Yemen
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) operates
out of Yemen, a fragile state plagued by a myriad of socio-economic and security challenges. The population of Yemen faces high levels of poverty and unemployment, a low literacy rate, and an addiction to a drug called “qat.” Furthermore, Yemen’s natural resources are depleting. Predictions say that the capital, Sana’a, will run out of water in 2015 and Yemen’s oil supply will run out in 2017. The al Houthi insurgency in the north and the Southern Movement’s calls for secession both pose an existential threat to the government and place a significant strain on its resources and security apparatus. The combination of these factors creates an environment in which AQAP finds shelter, allowing it to train and prepare for attacks. This section provides analysis and background information on the security challenges in Yemen.
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Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh placed family members in critical positions throughout Yemen’s security forces. This graphic shows his family network. There will be extensive repercussions within the Yemeni state should the Saleh regime be completely overthrown given the extent of Saleh’s reach throughout the state’s institutions. |
Recent Products
Desknote: The Southern Movement Uprising
Tribal Militias in Yemen: Al Bayda and Shabwah
Yemen's Military Restructuring: Removing Saleh's Networks
Al Qaeda in Yemen: Countering the Threat from the Arabian Peninsula
Yemen Crisis Situation Reports
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula: Leaders and their Networks
Abyani Tribes and al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen
Yemen's Military Shake-Up: Weakening Ousted Saleh's Network
Insurgency in Yemen: The New Challenge to American Counter-Terrorism Strategy
The Parallel Revolution in Yemen
Recipe for Failure: American Strategy toward Yemen and al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Taiz: The Heart of Yemen's Revolution
Tracker: Unrest in Southern Yemen
Tracker: AQAP and Suspected AQAP Attacks in 2010, 2011 and 2012
Analysis
The Death of AQAP's Anwar al Awlaki
Ten Years After 9/11: Al Qaeda's Reemergence in Yemen
Al Qaeda's Gains in South Yemen
Terror Partnership: AQAP and Shabaab
Crisis in Yemen and U.S. Objectives
Yemen Protests: U.S. Policy in Crisis
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in 2010: The Intensification of the Near War
Militant Islam's Global Preacher: The Radicalizing Effect of Sheikh Anwar al Awlaki
President Saleh's Missed Opportunity: Yemen's Decision to Reject an al Houthi Cease-fire
Terrorist Rehabilitation in Yemen?
Testimony Before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
January 15th Strike: Targeting al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) Leaders and Implications
Christmas Day Attack: Manifestation of AQAP Shift Targeting America
Christmas Day 2009 Airline Bombing: Yemen and al Qaeda Context
Denying al Qaeda a Safe Haven in Yemen
A Critical War in a Fragile Country: Yemen's Battle with the Shiite al Houthi Rebels
Backgrounders
Yemen Protests Briefing Packet
Critical Threats Project Briefing on Yemen and AQAP
Yemen's Southern Challenge: Background on the Rising Threat of Secessionism
Maps
Map of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Attacks in Yemen
Battle Map of Conflict Area on Border of Saudi Arabia and Yemen
QUICK TAKES
Update on the Crisis in Yemen, May 16, 2011
Al Qaeda and its Affiliates Exploit Yemen Unrest, April 4, 2011
Yemen Protests Update, March 28, 2011
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's English-Language Magazine, July 13, 2010
Anwar al Awlaki - Militant Islam's Global Preacher, March 12, 2010
A Missed Opportunity in Yemen? February 4, 2010
Yemen, AQAP, and a Way Forward, January 21, 2010
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External Publications
Al Qaeda's Yemen-based Affiliate is Alive and Well, The Daily Caller, May 8, 2012
He's Back: Implications of Saleh's Return to Yemen, AEI Center for Defense Studies, September 23, 2011
Yemen Slides Toward Civil War, The Weekly Standard, June 3, 2011
Unrest in Yemen Could Benefit AQAP, The Corner: National Review Online, March 31, 2011
The Shifting Tactics of AQAP, The Corner: National Review Online, November 24, 2010
The Continued al Qaeda Threat from Yemen, The Daily Caller, November 1, 2010
A Litmus Test for Yemen, The Corner: National Review Online, August 23, 2010
We Must Not Forget About Yemen, The Corner: National Review Online, July 9, 2010
Eliminating al-Awlaki, The Corner: National Review Online, April 7, 2010
How to Apply 'Smart Power' in Yemen, The Wall Street Journal, January 13, 2010
It's a War. Where's the Strategy?, The Corner: National Review Online, January 7, 2010
IN THIS SECTION
A New Wave of Military Restructuring Decrees in Yemen
The Yemeni National Transitional Government yesterday issued eight decrees that are aimed at restructuring and unifying this weakened Yemeni military. It will be important to watch whether powerbrokers within the security forces accept the new decisions and whether the Yemeni security forces become a truly reliable partner in the fight against AQAP.
Desknote: The Southern Movement Uprising
Yemen’s fragile and reversible gains against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula are threatened by a new challenge: the re-emergence of a violent secessionist movement in the south.
Tribal Militias in Yemen: Al Bayda and Shabwah
Local Yemeni tribal militias, called “popular resistance committees,” are now the primary defenders of areas threatened by Ansar al Sharia. These militias have been effective, but are not reliable in the long term.
Yemen's Military Restructuring: Removing Saleh's Network
Yemeni President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi issued a series of decrees yesterday that served to both restructure Yemen’s security forces and to remove remnants of ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s network from official command positions.
Al Qaeda in Yemen: Countering the Threat from the Arabian Peninsula
Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen, which has already attempted three attacks on the United States, is stronger now than it was before the start of the Arab Spring. The Yemeni government, America’s counter-terrorism partner, is weaker. The danger to America from this virulent terrorist group is growing. And our current strategy is unlikely to succeed.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula: Leaders and their Networks
Understanding AQAP’s leadership will help define the challenge the U.S. faces, and underpin strategies to defeat the threat that AQAP poses to the United States and its allies. This slide deck provides information on AQAP’s leaders, both current and former, and their networks.
Yemen Crisis Situation Reports: Update 143
AQAP and its insurgent arm, Ansar al Sharia, continue to pose a threat despite announced Yemeni military gains in the south. Increased attacks and assassination attempts indicate that AQAP’s operational network remains functional.
Abyani Tribes and al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen
The prospect of relying entirely on tribes to police south Yemen for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and Ansar al Sharia is tempting. The lesson of the past year is that tribes are essential to an effective campaign against AQAP and Ansar al Sharia, but they are not a silver bullet.
Al Qaeda’s Yemen-based Affiliate is Alive and Well
The news that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula nearly blew up a US aircraft last week is a reminder of its continuing strength.
Yemen's Military Shake-Up: Weakening Ousted Saleh's Network
The new government in Yemen has extracted several of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s cronies from the country’s power structure, including demotion of Saleh’s half-brother Mohammed al Ahmar and nephew Tareq Mohammed Saleh, the former heads of the Air Force and Presidential Guard, respectively.