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Syndicated News from YemenYemen a Major Part of Any Effort to Close GuantanamoDate Added: Thu, 23 May 2013 01:14:50 GMT
The Optimist's Case for YemenDate Added: Wed, 22 May 2013 15:58:48 GMT
Stephanie Sinclair's best photograph: child brides in YemenDate Added: Wed, 22 May 2013 15:30:03 GMT
Drone strikes killed American citizens in Yemen, PakistanDate Added: Thu, 23 May 2013 02:19:52 GMT
At least three journalists abducted in YemenDate Added: Wed, 22 May 2013 21:54:59 GMT
Yemen arms smuggling threatens nation'sDate Added: Wed, 22 May 2013 18:32:49 GMT
US stands by Yemen, Kerry saysDate Added: Wed, 22 May 2013 13:51:14 GMT
Yemen: 3 Red Cross workers, 2 Egyptians releasedDate Added: Thu, 23 May 2013 03:44:52 GMT
If Hadi wants Yemen whole, he must talk to the SouthDate Added: Thu, 23 May 2013 08:23:45 GMT
Constitution of the Republic of Yemen, 1990Date Added: Thu, 23 May 2013 09:02:45 GMT
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Yemen HeadlinesResults Page:YEMENI COALITION BREAK COULD POSE DANGER FOR U.S. FORCESDate Added: Wednesday, September 18th, 2002Contributed by: RCN Administrator
Washington reportedly is expanding its military presence in Yemen this week, stationing 800 personnel -- including hundreds of Special Operations forces -- in Djibouti to carry out the hunt for alleged al Qaeda members in Yemen, the New York Times reported Sept. 18. According to the BBC, Pentagon officials confirmed the deployment but did not comment on an alleged mission.
The heavy U.S. military presence, -- including the dispatch earlier this year of Special Forces troops to train Yemeni soldiers in counterterrorism -- and the growing cooperation between Sanaa and Washington, is straining Yemen’s governing coalition. The leader of opposition coalition member Islah recently warned that its ties with the ruling People’s Congress Party (MSA) are deteriorating. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Hussein al-Ahmar -- the chairman of Islah, parliamentary speaker and head of the Hashid tribal confederation -- accused the ruling party of using money to scare opposition members and weaken his party, Arabicnews.com reported Sept. 18. Al-Ahmar’s accusation could signal a brewing power struggle between the central government and its tribal allies. Tribal politics define Yemen’s political landscape, with various tribes holding sway over different territories. Islah represents Islamist factions of the powerful Hashid tribal confederation based in northwest Yemen. The Hashidis have many alliances, including among tribes in southern Yemen, while the tribal chieftain also reportedly has close ties to both Saudi Arabia and radical Islamist groups. Islah in the past has been associated with al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden through Sheikh Abdul-Majeed al-Zindani, the leader of the party’s militant wing. Zindani reportedly helped set up al Qaeda training camps for bin Laden in Yemen. President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s government controls only a narrow portion of the country centered largely near the capital. Its ability to project power into the countryside is dependent in part on its cooperation with outlying tribes. The political climate could deteriorate rapidly should Islah leave the coalition, with the ruling party retaining control of Sanaa and not much else. A breakdown in cooperation between the president’s party and Islah could result in open warfare between the government and the tribes. This would leave any American military forces operating in the country stuck in the middle of a low-grade civil war and even more vulnerable to attacks from radicals. U.S. forces also could be subject to misinformation and betrayals by Islah supporters in the central government. The Yemeni government -- backed by the United States -- already is concentrating its military forces and conducting sweeps in the northwest provinces such as al Jawf. Ostensibly, the operations are intended to root out suspected al Qaeda members who fled to Yemen after the Taliban lost control of Afghanistan. But Saleh also is exploiting U.S. support in order to weaken the power of the tribes in the northwest, including rivals in the Hashid tribe with which he is connected. The expected U.S. operations reportedly could concentrate on search-and-destroy missions along the northwest Yemeni-southwest Saudi border and could lead to the detention of key tribal leaders or the taking of tribal territory. For the moment Islah is concentrating solely on its political position in Sanaa and the chance for expanding its representation in Parliament in elections scheduled for next year. Islah holds 54 seats in the 301-seat body, while Saleh’s ruling MSA holds the vast majority with 187 seats. It is likely to maintain its majority in 2003. Islah may be simply posturing in the run up to elections, trying to wheedle concessions and assistance out of its coalition partner. However, radical members of the opposition staunchly reject the government’s cooperation with the United States. As that cooperation expands, and U.S.-backed military operations and the upcoming election campaign further raise tensions, Islah may find itself facing the choice of either fracturing or leaving the government. Either case would spell trouble for Sanaa -- and Washington.Results Page: MISSION CONFLICT PUTS U.S. SECURITY AT RISK IN YEMENDate Added: Sunday, August 18th, 2002Contributed by: RCN Administrator
U.S. Ambassador to Yemen Edmund Hull has stirred up a diplomatic controversy in the Arabian Peninsula state by reportedly meeting with local tribal chieftains in the oil-rich Marib province. Hull’s meetings with local leaders triggered reported statements of "regret" -- diplomatic code for disapproval -- by officials in Sanaa and the governor of Marib province.
The ambassador’s trip may be nothing more than a public relations effort by the U.S. government to improve ties with local tribes in Marib, where al Qaeda members are alleged to have hidden. It also could be an effort to circumvent the government of Yemen’s president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, in order to cut a deal with locals that will help ensure greater security for U.S. commercial assets in the province. Whatever the motive, Hull’s actions have antagonized this important U.S. ally, and this could make it harder for the U.S. military to work with Yemeni security forces toward ridding the country of Islamist radical groups, including al Qaeda. Yemen, located strategically on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula and just south of Saudi Arabia, offers an excellent point of departure for policing the Red and Arabian seas. Help from the government in Sanaa and the Yemeni military is critical if the United States hopes to root out al Qaeda from the country and the region. Equally important for U.S. security, Hull’s actions also may reveal a lack of coordination between a variety of U.S. institutions -- in this case, Special Operations, Central Command, the State Department, CIA, FBI and national security agencies -- all directing policy or conducting operations in Yemen. Each of these groups has a different mission, agenda, set of policy programs and command hierarchy. The situation in Yemen is a classic case of mission conflict that could eventually be seen throughout the emerging American empire, especially in time of war, when security often subsumes diplomacy. Hull traveled to Marib province Aug. 13 to lay the cornerstone for a new health center in Medghil al-Jedaan and to visit the Presidential Hospital in Marib City, which the U.S.-based Hunt Oil Co. funds in part. Marib is home to one of the country’s largest oil fields and is an operational hub for Hunt, whose assets there include a refinery and a pipeline. Hull’s visit, however, raised hackles in Sanaa when he met with local tribal chieftains. Quoting unnamed Yemeni sources, ArabicNews.com reported that the visit was made without prior coordination with Yemeni authorities. The report also said Yemeni papers were describing Hull as acting less like an ambassador and more like a "high commissioner," a British official responsible for administering a colony. The U.S. military is working desperately to build a cooperative and coordinated relationship with Yemeni security forces. Already the U.S. military has provided training for Yemen’s security forces in counterterrorism methods. The United States also is helping to establish a coast guard base in Aden port that will be used in providing security against threats posed to U.S. warships refueling there. Without such cooperation, the U.S. military would either be unable to use the port as a refueling stop or may be subject to another attack like the October 2000 bombing of the U.S.S. Cole that killed 17 U.S. sailors. Hull’s visit no doubt advanced Washington’s diplomatic agenda in Yemen, but it also suggests a lack of coordination between U.S. security officials. This type of confusion among U.S. agencies operating abroad in time of war is a formula for chaos. |
