Cheney Holds Talks in Yemen

Published March 14th, 2002 - 03:00 GMT

US Vice President Dick Cheney arrived Thursday in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, aboard a U.S. military plane, under tight security. He was met at the airport by Yemen's Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansur and was quickly ushered into the terminal for talks with Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Yemen is the third destination in his Middle East tour aimed at mustering support for the global fight against terror, government sources said.

Cheney, who was flying from Egypt where he said that weapons of mass destruction were the next target in the US-led war.

Washington this week dispatched a 20-member military team to Yemen to coordinate US military assistance and training to help the government combat terrorism and prevent Sanaa from being used as a safe haven by al-Qaeda network terrorists.

Osama bin Laden, the prime suspected mastermind of the September 11 attacks on the United States, is linked by family ties to Yemen and al-Qaeda fighters are believed to have holed up in Saudi-Yemen border areas.

Cheney has also visited Jordan and is to travel on to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar and as well as Israel and Turkey. (Albawaba.com)