U.S. doubles military aid to escalate fight against al-Qaeda

The United States of America Defense Department said that $155 million will be spent by the end of September on equipment to help Yemeni army commandos fight al-Qaeda.

The Pentagon notified Congress it plans to pay for four Huey helicopters made by Textron Inc.’s Bell Helicopter unit, upgrades to the 10 Russian-made MI-17 helicopters already owned by Yemen, 50 AM General LLC Hummer vehicles, night-vision goggles and transport aircraft, a Pentagon spokesman said today. The $155 million in military aid for this fiscal year is up from $67 million provided to Yemen in fiscal 2009. The biggest cost is the $82.8 million for the Hueys and MI-17 improvements to let the Yemeni Air Force “transport small counter-terror units for day or nighttime operations at high altitude,” said Navy Commander Robert Mehal, the Pentagon spokesman to the Bloomberg News.

Yemen has increased operations against al-Qaeda since December, with air and land operations using commandos and conventional troops. Yemeni troops killed 12 al-Qaeda fighters during the past two days as the army sought to flush militants from the southern city of Lawdar, the state news agency SABA reported, citing Deputy Interior Minister Saleh al-Zuari.

Counter-terrorism funds are part of a Yemen aid plan by the Obama administration that will also increase development assistance and seek to boost international support, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.

The $155 million also includes $34.5 million to equip Yemeni special forces with Hummers, combat radio systems and night-vision goggles, Mehal said.

New U.S. Central Command commander General James Mattis said in congressional testimony on July 27 that challenges from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, as well as local insurgents and a deteriorating economy, have stretched Yemen’s government and military “to the breaking point.”

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