U.S. aims to sustain counterterrorism cooperation with Yemen: White House
By Doina Chiacu and Julia Edwards WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States wants to continue its close counterterrorism cooperation with Yemen and does not see the Houthi rebel takeover of that government as a sign that Iran or al Qaeda are exerting control there, the White House said on Friday. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said he knew of no changes involving U.S. drone strikes on al Qaeda in Yemen, which Washington had conducted with the support of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who resigned on Thursday. Hadi left office days after Houthi rebels battled their way into his presidential palace and plunged the unstable Arab country deeper into chaos. The United States is concerned about the political instability in Yemen, and considers the al Qaeda affiliate in that country, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the most dangerous in the world, Earnest said. "This administration remains committed to pursuing a counterterrorism strategy against AQAP," Earnest said at a news briefing. While the embassy in Sanaa remained open, Earnest said U.S. security experts there were monitoring the situation. The United States said on Thursday that it had pulled more staff out of its embassy in Yemen as the government collapsed. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Friday that the U.S. ambassador to Yemen, Matthew Tueller, was not in the country because of prior plans, but he is expected to return in the coming days. Earnest said there has been no change in U.S. policy on Yemen and the Obama administration still has a strong partnership with the national security infrastructure in Yemen. "We have worked closely with the Hadi government and we certainly want to continue our work with the government of Yemen to pursue this important counterterrorism effort," Earnest said. He said it was "not clear" that Iran was exerting control or influence over the rebels and noted that the Houthis and al Qaeda were "enemies." "The fact that there is this political instability in Yemen is not an indication that AQAP is gaining in influence," Earnest said. (Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Julia Edwards; Writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Eric Beech, Toni Reinhold)
