Yemen's government, faced with Shi'ite rebels in the north and separatists in the south, may not be as solid an ally against al Qaeda in the future as the United States may think, the CIA said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
CIA Director Leon Panetta's assessment comes as the Pentagon and the State Department ramped up assistance to Yemeni security forces to battle al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which claimed responsibility for a failed Christmas Day plot to blow up a U.S. jetliner.
Panetta said the United States has received "strong support" from Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh "to go after targets and to share opportunities to ensure that we are working together" against al Qaeda.
Washington has quietly increased covert assistance to Yemen in the last two months, providing satellite and surveillance imagery, and intercepted communications to help the country's security forces carry out air raids against al Qaeda targets, officials said.
But Panetta said Saleh's government was "besieged" by conflicts in the north and south that could split his country. "This is not a clear-cut situation in terms of having his support," he added.
General David Petraeus, the head of the U.S. Central Command, has proposed more than doubling military assistance for Yemen to about $150 million.
In addition, the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development have proposed boosting funding for Yemen to $106.6 million from $67.3 million the previous year, with most of the increase for security.
Deputy Secretary of State Jack Lew said the money would improve Yemen's Air Force intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, fund counter-terrorism training for its security forces and offer support for the country's coast guard, border guard and special operations forces.
Washington has urged Yemen to seek a negotiated solution to the conflict with the Houthis, who are fighting government troops in the north and complain of social, religious and economic discrimination.
Annual U.S. State Department reports on human rights in Yemen have highlighted allegations of torture by Yemen's security forces.
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