Embassies in Yemen closed Sunday

The U.S. and U.K. Embassies in Yemen are closed 'today' (Sunday) in response to threats:

The White House counterterrorism chief John Brennan said the American Embassy, which was attacked twice in 2008, was shut Sunday because of an "active" Al Qaeda threat. A statement on the embassy's Web site announcing the closure cited "ongoing threats" from the terror group and did not say how long it would remain closed.

In London, Britain's Foreign Office said its embassy was closed for security reasons. It said officials would decide later whether to reopen it on Monday.

source - The AP via FOXNews.

Lots of talk about how USCENTCOM is pushing in another ~US$70 million in counterterror cooperation funds to Yemen. That might be a good investment, if one knows where the money is going. Then there is Gordon Brown's latest foray into trying to spend money to solve problems (other than in actual useful MoD budgets), which the always reliable Jane Novak at Armies of Liberation sees as missing the point.

Far more important may well be the ongoing operations in eastern Yemen, but as long as the Government of Yemen can be bought and sold, there is simply no telling whether the cooperation seen over the last few months is anything but a transitory event.

IF that can be kept in mind, however, the adage about "making hay while the sun shines" seems to apply. Given the amount of al Qaeda out there to mow, let's get to it.

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UPDATE:

Here's more on the U.S. military involvement in Yemen from CBS Evening News (USA). Sadly, it appears some members of the administration see this as a good time to score some political points...

U.S. officials had kept fairly quiet about the extent of American involvement in the recent Yemeni strikes. But with so many Americans asking what their government is doing to keep them safe after the Christmas Day bombing attempt, many more officials seem eager to describe how they're striking back.

...which, while no surprise, is an unwelcome motivation for otherwise commendable actions.

Here also is the item from the Wall Street Journal on General Petraeus's visit to Yemen on Saturday... and the various political posturings going on in London and Washington... but if that is what is needed to get some freedom of action against GWOT targets in Yemen, and to get the UNSC to finally consider the linkage between the Somalia situation and that in Yemen, then by all means get to it, fellows. Time's a-wasting.