HARDLINER TAKEOVER COULD DRAW S. YEMEN INTO TERRORIST 'MAFIA'

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Collection: 
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP91-00587R000100260013-1
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RIPPUB
Original Classification: 
K
Document Page Count: 
1
Document Creation Date: 
December 22, 2016
Document Release Date: 
February 24, 2011
Sequence Number: 
13
Case Number: 
Publication Date: 
January 21, 1986
Content Type: 
OPEN SOURCE
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PDF icon CIA-RDP91-00587R000100260013-1.pdf83.67 KB
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Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/02/24: CIA-RDP91-00587R000100260013-1 ARTICLE APPEARED ON PAGE 7r4 _ 21 January 1986 Hardliner takeover could draw S. Yemen into terrorist `mafia' By James Morrison THE WASHINGTON TIMES South Yemen will join the "Iran- Syria-Libya mafia" of international terrorism if hardline Marxist rebels take over the country from the exist- ing pro-Soviet regime, an American expert on terrorism predicted yes- terday. Ray Cline, who recently coau- thored a book on state-sponsored terrorism, also speculated that- Libya's Col. Muammar Qaddafi or Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini are behind the South Yemen civil war to extend their influence to the strategic Bab el-Mandeb, the straits that lead to the Red Sea and on to the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean. Another terrorism expert, John Rees, pointed out that South Yemen has long been a strong supporter of terrorism and nothing much will change no matter which side wins. As the experts debate the even- tual outcome of the fighting, jour- nalists and diplomats from listening posts on the Horn of Africa are try- ing to make sense of the events in the shadowy Arab country. Some news reports had the rebels in charge yes- terday, and other reports said the government had regained control of the country where some 9,000 peo- ple have died in more than a week of fighting. The State Department has said virtually nothing about the civil war that broke out Jan. 13. A spokesman declined yesterday to speculate on the effect a more radical regime would have on Middle East peace prospects or on shipping routes through the Red Sea. The United States has no diplomatic relations Map by Paul Woodward The Washington Times with South Yemen. Mr. Cline, a terrorism analyst with Georgetown University's Center for Strategic International Studies, pre- dicted that a rebel victory could fur- ther tilt the scales in favor of Libya, Iran and Syria. Those countries, considered the world's leading proponents of ter- rorism, seek not only to expel Israel from the Middle East but also to ter- rorize any moderate Arab country cooperating with Israel in peace talks. "If you get a more violent group running the place:' Mr. Cline said in an interview, "you will encourage the wilder cards in the terrorist camp:' A rebel victory "will tend to add South Yemen to the Iran, Syria, Libya mafia:' Mr. Cline said. "I dare, say that's what it was all about and I'll bet that Khomeini or Qaddafi were up to their necks in it:' The State Department says Iran, Syria and Libya sponsor, train and protect terrorists but lists South Ye- men as a relatively minor player. South Yemen has not "partici- pated directly in international ter- rorist acts" but has "supported international terrorism since the late 1960s by providing camps and other facilities for a number of left- ist terrorist groups:' the State De- partment said in its 1984 report on "Global Terrorism," released last November. South Yemen's latest "level of sup- port was limited to the provision of safe haven for Palestinian groups:' the report said. But Mr. Rees said South Yemen has "always been in the forefront of terrorism. Every one's been in and out of South Yemen. But because of its isolation and miserable climate, it's a haven of last resort" for terror- ists. He said the civil war there is a power struggle between Arab tribes and compared the fighting to the coup in Afghanistan more than six years ago when the Soviet Union re- placed one pro-Moscow regime with another. "They are probably the most quarrelsome tribes in the Arab world:' Mr. Rees said of some 85 tribes that in the country. Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/02/24: CIA-RDP91-00587R000100260013-1