 Washington accuses Islamic preacher Sheikh Abdul Majid Zendani of being an ally of Osama Ben Laden but the cleric operates freely in Yemen with the blessing of the pro-Western government. The red-bearded sheikh, complete with "jambiya" (traditional dagger), is the second most senior official of Yemen's main religious opposition party. He runs an Islamic university described by its critics as a hotbed of radicalism. Respected as a religious scholar throughout the Gulf, loathed in the West as an advocate of Al Qaeda leader's virulent brand of political Islam, Zendani is personally protected by America's ally, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
| Zindani's another member of the Supreme Council of Global Jihad. |
The preacher has been on the cutting edge of radical politics, often working at cross purposes with the West. He has worked closely with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, helping them raise funds in March in the face of Western sanctions to pressure the militants to recognise Israel.
| More to the point, he's a proponent of jihad and the caliphate... |
Zendani and Saleh's tight-knit relationship serves as a pointed lesson for the United States of the difficulties it faces with crucial allies in waging its war on terror.
| Yeah. The pointed lesson is that cannon fodder and even middle management is cheap and easily replaced. The holy men are protected at the highest levels. |
In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the White House and Saleh forged a strategic partnership to crack down on militants in Ben Laden's ancestral homeland.
| Saleh had visions of being run out of town like the Taliban were. |
Famously, Saleh even tolerated a US Predator missile strike on a wanted Al Qaeda member in 2002.
| Like I said about middle managers, they're easily replaced. |
The government has hauled dozens of suspected Al Qaeda militants to state security court, although a recent jail break by 23 militants proved an embarrassment to the government and strained Sanaa's ties with Washington.
| It wouldn't have been quite so embarrassing if it hadn't been quite so unlikely. |
Yet, cooperation goes only so far in Yemen's labyrinth of politics where even Washington's friends are often chummy with America's enemies.
| Yemen is an Arabic-speaking version of Pakistan, without the civilizing influence of Sindh. |
Zendani is a case in point. In February 2004, the United States branded Zendani "a global terrorist", "one of [Ben Laden's] spiritual leaders," a recruiter for Al Qaeda training camps and a weapons procurer for the terror network. Citing "credible evidence," Washington persuaded the United Nations to add the preacher to the world body's “list of terrorists.” But back in this impoverished land of guns and daggers, Sanaa has resisted pressure to deliver Zendani to Washington.
| Zindani also leads a powerful political party and lots of yokels with guns would go nuts if he was jugged. |
In a recent interview with AFP, Zendani exuded confidence, certain he was far beyond Washington's reach. The preacher quite happily gave an account of Washington's latest bid to pressure Saleh to arrest him. The appeal took the form of a telephone call from a White House official to Saleh. Saleh then summoned the US ambassador, Thomas Krajeski, and Zendani for a meeting during which he played the call from Washington. He then defended the cleric in front of the diplomat, calling him "a moderate and wise man," and adding emphatically that "the government vouches for him and I personally vouch for him," according to Zendani.
| They won't start killing the holy men until the final days of the war. If then. |
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