Yemen, a Middle Eastern country is located in the Southern Arabian Peninsula in an area what is known as the Horn of Africa. Like most Middle Eastern countries, it is a country that is rich in vast cultural beliefs but also facing many hardships. It is also one of the countries in that area that the United States must show and have an active interest regarding foreign policy. One of the main reason that the U.S. must have an active interest in the region is it has the potential to become a key site in the war on terror as a safe haven for terrorist organizations. At this time Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula has a strong presence there. (Temple-Raston, 2010) There are many key factors that can lead to Yemen becoming one of these safe havens. At this time, the political arena in the Middle East has been in turmoil in the past few months with public uprisings and ousting of leaders in Egypt. Yemen is not an exception. Yemen is a country on the brink of financial collapse, along with natural resources drying up. Yemen has a high poverty rate, a high illiteracy rate of people that can’t read and a young population. All of these factors and more will determine that different amount of resources the U.S. will pour into a country to help with their interest in combating the war on terror.
The first alternative in dealing with a country is in a diplomacy area. Diplomacy with Yemen has been an up and down battle. Yemen itself has been a country that has struggled to attain a national bond within its people. The country unified between the north and the south in 1990. It 1994 the country had a short war brought on by the South, but that attempt for succession failed. The President of Yemen is President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has ...
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...011 Index of Econmic Freedom. Retrieved March 13, 2011, from Yemen: http://www.heritage.org/Index/country/Yemen
Johnsen, G. D. (2006, November-December Unkmown). Well Gone Dry. Retrieved March 12, 2011, from The American Interest Magazine: www.the-american-interest.com/article.cfm?piece=195
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Soufan, A. H. (2010, January 2). New York Times. Retrieved March 13, 2011, from Scenes From the War on Terrorism in Yemen: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/opinion/03soufan.html
Temple-Raston, D. (2010, November 8). For Al-Qaida In Yemen, Targeting U.S. Is Personal. Retrieved March 13, 2011, from NPR: http://www.npr.org/2010/11/18/131423965/for-yemen-terrorists-targeting-u-s-it-s-personal
terrorist acts of a more homegrown variety. Stern interviews American terrorists here in the United
In a recent White House brief, President Obama called the Russian invasion of Crimea a clear violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and international law. When assessing the Russo-Ukrainian crises in Crimea, the commander of European Command (EUCOM) and the Supreme Allied Commander of European Forces (SACUER) must account for U.S. interests in the region before deciding a proper course of action. This essay aims to assess four of the United States’ national interests through the perspective of EUCOM and SACUER. The first section will outline the role of EUCOM and SACUER in the European region and assess the overall problem of Russia invading Crimea. The second section will outline four of the United States’ national interests at stake: international order, trade and economic prosperity, energy supply, and freedom of the seas. In doing so, this assessment of U.S. interests in Crimea supports the options of non-intervention and a non-provocative stance in order to maintain long-term stability because the Russian invasion has only violated peripheral interests of EUCOM and SACUER.
Likewise, Goodwin illustrates how the use of categorical terrorism can be seem being used by Al-Qaida during the attacks of 9/11. Nonetheless, it is evident that Al-Qaida is unusual in terms of using terrorism to influence the rise of unity rather than trying to overthrow a standing state. For the purpose of instigating a pan-Islamic revolutionary movement, Al-Qaida tries to unite all Islamic people under one state to develop umma, or Muslim community. The logic of Al-Qaida remained that if their “revolutionaries” could illicit a reaction from the powerful US state, resulting in oppression of the middle-eastern region, that Al-Qaida could, as a result, unite all Muslims to counter this suggested oppression. Although the end goal of Al-Qaida clear failed, it does suggest the organization’s attempt at implementing categorical terrorism.
The relations between the U.S and the Middle East are strained at best. The troops deployed in the area face constant threat of attack by a militant group. These broken relations between the U.S and the Middle East started over 50 years ago, with the Iran Hostage Crisis. Root causes of the crisis were many. One was U.S greed over oil in Iran. The second, the coup in Iran organized and funded by the CIA. The U.S dependence on foreign oil is another cause of the problems. Lastly, should the U.S stop moving into other countries sovereign lands and trying to “Prevent the evil of communism”, the nation would not have so many problems around the world. This worry was even shown in Iran (Kinzer, 10). While often blamed on radicals, the strained relations between the U.S and the Middle East are a direct result of a poor US foreign policy.
Roggio, Bill. "US Drones Kill 2 AQAP Fighters in Eastern Yemen." The Long War Journal. The
Indeed, as prior U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld wrote when describing the war on terror, “this will be a war like none other our nation has faced.” However, these changes bring the morality of this new face of war into question, and the justification of drone use and other modern military tactics involved in the war on terror is a subject of much debate. Focusing on U.S. involvement in Yemen from 2010-2015 as part of the war on terror, this essay will argue that, while the U.S. has met most of the criteria of jus ad bellum, the methods the U.S. has employed to counter terrorist organizations such as al Qaeda have ultimately violated the principles of just war theory, even when analyzed from the perspective of modern warfare within the framework of the current global
Stanley, A. (2010, April 19). A Terrorist, Plain-Spoken And Cold. New York Times. p. 1.
"Taliban Gun Down Girl Who Spoke Up for Rights." New York Times. N.p., 9 Oct. 2012. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.
Although the United Sates and Saudi Arabia present the United States and Saudi Arabia’s relationship as excellent, there are actually two nations who have bitter disagreements but who allies through oil. The only thing that has held this alliance together is the US dependence on Saudi oil. The United States has felt and still fells that it is a necessity to have bases present in the Middle East to protect oil, and silently to protect Israel. The relationship began in 1933 when Standard Oil of California signed an agreement with the Saudi government. In 1943 FDR affirmed that the defense of Saudi Arabia was a vital interest to the United States and moved troops into the region. Future presidents would emulate this declaration and mobilization of troops to Saudi Arabia. Again in 1945 Abd al Aziz, the Saudi king, and FDR would cement this alliance, on a US warship in the Suez Canal. Soon after, airfields were constructed at Dhahran and other spots over Saudi Arabia; beginning a long tradition of US military facilities in Saudi Arabia. Abd al Aziz was the first of his line of successors to meet with US presidents. The relationship was only strengthened with the onset on the Cold war, as the US used the bases in Saudi Arabia as potential air force launch sites to the USSR and constructed more military facilities. In 1941 Harry S. Truman made another assertion of Americas protection and alliance with Saudi Arabia to Abd Al Aziz. Truman stated that “support for Saudi Arabia’s territorial integrity and political independence was a primary objective of the United States.” (Countrystudies.com) Another stipulation of this pact was that the US established a permanent military training mission in the Saudi Arabia. That mission lasted until 1992. Soon after the pact between Truman and Aziz was agreed upon the US-Saudi relationship would endure its first major disagreement. On May 14th, 1948 Israel was declared an independent state in the former Arab dominated Palestine. Israel’s independence was backed the United States. Saudi Arabia refused to acknowledge the country of Israel and to engage in any relations with them. The Saudis concerns of the Israel-US relationship were reinforced in the 1970’s and 1980’s when the US sold arms to Israel, but refused to sell arms to Saudi Arabia. In some cases congressional leaders refused to sell arms to Saudi Arabia on the grounds that Saudi Arabia might use them against Israel.
The article “Officials: Al Qaeda tries to recruit Americans in Syria” is about how Al Qaeda is encouraging fighters in Syria to prepare them in the case that they will return home to carry out attacks. They are prepared to send the fighters home by train. There...
Wells, M. (2012, February 27). Yemen's Houthi Movement and the revolution . Retrieved from Yemen's Houthi Movement and the revolution : http://www.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/02/27/yemen_s_houthi_movement_and_the
...on, the decay of the Country’s political infrastructure, and the growing support of terrorist organizations in the region, are all systematic results of the effects of poverty. In conclusion Yemen must combat its health problem with both preemptive and reactive measures. Yemen must find common ground amongst its various political factions and unify politically to develop a truly governing nation. Yemen must also irradiate all terrorist factions in the region in order to prevent future recruitment into terrorist organizations. These measures are necessary to ensure that the effects of poverty on the people of Yemen are mitigated and minimal. This can only be achieved through the continuation of outside financial, medical, and political assistance from its neighboring countries in the region as well as the support of counter-terrorist organizations worldwide.
Embassy of Yemen-Human Rights and Women’s Issues. Congressional, Democracy, Human Rights & Gender Office. Embassy of Yemen. http://www.yemenembassy.org/issues/democracy/index. php (accessed August 14, 2010)
Wright, L. (2008, June 2). The Rebellion Within: An Al Qaeda Mastermind Questions Terrorism. New Yorker.
Terrorism will happen again regardless of how prepared the U.S. thinks it may be. This means that it is the country’s job to ensure that there is a continuation of measures that should be taken to fight against terrorism. Others believe that the U.S. is fully prepared for another terrorist attack and that enough has been done. The question at hand is, should the U.S. still be concerned about terrorism. The United States needs to be concerned about terrorism to prevent tragedies like 9/11 from happening again, to address problems with domestic terrorism, and to improve homeland security.