washington since September 11, 2001. Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the world, has been neglected by the international community. In the long term, it would be well advised to offer tangible support to democratic and economic reforms.