MidEast

  • Print Friendly, PDF & Email
  • Send to Kindle

Massive Al-Qaeda Event in Yemen Raises Questions about U.S. Intel

Nasir al-Wuhayshi, the head of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) who last year was promoted to “General Manager” of Al Qaeda’s operations throughout the Muslim world, presided over a gathering of more than a hundred terrorists in Yemen threatening the United States. A video of the gathering surfaced recently, raising questions about America’s intelligence capabilities and what threat AQAP presents to the United States given al-Wuhayshi’s brazenness.

CNN reported about the video.

In a speech to the group, al-Wuhayshi makes it clear that he’s going after the United States, saying “We must eliminate the cross. … The bearer of the cross is America!” …

“The U.S. intelligence community should be surprised that such a large group of al Qaeda assembled together, including the leadership, and somehow they didn’t notice,” said Peter Bergen, CNN national security analyst.

AQAP is considered to be the most dangerous al Qaeda affiliate, in part because one of its members, Ibrahim al-Asiri, can “put bombs on to planes that can’t be detected,” according to Bergen.

Thomas Joscelyn observed at the Long War Journal:

The video has sparked the media’s interest because it is a brazen display of AQAP strength inside Yemen. Wuhayshi is a hunted man and he is presumably on America’s list of potential targets for drone strikes. Yet, he felt comfortable enough in his home country to lead a large, public gathering of his followers.

Though the United States is leading a drone campaign against AQAP, the organization has been resilient, especially in southern Yemen. In recent months AQAP has targeted Yemen’s military and government installationsconducting a jail break and numerous car bombs.

[Photo: WrathOfKhan / YouTube ]