Al-Qaeda in Yemen - Assignment Example

Al- Qaeda in Yemen Introduction: The Arab spring has created a complete panic and havoc in the Middle East. Yemen is one of those countries that has come in the line of fire of this revolution. Yemen has been the center of attention is in the headlines due to the internal unrest. This unrest has come about in the form of toppling of the elected president, the rebels group and the Al-Qaeda operating in different appearances. The rise of Al Qaeda has posed different questions with regard to the safety of the neighboring countries, primarily Saudi Arabia, United States of America and its war against terror and Al- Qaeda in particular. This paper looks into the multiple dimensions of the problem ranging from its threat to the stakeholders, the history, current scenario and other dynamics of the problem at hand (Rollins 2010,p. 10). Overall threat Assessment: The overall threat comes in a multiple manner. The first is that to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia shares its borders with Yemen. The potential control of Al- Qaeda in Yemen would lead to its expansion and reach out towards the borders of Saudi- Arabia. Saudi Arabia itself feels highly threatened and vulnerable by the ambitions of Al- Qaeda. It is a threat to the regional peace and poses serious threats to the gulf that exists between the Shiite and Sunni population which is being exploited by external sources. Under the banner name of Ansar al Sharia of Yemen (Patrick 2011,p. 102), the Sprinter group finds its assistance and support from the globally recognized entity of Al- Qaeda. Another threat that is faced by the Yemen itself. Since Yemen’s elected government has been ousted in form of control over the office of President Mansur Hadi. Al- Qaeda being a globally banned outfit and radical in its outlook, the people of Yemen are at a direct threat in this regard since they are not only hostile to the locals but the outside world. Secondly, Al Qaeda’s actions have often been seen with high concern and fear by the Shiite population of Middle East. Given the fact that their slogan is religious in nature and they claim to be the protective guardians of the Sunni community, the over forty five plus percent Shiite population of feels directly exposed to this threat. The concerns of United States of America come about in the form of the spread of Al- Qaeda and its agendas and ideals. Since United States of America has initiated a global war on terror and aims at reaching out to any part of the world where Al- Qaeda may be operational, it therefore is a new front for United States of America to engaged in Yemen. United States of America is already engaged in mitigating the challenge thrown by Al- Qaeda in Iraq. This would lead to a new front (Davis 2008,p.144). Success of Al- Qaeda here would deal a serious blow to the ambitions of United States in Middle East. History of Al- Qaeda in Yemen: While the traces of Jihadi elements in Yemen can be traced to the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan, but in the most recent times, the existence of Al- Qaeda in Yemen came about in the form of 2009 attacks. Their offensives started off with the Embassy attacks on United States Embassy and also the Mohammad Bin Nayef coming under the attack and nearly escaping an attempt on life (Boucek and Ottaway 2010,p. 35). Apart from this, the Al- Qaeda faction in Yemen has been behind number of other notable events of trouble. Their more active presence came about towards 2012 when the elected president was ousted and was replaced by Mansur Hadi (Stewart 2013,p. 161). Later on when he also lost ground with regard to the grip over the region, Al- Qaeda resurfaced and took advantage of the situation and now not only have they taken over the key positions but also poses threats to Saudi Arabia and overall coalition forces and their global war against terror. Members/ Leadership: Al- Qaeda has been in a state of war and has declared its war against the West in general and United States of America in particular. Al Qaeda in Yemen is given the name of Al Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). They have undertaken it on account of their Holy War against non Muslims. In actual they do not have the support of the common Muslim population and they are the minority group of hardliners who believe in enforcing their views through coercive means. Their top leadership is derived as a faction group of the original Al- Qaeda that is operating globally. Globally Ayman Al Zawarihi is the head of AL Qaeda. In Yemen particularly there are number of top figures who operate to assist, facilitate and engage in Al- Qaeda manifesto based activities within that region. Ibrahim al- Rubaysh was one of the top leaders in Yemen (AP 2015). Current Motives: The current motives of Al Qaeda in Yemen include taking advantage of the weak government structure and absence of machinery within. Al Qaeda’s common practice in the recent times has been exploiting the areas where the governments are potentially toppled or weak in working (Hoffman 2014,p.17). The example can be traced from Iraq first, Syria second and now Yemen. In each of these cases the Al Qaeda faction aims at strengthening its grip, getting into a strong position before agreeing to negotiations and making advances against the agenda and manifesto that they hold in the form of global spread of their ideas through the means of weapon. Through their present day offensives they potentially would try to spread their reach to the neighboring regions of Yemen and more predominantly Saudi Arabia. One of the core manifestos of Al Qaeda remains the fact that any country that is in good relationship with the West and United States of America in particular will be targeted to the offensives of Al- Qaeda. Since Saudi Arabia remains one of the closet partners of United States of America, it may be in the direct front line attack of Yemen in this regard. Al Qaeda has evolved since its initial formation. It originally operated in limited number of countries and zones and with passage of time, has expanded its reach out to various parts of the world. This also includes its faction groups and sub divisions operating in the different parts under specialized names. For example, I.S.I.S, or Daish is the most violent outlook of Al Qaeda and it is the sprinter group within that has evolved to become one of the most deadly outlook that is present as a militant wing in present day. Another aspect to the overall motives of Al Qaeda include its targeting and aiming of rich oil fields that are present in parts of Yemen largely in the South part (Johnsen,2013). This will help them in multiple ways, the first is that of forcing the government to negotiate with them, the second is through these oil reserves and resources, the rebels and irritant elements will finance themselves and find resources to support their activities. Location/ Scope/ Magnitude: The scope of Ansar al Shariah in Yemen is sufficiently strong enough to unnerve the government and common citizens or any other militia force of the country. They have engaged in various operations, activities and offensives on the government entities making them more lethal in their outlook. While they predominantly operate in the Southern part of Yemen, few of the major activities and operations undertaken and engaged by them include the 2012 attacks on Yemen army in a training camp. In a single suicide attack it killed as many as over hundred soldiers. Other similar offensives and counter offensives by the Yemen army include Battle of Zinjibar. Where the Yemen army aimed for restricting the movement of AL Qaeda and preventing the city of Zinjibar from falling into the hands of the rebels. Other similar attacks include the likes of Battle of Dofas. Again, it was aimed at reverting and thwarting the attacks of the rebels and the supposed backed elements of Al Qaeda. This took place in 2011. All these actions and offensives mentioned were of large magnitude in nature and reveal the threat and overall potential possessed by the new sprinter group of Al- Qaeda in Yemen under the name of Ansar al Shariah of Yemen. Tactics: The rebels group and the Al Qaeda sprinter group adopts the guerilla warfare based techniques. It hides in the different parts and attacks from behind and engages in ambushes. This can be reflected from the large number of activities and offensives engaged by them through these three to four years. Other tactics include the support for any outlaw group that will aim to oppose the government and other rival groups of the government or the pro west forces. Funding and connections: AL Qaeda has a global network of funding and assistance. In particular to Yemen, it is being alleged that numbers of irritants from the region have been assisting them. The regional countries are often blamed in this regard. Other sources of funding in this pattern come from ransom demand on account of abduction. Another major source of their funding comes from the oil reserves and depots take over. This is not just limited to Yemen, rather in Iraq and Syria as well; the irritants have taken up the source of oil for the purpose of finding funds to support their activities and assist the heavily armed campaigns of engaging against the government and other military units’ attacks. Counter the threat: Yemen crisis pose a serious threat to the regional stability. It involves the regional security concerns. Yemen in the past has been a center of attraction to Al-Qaeda and other extremist militant organizations. However, this time the scenario is more complex. Houthi tribes, who have their association with the Shiite sect Zaidiyyah, have revolted against the elected government of Mansur Hadi. They have rebelled against a peace agreement signed in 2011 which came about through the mediation of Yemen’s border sharing neighbor Saudi Arabia. There are potential number of solutions which may be engaged for the purpose of resolving the issue. This confrontation has come about in the form of proxy war going on between Saudi Arabia and Iran in the region. The threat can be countered in number of ways. The first is to ensure that an immediate peace deal is brokered between the rebels group of Houtis and the government. A peace deal that was in place previously through the help of Saudi Arabia may be tried again. It must be ensured that the both sides come to a table dialogue at the earliest. The alleged support of one of the Shiite populous country towards the support of Houthi rebels is seen with deep concerns by the various groups and stakeholders in the aim to broker a deal and peace agreement. Especially the regional head Saudi Arabia that shares its borders with Yemen. One direct option that is often considered for engagement is that of directly confronting the rebels group. For this purpose, there are already operations, and aerial attacks of Saudi Arabia in process. Furthermore, the Arab league in its emergency meeting has recently called for a special force of over forty thousand that will engage in a collective activity towards resolving the issue and reducing the power of rebels to attack (BOYLE 2014). With all the options on card, it must be ensured that the war must come to an immediate end. This is largely important on the account of fact that the civilians are directly getting affected by it. A state of civil war prevails in the country with the government ousted and the rebels highly reactionary towards the Sunni population (Stephan 2015). This must end immediately, the United Nations, Arab league as well as the neighboring countries must take steps to stop this carnage and provide for a long lasting solution. The ethnic conflicts and divide within the Arab world must come to an end for good. The radical element of Al Qaeda and its sprinter groups can be overcome through a collective policy action. References: AP. Al Qaeda In Yemen Says Senior Leader Ibrahim Al-Rubaish Killed In U.S. Airstrike. April 14, 2015. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/14/ibrahim-al-rubaish-killed-yemen_n_7062758.html (accessed April 16, 2015) Boucek, Christopher, and Marina Ottaway. Yemen on the Brink. Carnegie Endowment, 2010 BOYLE, CHRISTINA. Arab Leagues joint military force is a defining moment for region. March 29, 2014. http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-joint-arab-military-force-20150329-story.html (accessed April 16, 2015) Davis, Todd A. The Global War On Terror. Xlibris Corporation, 2008 Hoffman, Tod. Al Qaeda Declares War: The African Embassy Bombings and Americas Search for Justice. ForeEdge, 2014 Johnsen, Gregory D. The Last Refuge: Yemen, al-Qaeda, and the Battle for Arabia. Oneworld Publications, 2013 Patrick, Stewart. Weak Links: Fragile States, Global Threats, and International Security. Oxford University Press, 2011 Rollins, John. Al Qaeda and Affiliates: Historical Perspective, Global Presence, and Implications for U. S. Policy. DIANE Publishing, 2010 Stephan, Ahmad. Q&A: Yemen: This is not a sectarian war. March 29, 2015. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2015/03/qayemen-sectarian-war-150326110539304.html (accessed April 16, 2015) Stewart, Dona J. The Middle East Today: Political, Geographical and Cultural Perspectives. Routledge, 2013 Read More