Al-Qaeda is gathering strength as Yemen burns

begin quote from page 11 of the latest Time Magazine with Senator Schumer on the cover:

Al-Qaeda is gathering strength as Yemen burns-

The leader of Al Qeada's branch in Yemen called for attacks on the U.S. after a Jan. 29 special forces raid in which several civilians were killed,as well as a U.S. Navy Seal.In an audio message, Qassim al Rimi, leader of Al Qaeda in the ARabian Peninisula AQAP scorned Donald Trump as the "new fool in the white house." Here, how a powerful enemy has regrouped:

Thriving in Chaos: AQAP has benefitted from the security vacuum created by Yemen's ongoing civil war. As military forces backed by a Saudi Arabia--led coalition battle the Houthi Rebels who seized much of the country in 2014 and 2015, state institutions have collapsed. More than10,000 people have died and the country is on the brink of faimine.

Scaling up: AQAP also flourished as the U.S. shifted resources ot the fight against ISIS in 2014 and 2015. Now it is again powerful enough to control territory in a weakened Yemen.In the first such offensive in months,the group recently attacked towns in the southern abayan province. The U.S. raid was reportedly an attempt to dispatch al Rimi but may instead make him more influential.

Threat Level Among AlQaeda's various franchises, AQAP is considered the largest threat to the West, most recently claiming the 2015 attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris. Now it seems intent on striking Americans in the U.S., the botched raid prompted Yemen by Feb. 7 to halt American ground missions--removing its most direct means of taking the fight to the militants.

end quote page 11