"What we increasingly have to do is figure out how to help countries that need our assistance but can't necessarily be seen as accepting that assistance in a very visible way," US Army Chief of Staff General George Casey said in remarks at the Brookings Institution, a think-tank.

"I think the successes we've had recently in Yemen demonstrate a way to do that. Again we have to be careful in thinking we can go in and take over everybody's problems and solve them," he said.

His comments came as US officials praised Yemen's recent crackdown against Al-Qaeda and after a Washington Post report said US special forces and intelligence officers were deeply involved in the manhunts.

Casey said Saudi officials have advised against deploying large numbers of US ground troops in Yemen as it could trigger popular anger and hand a propaganda victory to Islamist extremists.

"I was in Saudi Arabia just last week and I was told it would not be a good thing -- this is the view of the Saudi officials -- to put US boots on the ground in Yemen because it would attract more jihadists and it could possibly turn the tribes against us," the general said.

Yemeni officials have warned against any high-profile US military presence in their country, with Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Kurbi saying last week that sending in Western troops would only fuel terrorism.

The Pentagon said Wednesday that the military has provided financial assistance, training and advice to help Yemen counter extremist threats and that President Barack Obama's administration stood ready to do more if asked.

According to The Washington Post, the administration has deployed several dozen troops from the US Joint Special Operations Command and shared sensitive intelligence to help the Yemenis kill six of 15 leaders of Al-Qaeda's regional branch there.

The US focus on Yemen has intensified since a thwarted attempt to bring down a US-bound airliner on Christmas Day, allegedly by a Nigerian man trained in Yemen by Al-Qaeda's regional branch.

Asked about Al-Qaeda's global recruitment efforts, Casey said the network was "still a challenge but I wouldn't characterize it as growing in a pronounced way."

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