Yemen jail escape indicative of a larger problem for U.S.

An Al-Qaida terrorist sentenced to death for masterminding the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000 that killed 17 sailors and wounded 39 others was among the 23 prisoners who escaped last week from a jail in San'a, Yemen. Jamal al-Badawi was convicted of plotting, preparing and helping to carry out the Cole attack. The destroyer was refueling in the Yemeni port of Aden on Oct. 12, 2000, when two suicide bombers blew up an explosives-laden boat next to it.
According to Interpol, the prisoners got out through a 140-yard long tunnel that was dug by them and "co-conspirators outside." The prison is in the central headquarters of the country's military intelligence services located in the center of the capital.
The escape has raised eyebrows, especially in Washington, because Yemen is supposed to be America's ally in the war on global terrorism. Bush administration officials have asked Yemeni government officials to explain how such an escape could have occurred, but have stopped short of suggesting that prison authorities were involved.
Given that the escape took place a day before the start of the trial of 15 alleged terrorists, including one, Mohammed Hamdi al-Ahdal, who is said to have been involved in the plotting of the Cole attack, the administration has every reason to wonder how high up in the Yemeni government the ties to Al-Qaida go.
It's the same question that confronts the United States in its search for Osama bin Laden, the head of Al-Qaida who masterminded the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America's mainland.
Mountain hideaway
Bin Laden is reportedly hiding out in the mountains on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and is being protected by Pakistani chieftains who control the provinces. The Pakistani intelligence service has long been suspected of having members who are sympathetic to Al-Qaida and other Islamic extremist groups. There does appear to be a basis for such suspicion, given the fact that bin Laden has eluded capture or death -- even with a huge bounty on his head.
Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has strongly rejected such talk, saying that his nation's partnership with the U.S. in the war on global terrorism is unwavering. Musharraf has also pointed out that he has been the target of three assassination attempts, which indicate that Islamic extremists are unhappy with his government's pledge to rid the nation of bin Laden and Al-Qaida.
But Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai, isn't buying Musharraf's contentions, noting that Al-Qaida operatives are constantly crossing the border into Afghanistan where they are joining up with former Taliban leaders and others to conduct a campaign of death and destruction aimed at bringing down the government.
The Bush administration must be mindful of what is going on in Pakistan, with the failure to get bin Laden, and what occurred in Yemen, with the escape of the prisoners, as it reassesses the war on global terrorism. The president must make it clear to its allies in this war that any evidence of collusion with terrorist organizations will be viewed as a breach of trust and will have serious consequences.