Al-Qaeda in Yemen and Somalia (Iran, middle east, Taliban, legal)
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From recent news reports, it looks like we are having a problem in Yemen. The Yemeni government does not have much control outside the cities. There is an insurgenancy in the north and attempts are being made to break the South away. Additionally, Al-Qaeda is operating in some of the rugged and remote areas of Yemen. Hence, a problem for the US.
Of course, the United States wants to chase down Al-Qaeda. I know the US will not invade Yemen, Yemen did not invite Al-Qaeda like the Taliban did. However, will the US soon provide a major military assistance package to Yemen to prevent further instability and to evict Al-Qaeda from Yemen? Like the assistance plan that the US provides Colombia to fight the war on drugs, will massive amounts of aid be provided to the Yemeni military and government?
What about Somalia as well? I doubt that the US wants to resent troops back into Somalia after the 1993 fiasco. However, will a plan come into place soon to beef up whatever exists of the legally recognized government of Somaila? (which in fact only controls a small part of Mogadishu, the Islamic warlords control most of the rest of Somalia Except for Puntland and Somaliland) I understand that these Islamic militants (I do believe they are called the Shabah) have connections to Al-Qaeda. But what is the US going to do within the next year or two about these two countries?
There is no Al Qaeda or any other terrorist network. There are only a few isolated extremists that were most likely at one point or another, held at Gitmo and now want revenge. Instead of going back to their peaceful lives as goat herders, they now want to kill some American infidels.
There is no Al Qaeda or any other terrorist network. There are only a few isolated extremists... Instead of going back to their peaceful lives as goat herders, they now want to kill some American infidels. Allahu Akbar
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.
Let's see here......
Yemen = USS Cole attack by AlQuada
Right across the strait, we have Somalia.
Somalia = Pirate attacks
Does one honestly believe that AlQuada, in Yemen, would sit idly by and let a little group of (the equivalent of) street thugs operate in their backyard?
Therefore, Pirates = AlQuada
The whole region is infested by these cockroaches
Maybe it is Al Qaeda, maybe it is more something akin to a civil war. I've seen more proof of the latter than the former.
It's a little of both: Al Qaeda, a civil war and some more.
There is a civil war happening in Yemen, make no doubt. Sunni vs Shia, Govt of Yemen vs Rebels.
But Nassir al Wahishi and former Gitmo detainee, Said Ali al Shihri, are not figments of someones over active imagination. They are the leaders of AQAP. Al Qaeda in Yeman and Saudi Arabia merged into Al Qaeda of the Arabian Penisula (AQAP). AQAP has bases to train foreign fighters in Yemen. you can find their ezine/propoganda mag, Sada al Malahim (echo of war) (http://ia341325.us.archive.org/3/items/SadaMalahem11/11.pdf - broken link), on any outstanding jiahdi forum.
The some more part comes into play as there are sources who state the president of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh (sunni), is working with al Qaeda (sunni) in his fight against the Houthi Rebels (shia) in the Saada War.
Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh reportedly struck a deal with Ayman al Zawahiri late last year. Zawahiri would supply Saleh with al Qaeda terrorists to aid the military’s efforts in the Saada War against northern Shiite rebels.
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.
It's a little of both: Al Qaeda, a civil war and some more.
There is a civil war happening in Yemen, make no doubt. Sunni vs Shia, Govt of Yemen vs Rebels.
But Nassir al Wahishi and former Gitmo detainee, Said Ali al Shihri, are not figments of someones over active imagination. They are the leaders of AQAP. Al Qaeda in Yeman and Saudi Arabia merged into Al Qaeda of the Arabian Penisula (AQAP). AQAP has bases to train foreign fighters in Yemen. you can find their ezine/propoganda mag, Sada al Malahim (echo of war) (http://ia341325.us.archive.org/3/items/SadaMalahem11/11.pdf - broken link), on any outstanding jiahdi forum.
The some more part comes into play as there are sources who state the president of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh (sunni), is working with al Qaeda (sunni) in his fight against the Houthi Rebels (shia) in the Saada War.
Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh reportedly struck a deal with Ayman al Zawahiri late last year. Zawahiri would supply Saleh with al Qaeda terrorists to aid the military’s efforts in the Saada War against northern Shiite rebels.
Saleh is a Zaydi Muslim, which is commonly referred to as a "Fiver" school of Shia Islam. However, Saleh's Zaydi "identity is one of culture and tradition rather than political allegiance" as he is a "non-Hashimi" Zaydi, or not a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, and Saleh would not have been eligible to rule under the Zaydi Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen that ruled the country until 1962.
I also found this most interesting as well.
Quote:
In December 2005, Saleh stated in a nationally-televised broadcast that only his personal intervention had preempted a U.S. occupation of the southern port of Aden after the 2000 USS Cole Bombing, stating "By chance, I happened to be down there. If I hadn’t been, Aden would have been occupied as there were eight U.S. warships at the entrance to the port."[10] However, transcripts from the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee state that no other warships were in the vicinity at the time
So we have a President who labeled the rebels as terrorist, Al Qaeda, and being proxies for Iran, or basically everything but the devil himself in order to garnish US support to stop the rebel uprising of the Zaydi sects which comprise about 30% of the Yemen population. At the same time, he announces to the people of Yemen that he prevented a full scale occupation by the United States in the wake of the USS Cole bombing. Seems this guy is trying to throw people both ends of the rope.
Quote:
Religion in Yemen consists primarily of two principal Islamic religious groups. 53% of the Muslim population is Sunni[54] and 47% is Shi'a.[55][54] Sunnis are primarily Shafi'i, but also include significant groups of Malikis, and Hanbalis. Shi'is are primarily Zaidis, and also have significant minorities of Twelver Shias[56] and Musta'ali Western Isma'ili Shias.
Another thing I noticed while reading up, Saudi Arabia banished some 180,000 Yemeni people when Yemen opposed the Gulf War in 1991. So it seems there is an over all anti-western sentiment among the people and as I pointed out earlier, this was also the sentiment that Osama Bin Laden was born of.
I think it is rather a jump to label this entirely an Al Qaeda uprising of sorts, as I think it is more of a rebel uprising of a population that generally doesn't want the United States in their country. I have no doubt that Al Qaeda types are in Yemen, but we seem to slap that label on any Arab that is willing to take up arms against the US for any reason. It plays well in our press and the notion of "fight them over there so we don't have to fight them here". Of course we are going to end up fighting them everywhere at this pace.
Yemen by any stretch is a mess and US involvement in my opinion would be a huge mistake. Sometimes we just have to let the boys on the playground figure it out for themselves, even if the kid that wins isn't our best buddy.
If I'm not mistaken, Ali Abdullah Shaleh is or was at least born into the Zaidi sect which is Shiia.
What an interesting conflagration, the Houthi Rebels are Zaidi too.
You have a Shia Zaidi president for life leading a Sunni gov't (Yemeni) against Shia Zaidi rebels and the president Shaleh (shia zaidi) is actively recruiting sunni Al Qaeda in the civil war against his former tribe.
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just saying we are being played
