The Pentagon on Thursday said it respects Yemen"s sovereignty after a top official in Sana warned against any U.S. military intervention there, and reiterated that its focus was on providing intelligence and training to help Yemen counter al Qaida militants. "Yemen is a sovereign government just like Pakistan is. We want to work with government officials in ways that are helpful to them," Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters. Washington"s efforts include sharing intelligence with Yemen and providing training and funding "to assist them in building up their counter-terrorism capabilities," Whitman said. "We are going to continue to look for ways to assist countries that want to take on these terrorist threats within their countries." Whitman"s remarks came after Yemen"s deputy prime minister for defense and security affairs, Rashed al-Aleemi, said any U.S. military action in Yemen would be counterproductive and strengthen al Qaida.
