RSS

February 11, 2012

David Roddenberry, Jr. (the elder)

Is the juice worth the squeeze? From a cost-benefit analysis, what would be the gain to US interests from the investment of resources in an intervention in Yemen? Given all of the ills in the world, why Yemen? What is the strategic importance to which you refer?

February 14, 2012

Dave Roddenberry, Norwich University, (7)

Thanks for the feedback, it is certainly encouraging to know that somebody read the article!

The arguments for a multinational intervention in Yemen are the same as with any other intervention. Maintenance of nominal relations, hegemony, regional stability, oil inerests, pick one. Interestingly enough, at the time of the writing of this piece, I had some of the same fears in the back of my mind as we are expressing today with regard to the Syrian situation- the “any port in a storm” hypothesis. I have heard rumblings that if legitimate actors in the international do not attempt to provide assistance to the Syrian people, a door may open for a fundamentalist organization such as Al Qaeda to do so. The Syrian people may not necessarily wish to invite Al Qaeda into the fold but this could prove to be the only option for a population wary of resisting a militarily superior opponent. Al Qaeda has a history of offering support to Muslim states distress (read: Kuwait 1990). We have the luxury of hindsight over the last few months, where we have observed a cooling of tensions in Yemen, but at the time of the paper the kettle was certainly boiling.

Another note about Yemen’s strategic importance, please do not make the mistake of seeing the issue through a singular, American mindset as the paper was not necessarily written so. If one were to entertain US interests, think of the maintenance and improvement of relations with a region in which the US is less than welcome. Think of the benefit to the US defense/antiterrorism strategy. In the paper, I mention the rise AQAP under the now-deceased US born cleric Anwar Al Alaki. He was very much a factor in US interests. “’Following the 2009 merger of Al-Qaeda in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, Yemen has become the new centre of gravity for Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)’” (Hill 1). The Yemeni branch of Al-Qaeda was said to be responsible for the attempted bombing of Northwest Airlines Flight 253, also referred to as the “underwear bomber” or the “Christmas Day bombing” as well as numerous other operations with varying degrees of success. Because of Yemen’s in ability to police itself, meet the requirements of its citizenry as well as its political and economic instability, Yemen has become a foreign policy priority for Western governments, who understand the need for security, especially in the Arabian Peninsula.”

March 17, 2012

DAR "the elder"

From a very US-centric perspecitve...comes down to DIRECT threats to the homeland. Certainly no lack of "worthwhile pursuits" in the name of humanity, but given the realities of the world today, the USG can not be so generous, our assistance and intervention strategies must focus on DIRECT threats.