Yemeni Forces Corner al Qaeda Commander

Yemeni forces, in a show of strength two days after a shoot out with militants, cornered an al Qaeda commander Wednesday, reports CBS News correspondent Terry McCarthy.

Three other militants wounded in the same fight were also arrested.

Yemen has intensified its battle against al Qaeda extremists in the country. Yemen's foreign Minister Abu Bakr al Qirbi says Yemen needs millions of U.S. dollars in military aid, but he doesn't want any U.S. troops on the ground.

"This is again one of the issues that creates problems, definitely in Afghanistan," al Qirbi said. "We don't want to repeat the same mistake."

Al Qirbi claims there are as many as three hundred experienced al Qaeda fighters, any of whom could have influenced Umar Abdulmutallab.

U.S. and Yemen investigators are looking for links between Abdulmutallab and Anwar al Alawki. The American born cleric's popular online sermons preach violent jihad against the United States.

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Wendesday al Qirbi confirmed Yemen forces are tracking him closely.

"I think him, with other al Qaeda operatives are now under surveillance by security forces for sure," al Qirbi said.

For the United States, it is a familiar dilemma - how to root out al Qaeda without becoming, by their very presence, the jihadi's main recruiting tool.

[sjc_1]

I do not trust Yemen. In 2000, they initially refused to cooperate with the U.S.S. Cole investigation. They eventually partially cooperated and then Bush said forget it, Al Qaeda was like "swatting flies" a nuisance that was not worth our time.

[Jersey_Dave]

Yemen is actually quite poor. They had a devastating civil war some years back. Their oil in the ground has mostly been untapped.

It would be nice if we could get some US companines in to tap it, but until then they don't have the oil in a form they can actually sell.

Like many countries terrorists are, it is underdeveloped. Developing and educating will be as effective as bullets, but without military force to start off they won't be effective because without them the terrorists will simply take the money and shoot the educated people.

So we have to shoot the terrorists as well as doing the other stuff.

Better to zap them here and help the locals. Locals on our side is a very good thing.