Blog
Global Issues: Terrorism ~ Bomb Plots, Yemen and AQAP
31st October 2010
An apparent plot involving explosive material and US-bound cargo planes has again focused attention on Yemen, which the US sees as the base for an increasingly active terrorist threat. The foiled bomb plot eminating from Yemen and its assumed authors Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) are obviously highly topical for the Global Issues paper on ‘Terrorism’. Yemen is worth looking at by way of a casestudy - especially given that it is a country is in crisis on many fronts and as some argue heavy-handed security measures may be counter-productive and stir tensions and threats even further.
The media is spinkled with reports of the ins and outs of the story as it has unfolded, focusing on the nature of he exposivies found, who made them etc. However, here are a couple of links which give a bit more indepth ‘topical’ analysis:
The BBC’s website has a couple of useful links:Q&A: Cargo plane bomb plot - trawl down to the headings on ‘Why is there so much concern about Yemen?’ and ‘Who are Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula?’.
Profile: Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Yemen: Security and the collapsing state - well worth a read!
The Telegraph also carries two excellent articles:
Yemen bomb plot: key questions raised - The cargo flight bomb plot has raised questions about the capability of terrorist groups, report Patrick Sawer, David Barrett, Sean Rayment and Patrick Hennessy.
Yemen: the new breeding ground for terror - The explosive devices intercepted en route to the US started their journey in the Arabian Peninsula, al-Qaeda’s latest stronghold, reports Con Coughlin.
Cargo plane plot: Yemen and al-Qaeda in focus - For most people, al-Qaeda and its chief Osama bin Laden are inextricably linked to Afghanistan but it was in Yemen that al-Qaeda’s war against the West began.
Might be worth cross referencing with an earlier post for context: Global Issues: Terrorism ~ Parallel Challenges in Yemen and Somalia