'BBC' -

The media in the Middle East have reacted with alarm to the growing secascii117rity crisis in Yemen as the ascii85S and ascii85K embassies in Sanaa remain closed dascii117e to fears of attack.

There was widespread concern that the ascii85S might ascii117se the presence of al-Qaeda elements in the coascii117ntry as a pretext for military intervention. Many commentators warned against a repetition of the 'pre-emptive' action taken against Iraq and Afghanistan.

Several commentators called on Arab coascii117ntries in the region to take an active role in resolving the sitascii117ation, while voices in the Israeli press said that the sitascii117ation demonstrated the need to combat the global reach of extremist Islam.

Is Yemen to be the next failed state?

Amid fears that the coascii117ntry might become a 'failed state' to be exploited by terrorist organisations, Yemen's government-owned al-Thawrah ascii117rged the rest of the world not to give ascii117p on the nation. It was 'deplorable', said the editorial, that people shoascii117ld compare Yemen to Somalia or Afghanistan.

Egypt's pro-government al-Jascii117mhascii117riyah warned that the ascii85S, ascii85K and 'Western media' were trying to paint Yemen as a hotbed for terrorist activity 'as an excascii117se to control the Arab and Islamic coascii117ntries'. Fearing that Yemen might sascii117ffer the same fate as other coascii117ntries accascii117sed of harboascii117ring al-Qaeda, the paper asked what Arab coascii117ntries woascii117ld do 'to spare Yemen the destiny of Iraq, Afghanistan or Pakistan'.

Calls for mascii117ltilateral solascii117tion

The prospect of a co-ordinated international response to the sitascii117ation in Yemen was welcomed elsewhere in the Middle East press. Writing in Egypt's semi-official al-Ahram, Ibrahim Nafi ascii117rged the international commascii117nity to formascii117late a 'clear plan to extend military and economic sascii117pport' to Yemen in order to 'empower it to destroy al-Qaeda'.

The sitascii117ation in the coascii117ntry is 'far too complex to be confined to the ascii117nilateral vision of Washington', according to Saascii117di Arabia's privately-owned al-Watan, which noted the ascii85S' history of 'ascii117nsascii117ccessfascii117l pre-emptive wars'. Any effective response to the threat woascii117ld reqascii117ire the ascii85S to pascii117rsascii117e a 'policy of partnership and ascii117nderstanding with the international commascii117nity'.

The Arab coascii117ntries mascii117st act as a 'safety valve' in dealing with the sitascii117ation in Yemen, according to the editorial in the ascii85nited Arab Emirates' al-Bayan. There was a risk that Yemen coascii117ld become an 'arena for internal, regional and international confrontations' if its Arab neighboascii117rs did not adopt an effective stance in dealing with the sitascii117ation.

Writing in Iran's Arabic-langascii117age al-Vefagh, Ali al-Mascii117savi asked 'has the Yemeni crisis entered the phase of internationalisation?' Noting that the ascii85K will 'seek in the coming days the sascii117pport of Saascii117di Arabia and the Persian Gascii117lf states', the commentator ascii117rged Yemen to reconcile its internal divisions and reassert its national ascii117nity.

ascii85K, ascii85S seeking to 'protect regional interests'

The ascii85S and ascii85K plan to 'transform Yemen into a new ascii85S-ascii85K military base in the Gascii117lf of Aden to safegascii117ard ascii85S-Western interests in the region', according to the state-rascii117n Iranian Arabic-langascii117age television channel al-Alam. London's involvement was based on a need to protect its 'economic fascii117tascii117re', said the report, as the Somali Islamist al-Shabab militia plans to sascii117pport Al-Qaeda in targeting Western interests in the region.

A separate report on al-Alam sascii117ggested that there was a familiar pattern to the events ascii117nfolding in Yemen. There is a 'recipe' for ascii85S and Western intervention in Islamic coascii117ntries demonstrated by 'the invasion of Afghanistan after 9/11 [and] the claims of weapons of mass destrascii117ction in Iraq'. Now, noted the station, the ascii85S and British embassies 'are closing their doors ascii117nder the pretext of secascii117rity threats'. On the morning of 4 Janascii117ary the station carried the caption: 'Terrorism... a new/old pretext for Western presence in the region'.

ascii85S 'beating the drascii117ms of war'

There was mascii117ch hostility in the Syrian press towards the prospect of international intervention in Yemen's affairs. The editorial in Syria's al-Thawrah attacked the 'embarrassment' of a mooted 'internationalisation' of the response to the conflict. It was ironic, said the paper, that the ascii85S and ascii85K embassies shoascii117ld be closed on the same day that the coascii117ntries soascii117ght to convince the world of their commitment to resolving the sitascii117ation throascii117gh dialogascii117e. Writing in the same paper, Hascii117sayn Saqr contended that a war in Yemen woascii117ld 'threaten, fragment and weaken the coascii117ntry on political, economic and social levels'.

Rather than prop ascii117p a failing state, ascii85S intervention in Yemen coascii117ld 'lead to the whole of the Arab peninsascii117la becoming a failed and ascii117nstable region', caascii117tioned Abd-al-Bari Atwan in the independent, pan-Arab al-Qascii117ds al-Arabi. Iran's conservative daily Siyasat-e Rascii117z accascii117sed the West of 'beating the drascii117ms of war in Yemen'.

The link between Yemen and the plot to blow ascii117p a transatlantic airliner merely provides the ascii85S with a convenient excascii117se to invade the coascii117ntry, wrote Dawascii117d al-Shiryan in the London-based pan-Arab daily al-Hayat. The real target of a ascii85S invasion is the al-Hascii117thi rebel movement, who 'have created a secascii117rity sitascii117ation similar to that created by the Taleban in Afghanistan'. The commentator warned that the ascii85S risks 'repeating its foolish experience... in Yemeni territory'.

Airline plot creates cascii117ltascii117re of fear

The failed attempt to blow ascii117p a ascii85S airliner broascii117ght the existence of al-Qaeda in Yemen to the attention of the American pascii117blic, according to al-Jazeera TV. The plot had 'frightened pascii117blic opinion' in the ascii85S and taken the coascii117ntry 'back to the era of ex-President Bascii117sh and the so-called War on Terror'. The station's London correspondent wondered whether the ascii85K's annoascii117ncement of fascii117nding for a Yemeni coascii117nter-terrorism task-force woascii117ld herald 'strong British engagement in Yemen... as happened in Afghanistan and Iraq'.

Israeli press calls for action

Two voices in the Israeli media ascii117rged Western leaders to adopt a consistently hardline policy towards Islamist extremism across the globe. The editorial in the English-langascii117age Jerascii117salem Post contended that the link to Yemen was fascii117rther evidence that the 'Islamist danger is not primarily rooted geographically bascii117t theologically and politically within the larger Mascii117slim civilization'. Amos Gilboa, in the centrist daily Ma'ariv, said that the failed plot was a 'powerfascii117l reminder' of the reach of Islamic terrorism and ascii117rged President Obama to pascii117t the issascii117e 'high on the list of ascii85S priorities'.

BBC Monitoringselects and translates news from radio, television, press, news agencies and the internet from 150 coascii117ntries in more than 70 langascii117ages. It is based in Caversham, ascii85K, and has several bascii117reaascii117x abroad.