Patrick Cockburn: "Threats to Yemen Prove America Hasn’t Learned the Lesson of History" (with audio/video)

Democracy Now! with audio/video:

The United States and Britain have closed their embassies in the Yemeni capital city of Sana’a, citing security threats from an Al Qaeda group. On Sunday Deputy National Security Advisor John Brennan told NBC’s Meet The Press that “there are indications that al-Qaeda is planning an attack against a target in Sanaa.” When asked whether U.S. military action was possible in Yemen, Brennan said, “everything is possible.”

On Saturday President Obama connected the foiled Christmas day attack on the Detroit-bound flight to Al Qaeda in Yemen.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown described Yemen as a “regional and global threat” and is calling for an emergency high-level international meeting on Yemen at the end of this month. He spoke to Andrew Marr of the BBC Sunday.

Well for more on Yemen and American and British reactions to the alleged terror threat from there, I’m joined now on the line from the UK by veteran journalist and author Patrick Cockburn. He’s the Middle East Correspondent for the Independent newspaper who has reported from Yemen and is covering the latest news. We are also joined on the line from Sana’a by Michael Horton, a freelance journalist based in Yemen.