Houthi Movement in Yemen
Yahya al-Houthi, brother of rebel leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi stated, “We are not anti-American per se. Rest assured that we do not have any issues with the American people, but we disapprove of some of their government’s foreign policy in the Middle East. Like many people in the Middle East of all faiths, we were opposed to the US led invasion of Iraq and the subsequent killing of civilians” (Novack, 2009). The Houthis’ goals in their revolution are inherently religious, not political, focused mainly on combating the rising Salafi presence in the Northern Province of Yemen. The conflict has been ongoing since the 1990s and continues to threaten the stability of Yemen, causing periods of extremely violent clashes with the government. The Houthis are not trying to secede from Yemen. They are not at war with the American people, they are pushing back against western policy in Yemen, while also fighting for their religious beliefs to be recognized. The Houthis maintain that their goal is not to secede or overthrow the country; however, they are destabilizing the Yemeni government by stretching it thin, and forcing Yemen to fight multiple problems across the country. If left unresolved, the current state of the Houthi movement will destabilize Yemen and potentially draw in more support from other countries, such as Iran and Saudi Arabia, which could evolve into a deadly conflict if a peaceful resolution cannot not be reached.
This paper will discuss the history of the Houthis and the Yemeni government, the regional instability it causes and implications to the United States. This paper will also discuss consequences that will ensue if these issues continue to go unresolved and there is increas...
... middle of paper ...
...k.com/countries/yemen/history/war-in-the-north/
Lee, R. (2011, June 9). Sa'dah al-Houthi Rebellion in Yemen (2004-Present). Retrieved from Sa'dah al-Houthi Rebellion in Yemen: http://www.historyguy.com/yemen_saada_war.htm
Novack, J. (2009, September 3). Armies of Liberation. Retrieved from Armies of Liberation: http://armiesofliberation.com/archives/2009/09/03/houthis-tell-captured-soldiers-the-real-enemy-is-the-us-and-western-troops/
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
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
Controversy has plagued America’s presence in the Middle East and America’s usage of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) contributes vastly to this controversy. Their usefulness and ability to keep allied troops out of harm’s reach is hardly disputed. However, their presence in countries that are not at war with America, such as Pakistan and Yemen, is something contested. People that see the implications of drone use are paying special attention to the civilian casualty count, world perspective, and the legality of drone operations in non-combative states. The use of drone technology in the countries of Yemen and Pakistan are having negative consequences. In a broad spectrum, unconsented drone strikes are illegal according to the laws of armed conflict, unethical, and are imposing a moral obligation upon those who use them. These issues are all of great importance and need to be addressed. Their legality is also something of great importance and begins with abiding to the Laws of Armed Conflict.
McCutcheon, Priscilla. “Returning Home to Our Rightful Place: The Nation of Islam and Muhammad Farms,” Elsevier (2013): 61-70 doi: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2013.05.001
Ridel, B, 'The real losers in Egypt's uprising', The Daily Best Online, 13 February 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2011< http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-02-13/al-qaeda-absent-in-hosni-mubaraks-fall-and-egyptian-revolution/>
Witte, Griff. "Afghanistan War (2001-present)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.
Hourani, Albert. A History of the Arab Peoples. Cambridge, MA: Belknap of Harvard UP, 1991. Print.
"Arab Uprisings: 10 Key Moments." BBC News. BBC, 12 Oct. 2012. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
Early 2011 uprisings swept across the Middle East and North Africa, and many rebellions are still going on today. The Arab region has seen revolts and conflict since the 1800‘s, but only recently have these revolts been redirected to the problems of Arab society (Ghannam, J. 2011 pg 4-5)The Arab Spring Uprising was first sparked in Tunisia and eventually struck Algeria, Jordan, Egypt, Yemen and then spread to other countries. Citizens throughout these countries were dissatisfied with the rule of their local governments. Issues like human rights violations, political corruption, economic decline, unemployment, extreme poverty, dictators...
Leenders, Reinoud. "Regional Conflict Formations': Is the Middle East Next? ." Third World Quarterly 28.5 (2007): 959-982. JSTOR. Web. 5 June 2011.
...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.
Women’s rights in Yemen have not changed since (or before) the unification of North and South Yemen in 1990. Since the unification, new laws and a constitution (that are still placed on Islamic Shari ‘a law) that are in place unfortunately hold these statements to be true. According to Amal Basha some of Yemen’s laws that stereotype, discriminate, and demeanor women include: the value of the life of a woman, or girl is equal to half that of a man or boy and if a man performs a “honor kill” the maximum punishment he can face in prison is one year, compared to women who face death if they dishonor their husbands, women cannot leave the country without permission from a male relative, if women are imprisoned and do their punishment, they are not allowed to leave prison unless a male relative approves of it, there are no lega...
G. Hossein. “Legitimacy, Religion, and Nationalism in the Middle East.” The American Political Science Review, Volume 84, Issue 1 (1990. 3), 69-91.
The Arab world consists of twenty-two countries encompassing all of North Africa and much of the Middle East. The Arab people number over 360 million and while they share a common language, there is a surprising degree of diversity among them, whether in terms of nationality, culture, religion, economics, or politics. (McCaffrey, 3) Most inhabitants of the Ar...
Lawson, Fred H. "Syria." Politics & society in the contemporary Middle East. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2010. 411 - 434. Print.
Political uprisings in the Middle East, especially in Muslim nation states have placed Arabian politics back on the focus point of international politics. Political events in certain Arab countries had an excessive impact on the political development of other neighboring states. Resistances and anxieties within different Arab countries triggered unpredictable actions, sometimes sorely to observe and believe. The authoritarian governments of Arabian countries led from various dictators have created a precarious situation for their people, especially in providing national security and maintaining peace in the region. Jack Goldstone argues that the degree of a sultan’s weakness has been often only visible in retrospect; due in part to the nature of the military-security complex common across Middle East states (Goldstone 1). In addition, the existence of various statesmen with political affiliation is concerned in faithfulness of its armed forces. Usually, the armed national forces of several states, mainly those in Arab countries are loyal and closely affiliated to their leaders, which have a major role in state regimes. Arab uprisings in their early spreading appeared legally responsible and with concrete demands from representatives’ peoples, calling for a more open democratic system and reasonable governance. Even though, the system in which popular frustration with government imposes alters considerably from one state to another. These public revolts against different authoritative governments didn’t halt just in Arab states, but they sustained also in the Far East and in the Eastern Europe. Can we say that the popular uprisings in Arab countries could be attributed to the term of globalization? In fact, globalization is a multi...
The abrupt end of decade long dominating regime in three weeks had created a political vacuum, that is evident in shifting coalitions and divisions among religious groups, ethnic groups, regional groups and even classes (Barnett et al. 2003, 25). US did not realize, moreover, the depth of the hostility between Kurds and Arabs, Sunnis and Shiites, and the members of different tribes and local religious groups. Furthermore, to deal with destruction in Iraq new plan was decided by the US. The plan was to pull out all troops and hand over the responsi...