The Yemeni state collapsed, leaving the ground for militant groups that turned the country into a ruin. Kais Al-Iriani is an independent researcher from Yemen. While in the USA, he advocated for peace in Yemen. In Canada, he continues his studies in conflict and advocacy for peace. In he cofounded the Friends of Yemen Organization, an initiative that aims to bring awareness and help Yemeni people. The unrest in Yemen has affected many basic services -- including power and water -- and brought an already feeble economy close to collapse.
That matters beyond Yemen: It could prompt an exodus of desperate people and help feed an insurgency that thrives in a vacuum.
Already, hundreds of people try to get into Saudi Arabia illegally every day. And if outside powers want to prevent a total collapse of the Yemeni economy, they will need deep pockets. You only have to look at the list of detainees at Guantanamo Bay to know that Yemen has been a fruitful recruiting ground for al Qaeda. The great majority of the prisoners listed in recently published detainee assessments were Yemenis.
Back in the s, most of Osama bin Laden's bodyguards were recruited from Yemen. Radical imams and other recruiters in Yemen provided money and made travel arrangements for would-be jihadists. Some of the al Qaeda sympathizers arrested in Yemen and many were not escaped in a spectacular jail break in In recent years, Yemen has become a haven for a variety of jihadists who have gravitated to a growing al Qaeda affiliate with a flair for self-publicity and innovative bomb plots.
They have included several U. Among recent terror plots hatched in Yemen:. He hid high explosives in his underwear. The devices appeared designed to explode as the planes approached or arrived at their U. Neither exploded, but forensic investigators and counterterrorism sources have said that their assembly was sophisticated; and despite intelligence supplied by the Saudis, they were difficult to locate among the thousands of packages carried by air every day.
The plot set off a massive hunt for packages that might have originated in Yemen. Yemen was also home to one of the most charismatic of al Qaeda's new generation, the English-speaking cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who was killed in a U.
There are signs that the current unrest, with government forces now focused on combating Saleh's opponents, is allowing al Qaeda and other militant groups greater latitude, especially in the south. Several hundred militants took over the southern coastal city of Zinjibar in June. Should the elite Central Security Force be dragged into what is virtually a civil war, and away from its counterterrorism role, al Qaeda's breathing space in Yemen will be all the greater. There is only one candidate on the ballot, Vice President Hadi, the acting president since November Hadi receives February 25, - Hadi is sworn in as president.
May 21, - During a rehearsal for a military parade in Sanaa, a suicide bomber kills more than Yemeni troops and wounds more than There are delays, however, that hold up delivery of the funds, according to Reuters. December 5, - Militants attack a Defense Ministry hospital in Sanaa.
They ram the building with an explosives-laden vehicle and gunmen battle security forces inside. At least 52 people are killed, including four foreign doctors, according to the government. December 15, - Parliament calls for an end to drone strikes on its territory three days after a US missile attack mistakenly hits a wedding convoy, killing 14 civilians.
February 10, - State news reports that Hadi has approved making Yemen a federal state consisting of six regions: two in the south, and four in the north. Sanaa is designated as neutral territory. September 21, - Hadi, Houthi rebels and representatives of major political parties sign a ceasefire deal.
The United Nations -brokered deal ends a month of protests by Houthis that essentially halted life in Sanaa and resulted in hundreds of people being killed or injured. He is released 10 days later, according to Reuters. January 20, - Houthi rebels take over the presidential palace. January 22, - President Hadi resigns shortly after the prime minister and the cabinet step down. Houthis say they will withdraw their fighters from Sanaa if the government agrees to constitutional changes including fair representation for marginalized groups within the country.
No agreement is reached. March 20, - Terrorists bomb two mosques in Sanaa, killing at least and wounding ISIS claims responsibility for the attack.
March 22, - Houthi rebels seize the international airport in Taiz. December 6, - The governor of the city of Aden and six bodyguards are killed in a car bombing. ISIS claims responsibility. Moreover, Reuters reports that Egypt, Jordan, and Sudan have said they have forces involved in the operation; that Sudan has pledged ground troops and warplanes; and that Pakistan is considering a Saudi request to send ground forces. Some reports say that Morocco will send combat aircraft as well.
The United States has already said it would give logistical and intelligence support, but the situation in Yemen may well come to require more than that, and some kind of U.
Once again, the United States is finding out that calling for strategic partnership is not a way of avoiding its role as a world power.
One cannot establish partnerships without being a partner. To put Yemen in a broader strategic context, the crisis in Yemen is only part of the U. Any nuclear agreement will not affect the need for close cooperation between the United States, Saudi Arabia and other key members of the Gulf Cooperation Council GCC in dealing with the broader and active threat Iran poses in terms of conventional forces, asymmetric warfare, missiles, and strategic influence in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and the Gaza Strip.
At the same time, Yemen is of major strategic importance to the United States, as is the broader stability of Saudi Arabia all of the Arab Gulf states. For all of the talk of U. The increase in petroleum and alternative fuels outside the Gulf has not changed its vital strategic importance to the global and U. The GCC members excluding Bahrain produced The Energy Information Administration EIA also reported in November that an average of million barrels worth of oil a day passed through the Strait of Hormuz, and that:.
The Strait of Hormuz and Continued U. Dependence on the Stable flow of Oil Exports. There are only a limited number of functioning pipelines that provide alternative export routes.
They have limited capacity and most are currently operating to their present capacity or under serious military threat. The EIA reported in November that:. These petroleum exports play a critical role in providing energy to key global economies like China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, as well as in limiting the global price of oil, gas, and petroleum products. They also affect the global price of oil and petroleum products in regards of where they come from, and the health of a global economy where every business and job in the United States is steadily becoming more dependent on the flow of imports and exports.
0コメント