AP Photo

The evidence that Al Qaeda's branch in Yemen had a role in the failed Christmas Day bombing of an American passenger jet has led some to declare that Yemen is the new front in the war against the terrorist organisation. But the truth is, Yemen has been a front in that war since at least October 12, 2000, when Al Qaeda blew up the Navy destroyer Cole, killing 17 American sailors, in the port of Aden. The explosives for the bombing were bought in Yemen, and the attackers and their accomplices were predominantly Yemenis. Indeed, after the attack, terrorists in Qaeda camps in Afghanistan would march and chant, "We, the Yemenis, destroyed the Cole."

As the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) case agent for the Cole investigation from 2000 to 2005, I spent years with colleagues in...