On October 12, 2000 terrorists belonging to Al-Qa’Ida in the country of Yemen successfully orchestrated a terrorist attack in the Gulf of Aden on the USS Cole, a Naval guided missile destroyer. This attack was a signal that the reach of Al-Qaida had extended beyond the borders of Afghanistan into the Arabian peninsula. The President of Yemen is America’s ally in the war on terrorism and proved so by denouncing the attack on the USS Cole and the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Though Yemen fosters terrorists and is home to Al-Qa’Ida the country is still an ally in many ways. The poor economic state of the main populace and the unseen assistance from the U.S. and the rest of the Western world does not help our image or influence the tribal communities to be on America’s side. This causes the path to making Yemen America’s friend difficult because we must convince a Muslim populace that doesn’t trust outside influence that the United States’ objectives are far more beneficial to Yemenis than Al-Qa’Ida’s.
Yemen is not currently a failed state at the young age of 21, but it is experiencing huge political and economic problems that can have a direct impact on U.S. interests in the region. It’s population growth rate is the fourth highest in the world according to the Yemen Culture Smart Book (Feb. 2011) with a resource base that is limited and already leaves much of the country in poverty. The government obtains about a third of its budget from sales of its limited and declining oil stocks, which most economists state will be exhausted by 2017. Yemen has critical water shortages aggravated by the use of extensive amounts of water and agricultural land for production of the shrub qat, which is chewed as a ...
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...must do what it can to prevent Yemen from free falling into radicalism before the subject of intervention even arises.
In conclusion, Yemen is a young country that is still trying to find its identity, and like a child, is highly influenced by its older Arab neighbors, with the most influential (Saudi Arabia) being a huge ally to America. The U.S. is like a stranger and must be constant in our outreach to help them become democratic and U.S. friendly all the while remaining wary of the distrust U.S. actions always present in Yemeni politics.
Works Cited
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ym.html
http://www.nctc.gov/site/groups/aqap.html
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2011/02/aqap_deputy_emir_sai.php
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Foreign-Policy/2011/0204/Obama-s-pressure-on-Mubarak-could-cost-US-regional-influence
In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the United States was incredibly eager to strike back at the nations thought to be responsible for this horrific tragedy. These attacks were quickly attributed to the terrorist group al-Qa’ida, led by Osama bin Laden, and to the Taliban-run government of Afghanistan, which had provided sanctuary to al-Qa’ida. In response, Washington approved a covert plan led by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to directly attack those responsible in their Middle East safe haven. Initiated on 26 September 2001 with the approval of the warlords of the Afghan Northern Alliance, with whom the CIA had formed an intelligence liaison relationship, Operation Jawbreaker resulted in the fall of the Taliban regime, the killing and capture of a significant amount of al-Qa’ida leadership, and elimination of a terrorist safe haven by early December 2001. Moreover, the Taliban’s collapse denied al-Qa’ida a pseudo-nation-state partner, serving to reduce the organization’s sanctuary to areas residing along the Pakistani border. Operation Jawbreaker, one of the first post-9/11 covert operations carried out by the United States in support of its national security interests, had proved successful. Word of the operation’s swift success astounded those back in Washington; dubbed the CIA’s “finest hour,” it signified the first of many victories by deposing the Taliban’s control of Northern Afghanistan.
On an ordinary day, October 12, 2000, in the port of Aden, Yemen, a small boat pulled aside the USS Cole. The unimportant boat looked unthreatening until a suicide attack occurred. The bombing was devastating, leaving a gigantic hole in the ship, killing 17 American sailors and injuring 39. The attackers were known enemies from Al- Qaeda, which had committed attacks against other countries. The attack on the USS Cole was one of the events that triggered the war on terror, which is still going on today. The U.S. had not concerned itself with Al-Qaeda until this vicious attack. The attack on the USS Cole began a war between terrorists and the U.S; the U.S now knows how dangerous Al-Qaeda is especially after the attack of 9/11. The Cole attack woke the United States and made it aware of Al-Qaeda as a real threat.
One U.S. official said Yemen had "one of the most significant" al Qaeda organizational links in the world. Thousands of veterans of the Soviet-Afghan war live in Yemen and are capable of launching "uncoordinated or coordinated attacks," diplomatic sources told CNN in October.
Schweitzer, Y., & Shay, S. (2003). The globalization of terror: The challenge of al-qaida and the response of the international community. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers.
Events that capture the entire world’s attention are few and far between. Fighting wars normally occurs between acknowledged enemies. In the war against terrorism, most notably, the war against Al-Qaeda, the enemy is unknown. One is not the enemy of the United States of America by virtue of one’s ethnic heritage. A Muslim is not a hidden enemy simply because he is Muslim. A Muslim does however become the enemy when he targets the world as a member of Al-Qaeda, the vision of one man. He was an intelligent and educated man who came from wealth and high esteem, who, guided by his faith, through radicalization, exile from homeland, and anti-western sentiments, built the terrorist organization known as Al- Qaeda. His name was Osama bin Laden.
The Motivation for Osama bin Laden to use his terrorist networks and cells around the world for attacks against the United States came in 1990. Now that he had an army with weapons and tanks, when Iraq invaded Kuwait, he was ready and willing to defend it. Bin Laden was “shocked,” a family friend said, to learn that the Americans — the enemy, in his mind — would defend it instead. To him, it was the height of American arrogance” (The Most Wanted Face of...
The quote given by George W. Bush on the top of this page laid down a strong game plan concerning the war on terrorism and where it is heading in the next few years. The result of declaring war on terrorism has seen much success over the past year and a half. However, in this war we have failed to apply two very crucial tactics in fighting terror; stopping the money sources and de-legitimizing terrorism. If we fail to apply these tactics, long lasting progress in the war against terror is doubtful if we continue to play the appeasement game with Saudi Arabia because this country has and will continue to remain the largest offender of both points. Saudi Arabia is a country that is run by a corrupt dictatorship which allows an extreme view of Islam called Wahhabism to thrive in the country as well as supplying funds for the spread of it throughout the rest of the world. We have cal...
The continuing successful and attempted terrorist attacks in the USA and the endless wars and conflicts in which we are involved are a manifestation of political, economical and imperialistic failures in Arab lands. This was supported by Western society with the United States as the largest of powers. Instability, oppression, poverty and political alienation that the citizens of many Islamic-Arab nations experienced within the last hundred years have led to major hatred of the United States by the people of many Arab nations. These sources of hatred can be viewed as remote causes of the endless terror attacks and conflicts around the globe. Through the analysis of these causes, it is possible to find ways to avoid such incidents of terror by solving the problem at the source.
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.
Peterson, J. (2008, December). Arabian Peninsula Background Notes. Retrieved from Arabian Peninsula Background Notes: http://www.jepeterson.net/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/APBN-007_Tribes_and_Politics_in_Yemen.pdf
...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.
Yemen, officially known now as “The Republic of Yemen,” is an Arab country located in the Middle East, taking up the southwestern to southern part of the Arabian Peninsula. It borders the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and the red sea, as well as located south of Saudi Arabia and west of Oman. Yemen is the second largest country in the Arabian Peninsula, with a population of nearly 20 million people, and an annual population growth rate of around 3 percent. In 1918, northern Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire. Their climate is mostly des...
?US Challenges and Choices Saudi Arabia: A View from the Inside,? The Atlantic Council of the United States, The Middle East Institute, The Middle East Policy Council, and The Stanley Foundation, <http://reports.stanleyfdn.org/EFCgulfh02.pdf> (May 31, 2004).
Historical Significance: The September 11th, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, orchestrated by Al-Qaeda and Bin Laden, were the events that launched the U.S. War on Terrorism. Al-Qaeda’s attack on the United States was carried out by members of radicalized Islamic groups, whose objective was to spread jihad against the secular influence of the West. This tragic event provided the historical b...
On September 11, 2001, the destruction of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon changed the mindset and the opinion of nearly every American on the one of the most vital issues in the 21st century: terrorism (Hoffman 2). Before one can begin to analyze how the United States should combat such a perverse method of political change, one must first begin to understand what terrorism is, where it is derived from, and why there is terrorism. These issues are essential in America’s analysis of this phenomenon that has revolutionized its foreign policy and changed America’s stance in the world.