when it was actually on 12/18, the week BEFORE the 12/25 attack?

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/cruise-missiles-strike-yemen/story?id=9375236

Obama Ordered U.S. Military Strike on Yemen Terrorists
“On orders from President Barack Obama, the U.S. military launched cruise missiles early Thursday against two suspected al-Qaeda sites in Yemen, administration officials told ABC News in a report broadcast on ABC World News with Charles Gibson.

“One of the targeted sites was a suspected al Qaeda training camp north of the capitol, Sanaa, and the second target was a location where officials said “an imminent attack against a U.S. asset was being planned.”
”

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/12/18/launched-missile-strikes-al-qaeda-yemen-sources-say/

U.S. Launched Missile Strikes on Al Qaeda in Yemen, Sources Say
“The U.S. has launched two missile strikes against Al Qaeda targets in Yemen, two U.S. officials told Fox News, signaling an escalation of the Obama administration’s fight against the terrorist organization.

“The politically sensitive strikes Thursday, first reported by ABC News, supplement efforts already under way by the government of Yemen to go after Al Qaeda in the country…”

http://www.islamidavet.com/english/2009/12/19/obama-ordered-deadly-blitz-on-yemen-us-media/

Obama ordered deadly blitz on Yemen: US media
“US Nobel Peace Prize laureate President Barack Obama has signed the order for a recent military strike on Yemen in which scores of civilians, including children, have been killed, a report says.

“Upon the orders of Obama, the military warplanes on Thursday blanketed two camps in the North of the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, claiming there were “an imminent attack against a US asset was being planned,” ABC News quoted anonymous administration officials as saying on Friday.

“Obama also contacted Yemen’s President, Ali Abdullah Saleh, after the blitz in order to “congratulate” him on his efforts against ‘al-Qaeda,’ the US news outlet quoted White House officials as telling reporters earlier. ”

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091228/ap_on_re_us/us_airliner_attack

Al-Qaida in Yemen claims attack on US airliner
” Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula has claimed responsibility for the attempted attack on a U.S. airliner on Christmas day, saying it was retaliation for a U.S. operation against the group in Yemen.”