Obama Pretends to Get Tough on Yemen: "Dan Pfeiffer, White House Communications Director, took to the official White House blog Wednesday to post a response to critics of Barack Obama and his handling of counterterrorism. Pfeiffer believes that the intelligence failure that led to the failed bombing on Christmas day -- nearly a year into Obama's presidency -- can be blamed on a war launched almost seven years ago in Iraq. The banality of his claim is surpassed only by its absurdity.
What's more interesting is Pfeiffer's claim that his boss has finally refocused U.S. counterterrorism on its proper targets in places like Afghanistan, Somalia and Yemen.
Pfeiffer mentions Yemen twice. That's not a surprise considering the rise to prominence of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and radical cleric Anwar al Awlaki, both based in Yemen. Awlaki, a senior al Qaeda cleric and recruiter, has offered guidance (at least) to Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter, and Omar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the failed Flight 253 bomber. And Abdulmutallab reportedly had extensive training and support from AQAP. As a result, Yemen -- a nation unfamiliar to most Americans -- has been on our front pages and leading our broadcasts in the past few weeks. So Pfeiffer wants everyone to know that Obama, in his 'war against al Qaeda,' has been busy building 'partnerships' to target terrorist safe-havens in, among other places, Yemen.
To coin a phrase: What a difference a year makes."
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