iHaveNet.com
World - Limited Options for United States in Yemen | Yemen
  • HOME
  • WORLD
    • Africa
    • Asia Pacific
    • Balkans
    • Caucasas
    • Central Asia
    • Eastern Europe
    • Europe
    • Indian Subcontinent
    • Latin America
    • Middle East
    • North Africa
    • Scandinavia
    • Southeast Asia
    • United Kingdom
    • United States
    • Argentina
    • Australia
    • Austria
    • Benelux
    • Brazil
    • Canada
    • China
    • France
    • Germany
    • Greece
    • Hungary
    • India
    • Indonesia
    • Ireland
    • Israel
    • Italy
    • Japan
    • Korea
    • Mexico
    • New Zealand
    • Pakistan
    • Philippines
    • Poland
    • Russia
    • South Africa
    • Spain
    • Taiwan
    • Turkey
    • United States
  • USA
    • ECONOMICS
    • EDUCATION
    • ENVIRONMENT
    • FOREIGN POLICY
    • POLITICS
    • OPINION
    • TRADE
    • Atlanta
    • Baltimore
    • Bay Area
    • Boston
    • Chicago
    • Cleveland
    • DC Area
    • Dallas
    • Denver
    • Detroit
    • Houston
    • Los Angeles
    • Miami
    • New York
    • Philadelphia
    • Phoenix
    • Pittsburgh
    • Portland
    • San Diego
    • Seattle
    • Silicon Valley
    • Saint Louis
    • Tampa
    • Twin Cities
  • BUSINESS
    • FEATURES
    • eBUSINESS
    • HUMAN RESOURCES
    • MANAGEMENT
    • MARKETING
    • ENTREPRENEUR
    • SMALL BUSINESS
    • STOCK MARKETS
    • Agriculture
    • Airline
    • Auto
    • Beverage
    • Biotech
    • Book
    • Broadcast
    • Cable
    • Chemical
    • Clothing
    • Construction
    • Defense
    • Durable
    • Engineering
    • Electronics
    • Firearms
    • Food
    • Gaming
    • Healthcare
    • Hospitality
    • Leisure
    • Logistics
    • Metals
    • Mining
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Newspaper
    • Nondurable
    • Oil & Gas
    • Packaging
    • Pharmaceutic
    • Plastics
    • Real Estate
    • Retail
    • Shipping
    • Sports
    • Steelmaking
    • Textiles
    • Tobacco
    • Transportation
    • Travel
    • Utilities
  • WEALTH
    • CAREERS
    • INVESTING
    • PERSONAL FINANCE
    • REAL ESTATE
    • MARKETS
    • BUSINESS
  • STOCKS
    • ECONOMY
    • EMERGING MARKETS
    • STOCKS
    • FED WATCH
    • TECH STOCKS
    • BIOTECHS
    • COMMODITIES
    • MUTUAL FUNDS / ETFs
    • MERGERS / ACQUISITIONS
    • IPOs
    • 3M (MMM)
    • AT&T (T)
    • AIG (AIG)
    • Alcoa (AA)
    • Altria (MO)
    • American Express (AXP)
    • Apple (AAPL)
    • Bank of America (BAC)
    • Boeing (BA)
    • Caterpillar (CAT)
    • Chevron (CVX)
    • Cisco (CSCO)
    • Citigroup (C)
    • Coca Cola (KO)
    • Dell (DELL)
    • DuPont (DD)
    • Eastman Kodak (EK)
    • ExxonMobil (XOM)
    • FedEx (FDX)
    • General Electric (GE)
    • General Motors (GM)
    • Google (GOOG)
    • Hewlett-Packard (HPQ)
    • Home Depot (HD)
    • Honeywell (HON)
    • IBM (IBM)
    • Intel (INTC)
    • Int'l Paper (IP)
    • JP Morgan Chase (JPM)
    • J & J (JNJ)
    • McDonalds (MCD)
    • Merck (MRK)
    • Microsoft (MSFT)
    • P & G (PG)
    • United Tech (UTX)
    • Wal-Mart (WMT)
    • Walt Disney (DIS)
  • TECH
    • ADVANCED
    • FEATURES
    • INTERNET
    • INTERNET FEATURES
    • CYBERCULTURE
    • eCOMMERCE
    • mp3
    • SECURITY
    • GAMES
    • HANDHELD
    • SOFTWARE
    • PERSONAL
    • WIRELESS
  • HEALTH
    • AGING
    • ALTERNATIVE
    • AILMENTS
    • DRUGS
    • FITNESS
    • GENETICS
    • CHILDREN'S
    • MEN'S
    • WOMEN'S
  • LIFESTYLE
    • AUTOS
    • HOBBIES
    • EDUCATION
    • FAMILY
    • FASHION
    • FOOD
    • HOME DECOR
    • RELATIONSHIPS
    • PARENTING
    • PETS
    • TRAVEL
    • WOMEN
  • ENTERTAINMENT
    • BOOKS
    • TELEVISION
    • MUSIC
    • THE ARTS
    • MOVIES
    • CULTURE
  • SPORTS
    • BASEBALL
    • BASKETBALL
    • COLLEGES
    • FOOTBALL
    • GOLF
    • HOCKEY
    • OLYMPICS
    • SOCCER
    • TENNIS
  • Subscribe to RSS Feeds EMAIL ALERT Subscriptions from iHaveNet.com RSS
    • RSS | Politics
    • RSS | Recipes
    • RSS | NFL Football
    • RSS | Movie Reviews
Limited Options for United States in Yemen
Jessica Rettig

HOME > WORLD

 

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

 

The transition to a post-Saleh Yemen remains hazy

After months of protests and violence triggered by the region's Arab Spring, Yemen's best hope for change came with an explosion on June 3 that injured the nation's President Ali Abdullah Saleh and sent him to neighboring Saudi Arabia for treatment.

However, uncertainty remains over what Saleh's recent departure really means and how it could affect his country's future.

Yemen's state-run newspaper reported that Saleh's condition is "good and improving" as he remains in Saudi Arabia to receive medical treatment for injuries he sustained in the recent attack. Officials in his regime insist he'll return, but in the meantime, Saleh's absence could mark a closing window of opportunity for the international community and Yemen's opposition parties to redirect the governance of the nation. "If [Saleh] returns, you're going to see a hardening of positions on all sides," says Ken Gude, a national security expert from the left-leaning Center for American Progress, a Washington, D.C. think tank. "We have to take advantage of this period while he's out and the vice president is at least nominally in charge to see if we can't get this transition process going."

Many onlookers guess that despite official government reports, Saleh's injuries may have marked the end to his nearly 33-year rule in Yemen. Still, even out of office, his influence remains, as his family members comprise the country's top ranks and his network of supporters permeates the society. Not to mention, the acting ruler, Vice President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi, is also on his team and has so far been unwilling to do anything substantial until Saleh returns. This includes signing a deal, brokered by the six regional member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council, for Saleh to step down.

Stability in Yemen plays into U.S. national security concerns in a number of ways. For one, the failing Yemeni state could provide a safe haven for terrorist groups like al Qaeda to flourish. The Christmas Day bombing attempt on a Northwest Airlines flight in 2009, which was believed to have roots in Yemen, is one event that has drawn attention to the homeland threat posed by terrorist operatives there, for example. U.S. military forces have recently revived airstrike campaigns against militants linked to al Qaeda in the southern part of the country.

A weakened political environment in Yemen could also harm international shipping in the region's seas as it gives rise to piracy.

But what the U.S. Congress and President Obama can do in the Yemen is limited given the internal uncertainties about a post-Saleh regime. Many of the major problems, namely economic issues, predate the recent developments in the region. "It would be wrong for the United States to simply view Yemen through the lens of a security threat or a terrorism threat," Gude says. "For us to gain credibility with the Yemeni people, we have to start addressing the problems that are at the top of their list, which is a collapsing economy, a humanitarian situation that is very serious, with a lack of freshwater becoming a real problem and an economy that is going to run out of oil, its main source of revenue, within 10 years."

According to the Congressional Research Service, last fiscal year, the United States gave just over $200 million -- less than what it spends daily in Afghanistan -- to Yemen, the Middle East region's poorest nation, in direct aid and military support. Based purely on numbers, it would seem that the United States could afford to increase economic support to the country. But according to a congressional aide who works on issues involving the region, even attempts at providing more humanitarian and security assistance would likely fall short due to the on-the-ground political realities in the country. Without clear leadership in Yemen, it would be difficult to say where aid would be directed and how it would affect the country's economic problems.

One way the United States and its regional allies could help the country transition is by the ouster of Saleh, his family members, and his regime's top officials, as they did with President Hosni Mubarek in Egypt and with Col. Muammar Qadhafi in Libya. And although their advocacy may be minimal, they could also work to help the opposing forces, particularly the popular youth protesters who have been advocating on the streets of Yemen for greater freedom and transparency in their government. According to Chris Boucek, a scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a nonpartisan foreign policy research group, the protesters carry little weight compared with the rest of Saleh's opposition, so it's even more important that the United States and its democratic allies speak out on their behalf. "Their voice is the one's that's going to get squeezed out," Boucek says. "We have to make sure that voice doesn't get drowned out by the elites just reshuffling the deck chairs and restating the status quo."

Saleh's team still says it's just a matter of days before the ruler returns. For now, it's left to Yemenis, the United States, and others in the region to contemplate a Yemen without the Saleh family in charge, and whether it's worth acting for.

 

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

 

  • The Afghan Money Pit
  • United States and Pakistan: Afghan Strategies
  • Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad Admits Opposition Has Legitimate Grievances
  • Syria: The Last Domino
  • Turkey in Position to Lead Region Out of Tumultuous Century
  • Lebanon's Opposition Feeling Threatened
  • New Mexican President, Same Cartel War?
  • Limited Options for United States in Yemen
  • Yemenis Look To Tribes As Force For Change
  • In Arab Spring Chill United Arab Emirates Puts Bloggers On Trial
  • Hamas Leader Urges Fatah To Abandon West
  • Somalia Power Struggle Could Intensify As Premier Quits
  • Ousted Tunisian Leader Denies Charges Before Trial Begins In Absentia
  • Tunisia Risks Controversy with Travel Ads
  • New Insight Into Male Sex Work and HIV Epidemic in Africa
  • Angola's 'Sans Papiers' Violently Deported In New Wave Of Expulsions
  • Severe Drought and High Food Prices Hit Pastoralists In Africa
  • The Hidden Cost Of Piracy In Somalia
  • Flood-hit Mindanao Battles Water Lilies
  • No Clear Route Out Of Servitude For Indentured Girls
  • IMF Urges EU Leaders to Act Now on Greece Bailout
  • European Finance Ministers Delay Second Greek Bailout To July
  • European Union Assures Greece Bailout Funds
  • Spaniards Protest Against Euro-Pact and Austerity Measures
  • Greece Is The World's Least Credit Worthy Nation
  • A World of Three Reserve Currencies -- Good or Bad?
  • Europe Is Warning Us
  • United States Has Trust Issues With China
  • The United States - Russia Missile Defense Impasse
  • Al Qaeda's New Video: A Message of Defeat
  • Why Sudan's Peace Is in Jeopardy
  • Egypt's Interim Rulers Learn the Democracy Game
  • Egyptians Back Keeping Clerics Out of Politics
  • House Pushes Obama on Libya
  • Ignoring the War Powers Act
  • Congress' Bipartisan Vice Is Cowardice
  • Outgoing Robert Gates Outlines Future US Presence in Asia
  • Robert Gates: Parting Shot on Afghan Policy
  • An Invitation to Leave Afghanistan
  • Obama Undermines Prospects for Middle East Peace
  • Forty-Four Years Later, Israeli Attack on USS Liberty Provokes Strong Response
  • Saudi Arabia Orders Men Out of Women's Clothing
  • Gulf Becomes Fault Line for Sunni - Shiite Tensions
  • Double Whammy for Bahraini Peace and Prosperity Drive
  • The Human Cost of the Yemen Conflict
  • Yemeni President Saleh Is Out But Yemen's Future Uncertain
  • Turkey's Dilemma: Economy or Constitution
  • Turkey: Elections and Strained U.S. Relations
  • A Bad Day That Never Changes
  • G8 Leaders Vow Billions in Aid to Egypt and Tunisia
  • What 'Arab Spring'?
  • Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood on the March -- Cautiously
  • International Law, Palestinian Statehood and Israel's Security
  • The Palestinian Move
  • Israel's Borders and National Security
  • Netanyahu's Message Is Self-Defeating
  • Justice for a General -- At Last
  • Protective Intelligence Lessons from an Ambush in Mexico
  • Corruption: Why Texas Is Not Mexico
  • Politics Behind Thai - Cambodian Conflict
  • Re-examining the U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan
  • The Bin Laden Operation: Tapping Human Intelligence
  • Inside Pakistan After bin Laden
  • The Kaspersky Kidnapping - Lessons Learned
  • A Political Vision for Israel
  • 3 Ongoing Conflicts You May Not Be Paying Attention To But Should
  • Visegrad: A New European Military Force
  • Turkey Setting Poor Example for Other Arab Nations
  • IMF's Crisis-Management Challenge
  • Dominique Strauss-Kahn Scandal an Embarrassment for France
  • Going Cold on Bin Laden

 

Available at Amazon.com:

Aftermath: Following the Bloodshed of America's Wars in the Muslim World

Displacement and Dispossession in the Modern Middle East (The Contemporary Middle East)

Enemies of Intelligence

The End of History and the Last Man

The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order

The Tragedy of Great Power Politics

The End of the Free Market: Who Wins the War Between States and Corporations?

Running Out of Water: The Looming Crisis and Solutions to Conserve Our Most Precious Resource

Bottled and Sold: The Story Behind Our Obsession with Bottled Water

Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization

The Great Gamble

At War with the Weather: Managing Large-Scale Risks in a New Era of Catastrophes

Friendly Fire: Losing Friends and Making Enemies in the Anti-American Century

Dining With al-Qaeda: Three Decades Exploring the Many Worlds of the Middle East

Uprising: Will Emerging Markets Shape or Shake the World Economy

 

Copyright 2011, U.S. News & World Report

 

Recommend

Search Powered By Google

Google Search   

ADVERTISEMENT

Advertisement

Advertisement

ADVERTISEMENT

Job & Career Search

career & job search                    job title, keywords, company, location
  • HOME
  • WORLD
  • USA
  • BUSINESS
  • WEALTH
  • STOCKS
  • TECH
  • HEALTH
  • LIFESTYLE
  • ENTERTAINMENT
  • SPORTS

World - Limited Options for United States in Yemen | Global Viewpoint

  • Services:
  • RSS Feeds
  • Shopping
  • Email Alerts
  • Site Map
  • Privacy