Yemen 2016 onwards: an intractable war?

[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

[davidbfpo]

Via Lawfare and the Editor's Note explains:

Yemen’s war, the world’s deadliest active conflict, has no end in sight. Many of its chief protagonists—including the Houthis, whose ties to Iran and hostility to U.S. allies put them at the center of the conflict—are not well understood. Sama’a al-Hamdani, the director of the Yemen Cultural Institute for Heritage and the Arts, does a deep dive on the Houthis. She details their goals and divisions, as well as how they might be induced to join Yemen’s nascent peace process.

Link:https://www.lawfareblog.com/understa...-faction-yemen

[davidbfpo]

Nervous of the crisis in the Gulf or the beginning of the end for the UAE role in the Yemeni Civil War? Now six days ago Reuters reported:

The United Arab Emirates, a key member of the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen, is scaling back its military presence there as worsening U.S.-Iran tensions threaten security closer to home, four western diplomatic sources said.

Link:https://www.reuters.com/article/us-y...-idUSKCN1TT14B

Followed up since, notably this in WINEP commentary. Here is a "taster":

In short, the UAE argues that its drawdown is not just because of war fatigue, but also because its mission is largely complete in the south, and the conflict with the Houthis is now in the hands of UN negotiators rather than coalition military forces. Outside observers are often less generous in their view of the UAE’s decisions and efforts, however.

Link:https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/...e-saudi-arabia

Incidentally another military partner, Sudan, may have to review its reported fourteen thousand strong commitment, given the issues back home as the military hold onto power.