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US Could Join Yemen in Fighting Terrorism VOA News 28 Feb 2002 22:55 UTC 
The White House says it expects to add Yemen to the list of nations it is actively helping fight terrorism.
Spokesman Ari Fleischer said Thursday the United States wants to work closely with Yemen, where at least two suspected members of al-Qaida are believed to be hiding out.
The Yemeni government is expected to ask for U.S. troops to help train its soldiers.
Mr. Fleischer says the United States will listen to the requests and weigh the needs of nations fighting terrorism. He says the United States has been responding to such requests for anti-terrorism training for years.
The United States already has nearly 700 troops in the Philippines, training soldiers there to fight the Abu Sayyaf, a Muslim rebel group tied to al-Qaida.
Earlier this week, the Pentagon said it plans to send as many as 200 soldiers to the former Soviet republic of Georgia to help train its troops to fight terrorism.
President Bush has said Chechen rebels hiding Georgia's Pankisi Gorge, near the border with the breakaway Russian republic of Chechnya, are also tied to al-Qaida.
Moscow says it strongly opposes the presence of U.S. forces so close to the Russian border.
Some information for this report provided by AP.
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