This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
Counterterrorism "Success Story" Fails Completely As Yemen Set To Split Into Two Countries
Late last month, as the fighting in Yemen continued unabated, Jeff Prescott, the National Security Council's Senior Director for the Middle East said "there is no military solution to the crisis." Saudi Arabia seemingly disagrees and that will reportedly be one topic under discussion at The White House on Friday where President Obama will meet with King Salman to discuss a variety of geopolitical issues.
The Saudi-led intervention into the conflict in Yemen has transformed the country into a battleground for a Saudi-Iran proxy war on the way to exacerbating a worsening humanitarian crisis. Civilian casualties are a regular occurrence, although, between conflicting reports from Riyadh and the Houthis, it’s nearly impossible to determine the exact figures. Just this week, sources on the ground indicated that dozens of civilians were killed when Saudi warplanes bombed a bottling plant.
Meanwhile, operations in Yemen are taking their toll on Saudi Arabia’s increasingly precarious fiscal situation, which has deteriorated rapidly in the face of persistently low crude prices. Coalition partner UAE is in a similar, if slightly more stable, position from a budget perspective.
So while the market nervously eyes the petrodollar reserves of Saudi Arabia and the UAE as the countries juggle domestic expenditures, dollar pegs, and the cost of war, Yemen itself is coming apart at the seams - literally. As WSJ reports, it now looks as though the country may in fact split, as Aden residents have eschewed the red, white and black for the flag of South Yemen, which existed as an independent republic for more than two decades. Here’s the story:
Now that pro-Iranian Houthi militias have been expelled from much of southern Yemen, many here are wondering when President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadiwill return to his homeland from Saudi exile—and, more importantly, under what flag.
Some of the war’s most brutal fighting happened here in Aden, the sprawling port city that served as the capital of the independent republic of South Yemen from 1967-90. In the current conflict, it became the bedrock of resistance against the Houthis, who hail from Yemen’s far north.
The battles of recent months have reopened historic divisions between the country’s two halves. The Houthis were backed by regular Yemeni Army units loyal to Mr. Hadi’s predecessor, Ali Abdullah Saleh, also a northerner. For many Aden residents, the red, white and black flag of united Yemen—which Mr. Hadi, a southerner, claims to lead—has now become a hated symbol of the enemy.
In Aden, that banner is no longer visible anywhere. Instead, the city’s walls and local fighters’ checkpoints fly the flag of the defunct South Yemen republic, a staunch Soviet ally that was formally known as the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen. The colors of the U.A.E. flag can also be seen, and there is also the occasional sighting of Saudi Arabia’s banner.
Graffiti proclaim Aden to be the “Free South” and some fighters have even swapped Yemeni license plates on their cars for makeshift black plates of “South Arabia,” the name that southern Yemen had under British rule in the 1960s.
Mr. Hadi, a graduate of the Moscow military academy who once served as a general in the South Yemen republic’s army, backed the north when southern Yemen tried to secede in 1994. Apart from a few recently raised roadside billboards with his portrait, there is little outward sign of support for Mr. Hadi among the resistance fighters.
Mohammed Ali Maram, the head of Mr. Hadi’s office in Aden and the president’s special secretary, said the country’s government would return as soon as adequate facilities could be established in the embattled city, which Mr. Hadi has proclaimed a temporary capital.
Mr. Maram also said he doesn’t see any problem with the anti-Houthi fighters in Aden flying the South Yemen flag instead of the Yemeni national banner.
“It’s history. They have a flag, and we are not looking at that as something wrong. But we have a lot of people,” he said. The very same youths with the separatist banners are eager to join the new Yemeni national army and police units that the government is rebuilding with U.A.E. funding, he added.
“If they go to work, they will forget about that.”
Perhaps. Or perhaps not. It could very well be that when Hadi does finally depart the safe confines of Riyadh and return to Yemen that those who ostensibly fought to restore his government will no longer want anything to do with him.
And while it's unclear precisely who the ragtag militia would support, it's worth noting that, as WSJ goes on to point out, the anti-Houthi fighters are "a motley group that spans the spectrum from southern secessionists to ultraconservative Salafi Islamists to supporters of al Qaeda." In other words, it doesn't seem all that far-fetched to suggest that should restoring Hadi ultimately prove to be impossible, an independent South Yemen could end up falling into the hands of extremists, which would be ironic not only for the fact that it would represent the latest example of US foreign policy gone horribly awry, but also because according to at least one source, the Saleh government - whose fighters are now allied with the Houthis - for years worked with AQP while accepting US anti-terror funding. Notably, were Yemen to split in two, it would also effectively create a permanent Iranian colony on Saudi Arabia's southern border.
Perhaps the best way to sum up the situation would be to apply the assessment an unnamed Pentagon official offered to CBS when asked about Syria last month: "It's a friggin' mess."
And lest anyone should forget, this is the same country that the White House called a counterterrorism "success story" exactly one year ago next Thursday.
»
- 12961 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
- advertisements -
Which progressive new agency will cover this for Dear Leader?
Which corporatist new agency will cover this for the MIC?
There. FIFY.
I bet the "South Yemen Central Bank" is being incorporated as we speak!
OMG! I loved "MST3K" back in the 90s! I would watch it hungover on Saturday mornings. You were great in it!
F*ck Saudi Arabia and the EU.
"I have a dream. Set my people free."
Another success of the Obie Admin.
Thank you Hillary(!) and Kerry. You sure flew around the world a lot.
"At this point, what difference does it make!?"--Hildebeest
This is far from over, lots of dead bodies, lots of pissed family members, lots of children that will hate the Saudi's for a long time. Yes f@ck the Saudi's, F@cking "Royalty" my eye. Royalty has no place in the world.
I dearly wish the Yemenis would attack saudi oilfields. +1 on fuck royalty, fuck barbarous bronze age kingdoms. Hey let's install democracy in a bunch of countries but leave the worst ones alone because they give our politicians lavish gifts.
p.s. any idea that the houthis are mere puupets of Iran is way the fuck overblown. Nice work on toeing the mainstream line on that one zerohedge.
Thanks Tsar, my career hasn't gone anywhere since MST3k, apparently I got typecast. Not much call for a smart ass gumball machine with inoperable arms!
There's a small modification we can make by replacing your non-functional arms with spinning lawnmower blades.
You'll come in handy in Washington - pleny of work for you there. You know - shaking hand, patting politicians on the head... maybe a nice hug.
UST bought bonds before they were incorporated, and resold them to CALPERS no doubt.
Oh that was good. Did you think of that all on your own. FIFY.. so original.
Nope. I prayed on it, then God spoke to me, and the words just flowed right from my fingertips to the keyboard and onto the computer screen.
You are good today. Don't you want to shout it out that you are a communist. Stop hiding behind the term progressive...
Thank you. I'm taking tomorrow off, in honor of those men and women who fought for every single right workers have in this world - because we didn't get them without much struggle, blood, tears, and death.
I fail to see how true communism could be any worse than this current economic system that rewards the rich and elite over and over at the expense of the rest of us.
I refuse to rip WSJ stenographers a new asshole today in response to their tripe. I'm taking the day off.
Tyler's comments regarding the article seem reasonable.
Everybody's fighting for independent states except Americans. Sad panda.
So when are they going to hold the vote on the referendum to secede?
Oh. Oh, I see.
I think the only thing this country could agree on is pushing Cali into the sea. I certainly wouldn't arm up in defense.
Miffed;-)
The South will rise again!
"North Yemen is best Yemen!" Kim Jong Al-Aziz bin Head-Napkin
Another country destroyed by the Nobel Prize Winner.
destroyed AND starved out also...Peace Prize niggers
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/war-in-yemen-has-pus...
Cool, a new group of tyrants and dictators to take the place of the old tyrants and dictators.
The IMF and Goldman will be quite pleased.
Divide and conjure
Or reconjure. The rebels now only have half of Yemen and now have an enemy to the south. The south region is saudi friendly it seems. This is not a victory for the rebels but for their enemies.
Putin voted or gave his consent for the sanctions and naval blockade against the rebels.
Amazing how American weapons never destabilize the region, isn't it?
Weapons deployed on the other side of the earth to be used by dictators and puppet governments are very very good, while anyone helping people resist US puppet rule is very very bad...
Amazing.
We truly are the exceptional country.
Houtis Capture M1 Abrams Tank From Saudi Terrorist Army
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=c18_1440685034
Saudi Arabian M1 Abrams Tank Cooks Off After Being Hit By Yemeni Houthi ATGM
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=673_1440539708
They are debating at Live Leak that is was a Patton M60 or M1 Abrams. Looks like an M1 to be.
Free Willy!!!
Free the Chicago 7.
But will US leave another occupied Yemen Island Socotora present at the horn of Africa ? murika had its eyes on that island since cold war ended. After Diego Garcia thats the second archpielago under usa control. Better kick them out from there .
The Grand US Strategy is working. Take the Iraq template and try to super-impose it across the entire ME. Sect versus sect, civil war, fundamentalists run amok.
They want to see it happen in Iran and Sausi Arabia too.
So local development goes back to the stone age and the oil stays safely stored underground until the US needs it, at which point they come back and rain hell.
"It's a friggin mess". Exactly.
Free Bird !!
Ah...The Arab Spring.
Are the Arabs that stupid and their leaders the most treasonous eunuchs on the planet? Yes they are? BRZEZINSKI'S MICRO AND MINI-STATES DOCTRINE. This openly discussed plan and implementation must have missed these sand niggers attention. Haven’t these cunts got the memo yet? We don’t care about them. They are merely pawns and in our national interests, we will allow our proxy forces, or do it ourselves and kill them on a whim at any time of our choosing, if a geopolitical goal can be reached. Now we’re going to have more useless refugees in Europe, caused by western meddling and proxy forces not doing their job properly. Didn’t the Saudi army do a runner when faced with determined Yemeni secessionists? Does Arabic have a word for Imperialism, exploitation, idiot and pawn? I think not!
Now we have to bribe TWO corrupt governments? Geez, they're bleeding us taxpayers dry!
Can't say I give a shit.
Why stop at North and South Yemen? They should have a West Yemen and an East Yemen. Upper and Lower Yemen, too, or is that just crazy?
ALL YOUR YEMEN ARE BELONG TO SAUDI AND IRAN