WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee says lawmakers should consider whether U.S.-led air strikes and other clandestine operations are necessary in Yemen to defeat an emboldened al-Qaida force there.
The remark Wednesday by Democratic Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan is a rare admission by a senior U.S. official that direct U.S. military action in Yemen is possible, if it hasn’t happened already.
Al-Qaida forces in Yemen have emerged in recent months as a major threat to U.S. security, with ties to the recent airline bombing plot and Fort Hood shooting.
But U.S. officials say there are no plans to send ground troops there, and Yemen has made clear it wouldn’t want them.