Source: BBC Newshour
In the past few years, there has been a steady increase in the security concerns coming out of Yemen. The connection between Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab and Yemeni extremists is thus not surprising, especially considering the recent merger between al-Qaeda in Yemen and in Saudi Arabia into a single entity, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
As the security situation in countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan has improved and the war in Iraq recedes, al-Qaeda has been forced to seek out new safe havens. Yemen provides such a safe haven, with a large amount of ungoverned spaces al-Qaeda can use to train recruits. This presents a threat not only to potential targets in Yemen, but to the entire region. The Yemeni government faces a variety of challenges which must be overcome if al-Qaeda is to be denied a stronghold in the country.
"The government in Yemen is unable to control all its territory," Christopher Boucek explains. "The international community is going to have to help the Yemeni government deal with the security issues."