Militants Create Haven In Southern Yemen -- Washington PostZINJIBAR, Yemen — — In this remote, sun-blasted corner of southern Yemen, there’s a battle raging that is as important to the United States as it is to this nation’s beleaguered government.
Each day, American-backed Yemeni forces engage in a grueling struggle to retake territory from militant Islamists — a conventional army pitted against a guerrilla militia with grand ambitions to stage an attack on U.S. soil. Each day, the soldiers feel increasingly besieged.
“We are like an island in a sea of al-Qaeda,” said Lt. Abdul Mohamed Saleh, standing at a checkpoint on a desolate highway that connects Zinjibar with the port city of Aden. “We are surrounded from every direction.”
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My Comment: A failed state with a dysfunctional government. High unemployment coupled with corruption and the presence of a militant religious ideology (Islam) that promises better days ahead .... yup .... a perfect breeding ground for Al Qaeda and other Islamic extremists.