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         US Counterterrorism Efforts in Yemen Continue Despite Upheaval

   by Sharon Behn

   U.S. officials say that despite the rebel siege in Yemen's capital and
   uncertainty swirling around the resignation of the country's president,
   Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, the United States continues to have a military
   presence in the country.

   "There is a footprint of U.S. military personnel in there that has been
   dedicated to counterterrorism operations. They are still there,"
   Pentagon press secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby said Friday.

   Yemen is seen as a key counterterrorism player in Washington's fight
   against al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP. The al-Qaida group
   has been behind several terrorist plots, including the recent attack on
   a French satirical magazine that left 12 dead.

   But one U.S. counterterrorism official, speaking on condition of
   anonymity, said Washington's operations in Yemen have been heavily
   dependent on Hadi.

   "The success we've been able to have against al-Qaida in the Arabian
   Peninsula was due in large part to Hadi's willingness to cooperate,"
   the official told VOA.

   Houthi rebels, largely Shiite, are strongly opposed to the Sunni-based
   AQAP. This could play in Washington's favor, said Barbara Bodine, a
   former U.S. ambassador to Yemen and the current director of Georgetown
   University's Institute for the Study of Diplomacy.

   "Ironically, whatever else is on that agenda of theirs, and how they
   play into the political process, the Houthis in their own way would be
   an ally with the United States, if both sides choose to deal with each
   other," Bodine said.

   The rebels took over the capital earlier in the week and surrounded
   Hadi in his residence, but they stopped short of declaring a coup.
   Yemen's parliament is to decide Sunday whether to accept Hadi's
   resignation.

   What political agenda the Houthis will pursue is not yet clear.

   The result, said State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki, is "tensions,
   and a great deal of violence on the ground. It's an incredibly fluid
   situation and we are watching very closely."

   Psaki said Washington continued to stay in touch with a "range" of
   officials in Yemen, but she would not give further details.

   The U.S. counterterrorism fight had been one of the primary objectives
   in Washington's partnership with Hadi and Yemen.

   Kirby said that while having a willing partner in Yemen would make the
   U.S. battle against al-Qaida there much more effective, the chaos would
   not stop Washington's counterterrorism fight.

   "We've also proven the ability to go after terrorists in various places
   around the world unilaterally, and we will still retain that right,
   that responsibility, and we will still make sure we have the resources
   to do that," he said.

   VOA's Jeff Seldin and William Gallo contributed to this report.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/us-counterterrorism-efforts-yemen-con
   tinue/2611724.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/us-counterterrorism-efforts-yemen-continue/2611724.html