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Thousands of protesters took to the streets last week in the wake of Yemeni President Abdu Mansour Hadi’s resignation. Hadi, well as his entire cabinet, resigned last week after being pressured by Houthi leaders to relinquish a greater share of power.
The coup against President Hadi is just the latest installment of constant instability in the region. Yemen, like many other countries in the Middle East, is engaged in a stagnant struggle for power between armed insurgencies and ever weakening central governments. This has always presented a problem for Western powers due to the fact that the root of these regional and religious conflicts is far beyond our comprehension. In short, we don’t know whose side to take in matters such as these. The roots of the divide between Islamic sects extend thousands of years, and far beyond our ideological comprehension.
Our war with Al Qaeda, one of the largest and most ruthless Islamic militant groups, actually began in 2000 in Yemen’s port of Aden. Yemeni Al Qaeda members attacked the Navy Destroyer USS Cole while refueling in port. The attacks, which killed 17 sailors and injured 39 others, were praised by Osama Bin Laden in 2001: “In Aden, the young man [Al Qaeda attacker] stood up for holy war and destroyed a destroyer feared by the powerful.” The Cole has since been repaired, and remains in commission, yet Al Qaeda’s presence in Yemen remains problematic.
The Houthi rebels in Yemen have overthrown the US backed Hadi cabinet, which was instrumental in keeping the ever growing Al Qaeda presence at bay. The Houthis, however, are also waging a war against Al Qaeda to drive them out of the country. Although the rebels share a crucial common enemy with the West, one must look no further than their slogan to see that they do not seek any help from us: “God is Great, Death to America, Death to Israel, Damn the Jews, Power to Islam.” To say the least, these ideals do not bode well for good relations with the West.
The point is, Yemen has remained an Al Qaeda breeding ground since their attack on the United States, which the media has all but forgotten about. While covering the recent Charlie Hebdo attacks, news networks have stated over and over that two of the attackers were trained by Al Qaeda in Yemen. The renewed instability is cause for grave concern for Americans.
Fortunately, according to Ben Anderson of VICE News, who spent time in Yemen reporting on the Houthi uprising, the rebels seem to be more focused on ridding the country of Al Qaeda than living up to their abrasive motto. When asked how he was treated as a westerner in Houthi controlled territory, Anderson claimed he felt no ill will from the rebels.
“Their motto is more about opposing what then president Ali Abdullah Saleh did, which was, sign off unconditionally to the war on terror.” Anderson said. “I don’t believe the Houthis have any interests what-so-ever outside of the borders of Yemen.”
This is better news, but the West cannot count on the stability of these rebel regimes if and when they do succeed in overthrowing their government. This is not a call to arms, nor is it wise for the US to become involved in this battle in any way. This is the seemingly perpetual catch 22 of the Middle East. It seems that no matter who wins these coups, no matter what insurgency takes shape, and no matter who is in power, the West is totally screwed. If Al Qaeda takes over, we are looking at another large organized faction bent on destroying the West. Moreover, even though the Houthis seem to be more focused on furthering their agenda in Yemen at the moment, it is not much of a stretch to assume they could become a threat to our better interests in the future. In the absence of power following the toppled Hussein regime in Iraq, looters became armed insurgents, and armed insurgents became ISIS. This was over the course of a decade, but the West must be wary of similar situations arising in Yemen.
It is imperative that the American public keeps one eye on Yemen amidst all of the chaos in Iraq and Syria. If the West doesn’t play their cards right, we could be staring down the barrel of yet another powerful anti-Western terrorist organization. This is, as always, no matter who fills the power void.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Drew Chowbay at andrew.chowbay@colorado.edu.
