Yemen (Continuación)

MundoOriente Próximo

Yemen ya está habituado a las crisis: expuesto a una guerra de poder en la región entre Irán y Arabia Saudita, asolado por los ataques de una arraigada filial de Al Qaeda y escenario de disputas tribales y un movimiento separatista, el país se ha convertido en un paradigma de todo lo que puede ir mal en el mundo árabe.

En el pasado, Yemen ha demostrado una notable capacidad de resistencia. Es importante que la comunidad internacional no lo deje abandonado en la que tal vez sea su hora de mayor necesidad. Se debe impedir que el derrocamiento del gobierno por parte del movimiento rebelde chií de los hutíes acabe siendo el golpe letal que hasta ahora el país había podido evitar.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAméricaMundoOriente Próximo, , ,

News that the United States has suspended operations at its embassy in Yemen -- and reports that Houthi rebels have seized U.S. Marines' weapons -- have laid bare the failure of U.S. policy in the country.

The Houthis -- a Shiite insurgent group backed by Iran -- are now the key power brokers in Sanaa, Yemen's capital. They have also extended their presence far south of their historical northern stronghold, advances that prompted Yemen's entire executive branch to resign on January 22, following a successful siege of the presidential compound.

In the process, the Houthis have destroyed Yemen's legal government, thrown out its draft constitution, infiltrated its intelligence services and security forces, and demanded that all sides in Yemen's complex and acrimonious socio-political-economic system play by their rules.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo

When I moved here in 2010, not a single gunman could be seen on the streets. Anti-gun laws were strictly enforced by the police, and violence was almost unknown.

Nowadays, I escort my wife to the supermarket armed with an automatic assault rifle and a 9-millimeter pistol. The number of spare magazines I carry depends on the gravity of the ever-escalating insecurity that plagues my city.

Last week, the government collapsed. President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi resigned, as did his prime minister and the rest of the cabinet. The Houthis, a group of Shiite militants from the north who fought a bloody series of wars with the central government for over a decade, now effectively control the capital.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo

In 2011, Yemenis rejoiced at the toppling of their dictatorial president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, who had ruled for 33 years. It was the third successful revolution of the Arab Spring, following the overthrow of dictators in Tunisia and Egypt. But, as elsewhere, reconciliation did not follow revolution.

Over the weekend, after a weekslong siege of Sana, the capital, rebels suddenly ousted Yemen’s prime minister and captured the Defense Ministry, the government television station and the central bank. On Sunday, President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi signed an agreement dictated by the rebels, known as the Houthis, and facilitated by a United Nations envoy.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente PróximoInternacionalTerrorismo Internacional, ,

President Obama says the United States is looking to its Yemen policy as a model for what to do in Iraq and Syria. But what the president labels the “Yemen model” has not been as successful as the White House claims; indeed, it is in danger of collapse. Attempting to replicate it in much more challenging conditions in Iraq and Syria will almost certainly fail.

A little background: The United States partners with the government of Yemen against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, which remains the most imminent direct al-Qaeda threat to the U.S. homeland. AQAP’s top leadership includes Osama bin Laden’s former secretary, Nasir al-Wuhayshi, now reportedly al-Qaeda’s general manager; former Guantanamo detainee Ibrahim al Rubaish; and its innovative bombmaker, Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, who continues to target the United States and U.S.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAméricaMundoOriente Próximo, , ,

December 12 was supposed to be a day of celebration for the al-Ameri family. A young bride traveled to her wedding with her relatives in Bayda province, Yemen. But in a few dark seconds their celebrations were eviscerated. A U.S. drone fired at the wedding procession, destroying five vehicles and most of their occupants. Not even the bride’s car, ornately decorated in flowers for the occasion, was spared from the carnage. Senior Yemeni officials later admitted that the strike was a “mistake”.

Some mistake: Though the bride survived, the strike is said to have killed at least 14 civilians and injured 22 others, over a third of them seriously.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo,

On Oct. 12, tens of thousands of Yemenis took to the streets of Eden in the south of the country, mostly demanding secession from the north. The date is significant, for it marks the 1967 independence of South Yemen, ending several decades of British colonialism. But for nearly five decades since then, Yemen has tried to find political stability, a semblance of economic prosperity and, most importantly, its national identity.

It has been two years and nine months since a large protest in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, initiated what was quickly named the Yemeni revolution, igniting media frenzy that Yemen had officially joined the so-called Arab Spring.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente PróximoInternacionalTerrorismo Internacional, , ,

Somewhere in Yemen are about two dozen individuals whom the U.S. is looking to capture or kill. These are al-Qaeda’s senior operational leaders, the men administration officials think are plotting to attack the U.S. and its interests abroad.

To kill them, the U.S. has carried out dozens of air and drone strikes -- the most conservative estimate puts the number at 91 -- over the past 3 1/2 years. Few strikes have been successes. They have killed a lot of people but very few of the top commanders.

Since December 2009, the U.S. has killed somewhere between 632 and 1,231 people in Yemen.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAméricaMundoOriente Próximo,

Most news out of the Middle East these days is dispiriting: the devastating civil war in Syria, the autocratic nature of Muslim Brotherhood rule in Egypt, continued militia activity in Libya, a coalition collapse in Tunisia. Less discussed, and surprisingly positive, is the political situation in Yemen.

The United States has played a significant role in Yemen’s transition, which ushered out former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, in exchange for immunity, and inaugurated a unity government and consensus president that are overseeing a national dialogue launched last month. The United States has pledged support for the dialogue, which will lead to a constitutional referendum and new elections.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo, ,

Dieciocho meses después del estallido sirio parece imponerse un comportamiento generalizado que se limita, por un lado, a contabilizar los muertos en un frente de batalla que se amplía progresivamente hacia Líbano e Irak y, por otro, a testificar la falta de voluntad de la comunidad internacional para actuar más contundentemente y la incapacidad de la oposición para imponerse a un régimen empeñado en resistir a toda costa. Mientras tanto, son muchos los que prefieren autosugestionarse con la idea de que Bachar el Asad tiene sus días contados a la espera de un colapso interno que no llega.

Ante la falta de opciones más claras, y al margen de las necesidades y expectativas de la población siria levantada contra el dictador, en algunos círculos diplomáticos (incluyendo a Washington) comienza a abrirse paso la idea de que la salida del túnel pasa por la aplicación del modelo yemení.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo

During a recent visit to Yemen, I was sitting in a cafe in Sana when we suddenly experienced a power outage. I asked the waiter what happened, and he replied: “Saleh’s men keep attacking the main power plant in Mareb to disrupt life in Sana. Saleh is still working against the revolution. He won’t give up.”

Regardless of the real causes of the outage, the waiter’s explanation reflected a general sense that the uprising against former President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his aides is far from over.

Officially, the uprising, which was inspired by the Arab Spring and led to hundreds of deaths, ended last February when the former vice president, Abed Rabbu Mansour Hadi, was installed as president.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo

Almost hidden from outsiders, the US is engaged in a new war in the Middle East which is growing in intensity and running out of American control. Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has hugely extended its reach across southern Yemen in recent months after driving government forces out of several towns. "For the first time in history al-Qaida controls territory," an Arab diplomat in Sana'a, Yemen's capital, told me. "A year ago they were numbered in the dozens, armed with light weapons and scattered here and there. Now they are in their thousands with tanks and heavy weapons."

The movement's new armaments come from over-running government troops and bases.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo,

Quelle surprise de lire les titres des quotidiens européens le lendemain de "l'élection" présidentielle au Yémen : "Les Yéménites choisissent leur nouveau président."

N'y aurait-il donc que les Yéménites à avoir bien compris que cette "élection" n'a été qu'un gentil canular et que rien n'a changé au Yémen ? Car il est bien évident que les Yéménites n'ont rien choisi du tout et, eux, dans leur grande majorité, ils le savent fort bien.

C'est à Riyad qu'a été désigné le nouveau président du Yémen ; et en aucun cas dans les bureaux de vote du 21 février.

La "révolution" yéménite n'a en effet que peu à voir avec le "Printemps arabe" : la guerre des chefs couvait depuis un certain temps et la bien maigre contestation qui s'est manifestée à l'occasion des révoltes arabes, partie de l'université de Sanaa, a seulement fourni l'occasion d'intervenir aux protagonistes du théâtre politique yéménite.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo

We in Yemen are no less thirsty for freedom and dignity than our brothers and sisters in Tunis. After the fall of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, our own vigils took a new direction when thousands of young people went on to the streets. They reached their climax with the fall of the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, when millions of Yemenis called for the departure of the dictator, Ali Abdullah Saleh. Many in the Arab world were worried about our uprising. Everyone knew that the country is awash with weapons. It was feared that the revolution would descend into violence and distort the image of the other Arab uprisings.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente PróximoInternacionalTerrorismo Internacional, ,

Yemen is a sanctuary for al Qaeda terrorists that is barreling into civil war and instability. Add into this the fact that tens of thousands of Yemenis hold U.S. passports, and Yemen emerges as the perfect habitat for a new al Qaeda threat: the American terrorist.

Three high-profile terrorists with U.S. citizenship have been killed in Yemen. Kamal Derwish, also known as Ahmed Hijazi, was killed in Yemen in 2002 while traveling with other al Qaeda operatives, including the organizer of the USS Cole attack. Derwish was the reported leader of the Lackawanna Six, the group of Yemeni-Americans from New York who traveled to Afghanistan in early 2001 to attend al Qaeda training camps.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente PróximoInternacionalTerrorismo Internacional, ,

Osama bin Laden's death was cheered, I suspect, by 99.99% of Americans. But there was that 0.01% — and a slightly higher number abroad — who doubted the legality of simply pumping two bullets into the Al Qaeda leader rather than trying to arrest and Mirandize him.

Likewise, amid the general rejoicing over the death of Anwar Awlaki, one of the leaders of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a few civil libertarians are raising questions about whether the U.S. government had the right to kill an American citizen without a trial. And it wasn't just the New Mexico-born Awlaki, a dual citizen of the U.S.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo,

On Monday, when the UN envoy Jamal Benomar and Abdullatif al-Zayani of the Gulf Co-operation Council flew into Yemen, they hoped for agreement on a transition plan that would see President Ali Abdullah Saleh step down after 33 years in power. Instead they found themselves in the middle of an urban battlefield, trying to negotiate an immediate ceasefire between rival elite families.

Negotiations over the timing of elections have gone back and forth between the ruling party and the opposition coalition since the spring. The beleaguered Gulf-backed transition plan still forms the basis of these negotiations, with support from the UN.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoÁfricaReflexionesIslam y Mundo ÁrabeMundoOriente Próximo,

Pase lo que pase con Gadafi, su esperpéntico régimen es ya historia. Lo que ocurra ahora en Libia es una nueva página ante la que debemos estar vigilantes. Las primaveras árabes, que son más una inmensa encrucijada que otra cosa, son tan heterogéneas como incierto es su futuro y resultados. El exceso de optimismo y el análisis superficial en la distancia, ha caracterizado no pocas posiciones que hemos podido escuchar y leer.

La desaparición de una cruel dictadura de 42 años es, indudablemente, una buena noticia, pero en este momento sólo podemos esperar y desear que se instale una democracia real en el país.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo

The present crisis in Yemen is serious indeed, but its origins have been widely misunderstood regionally and internationally. Ours is not a crisis of democracy, as it is so often portrayed, even though some of the government’s political opponents have ruthlessly exploited it to further their own ends. The truth is that the crisis, at its heart, is one of poverty, dependency and development.

Yemen is one of the world’s poorest countries. It has limited but declining oil revenues, few other natural resources and a growing water shortage, which is undermining its agricultural potential. At the same time, Yemen has a rapidly growing population of almost 25 million and an unemployment rate that is far higher than the official figure of 35 percent, especially among our young people.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo

After more than five months of continuous protests, I stand today in Change Square with thousands of young people united by a lofty dream. I have spent days and nights camped out in tents with fellow protesters; I have led demonstrations in the streets facing the threat of mortars, missiles and gunfire; I have struggled to build a movement for democratic change — all while caring for my three young children.

We have reached this historic moment because we chose to march in the streets demanding the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, an end to his corrupt and failed regime and the establishment of a modern democratic state.…  Seguir leyendo »