The U.S. has put the Arab state of Yemen at the center of renewed counter-terrorism efforts in the aftermath of the attempted bombing of a U.S.-bound jet, dispatching a top U.S. general to the region and embarking on cooperative efforts with Britain. A senior administration official said Saturday Gen. David Petraeus, who oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, was in Yemen Saturday "as part of our ongoing consultations with and efforts in support of Yemen. We have made Yemen a priority over the course of this year, and this is the latest in that effort." The official called the visit "productive." Gen. Petraeus met with Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh. After, he briefed Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Adviser for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism John Brennan on the visit Saturday. Mr. Brennan in turn briefed President Barack Obama. In a related move, the U.K. said it and U.S. will co-fund a special counter-terrorism police unit in Yemen, underscoring the countries' increasing focus on the Middle Eastern country following the attempt to down Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on Christmas day. The Yemeni branch of al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the attempted attack. A senior administration official said the British statement "refers to programs already in place wherein US and UK provide assistance to Yemeni police for counter-terrorism purposes." The U.S. plans to than double its counterterrorism support to Yemen next year, from $67 million this year to as much as $190 million in 2010. Publicly disclosed Pentagon counter-terrorism funding for Yemen grew from $4.6 million in fiscal 2006 to $67 million in fiscal 2009. Funding for classified intelligence work in the country is not included in that figure. In his weekly radio address Saturday morning, the president made clear Yemen would be a key front in the administration's counter-terrorism agenda, and sought the help of U.S. allies. He drew a direct link between the Dec. 25 attempted bombing of a U.S.-bound airliner and the al Qaeda affiliate in the country, tracing the suspect's travels to Yemen, where he received training in terrorism techniques. "As President, I've made it a priority to strengthen our partnership with the Yemeni government-training and equipping their security forces, sharing intelligence and working with them to strike al Qaeda terrorists," Mr. Obama said in the Saturday address. Even before the Christmas Day bomb plot, the U.S. has been actively aiding the Yemeni government combat militants operating in the country. Two missile strikes earlier in the month targeted al Qaeda leaders in the country and a radical cleric tied to both the Fort Hood shootings and the attack on the Northwestern flight. Gen. Petraeus's visit and the U.K. announcement is the culmination intensified planning on how to stem the growth of extremism in the troubled Arab state. On Dec. 29, Mr. Brennan spoke with Yemen's President Saleh about "our shared interest in fighting extremism, including [al Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula] which threatens not just Yemen but America," an administration official said. On Saturday British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the plot reminded the world of "a major new base for terrorism" in Yemen. In a written statement, Downing Street said the U.K. and U.S. have agreed to "intensify joint US-UK work to tackle the emerging terrorist threat from both Yemen and Somalia." The countries have agreed to fund and train a counter-terrorism police unit and support the Yemeni coastguard operation. A Downing Street spokesman declined to offer further details and said it was too early to say whether this is extra cash above the 100 million the U.K., which is already training Yemeni counter-terrorism officials, has already earmarked for Yemen till 2011. Downing Street said Messrs. Brown and Obama will argue at the United Nations Security Council for a larger peacekeeping force in Somalia and that Mr. Brown will put Somalia and Yemen on the agenda of for a January meeting of the European Union's General Affairs Council. The U.K. announcement follows a flurry of other Yemen related announcements in recent days from Downing Street. The suspect airline bomber studied at a London University from 2005 to 2008 and is thought by U.S. law enforcement officials to have begun his road to radicalization in the U.K. The U.K. also sees itself as being a big target for terrorist attack, given its involvement in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. On Friday, Downing Street said that Mr. Brown has invited national leaders to a conference on Jan. 28 in London to discuss countering radicalization in Yemen. Downing Street said the conference has the support of the White House and the European Union and the U.K. is now trying to secure the support of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries. The meeting will look at issues such as training of Yemeni forces and in encouraging economic, social and political reform in the country. Next week the Mr. Brown will call a special meeting of the National Security, International Relations and Development (NSID) Cabinet committee, nicknamed the war cabinet by the British press, to discuss the U.K.'s response to the attempted airline attack. This committee oversees U.K. security issues and brings together senior politicians with security and military chiefs.(WSJ)