Yemen 2016 onwards: an intractable war?

[AdamG]

Thirty-five Yemeni and international NGOs called Wednesday for an "immediate cessation of hostilities" in Yemen, where they warned 14 million people were now "on the brink of famine".

The joint appeal was signed by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Action Against Hunger, CARE International, Oxfam, Doctors of the World, and Yemeni organisations, according to a statement.

"With 14 million men, women and children on the brink of famine -- half the country's population -- there has never been a more urgent time to act," the statement said.

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/afp/...#ixzz5WI0x4U2g

[davidbfpo]

An article from Lawfare by a SME, although the focus is Yemen there is a wider application. Daniel Byman as Editor adds:

...it has lessons for similar efforts when allies wage "limited" wars. Far from being an efficient, low-cost use of resources, Rand argues that these wars are not likely to achieve the results Washington wants, yet will implicate the United States in whatever goes wrong.

Link:https://www.lawfareblog.com/extricat...red-operations

[davidbfpo]

Fascinating commentary on the Yemeni conflict and the role of the Sudan - mercenaries for the coalition - which is fraught with problems. The sub-title is a reminder of the past:

The Saudis and UAE bribed Sudan's president to send Janjaweed fighters to be cannon fodder in Yemen. It's not working out.

Link:https://www.theamericanconservative....dan-yemen-uae/

Now just why a 'conservative' website would carry this I know not.

[davidbfpo]

A refreshing, first-hand account of a visit to the front line near Hodeida by two German reporters. Here is a "taster" passage:

What is currently taking place in Yemen can hardly be described as a fight between a government and insurgents. That would require a functioning state with an army and an internationally recognized government. But none of that exists any longer. Exile President Hadi can't even fly to Aden without obtaining Saudi Arabia's permission. He's little more than a fig leaf for the proxy war Saudi Arabia and the UAE are waging on Yemeni soil against their archenemy Iran, which backs the Houthi rebels.

Link:http://www.spiegel.de/international/...a-1243730.html

[davidbfpo]

Recommended by a "lurker" as an excellent reporter; Ghaith Abdul-Ahad. It is a 'long read' and is based on what is happening in Aden. He is not complimentary about the UAE's role and their local allies - who appear to be more akin to bandits.
Link:https://www.theguardian.com/news/201...-of-civil-war?

[AdamG]

Washington (CNN)The terrorist behind the 2000 attack on the USS Cole is believed to have been killed in a US airstrike in Yemen on Tuesday, according to a US administration official. Jamel Ahmed Mohammed Ali Al-Badawi was an al Qaeda operative who the US believes helped orchestrate the October 12, 2000, attack on the USS Cole that killed 17 American sailors.
The official said all intelligence indicators show al-Badawi was killed in a strike in Yemen as a result of a joint US military and intelligence operation.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/04/polit...-st=1546725552

[davidbfpo]

An article (10 pgs) from the free, online journal Perspectives on Terrorism, by Elisabeth Kendall, a SME from Oxford University, who has been on the ground in the Yemen.
Link:https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/bi...-1/kendall.pdf