In U.S. President Barack Obama’s weekly speech to the nation, he linked the attempted Christmas Day bombing of an NWA-Delta flight, to the terrorist group Al Qaeda and one of their cells in Yemen.

It was the first time the Obama administration publicly made this connection. The President of Yemen has pledge his support to an American/British led task force on terrorism in the region.

Yemen president to work with U.S. to boost security

SANAA (Reuters) - Yemen's president met a top U.S. general on Saturday to discuss boosting military cooperation, after President Barack Obama tied al Qaeda's regional arm to the Christmas Day attempt to blow up a U.S. passenger jet.

Yemen also said it was tightening security along its coastline to prevent Islamist militants infiltrating from Somalia. However, a local Shi'ite rebel group said it was ready to talk peace with President Ali Abdullah Saleh once fighting in its conflict with the Sanaa government had stopped.

U.S. General David Petraeus met Saleh for talks focusing on strengthening security, military and economic cooperation, an official said. Petraeus, who heads the U.S. Central Command, also handed over a letter from Obama...

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