US will help Yemen but no plans for 'another war': Gates

[unhappycamper]

US will help Yemen but no plans for 'another war': Gates

Tue Nov 16, 3:37 pm ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Tuesday the United States wanted to help Yemen battle Al-Qaeda's affiliate in the country instead of entering "another war."

Providing equipment and training to Yemeni security forces offered the best way to counter the threat posed by Al-Qaeda militants, Gates said.

"We don't need another war," he told a conference organized by The Wall Street Journal newspaper.

With more than 100,000 US troops fighting Al-Qaeda's allies in Afghanistan and public skepticism in Yemen over the US military's role there, Gates and other US officials have stressed that Sanaa will lead the fight against Islamist militants.

He said the threat posed by the Al-Qaeda network had spread beyond northwest Pakistan to Yemen, Somalia and the Maghreb in northern Africa, and Washington was working to train and arm security forces to fight the militants.