Manama: A leading Bahraini lawmaker has expressed "tremendous concerns" that claims about Al Qaida in Yemen threats to world security would turn out to be as baseless as the ones made about Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction.
"Al Qaida in Yemen has been given incredibly impressive proportions which it does not deserve," Adel Al Mouawda, an MP representing Al Asala, said.
"It seems that the new dimension is being used by the US and subsequently by Britain to achieve their hegemony over the region, including regional and international waters. I am singularly afraid that the whole Al Qaida issue and threats would end up like the alleged Iraqi weapons of mass destruction," the Salafi leader said in a statement on Tuesday.
Al Qaida should be condemned for its crime against humanity, but the superpowers had played a major role in boosting its capabilities, he said.
"Despite its crime against humanity, Al Qaida has benefited from the moral boost it got following the inhuman abuses by leading world powers in Afghanistan and in Iraq. Al Qaida was able to get clear and strong arguments that it used to engage in violent acts," said Al Mouawda who heads the foreign affairs, defence and national security committee in the lower chamber.
Options to fight Al Qaida should not include resorting to US intervention and the use of plane for random bombarding of areas that invariably results in the death of innocent women and children, according to Al Mouawda.
The conservative leader blasted the conference in London last month as a suspicious move by foreign forces to target Yemen's security, stability and unity.
"I am afraid that there is a tendency to resort to fallacious arguments and baseless allegations to repeat what happened in Iraq and Afghanistan," he said.
However, Al Mouawda said that the Yemenis had to assume their responsibility in thwarting all the "threats lurking in their country."
"Both the government and the opposition should set aside their differences and work together to strengthen the local front against attempts to undermine the stability of their country," he said.
"They must resolve their differences away from political bickering. The countries in the region look forward to Yemeni efforts to achieve genuine development and action against the corruption plaguing several institutions," he said.
