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Behind Yemen's crises
 [ARABNEWS] Years of knowing former Yemeni President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... has enabled this writer to better understand his tactics. One thing is for sure that Saleh is not credible and mainly relies on deception. Saleh successfully managed to mislead the Americans, his Gulf allies, Iraqis and Syrians. The biggest victims of his deception were the political and tribal leaders in Yemen. It was his manipulative tactics that enabled him to keep leading a country of contradictions and competitors. Saleh is the director of the events taking place for the past eight weeks in Yemen. The Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to Americaâ¢, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews... takeover of Yemen's major cities with minimal confrontation from the government and tribal troops has left many astonished. Houthis, by the way, have nothing to do with the self-ascribed Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... (IS) but are a tribal militia with strongholds in the north of Yemen. It was very unlikely for them to expand influence to the country's southwest without the help of any ally. The element of surprise in the Houthis' capture of major cities appeared to have blunted the analytical skills of many. In addition to that, many other factors helped mislead the public opinion into believing the Houthi narrative. Saleh's ex-employees spread false information about an alliance between Houthi rebels and the sitting president of the country and drag the name of UN International Envoy Jamal Benomar into the crisis. These reports gaining currency in the mainstream media are not logical. While one can agree that Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi is not capable enough to manage the country during the current crises, it is clear that he is not a fool to hand over the keys of the capital to his enemy. Similarly, the involvement of UN international envoy in this game is also far-fetched. In this writer's opinion, whenever there is a problem in Yemen, Saleh is behind it. From unrest to spreading of rumors, the former president has a role to play in everything occurring in Yemen. Saleh may have been ousted, but he still manages the institutions of the old state, as he still has influence over most of the military and security establishments. It's through these foundations that he is trying to overthrow the regime that replaced him and will continue to try to sabotage Yemen, hoping to return as the president. He might not know that in the process of sabotaging the current situation, he is ruining the future of his son, Ahmed, who is seen as a good person and a potential leader in the future. Before the current destruction, it would have been possible for Saleh's party to return to power in two transitional years, as it wasn't uprooted. But he ruined this opportunity by teaming up with the Houthis to topple the current regime. Rather than praising God for staying alive in a soft transition of power in which he was granted partisan rights and his family was allowed to work in the government, Saleh is still plotting and conspiring to spread chaos in Sanaa. He should learn from the events in Libya and from the fate of Qadaffy. Posted by: Fred 2014-10-25 |
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