Two American government personnel were whisked out of Yemen last month after they fatally shot two suspected kidnappers in a commercial district of the country’s volatile capital, U.S. officials said Friday.
The Americans opened fire on armed Yemeni civilians to escape an apparent abduction attempt at barbershop, according to the New York Times, which identified the officials as a Special Operations commando and a Central Intelligence Agency officer.
The U.S. embassy in Yemen has been operating on a limited capacity in recent days as American officials there have sought to limit the movement and exposure of their personnel amid a flurry of threat warnings.
The State Department confirmed Friday night that it had flown out the two officials following the incident.
“We can confirm that, last month, two U.S. Embassy officers in Yemen fired their weapons after being confronted by armed individuals in an attempted kidnapping at a small commercial business district in Sanaa,” the State Department said in a statement. “Two of the armed individuals were killed.”
Both the CIA and the Pentagon declined to comment as of yesterday. That’s just how they do things, it seems.
Who can we blame for this attack on American personnel or do we not have to blame anyone because we did the killing? The Yemeni government is very weak and attacks on government officials is almost commonplace. According to the WaPo:
Yemen has become among the least permissive environments for U.S. officials in recent years. American military and intelligence personnel have played a crucial role in counter terrorism efforts in Yemen, regularly striking suspected militants with drones, and providing support to the country’s fledgling security forces.
Oh, so it sounds like we are doing one of our usual “support role” types of intervention there. Let’s face it, the world is a dangerous place to live. Perhaps if the GOP could only get Hillary and Obama involved this would be blown up into another Benghazi. It would make such great political fodder.
News of this sort does matter because of its potential to inflame tensions with Yemen and within Yemen, which is considered one of our allies in the war on terror. The incident could spark other uprisings and protests. Stay tuned. There is still a chance to blame Hillary and Obama.
NPR reports:
“News of the shootings comes at a perilous moment for the government of President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, whose collaboration with American drone strikes against suspected members of Al Qaeda is already a subject of seething resentment in Yemen. Yemenis believe, with some evidence, that the drone strikes often kill nearby civilians as well as their targets, so any indication that Mr. Hadi’s government helped conceal the killing of Yemenis by American commandos could be problematic.
“Violence in the country is increasing, and on Friday, militants attacked a checkpoint outside the presidential palace, apparently in retaliation for the government’s roughly 10-day offensive against Qaeda strongholds.”
Aha! Getting rather desperate about the Benghazi investigation, are we?
It’s just stupid and a waste of money. The point was and continues to be, how to we keep things like Benghazi from happening again.
Cry me a river. It didn’t make Obama lose the election. Did you seriously think it would. It won’t make Hillary lose the election.
No
Sounds like it. Got apples and oranges here for sure.
I believe an attempt to kidnap embassy personnel is serious business, especially in a country that is fraught with terrorism.
But you are right, Wolverine, it has nothing to do with Benghazi, Different parts of the world. No extremism here.
Could it be no political fodder? Oh yea, that’s the ticket.
Didn’t know about it for several weeks?
I don’t know what the big deal is with Benghazi, according to Eleanor Clift Ambassador Stevens wasn’t even murdered. He simply died of smoke inhalation.
http://hotair.com/archives/2014/05/12/clift-ambassador-killed-in-benghazi-attack-wasnt-murdered-murdered-or-something/
What difference does it make?
“Yemin”, is that the gender neutral version of the country?
There probably isn’t anything gender neutral about Yemen.
No, it is apples and oranges. In Benghazi the consulate itself was overrun by terrorists; and the Ambassador and one of his technicians were killed there in that phase of the battle. The major cause, in my opinion, was 7th Floor security negligence regarding the entire Libya mission. Then State and the WH engaged in an avoidance of the truth. I would say some very stupid moves. NATO critical help in the overthrow of the old Libyan regime was one of the few foreign policy positives about which the administration could boast (at that time anyway). Then they blew it through inattention, like a bunch of amateurs. I say Hillary Clinton is guilty as charged.
In Yemen those two terrorist fighters in the shooting incident were not in the American mission compound at the time. That embassy has been hardened since Bush II and is well guarded by our own people and the locals. In fact, in September 2008, terrorists disguised as cops attacked the embassy head on with RPG’s, rifles, grenades, and car bombs. They were repulsed before they could breach the exterior fortifications. Six Yemini soldiers died protecting us. Seven civilians also died in the crossfire outside the compound, including an American woman, wife of a local, who was waiting for the gates to open for consular services. It is too bad Hillary Clinton did not study recent history when it cam time to respond to her Ambassador’s security concerns re Libya. In any case, the two American agents involved in the recent shooting were out on the mean streets of a dangerous city, which is where the counterterrorist shadow wars have always been fought and still are in many places.
Or your opinion could be based on your obvious and often stated dislike of anything Clinton.
Your partisanship weakens your argument.
Eh! The difference between my opinion and yours is that I once worked for a long list of Presidents, including Bill Clinton, in those shadow wars on the mean streets. I was there and saw it. My “partisanship” comes from seeing the misguided and damaging Clinton leadership first hand in my career field. And then I saw a repeat of the same incompetence out of Hillary’s 7th Floor offices and the White House in 2012.
Except you were retired in 2012. Its still your opinion even back in the Clinton days. I suppose Bill himself was out there leading the troops?
You are very partisan. You have established that. Even now you are trying to trump my opinion. Opinions are neither right or wrong. They are opinions.
Now facts, that’s another thing.
Hope you noticed that, in spite of your partisan suggestions in the thread, no one has blamed the Obama administration for the barbershop shooting in Yemen. As I said, apples and oranges.
@Moon-howler
You make me chuckle, Madam. I would say that you seem as partisan vis-a-vis Obama and Hillary Clinton as they come. You filled the original thread full of partisan taunting and then cry foul when somebody who knows the subject matter fires back. Well, no big deal here with that. I am most certainly partisan in favor of good management, especially when lives are involved, as well as in truthfulness at the top of the power pyramid.
Would that be the truth according to George W “Weapons of Mass Destruction” Bush? How about the truth according to Ronald “Arms Sales” Reagan?
You weren’t in Benghazi. Nuff said.
I get it that you dislike Democrats and liberals and moderates. I understand that shapes your opinion. Unless either of us were there, it all boils down to opinion.
Right. Nuff said. The Select Committee on Benghazi is being put into place at last. Let us move on to the IRS/Tea Party and ICE immigrant criminal release scandals, which are moving to the forefront once again. And then there is a former Secretary of the Treasury trying to walk back comments in his memoir that WH people tried to get him to stretch the truth in his appearances on the Sunday TV shows. The scandals are just like Topsy — they grow and grow.
The scandals seem pretty tame by 2nd term standards. Is the Obama administration:
1) incompetent at engaging in a major scandal
2) lucky the republicans are incompetent at making scandal allegations stick
3) better at pr and crises management than previous admins.
4) less corrupt.
Perhaps those with sharper partisan knives could compare scandal counts per administration. Nothing of late matches the drama of Iran-Contra nor the sleaze of whitewater/monicagate. Maybe I’m just not paying attention.
Well, well, Ed, please meet Senator Carl Levin (D-Michigan). Sen. Levin has been caught by Judicial Watch like a rat in an FOIA email trap. Shame on Senator Levin — working with IRS Washington to target Tea party organizations. As a Wolverine I am thoroughly ashamed of this scandal and apologize to the rest of the country.
Then, Ed, you can skip on down to the ICE office and see if YOU can get them to answer questions about the release in CONUS of thousands of detained illegal immigrants with outstanding criminal charges, including rape, murder, and domestic violence. Nice, huh?
I don’t consider Judicial Watch a reliable news source.
Give us a link to the ICE story in a more reliable source please. I would be interested in reading it.
How do you explain liberal groups being delayed by IRS also?
@Moon-howler
I find it interesting that you don’t consider any news source that actually reports on these things to be “reliable.”
They are the ones that actually did the research and got the documents while the mainstream media not only tried to ignore it, but helped to try and derail it.
You quote sources like WND. Too much made up stuff. I don’t understand why you read that kind of stuff.
@Moon-howler
JW gets the material via FOIA. They couldn’t make that stuff up and publicize it as a legitimate government document. You have to be kidding. In many cases they have gotten the full document whereas the administration sent only a heavily redacted copy of the same to Congress. Denying this stuff won’t make it go away.
Its the editorializing that goes with it that makes me doubtful in many cases.
@Moon-howler
But you seem to object to ANY source that reports actual news that the media otherwise ignores.
And I haven’t “quoted” WND in …..years? that I can remember. Of course, sometimes even they get info right.
Since you object to made up stuff, why do you still support the mainstream media?
I don’t rely on any one source. However, certain periodicals have some reputation to uphold. Right wing rags have nothing to uphold other than to be extreme.
Same with some liberal crap. I wont read stuff like Daily Kos.
Well, it looks like I may have to take some time off to go to the farm and have a firm chat with the corn and beans. Gotta make sure they don’t misbehave out there.
From FedBizOps.Gov 7 May 2014: US Department of Agriculture commercial solication (USDAOIGWEA-5-7-14) for submachine guns, .40 cal, S&W, semi-automatic or 2 short bursts trigger group, titanium night sights for front and rear, 30 round mags, stock-collapsible or folding, rails for flashlight under the foregrip and a scope at top rear, ambidextrous safety.
USDA SWAT. Who would have thought?
@Wolve
They gotta get some sort of toys that fire all that .40 cal the gov’t is buying.
Another conspiracy theory?
@Moon-howler
No….the government actually is buying a whole lot of ammo…and they’ve been doing it for the past two years.
I’ve not stated a purpose for that ammo. Probably training. Every freaking department has some sort of armed law enforcement arm now.
I mean…why in the heck does the Dept. of Education need a SWAT team?
So they can fly in like Criminal Minds if there is an incident? Just kidding just kidding……
@Wolve
semi-auto or 2 shot trigger burst? WTF is that? Why would you need a two shot burst?
Also…if its semi…its not a submachine gun…its a carbine.
And why do they need those extend magazines? No one NEEDS those. Why not limit the rounds to ten? And they forgot that shoulder thing that goes up.
“scope at top rear” But they want a submachine gun. Kind of defeats the purpose of a scope…..
There’s not a huge market or mission for submachine guns, much pistol caliber carbines.
Sounds like someone had too much money available and wanted a “cool” toy.
H&K, Taurus, and Sig are the only ones that make a .40 cal. submachine gun. They would do better to sell off that .40 cal back to the market, pick up 9mm and then reorder.
@Cargosquid
Please don’t ask me to explain what the bureaucrats are doing these days. It was originally written on FedBizOpps.Gov as “..two short burts trigger group..” What’s a “burt”?
@Wolve
Isn’t that something that lives with an Urny?
Its the typical bureaucrat that knows nothing about guns….. ordering cool toys. Useless toys.