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An international approach is needed to mitigate Yemen’s economic and security challenges before it becomes a failed state, creating a harbor for extremists on the border of Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil producer.
The resurgence of al-Qaeda in Yemen and around the world demands a comprehensive counterterrorism approach. In order to combat al-Qaeda and similar groups, the international community must focus on capacity building in weak states and de-radicalization programs.
Yemen faces a host of economic and security challenges. In order to stabilize the country, a proper balance of short term counterterrorism measures and long term development assistance is needed.
Efforts to combat terrorism largely defined the global security agenda during the past decade, when small terrorist groups, with as few as three hundred active members, were able to inflict enormous amounts of damage on regional, national, and international scales.
The presence of Al-Qaeda in Yemen is only one of many security and economic challenges facing the country. International aid must be comprehensive in nature and empower the Yemenis to build their own capacity, in order to combat these challenges.
As the international community searches for ways to prevent further destabilization in Yemen, the Obama administration is being forced to rethink its plans for the numerous Yemeni detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
While the rise of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has focused international attention on Yemen, the country’s economic and demographic challenges pose a greater threat to its stability than al-Qaeda does.
Yemen’s mounting security and economic issues require an international approach. Ultimately, aid to Yemen must address the long term stability issues the country is facing, not just American or regional security concerns.
Saudi Arabia's rehabilitation program for former detainees at Guantanamo Bay includes religious dialogue and relies heavily on families of the former detainees. To date, the program has had a success rate of about 80 percent.
While the Iranian public is still divided in its opinion on the regime, the high turnout at anti-government protests suggests that a majority, if not a vast majority, of people in Iran want to see a different type of government in Tehran.