“Yemen’s Houthi Group Endorse New Government: Presidential Aid”
“Shifting Balances of Power in Yemen’s Crisis”
Yemen newly appointed Prime Minister Khaled Bahah
The first article describes how the Shi’ite Muslim Houthi group has now endorsed the new Yemeni government. Since the Houthi captured the Yemen capital, Sanaa, there has been lots of turmoil within the country. As the Houthi group tries to expand their power west and south of Sanaa, they are confronted by groups of Sunni tribes that are linked to al-Qaeda. The Houthis Ansarullah group criticized the 36 member cabinet aannouncedby president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi calling them “disappointing” and claiming they did not meet the requirements of the power-sharing agreement after the Houthis captured Sadaa. Control and stability of this country is key to the west due to its neighboring country, Saudi Arabia, which is contains oil.
The second article talks about constant change in power within Yemen. It describes Yemeni politics through the concept of anarchy in its most basic meaning: the absence of a sovereign capable of enforcing rules of engagement. This anarchy contains multiple groups that want power all under the same state. Since all actors want to be in power, all have to be alert of the others attacking them. This means that any type of alliance formed between different powers can be shifty as well. Pre-2011, the Houthi movement had few supporters. They took part in 6 wars with the central government which allowed them to build a military. In 2011, they briefly joined alliances with Gen. Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar as well as the al-Islah party to protest Saleh’s rregime but was short lived. The Houthi have made some strategical strides in the last 3 years that has propelled them to one of the more dominant parties within the country. However, their internal opponents are not down for the count.
These two articles somewhat show the effect the US drone strikes have on the people within Yemen. There has always been conflict between different groups within Yemen, making it seem like the country is divided up into different sections. The Houthi group was not always powerful but through wars and fighting they were able to build a military effective enough to fight back their enemies. The US attack on al-Qaeda, which had many Sunni followers, aided the new Houthi military in gaining control of the country which led to them over throwing Sadaa. If the US continues to attack AQAP, it will further aid the Houthi as long as they do not become a threat to the US.
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