By Steve Hynd
I recommend Patrick Martin's piece in the Globe and Mail today entitled "Cash-strapped Yemen finds a reason to join the hunt for al-Qaeda" as it perfectly explains the domestic political dynamics of current events.
While fears have been stoked across this impoverished land about the intense and sudden scrutiny of Washington, some see the growing threat of al-Qaeda - and the U.S. response to it - as a golden opportunity for embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
"I think he's the big winner," a prominent Yemeni businessman said.
"The country stands to get a big influx of money, and he'll get all the credit."
Already last week, U.S. President Barack Obama asked Congress for $150-million in military aid to Yemen this year, up from $10-million in 2009.
"And now," a member of the country's Shura Council said, "al-Qaeda is our top priority."
Martin goes on to note, as others have, that AQAP is the least of Yemen's many worries. It's got two active rebellions only tangentially connected to any international AQ franchising, an economy at rock bottom and a bigger, better armed neighbour on its border. Saleh sees an opportunity to boost the economy, syphoning off a goodly deal for his own cronies of course, while at the same time using foreign money and expertise to help his forces put down his rebels. And the Big Powers' rekindled interest in Yemen's stability will help keep the neighbour in check too. For all that, Saleh would say that Mickey Mouse was threatening his country, while at the same time insisting that he doesn't need any foreign troops (because that would really piss off his populace).
Any comparison to Pakistan is entirely apt.
Reminds me of that movie "The Mouse That Roared"
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