The Obama Administration has made much of the threat posed by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), an auxiliary group based in Yemen. So much has been made, in fact, that they are seeking a massive escalation of US military funding to Yemen. Not everyone is keen on it, however.
Centcom is proposing $1.2 billion in aid over the next six years plus the deployment of US “advisers” to take part in “non-combat” roles in the nation. The later will perhaps be cause for concern enough, giving the amount of combat the “non-combat” troops in Iraq seem to be engaged in.
But the real concern, at least the one that’s got some administration officials up in arms, is the Yemeni government itself, and strongman President Ali Abdullah Saleh in particular. Saleh, one may remember, last year promised to defund schools to pay for more weapons to “crush sedition” across the nation.
But Saleh, who has earned the nickname “Little Saddam” has deeper issues than just this. His intelligence agency has, with official US blessings, been turned into a collection of Ba’athist castoffs who fled the US invasion of Iraq, and most of its raids against the region AQAP is said to operate in have wound up sidetracked and attacking secessionist movements instead.
Yemen is involved in three internal wars right now, including secessionist movements on both sides of the country. As the US pumps money, arms and inevitably troops into the nation it seems a foolish notion to imagine they will only be used against AQAP, and not to prop up Saleh’s government against whatever other foes it has created.
The best solution for Yemen is for the US to get actively involved in the current negotiation between Saleh and the opposition front.For Yemen to return to normalcy,Saleh be prevented from entering the 2013 Presidential election and another alternative be sought to replace him provided that priority is given to building the counrty not the family.American engagment should not be confined to fighting Al-Qaeda but should also be expanded to include deep governmental restructuring that will regulate Saleh's powers and at the same time deprive Alqaeda and other oppositin forces,the reasons to continue launching their struggle against Saleh's family rule. If the US presist on singling out Alqaeda as the sole reason for their involvement, without addressing the real reasons that gave rise to this phenomenon,chances are the US will find itself walking a tight rope with Alqaeda waiting at the receiving end. Its therefore,advisible for the US to hold a serious discussion with Saleh and convince him to step aside before a more reactionary regime takes hold of the country .Its true that Yemen is not a Somali category yet,but certainly shares the same symptoms.