CNN 2010-01-04

Hi! Happy new year! We hope you had a wonderful break. My name is Carl Azuz, and CNN Student News is kicking off 2010 right here, right now.

 

First up, U.S. government closes its embassy in the Middle Eastern country of Yemen, and that is because of security concerns. One official says that a group called al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula might be planning an attack against the facility.

 

That same group said it was behind an attempted plot to set off an explosive onboard a plane heading to Detroit, Michigan. That took place on Christmas day. The suspect allegedly brought the explosives on the plane in his underwear. The plan failed when the device he tried to use didn't detonate correctly. Some people have asked how the suspect made it past security. One U.S. official says it's because of human error.

 

President Obama has promised that everyone involved in the attack will be held accountable for it. But some critics argue that the president's response to the situation hasn't been fast enough, hasn't been aggressive enough.

 

The president also announced that the suspect was trained by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. That's the same terrorist group we mentioned before. U.S. military has been working with the government of Yemen for a while to fight al Qaeda terrorists. Barbara Starr looks at how that fight has played out in the past.

 

Yemeni forces earlier this month on a raid against al Qaeda just north of the capital of Sana'a. The military shouts, "Come out. It is better for you. Do not be afraid." Shots are fired, several suspects are finally captured. This was one of Yemen's efforts to hit back at al Qaeda. U.S. assistance with several recent strikes that may have killed some of these men is now openly acknowledged.

 

These are Yemeni armed forces attacks, so they were, of course, supported by American intelligence and by the training of the Yemeni armed forces