Yemen Allows Terrorists to 'Escape'

Cole Attack Planner Escapes Yemen Prison

Everyone who believes that Yemeni officials didn't purposefully allow these al-Qaeda operatives to 'escape' raise your hands? Anyone? That's what I thought...

There's little doubt that there was official involvement in the "escape" of the planner of the USS Cole bombing and other convicted terrorists. Yemen has long been a safe harbor for terrorists, and despite paying lip service to turning over a new leaf this latest episode is all the proof necessary to show that they haven't changed their ways at all. It's the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden, and it looks like not much has changed since he left home to wreak havoc on the rest of the world.

This cannot stand, and Yemen needs to be held responsible. Yemen has been the beneficiary of a ton of U.S. foreign aid in exchange for their cooperation - cooperation which evidently was not real in any way. All aid needs to be stopped immediately and we should demand repayment of all sums paid to date until they hand over these "escapees" to American justice. I don't really care if their citizens would object or if other countries would be upset. That was our ship that was bombed: he should never have been in a Yemeni jail in the first place.

It's time to stop pussyfooting around with these little countries who think it's absolutely fine to say one thing publicly while supporting al-Qaeda and similar groups privately.