Is Yemen the Next Afghanistan?

The short answer is "no." One should also mention that any story with such a title should be suspect.

That was the title of a recent article in the NYT magazine by Robert Worth on Yemen - the most in-depth reporting I have come across dealing with Yemen in more than a year. I'm hoping to comment more on the article in the near future, but my first reaction was that it was a little too negative and subjective. Robert Worth was also recently interviewed by NPR's Talk of the Nation. You can find a transcript and audio of the story, "The Growing Power of al-Qaida in Yemen," here.

You can also get a good taste of the current political situation in Yemen - and the US involvement -- by checking out Jane Ferguson's video/article on CNN entitled "U.S. Military Picks, Trains Yemeni Fighters."

Stability and Development in Yemen: A Regional Approach

Much like the CEFIP's "Yemen on the Brink" series, the Chatham House has recently inaugurated the "Yemen Forum." I have yet to look through all the documents, but Ginny Hill has been an important contributor to Yemeni scholarship recently.

American Barred From Coming Home

Here's an interesting article that ran in the Washington Post yesterday about a U.S. Citizen who has been barred from re-entry into the U.S. as a result of his having studied in Yemen. Of interest was CAIR's comment: "We are concerned that FBI interrogations of American citizens in a condition of forced exile are being conducted without due process," wrote Nihad Awad, the council's executive director. "If the FBI wishes to question American citizens, they should be allowed to return to the United States where they will be able to maintain their constitutional rights free of threats or intimidation."

"The Oath," by Laura Poitras

Stephanie and I were at Coolidge Corner this Saturday to see this documentary which was intended to be a study of Salim Hamdan - a Yemeni who was the former driver to Osama bin Laden held at Guantanamo Bay. Instead, the story revolved around his brother-in-law, Abu Jandal, a former al-Qaeda member and jihadist who was 'reformed' after incarceration in a Yemeni prison from 2000-2002. This documentary is a "must-see." Unfortunately, it only runs at the Coolidge through tomorrow. The show times are here: see it if you can!

"Yemen: Dancing on the Heads of Snakes." By Victoria Clark.

So I've recently read the book, which gives Dresch's "A History of Modern Yemen" a run for it's money (albeit Dresch is more scholarly, and his writing more dense). I would recommend the book to anyone with a passing interest in Yemen, as its less than 300 pages addresses the main concerns in Yemen today, as well as gives a good background by providing the last 400 years of history (granted, a thumbnail sketch). For a review by the Economist, click here.

"Yemen on the Brink"

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is currently doing a four-part paper series on Yemen, two of which have already been published and can be downloaded here. Happy reading!

Nujood & Yemen

I have yet to read the Victoria Clark's book mentioned in this CFR article, but I have read Ali's "I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced" which is a good book on the whole, aside from an incredible amount of poetic license on the part of the ghostwriter (Nujood plans on reading the book for the first time this year).