SANA'A: According to the Washington Post, the White House may have ordered the dispatch of “floating commandos” in the Middle East amid rising tensions with Iran and the threat of a more opened armed conflict with al-Qaeda in Yemen. Since the beginning of Yemen's popular uprising against President Ali Abdullah Saleh's regime, an offshoot of al-Qaeda, “Ansar al Shariah” used the power vacuum left by a disintegration of the state's institutions to extend its influence to several southern provinces of the country. The group is now controlling the Abyan province, several towns and villages in the Oil rich provinces of Mareb and Shabwa. The militants are now threatening to move against Aden, Yemen's main sea-port, which sits directly on the World busiest Oil shipping route, and Sana'a, the capital. Although John Brennan, President Obama' senior counterterrorism adviser claimed that the administration had the situation perfectly under control, arguing that the drones campaign had led to major victories in the elimination of al-Qaeda leaders, adding that the group was in total disarray, military sources have revealed that the white House was rather nervous at the idea of an alliance between al-Qaeda's Somali branch, “al-Shabab and Yemeni “Ansar al Shariah”. Furthermore, Americans fear that an escalation in sectarian violence in north Yemen, opposing Shia rebel group, al-Houthis and Sunni Salafists will destabilize the country's northern regions, allowing al-Qaeda to roam free in the south. To make matters worse, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expressed concerns over the fact that al-Houthis fighters were being financially and military supported by Iran as the country is planning to gain a foothold south of the Kingdom in view of a broader military intervention. According to the Washington Post, the US Central Command has authorized the conversion of an aging warship into a makeshift staging base for the commandos. Unofficially dubbed a “mothership,” the floating base could accommodate smaller high-speed boats and helicopters commonly used by Navy SEALs, the report said. Several Navy officials acknowledged that they were moving with unusual haste to complete the conversion and send the mothership to the region by early summer, the report said. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/4M1vs Tags: Al Qaeda, featured, Military, United States Section: Iran, Latest News, North America, Yemen
