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### Viewing cable 09SANAA2250, YEMEN ABUZZ WITH TALK OF CT OPERATIONS; TTENTION SLOWLY TURNS TO U.S. ROLE

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
09SANAA2250 | 2009-12-21 13:28 | 2010-12-03 21:30 | SECRET | Embassy Sanaa
Appears in these articles: www.spiegel.de

`

    VZCZCXYZ0001
    RR RUEHWEB

    DE RUEHYN #2250/01 3551328
    ZNY SSSSS ZZH
    R 211328Z DEC 09
    FM AMEMBASSY SANAA
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3425
    INFO RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
    RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
    RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC

` `

    SECRET SANAA 002250

    SIPDIS

    FOR NEA/ARP AMACDONALD AND INR JYAPHE
    NSC FOR AJOST

    E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/21/2019
    TAGS: PTER PGOV PREL MOPS MASS YM
    SUBJECT: YEMEN ABUZZ WITH TALK OF CT OPERATIONS; TTENTION SLOWLY TURNS TO U.S. ROLE

    Classified By: Ambassador Stephen Seche for reasons 1.4(b) and (d).

    ¶1. (S) SUMMARY. Yemenis have talked of little else but the
    counterterrorism operations against al-Qaeda in the Arabian
    Peninsula since news broke of the pre-dawn raids on December
    ¶17. Official media and ROYG officials have focused on the
    successful aspects of the operation, including an alleged 34
    terrorists killed and 51 arrested. Independent and
    opposition media as well as the opposition Joint Meeting
    Parties and members of the Southern Movement have used the
    operations ) specifically the deadly airstrikes in Abyan
    governorate ) to criticize what they view as the ROYG's
    heavy-handed policies. After a series of stories on U.S.
    involvement broke in the U.S. media in the days after the
    strikes, local and pan-Arab media have begun to focus on this
    aspect of the story. ROYG media reported the conversation
    between President Obama and President Saleh and released an
    official statement that there was no U.S. military
    involvement in the raids. While President Saleh and the ROYG
    seem determined to move forward with similar strikes in the
    future (septel), still-nascent public support will depend on
    the ROYG's ability to effectively manage the evolving
    coverage of the events. END SUMMARY.

    Heavy media coverage along partisan lines
    -----------------------------------------

    ¶2. (C) The ROYG made swift work of announcing the preemptive
    dawn strikes against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
    in Sana'a and Abyan governorates on December 17. But ABC TV
    news reports of U.S. intelligence and logistical assistance
    to the ROYG were picked up on the same day by Yemen's
    opposition media, and were quickly followed by charges of
    scores of civilian deaths due to the "joint" airstrikes in
    Abyan by ROYG and U.S. forces. Opposition demonstrators and
    media outlets, as well as members of Parliament, have called
    for an investigation of the civilian deaths in Abyan due to
    the airstrikes. The story, heavily reported in the
    international press, of an extensive role by U.S.
    counter-terrorism forces in assisting the ROYG will linger as
    long as interest in the civilian deaths continues.

    ¶3. (C) Raids against AQAP at dawn on December 17 in Arhab (a
    suburb of Sanaa) and a training camp located in a village in
    Abyan's al-Mahfad district were reported immediately by the
    Ministry of Defense Web site 26sep.com and picked up by local
    and international media by noon on December 17. Reports of
    U.S. logistical and intelligence assistance to ROYG
    counter-terrorism forces were reported on ABC TV later the
    same day. That TV broadcast was swiftly reported on the
    opposition Islah party's Web site, al-Sahwa, repeating
    assertions of U.S. assistance to the ROYG, and citing unnamed
    eyewitnesses claiming that 18 children and 41 men and women
    were among the civilians killed by airstrikes. Also on
    December 17, al-Jazeera aired footage of civilian casualties
    and quoted locals as saying that U.S. aircraft were sighted
    on overflight surveillance on the eve of the airstrikes in
    Abyan. The official media was slow to respond to rapid
    coverage critical of the raids by opposition media and to
    organized protests in the region, instead focusing its
    initial reporting on AQAP leaders killed or captured in the
    raids.

    Official media defends strikes, denies u.s. Involvement
    --------------------------------------------- ----------

    ¶4. (SBU) By December 18, the regional and international
    media, led by the report in the New York Times that the U.S.
    had given intelligence, firepower and other assistance to the
    ROYG in their raids against AQAP, began to cover the question
    of U.S. involvement. The sensationalist and often inaccurate
    Almenpar.net, the Houthis' official Web site, and Iran's
    PressTV.net both reported 63 people dead in the raids in
    Abyan, including 28 children. On December 19, the ROYG went
    on the offensive, reporting on the MOD's Web site that
    operations against AQAP militants were targeted to foil
    suicide bombers planning attacks against Yemeni and foreign
    installations, that the raids resulted in killing four
    suicide bombers and arresting four others, and that the
    attack on the training center in Abyan resulted in the deaths
    of 24-30 AQAP members. Al-Jazeera, meanwhile, broadcast a
    report on December 19 that the number killed in Abyan was
    over 60, according to eyewitnesses, and that most of the
    deaths were civilians. The satellite channel also showed
    video of artillery shells with visible serial numbers and
    claimed that "U.S. warplanes or cruise missiles probably
    conducted the strike." On December 21, official media

    attempted to get the damaging story of civilian deaths off
    the front pages by diverting focus to the war in Sa'ada.

    Elites react with reserve, some praise
    --------------------------------------

    ¶5. (S) Gauging public opinion on the December 17 CT strikes
    is difficult since the majority of Yemen's population is
    rural and no national polling systems exist. The political
    elite as represented by Embassy contacts, however, have
    generally reacted with reserve, and some have even offered
    praise for "long-overdue" action. In an e-mail to EmbOffs,
    xxxxx
    congratulated the USG on the successful CT operations, which
    he praised as necessary to rid Yemen of terrorist elements.
    xxxxx, told PolOff that the strikes were necessary to bring
    Abyan back from the edge of extremism. "Al-Qaeda travels
    freely throughout Abyan and Shebwa, using their training
    camps. They now number in the thousands in these areas," he
    said. Criticism among the elite classes has so far been
    limited to loss of civilian life and largely avoided any
    criticism of the U.S. xxxxx to PolOff on December
    20, "We do not support religious, ideological or political
    extremism, but to use military violence that kills innocents
    on the pretext of pursuing criminals is wrong." xxxxx often critical of ROYG
    policies - told PolOff on December 18 that he perceived the
    operations as successful, but wished the Arhab operation had
    netted the "big fish," AQAP Operational Commander Qassim
    al-Rimi, which would have provided a better justification for
    any civilian losses.

    Opposition hits back, citing civilian deaths
    --------------------------------------------

    ¶6. (S) Members of the opposition Joint Meeting Parties
    (JMP), Parliament and the Southern Movement have all used the
    airstrikes in Abyan as a means to attack the ROYG for what
    the oppositionists call heavy-handed policies. The strike in
    Maajala in Abyan's al-Mahfad district, which locals have
    reported killed 49 "civilians" (including 17 women and 23
    children), comes on the heels of a critical and widely read
    Human Rights Watch report focused on the ROYG's violent
    suppression of political demonstrations in the southern
    governorates released on December 15. (Note: Deputy Prime
    Minister for Defense and Security Affairs Rashad al-Alimi
    told the Ambassador that civilians killed in the airstrikes
    were most likely poor Bedouin from the area providing
    logistical support to the terrorists and AQAP family members.
    End Note.) Non-stop al-Jazeera coverage of the aftermath of
    attacks in Abyan has provided fuel for the opposition. On
    December 20, Parliament, led by opposition Islah party member
    from Abyan Ali al-Ashal, called Alimi and the Minister of
    Defense to appear before the legislative body to discuss
    reports of civilian deaths in Abyan.

    ¶7. (S) The JMP immediately seized on reports of civilian
    deaths, using the December 17 airstrikes as an excuse not to
    participate in President Saleh's National Dialogue, set to
    begin on December 26. The Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP)
    called for the ROYG to compensate victims' families and pay
    for treatment of those wounded in the operations. Local
    media reported that "thousands" protested in the perpetually
    restive southern governorates of Lahj and Abyan, calling for
    an investigation into the attacks. Rumors were rampant among
    secessionists in southern Yemen that the attack did not
    target an AQAP training camp, but rather a civilian
    population. xxxxx the airstrikes in Abyan as another occasion to
    promote the movement as a better CT partner for the U.S. than
    the ROYG. He told PolOff on December 20, "The Saleh regime
    is trying to mix up al-Qaeda with the movement. We're
    willing to cooperate with you to avoid killing innocent
    people and kick out al-Qaeda."

    Royg frustrated, but willing to stay the course
    --------------------------------------------- --

    ¶8. (S) The ROYG has weathered the storm of criticism ) most
    of it from the usual suspects ) well, and has restated its
    commitment to continue similar operations against AQAP in the
    near future. Alimi, speaking for President Saleh, told the
    Ambassador on December 20 that his government was determined
    to keep hitting AQAP in cooperation with the U.S. (septel).

    Political observers in Sana'a have suggested that President
    Saleh received a significant morale boost from personal,
    congratulatory phone calls from President Obama and Egyptian
    President Hosni Mubarak the day of the strikes. A
    weary-sounding xxxxx, "The attack is already causing the
    government a headache because the JMP is using it as the
    reason not to participate in the National Dialogue," which
    will include economic as well as political issues. However,
    the ROYG ) often eager to use flack from the opposition as
    an excuse not to move forward in controversial CT operations
    ) has indicated that it is willing to weather the most
    recent criticism.

    Comment
    -------

    ¶9. (S) The December 17 operations against AQAP have proven a
    success and served as a significant distraction in the local
    media from the government's protracted civil war in the north
    of the country. In Sana'a at least, many Yemenis seem to
    accept the necessity and inevitability of similar CT action
    as al-Qaeda's presence in Yemen's lawless tribal governorates
    has ballooned in recent months. The ROYG, however, must be
    more proactive in countering inaccurate opposition stories
    and AQAP propaganda regarding the loss of innocent lives in
    the Abyan airstrikes, especially if future operations are
    already in the works. While the U.S. has escaped the brunt
    of criticism to date, continued leaks from Washington and
    international media coverage of American involvement could
    stir up anti-American resentment in Yemen and test the ROYG's
    professed commitment to going after AQAP. END COMMENT.
    Seche

`