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| Arabia |
| The Huthists: A Result of Yemeni Weakness |
| 2009-09-04 |
| The seat of power in Yemen has always been Sanaa, and this remains true even today. However as soon as one leaves the capital, the government presence weakens, and one finds themselves under the authority of other tribal-affiliated states, who have their own rules, laws, and militias The Huthi rebels whose exploits have filled the newspapers are nothing more than a natural consequence of this continued political and security vacuum. I know that the Yemeni authorities will deny any accusation of weakness in their authority, but unfortunately this lack of authority has existed since the time of the Ottomans. Yemen's geo-political importance is due to its location. Yemen is located to the south of the world's largest oil producing country, and also overlooks the Red Sea's Bab al-Mandeb strait, not to mention its corresponding position to the troubled Horn of Africa. Yemen has therefore become a target to hostile parties who wish to exploit the country's unique geographical location to access these important regions. Unfortunately, some in Yemen have misread this situation, and believe that the country's unique strategic position is a source of influence, money, and political bargaining. Yemen is out of its depth, and the price of this strategic position is too high, both to the Yemeni regime and public. This can be seen in the impact of the Huthi rebels. The Huthists are being used by others, including Iran, to attack the Yemeni regime, who they consider to belong to the other side. They hope to use Yemen as a platform to threaten Saudi Arabia and access East Africa, where a war that is comparable to what is taking place in Iraq is currently raging. In my opinion, the problem is not the Iran funded Huthi rebels; the problem is far greater than this, and one of a power vacuum. Unless the central government strengthens its authority, and extends its influence throughout Yemen, merely defeating the Huthi rebels will not be sufficient. So long as there is this power vacuum other countries or local militant movements will continue to arise from time to time [to challenge the governmental authority]. This is the problem that Yemen is facing, also the problem that it represents to the region. A country with a collapsed regime, such as Somalia, becomes a disaster for everybody. This is what happened in Afghanistan after the country was abandoned by the US following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Afghanistan experienced a dangerous power vacuum which allowed the Al Qaeda organization to flourish, and the rest is history. This is currently what is happening in Somalia. However when a regime is weak, and only politically and militarily controls some areas of the country, as is the case in Yemen today, the emergence of armed or mercenary movements is to be expected. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 The seat of power in Yemen has always been Sanaa, and this remains true even today. Except when Yemen was 2 separate countries which is has been for most of the last 50 years. I don't read articles that say something so obviously untrue in the first sentence. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2009-09-04 20:28 |
| #2 Is this 'New History' or a misunderstanding on my part. Ha. 'Experimental History' might be a good term for it. Unfortunately, it's FAR from the worst example of the genre that I have seen. |
| Posted by: Free Radical 2009-09-04 12:05 |
| #1 "This is what happened in Afghanistan after the country was abandoned by the US following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. ..." Wait. What? Is this 'New History' or a misunderstanding on my part. I thought the US just provided weapons. Does this mean that if we had continued to provide weapons everything would have been hunky dory? |
| Posted by: Whiskey Mike 2009-09-04 08:38 |