Is Yemen becoming a terrorist hotbed?
International political commentators say that Yemen’s lawlessness, porous borders and poverty have made it a safe haven for al-Qaida and a breeding ground for terrorism.
The International Crisis Group believes that Yemen’s terrorist activity may have started because its government has little control over a vast amount of its territory and the kidnappings and violence which have long been a part of Yemen’s everyday culture.
If a weak and violent state has partly caused terrorism in Yemen, the poverty, rising population and an uneven distribution of depleting natural resources cannot help the situation.
The International Institute for Strategic Studies points out that the 2008 report on human development in the Arab World, confirms the rise in poverty in Yemen, which affected as many as 59 per cent of the population, and the increase in the unemployment rate to 34 per cent.
“This creates a fertile environment conducive to the spread of extremist ideas, an increase in criminal and terrorist acts and the violation of security.” Ali Muhammad Al Anisi
Ali Muhammad Al Anisi, chairman, National Security Agency and Head, Presidential Office, Yemen said at International Institute for Strategic Studies lecture: “This creates a fertile environment conducive to the spread of extremist ideas, an increase in criminal and terrorist acts and the violation of security and stability in general.”
Sudarsan Raghavan from the Washington Post Foreign Service agrees with the link between poverty and terrorism in Yemen: “This is the poorest country in the Middle East. The economy is crumbling, unemployment is high, oil resources are shrinking. All this helps create a perfect breeding ground for extremists.
“In Yemen, al-Qaida is very organized. They have an online magazine, regularly beam videos and other communiqués on jihadist sites and forums. They have training camps.”
Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula’s main motivations is to use Yemen as a launch pad to target Saudi Arabia, Israel and especially the United States.
Over the past year the branch has increased its aggressiveness and ambition, attacking high profile targets. Now that it has claimed responsibility for the Northwest bombing attempt, it hopes to elevate itself into a leadership role among global terrorist groups.
“Most analysts believe that the US needs to increase development and economic aid to ease some of its core obstacles of poverty, high unemployment, and illiteracy to prevent it from becoming a larger breeding ground for terrorism.”
The International Crisis Group says that many discontented youths are drawn to Yemen’s Islamist movements, one of which, Islamic Jihad Movement, is said to have links to Osama bin Laden.The Yemeni government’s interference in tribal disputes has also led to anti-government sentiment, meaning more disaffected groups are attracted to these militant groups.
Sudarsan Raghavan offers a solution to tackling Yemen’s poverty and consequently its terrorist activity: “Most analysts believe that there needs to be an increase in development and economic aid to ease some of its core obstacles of poverty, high unemployment, and illiteracy to prevent it from becoming a larger breeding ground for terrorism.”
Growing terrorist threat in Yemen
Foreign Affairs Correspondent Jonathan Rugman visits Yemen's capital Sana'a and finds a city battling poverty, insurgency and the threat of terrorism.
On our way into Sana'a from the airport last night, my producer looked out of the window of our land cruiser and told me that, though this was her first visit, she felt she had seen Yemen all before.
She said there was a familiarity about the crumbling buildings, the chaotic line of street bazaars, the Yemenis on mopeds with their heads wrapped in scarves weaving in and out of traffic, which is so polluting in this mountainous dustbowl of a capital that your eyes water and the fumes linger uncomfortably in your throat.
"This is like Afghanistan but the roads are better and there aren't any foreign soldiers," my producer said. A throwaway remark but one which makes a point. Because the reason that US General David Petraeus announced a doubling of American aid here is presumably because he also fears this could be Afghanistan all over again.
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