A recent history of Yemen unrest. (Iran, Iraq, middle east, Afghanistan)
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I have notice more and more mention that Al Qaeda in Yemen is growing and is behind all the recent attacks and bombings, and meanwhile, I haven't seen a single news piece in our media that has explained the history of this unrest.
A man named Hussein Badr al-Din al-Huthi (Al Huthi) who is a Zaidi, Zaidi is a branch of Shiism formed around Sa’ada in the north of Yemen formed in about 900AD. He was apparently for a time, a MP for the al Haqq party in the Yemen government to represent the Zaydi community. They have been particular by vocal about denouncing Salafism, the puritanical strain of Islam dominant in Saudi Arabia which considers Zaidis heretics. So Al Huthi, disillusioned with his lack of influence in the Yemen government decided to form a group called, “The Believing Youth” and challenge the government for what it considered getting too cozy with the United States and the west.
In 2003, the Yemen government began to claim that Al Huthi was inciting the youth and the 30% of the population that makes up the Zaidi with money, but he denied it and claimed he was loyal to the government. At this point, he broke off ties with the government and by 2004 started the Sa’ada conflict.
As the conflict grew in size and intensity, the government labeled Al Huthi as a terrorist and accused them of threatening the Jewish community in Sa’ada, planning attacks against the West, plotting to kidnap diplomats and westerners, trying to establish a breakaway state – and all with the implicit backing of Iran. However, there hasn't been evidence to support this and has been considered a conflict over local grievances and treatment of the Zaydi community. Many of this community remain in prominent positions in the Yemen government today.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is himself Zaidi has vowed to crush the local rebellion and amid the growing conflict has sought to bring in as much support as he can by claiming the Huthi have ties with Iran and Al Qaeda, and the western press has been more than happy to oblige.
Hard to predict the future of this but it hardly started out as some Al Qaeda movement and what is even more perplexing is that in this case the United States has its support behind a more extremist sect of Shiism in order to quash the more moderate but nationalistic sect of Zaidi, because today, it is playing ball with us. I can't help but be reminded of our supporting the most fanatical of the Mujahideen in our efforts to rid Afghanistan of the Soviets to one day be bitten in a big way.
So far, the nation of Oman has been brought in twice to help mediate a settlement in this conflict but with little to show for it. So once again we are witnessing an event that very well may have greater implications in the long run. Personally I see the US unable to resist intervention, even if 30% of the population of Yemen support these people. We will label 30% of the people terrorist which will probably tick off and even larger percentage of this very conservative Muslim nation and yet another all new crop of little Bin Ladens will be born to further perpetuate a slowly escalating conflict in the Greater Middle East.
Great article and if I didn't know better, I would think Glenn has been reading Bacevich.
This passage is one that has from time to time echoed despite sharp denouncement from the hawks.
There very well may be some small number of individuals who are so blinded by religious extremism that they will be devoted to random violence against civilians no matter what we do, but we are constantly maximizing the pool of recruits and sympathy among the population on which they depend. In other words, what we do constantly bolsters their efforts, and when we do, we always seem to move more in the direction of helping them even further. Ultimately, we should ask ourselves: if we drop more bombs on more Muslim countries, will there be fewer or more Muslims who want to blow up our airplanes and are willing to end their lives to do so? That question really answers itself.
I have notice more and more mention that Al Qaeda in Yemen is growing and is behind all the recent attacks and bombings, and meanwhile, I haven't seen a single news piece in our media that has explained the history of this unrest.
A man named Hussein Badr al-Din al-Huthi (Al Huthi) who is a Zaidi, Zaidi is a branch of Shiism formed around Sa’ada in the north of Yemen formed in about 900AD. He was apparently for a time, a MP for the al Haqq party in the Yemen government to represent the Zaydi community. They have been particular by vocal about denouncing Salafism, the puritanical strain of Islam dominant in Saudi Arabia which considers Zaidis heretics. So Al Huthi, disillusioned with his lack of influence in the Yemen government decided to form a group called, “The Believing Youth” and challenge the government for what it considered getting too cozy with the United States and the west.
In 2003, the Yemen government began to claim that Al Huthi was inciting the youth and the 30% of the population that makes up the Zaidi with money, but he denied it and claimed he was loyal to the government. At this point, he broke off ties with the government and by 2004 started the Sa’ada conflict.
As the conflict grew in size and intensity, the government labeled Al Huthi as a terrorist and accused them of threatening the Jewish community in Sa’ada, planning attacks against the West, plotting to kidnap diplomats and westerners, trying to establish a breakaway state – and all with the implicit backing of Iran. However, there hasn't been evidence to support this and has been considered a conflict over local grievances and treatment of the Zaydi community. Many of this community remain in prominent positions in the Yemen government today.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is himself Zaidi has vowed to crush the local rebellion and amid the growing conflict has sought to bring in as much support as he can by claiming the Huthi have ties with Iran and Al Qaeda, and the western press has been more than happy to oblige.
Hard to predict the future of this but it hardly started out as some Al Qaeda movement and what is even more perplexing is that in this case the United States has its support behind a more extremist sect of Shiism in order to quash the more moderate but nationalistic sect of Zaidi, because today, it is playing ball with us. I can't help but be reminded of our supporting the most fanatical of the Mujahideen in our efforts to rid Afghanistan of the Soviets to one day be bitten in a big way.
So far, the nation of Oman has been brought in twice to help mediate a settlement in this conflict but with little to show for it. So once again we are witnessing an event that very well may have greater implications in the long run. Personally I see the US unable to resist intervention, even if 30% of the population of Yemen support these people. We will label 30% of the people terrorist which will probably tick off and even larger percentage of this very conservative Muslim nation and yet another all new crop of little Bin Ladens will be born to further perpetuate a slowly escalating conflict in the Greater Middle East.
The only way the U.S. would succeed in taking down Al-Qaeda is by making the yemeni government search house to house, act nice towards locals, unless they try to resist violently, at the sametime they offer them roads, schools, money, etc. They should give it 6 months to a year. This is the only way Al-Qaeda will be weakend.
The U.S. made a really huge mistake by ordering the Yemeni government to bomb two villages which killed 67 people in total, 17 of them were women, and 23 children. This attack only drove more people to support Al-Qaeda and even join the group. Because the southerners already wants to seperate from the north, and on top of that the government they hate comes and strikes against them, then things would just get worse, nothing would improve.
The war on terrorism is quicksand. The more you try to fight terrorists, the deeper and dirtier you get.
War is the only perpetual motion machine I know of that works.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrhman92
The only way the U.S. would succeed in taking down Al-Qaeda is by making the yemeni government search house to house, act nice towards locals, unless they try to resist violently, at the sametime they offer them roads, schools, money, etc. They should give it 6 months to a year. This is the only way Al-Qaeda will be weakend.
The U.S. made a really huge mistake by ordering the Yemeni government to bomb two villages which killed 67 people in total, 17 of them were women, and 23 children. This attack only drove more people to support Al-Qaeda and even join the group. Because the southerners already wants to seperate from the north, and on top of that the government they hate comes and strikes against them, then things would just get worse, nothing would improve.
We are assuming that Al Qaeda is behind much of this or has a large presence in Yemen. If we turn to American and western media sources, this is their conclusion, but if one reads news from the region, we find that this began as a civil war in which the king labeled the rebels as Al Qaeda in order to garnish support from the US. We seem to have a propensity to slap an Al Qaeda label on any group or persons we deem a threat in the Middle East for obvious reasons, it works.
not only is our government expanding war operations in other countries, it is expanding financial aid:
A U.S. military commander said on Friday the United States will more than double its nearly $70 million miliatry assistance program for Yemen.
"We have, it's well known, about $70 million in security assistance last year. That will more than double this coming year," General David Petraeus, the head of the U.S. Central Command, said at a news conference in Baghdad.
The Pentagon's main publicly disclosed military program for Yemen grew from $4.6 million in fiscal 2006 to $67 million in fiscal 2009. That figure does not include covert, classified assistance that the United States has provided.
america has to quit giving away its money to other countries. we have continually thrown money at other countries and where has it gotten us? ARE WE SAFER NOW?!
DOES ANYONE THINK WE SHOULD BE THROWING MORE MONEY AT YEMEN?
Last edited by floridasandy; 01-10-2010 at 05:46 AM..
not only is our government expanding war operations in other countries, it is expanding financial aid:
A U.S. military commander said on Friday the United States will more than double its nearly $70 million miliatry assistance program for Yemen.
"We have, it's well known, about $70 million in security assistance last year. That will more than double this coming year," General David Petraeus, the head of the U.S. Central Command, said at a news conference in Baghdad.
The Pentagon's main publicly disclosed military program for Yemen grew from $4.6 million in fiscal 2006 to $67 million in fiscal 2009. That figure does not include covert, classified assistance that the United States has provided.
america has to quit giving away its money to other countries. we have continually thrown money at other countries and where has it gotten us? ARE WE SAFER NOW?!
DOES ANYONE THINK WE SHOULD BE THROWING MORE MONEY AT YEMEN?
To be honest, the yemeni government right now are happy with all the aid they get, because right now they're limiting the citizens freedoms, they arrest journalists, they crack down on anything that opposes the government, but they accuse all of these things to be with Al-Qaeda just so the U.S. does not say anything to them.
To be honest, the yemeni government right now are happy with all the aid they get, because right now they're limiting the citizens freedoms, they arrest journalists, they crack down on anything that opposes the government, but they accuse all of these things to be with Al-Qaeda just so the U.S. does not say anything to them.
There's about $5 billion in pipeline investments made to Yemen last year (7/2009-9/2009) by the IMF and other banks.
If the current Yemen government is overthrown that invesment goes *poof* and the money is lost.
The bankers want their investment protected.
Yet again..it's all about the oil.
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