Despite Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta's assurances to the contrary, U.S. troops will be sent back to Yemen to help the Yemeni government track and kill militants associated with al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula (AQAP).

When asked by reporters if U.S. troops would be sent to Yemen, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta responded, “There's no consideration of that. Our operations now are directed with the Yemenese going after al-Qaida."

“No consideration” is exactly the type of vague and undefined phrase the American people have come to expect from representatives of the national government, particularly when it comes to questions about the interminable “War on Terror.”

In what would be a surprise to no one, just days before the Secretary of Defense made this pronouncement, the Obama administration announced that it would be sending troops (“military advisors” is the way the DoD classifies them) back to Yemen to help the Yemeni government track and kill militants associated with al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula (AQAP).

As readers may recall, U.S. armed forces were previously deployed to Yemen, but had been recalled after President Obama suspended the mission pending a resolution to the revolution in the host nation.

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Photo: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was greeted by Col. John Shafer at Foward Operating Base Shukvani, Afghanistan, on March 14, 2012: AP Images