WASHINGTON — The Pentagon plans to resume programs that would pay for military training and equipment in Yemen, nearly a year after halting aid to the key counterterrorism partner because of escalating internal chaos.
Although no agreements have been cemented, U.S. defense officials said as much as $75 million in military assistance could begin to flow this year. The officials said the Pentagon and State Department are putting together a letter to send to Congress to request restarting the aid.
The plan is in line with the Obama administration’s intention to provide significant security and civilian aid to Yemen in 2012-13 as long as the Middle Eastern country makes progress toward a new government and the money is kept from insurgents.
One senior military official said discussions have begun over how best the United States can help Yemen, which is putting a U.S.-backed government in place. The official said it might be difficult to relaunch the counterterrorism training that was suspended about a year ago because Yemeni forces are engaged in battle with the al-Qaeda-linked insurgency based in the country.
Instead, the training program could shift to focus less on fighting tactics and more on how to plan combat operations and strategize against the enemy.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because no final decisions have been made.
Widespread protests, coupled with pressure from the U.S., led to the ouster of longtime ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh. U.S. leaders have said they think that new president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, will be a good partner to the U.S.
The U.S. has poured more than $326 million in security and civilian assistance into Yemen since 2007, fueled by the escalating threat from the Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
The aid abruptly stopped last year as political and security unrest raged.
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Al-Qaeda militants in Yemen killed in airstrike • SANA, yemen — Yemeni military officials said Saturday that two U.S. airstrikes killed at least 18 al-Qaeda-linked militants in an evening attack on a central province that had been partly overrun by the group earlier this year.
U.S. Central Command spokesman Army Maj. T.G. Taylor declined to comment on any American role in the strikes.
The U.S. considers the Yemen branch of al-Qaeda one of its most dangerous. U.S. aircraft have targeted leaders of the branch in Yemen in the past, including a drone strike last year that killed American-born al-Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki.
Residents in Bayda province, where the attack was carried out Friday evening, and a medical official there said 18 militants had been killed. They said al-Qaeda buried the bodies. However, the governor of Bayda said in a statement Saturday that the death toll reached 30, including Egyptian, Syrian, Pakistani and Afghan nationals.
The Associated Press
