[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv class=\u0022ds-1col clearfix\u0022\u003E\n\n  \n\n  \n  \u003Cp\u003EAl-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula emerged in late January 2009, as newly elected U.S. President Barack Obama made the planned closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility one of his first executive orders. The timing of the two events was not lost on the Western press, especially after news broke that two of AQAP\u2019s founders\u2014Said al-Shihri and Mohamed al-Awfi\u2014were former Guantanamo detainees.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBreaking the news on the same day that Obama signed his executive order, the\u003Cem\u003E New York Times\u003C\/em\u003E wrote that al-Shihri\u2019s emergence as AQAP\u2019s deputy leader \u201cunderscored the potential complications in carrying out the executive order\u201d to close Guantanamo within one year. The article hedged its criticism of President Obama\u2019s decision by noting that the Pentagon\u2019s claim that dozens of former detainees had \u201creturned to the fight\u201d was \u201cdifficult to document, and [had] been met with skepticism.\u201d Moreover, the paper dismissed concerns that former detainees could assume leadership positions, claiming that \u201cfew of the former detainees, if any, [were] thought to have become leaders of a major terrorist organization like Al Qaeda in Yemen\u2026\u201d \u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003ERobert F. Worth, \u201cFreed by the U.S., Saudi becomes a Qaeda Chief,\u201d \u003Cem\u003ENew York Times\u003C\/em\u003E, January 22, 2009, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2009\/01\/23\/world\/middleeast\/23yemen.html\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2009\/01\/23\/world\/middleeast\/23yemen.html\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe\u003Cem\u003E Long War Journal \u003C\/em\u003Ereported the news several days later but focused less attention on the Guantanamo angle of the story. The outlet highlighted recent propaganda from al-Qaeda that focused on Gaza, pointing out that Yemen had already \u201copened its first camp to receive foreigners to train for jihad in Gaza.\u201d Those foreigners would allegedly be \u201creceived at al Iman University, headed by Sheik Abdulmajid al Zindani who is designated as a terrorist financier\u2026[and is] a strong ally [of] President Saleh.\u201d \u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003EJane Novak, \u201cArabian Peninsula Al Qaeda Groups Merge,\u201d \u003Cem\u003ELong War Journal\u003C\/em\u003E, January 26, 2009, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.longwarjournal.org\/archives\/2009\/01\/arabian_peninsula_al.php\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.longwarjournal.org\/archives\/2009\/01\/arabian_peninsula_al.php\u003C\/a\u003E. \u003C\/span\u003EThe report noted bluntly that \u201cYemen has a troubling history of placating al Qaeda operatives, a history that includes early releases of convicted terrorists, multiple escapes\u2026 and outright lying to the US on the status of al Qaeda operatives.\u201d \u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003EJane Novak, \u201cArabian Peninsula Al Qaeda Groups Merge,\u201d \u003Cem\u003ELong War Journal\u003C\/em\u003E, January 26, 2009, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.longwarjournal.org\/archives\/2009\/01\/arabian_peninsula_al.php\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.longwarjournal.org\/archives\/2009\/01\/arabian_peninsula_al.php\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMeanwhile, the\u003Cem\u003E Economist\u003C\/em\u003E was more playful in its coverage. The magazine published an article titled \u201cA Nice Safe Haven for Jihadists,\u201d writing that with Yemen\u2019s government expecting about 100 Yemeni prisoners to return from Guantanamo, \u201cother friends may soon be joining the fighters\u2026\u201d \u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003E\u201cA Nice Safe Haven for Jihadists,\u201d \u003Cem\u003EEconomist\u003C\/em\u003E, January 29, 2009, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.economist.com\/node\/13041120\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.economist.com\/node\/13041120\u003C\/a\u003E. \u003C\/span\u003EThe magazine claimed that Saudi Arabia was AQAP\u2019s main target, but that its efforts to regroup outside of the kingdom \u201cmay be a sign of weakness rather than strength,\u201d and that \u201ceven if the danger of a few hundred armed jihadists is real, [Yemeni] locals may well care more about other national plagues\u2026\u201d \u003Cspan class=\u0022footnote\u0022\u003E\u201cA Nice Safe Haven for Jihadists,\u201d \u003Cem\u003EEconomist\u003C\/em\u003E, January 29, 2009, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.economist.com\/node\/13041120\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.economist.com\/node\/13041120\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n","dialogOptions":{"minWidth":850,"resizable":true,"modal":true,"title":"Western Media Addresses Guantanamo Connection in AQAP Founding"}},{"command":"doFootnotes"}]