The illogic of American intervention in Yemen 3/3

Hassan Al-Haifi
Published:11-01-2010

This observer has often called on the parties now actively engaged in Yemen in one way or another to go back to the historical background of Yemen and try to figure out just how the current picture of Yemen emerged. This is specifically directed to the foreign entrants in Yemeni affairs, including some of the regional powers that have willingly or not put their feet in a very slow sinking quicksand that will surely represent the biggest challenge to confront them. Saudi Arabian role in the developments in Yemen go back to the First and Second Saudi State (1744 – 1818) and (1824 and 1891) respectively (see (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wahhabism) and (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabia#History). The Saudi advance was deeper into Yemeni territory in the former and the Imam in Sana'a at the time was for a while compelled to abide by Wahhabi religious dictates (destroy domes and large and elaborate tombs). During the Second State, Yemen was mostly under Ottoman rule and the Saudi/Wahhabi alliance was bogged down in a struggle for power with their rivals the Al Rashid and Al Sabhan clans of Nejd.
After the Egyptian Army, which was backing the Republic after the September 26, 1962 Revolution, left Yemen in the wake of the defeat of the Arabs (Egypt, Syria and Jordan) in the Arab Israeli War of 1967, peace was arranged between the surviving Yemen Arab Republic and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republicans and the Royalists reached a national reconciliation with ease once foreign influence was minimized.
Saudi influence in Yemeni politics nevertheless remained strong and the Wahhabi Establishment in Saudi Arabia was beginning to send "missionaries" to spread the Wahhabi Salafi creed and to have the latter replace the traditional mainstream Shafer and Zeidi sects that prevailed in Yemen. This was done initially subtly and with little fanfare, as the Wahhabis started to first set up "Quranic Schools" and then Scholastic Institutes for the advanced stages of Wahhabi indoctrination, so that by the end of the 1970s and especially with the helms of authority taken over by the current President Ali Abdullah Saleh, the Salafis or Wahhabis had an open mandate to expand as they wish anywhere in Yemen. These institutions also were even beneficiaries of state budget funds as the Wahhabi Scholastic Institutes and Quranic Schools became merged with the Yemeni public educational system. In addition, the religious syllabus of the normal public schools began to be infused with Wahhabi teachings. With ample funding from Saudi Arabia and now even the Yemeni Government, the growth of the Salafi Constituency was eminent. In addition, other sects were not given any further encouragement to educate future generations on Shafer and Zeidi, especially with respect to the latter. The old learning institutes of the Zeidi sects were either closed or faced obstacles that prevented them to teach, as informal as such schools were.
As the tensions between North Yemen and South Yemen grew and declined from time to time, the regime of Ali Abdullah Saleh, either through Saudi prodding or out of need, began to use the newly established Salafi constituency in Yemen as paramilitary units, which presumably were to come as Jihadist forces fighting against unfaithful radical or leftist guerillas. The socialist rebels had dug in heavily in the Central Highland extending from Ibb to Ta'ez and from Utuma to Al-Beidha. This of course gave most of the Salafis greater power than the rest of the citizens of the country and they were accorded more facilities (land, buildings and other assets). It was obvious to most Yemenis that the regime was going to give these Salafis, who eventually formed the Islah Party, all the liberty and maneuverability to make them the number one religious institution.
Yemen was able to give many volunteers to the Mujahideen fighting Soviet occupation in Afghanistan. This would enable these groups to gain considerable armament training. This is where Yemeni Salafi leaders like Abdul Majid Al-Zindani began to gain prominence and were used very aggressively to raise the number of volunteers.
With the ample real estate that the Wahhabis in Yemen were able to acquire, most of them were given to them gratis by the Government or sometimes "donated" by private citizens, foreign elements of the Wahhabi genre, were brought in to teach and train the followers of the faith on paramilitary tasks and further indoctrination in the Wahhabi creed.
With such a large constituency of Salafis, it is easy to see why more extreme radical Wahhabi groups can easily find nests to roost in as they escape from one hot spot to the next, either to avoid being caught or killed. After 9-11, Yemen was found to be a major contributor to AQ activities, especially in terms of personnel.
Despite all the foregoing it is for certain now that the US increased military presence will not bring an end to AQ or any other propagators of terror or religious extremism. While Yemen may have contributed many personnel to Jihadist activities, as long as there is ample funding available to Jiahadist activities, they will just continue to relocate from one niche to another.
On the other hand, to have American forces also engage against the Houthis is not helping one bit against the War on Terror, since the Houthis as the record shows have not engaged in any of the bizarre military and para military violence activities that the Salafi Jihadists engage in (kidnappings, murder, suicide bombings and all the other almost maniacal acts that Salafi gangs have been known to unleash. President Barack Obama should not be goaded by the likes of Joseph Lieberman, who is an extremist of the Zionist genre. Mr. Lieberman would not be serving the interests of the United States if he championed US involvement against the Houthis, since the Houthis have done nothing to undermine anyone's interests in the manner which AQ is suspected of having done so. What Jo Lieberman and the other pro Zionist lobbiests in the US are worried about is that the Houthis might be a menace to Israel (as they see Hezbollah as such). In other words, those who are vying for US involvement on the side of the regime in Sana'a are only serving the interests of Israel, notwithstanding the "newly tailored explosive underwear", which again the Houthis have nothing to do with.
The only reason the observer is pointing this out is that American involvement in Sa'ada on top of being suicidal, will lead to large numbers of civilians getting killed for no apparent reasons, with respect to the US. AQ would simply relocate and set up new domiciles, thanks to the ample funding they have access to, probably from the newly producing oil fields of the Empty Quarter Desert, which used to belong to Yemen, but now have been turned over to our gracious neighbors up North.
For more historical background see
http://www.watchinghistory.com/2010/01/context-in-yemen.html

Yemen Times Issue 1328
December 11, 2010