A New Model for Defeating Al Qaeda in Yemen

A New Model for Defeating Al Qaeda in Yemen
Author: Katherine Zimmerman
Publisher:
Total Pages: 66
Release: 2015
Genre: Counterinsurgency
ISBN:

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), still likely the most potent al Qaeda terrorist threat to the US homeland, has expanded and strengthened as the Yemeni state has collapsed, and its success buttresses the global al Qaeda network.The current US approach to Yemen has failed alongside the Yemeni state because it prioritized a military response to the AQAP threat rather than a more comprehensive strategy. A win against al Qaeda in Yemen will last only if it is part of a global strategy against al Qaeda, ISIS, and like-minded groups. The US must identify a way forward and lead a coordinated regional response in Yemen, including negotiating a political settlement among Yemeni stakeholders, supporting subnational actors, leading a ground offensive against AQAP, and addressing the immediate humanitarian needs of the population.

The Struggle for Yemen and the Challenge of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula

The Struggle for Yemen and the Challenge of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Author: W. Andrew Terrill
Publisher: Army War College Press
Total Pages: 124
Release: 2013
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN:

In recent years, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has been widely recognized as a more dangerous regional and international terrorist organization than the original al-Qaeda led by Osama bin Laden until his death in 2011. In 2010-11, AQAP was able to present a strong challenge to Yemen's government by capturing and retaining large areas in the southern part of the country. Yemen's new reform President defeated AQAP and recaptured areas under their control in 2012, but the terrorists remain an extremely dangerous force seeking to reassert themselves at this time of transition in Yemen.

Complete Guide to Al-Qaeda in Yemen

Complete Guide to Al-Qaeda in Yemen
Author: Department of Defense (DoD)
Publisher:
Total Pages: 458
Release: 2017-09-26
Genre:
ISBN: 9781549833205

This unique and authoritative compilation includes ten informative government reports, studies, and documents about the ongoing terror threat posed by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in Yemen: AQAP Background and Current Information - AQAP emerged in January 2009 following an announcement that Yemeni and Saudi terrorists were unifying under a common banner, signaling the group's intent to serve as a hub for regional terrorism in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The Exploitation of a Weak State: Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula In Yemen - Yemen is a weak state, as the government does not have the capability to assert effective control over the entirety of its territory. Al Qaida and Yemen - Is Our Current Policy Good Enough? - The United States, with the support of the United Kingdom and the neighboring Arab nations, must act now to eliminate and marginalize Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and capture or kill the Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula's leadership within the borders of Yemen. Once this is difficult task is accomplished then the economic, governance, and military cooperation and assistance programs can really become the long range strategic focus. Denying Al Qaeda Safe Haven in a Weak State: An Analysis of U.S. Strategy in Yemen - This study finds that the rapid buildup of Yemen's security apparatus prior to the implementation of government reforms has perpetuated the authoritarian rule within the country, further entrenching AQAP within the marginalized southern population. The Struggle for Yemen and the Challenge of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula - President Hadi's efforts to rebuild the Yemeni military have been particularly difficult because of the deep factionalism within these forces and the presence of senior leaders with deep ties to the old regime. Hadi, therefore, has proceeded forward in a serious but incremental manner. Yemen: Background and U.S. Relations - CRS report updated in late 2014 - This report provides an overview and analysis of U.S.-Yemeni relations amidst evolving political change in Yemeni leadership, ongoing U.S. counterterrorism operations against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) operatives in Yemen's hinterlands, and international efforts to bolster the country's stability despite an array of daunting socio-economic problems. Al Qaeda-Affiliated Groups: Middle East and Africa - After more than a decade of combating Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the United States now faces an increasingly diverse threat from Al Qaeda affiliates in the Middle East and Africa and from emerging groups that have adopted aspects of Al Qaeda's ideology but operate relatively or completely autonomously from the group's senior leadership. Drones over Yemen: Weighing Military Benefits and Political Costs - In the case of Yemen, drones are not popular with the local population, but they do appear to have been stunningly successful in achieving goals that support the United States and Yemeni national interests by helping to defeat the radical group al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). A False Foundation? Al Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Tribes and Ungoverned Spaces in Yemen - Efforts to understand and evaluate appropriate policy responses to the multiple crises unfolding in Yemen have often met with a major challenge: the seemingly intractable nature of the terrorist threat against the U.S. homeland given Yemen's weak central government and growing instability. Tribal Militias: An Effective Tool to Counter Al-Qaida and its Affiliates? - The capability that tribally-based militias provide may be one of the most effective tools against Al-Qaida, and may offer a cost-effective mechanism serving as a force multiplier for U.S. forces. The Conflicts in Yemen and U.S. National Security - Yemeni Regional Politics and Saudi Arabia, Drones, Qat Chewing, al-Qaeda, War on Terror, Houthi Tribesmen Rebellion, Zaydi Shiite Sect, Kleptocracy

Fighting Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula on All Fronts

Fighting Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula on All Fronts
Author: Kaitlin Sharkey
Publisher: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing
Total Pages: 88
Release: 2014-11-18
Genre:
ISBN: 9783659632129

The United States needs a long-term counterterrorism strategy in Yemen. Three years in, the faltering Yemeni transition threatens to fall apart in the face of an economic crisis, ongoing internal conflict, and al Qaeda attacks. Unchecked, a failed Yemeni state will provide al Qaeda with a larger recruiting base and an expanded area for operations. To prevent this nightmare scenario, the United States should integrate military restructuring, political reform, and economic development policies into its greater strategy to counter al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). This book describes the dynamics of the 2011 Yemeni uprising, the subsequent political transition, and the simultaneous evolution of AQAP. The book then analyzes these phenomena in the context of U.S. national security policy to determine a long-term counterterrorism strategy in Yemen. To succeed in defeating AQAP and stabilizing Yemen, the U.S. government must engage with its Yemeni partners and regional actors; invest in Yemen's military restructuring, political transition, and economic reforms; and continue to attack AQAP through direct action operations and in tandem with Yemeni armed forces.

High-Value Target

High-Value Target
Author: Edmund James Hull
Publisher: Potomac Books, Inc.
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2011
Genre: History
ISBN: 1597977543

Since its inception, al Qaeda has aspired to create a safe haven in Yemen,where it has operated against U.S. and Yemeni interests. From 2001 to 2004, when Edmund J. Hull was the American ambassador to Yemen, U.S. and Yemeni counterterrorism efforts successfully seized the initiative against al Qaeda, severely degrading its capabilities. During this period, al Qaeda mounted no successful operations against U.S. interests in Yemen and suffered the loss of its top leadership and cadres. High-Value Target tells the inside story of how al Qaeda’s Yemeni safe haven was disrupted during Hull’s tenure. A top counterterrorism official in both the Clinton and Bush administrations, Hull provides a detailed account of a team effort to build a strategic basis for U.S.-Yemeni counterterrorism and to execute a broad strategy aimed at improving not only the security of Yemen but also its economic development.That strategy included launching successful strikes against al Qaeda’s leadership; engaging in sustained, personal involvement in Yemen’s remote tribal areas; and fostering Yemen’s nascent democracy and civil society. Plagued by profound distrust, scarce resources, and constant threats, the U.S. diplomatic team encountered numerous obstacles but ultimately positioned Yemen on a path toward enhanced security and modest political progress.

The Last Refuge: Yemen, Al-Qaeda, and America's War in Arabia

The Last Refuge: Yemen, Al-Qaeda, and America's War in Arabia
Author: Gregory D. Johnsen
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2013
Genre: History
ISBN: 0393082423

A former Fulbright Fellow who studied in Yemen describes the rise and fall of al-Qaeda and how they grew out of their defeat by the United States into one of the most dangerous and threatening groups in the world.

Yemen on the Brink

Yemen on the Brink
Author: Christopher Boucek
Publisher: Carnegie Endowment
Total Pages: 110
Release: 2010-08
Genre: History
ISBN: 0870033298

Yemen is facing a unique confluence of crises. A civil war in the North, a secessionist movement in the South, and a resurgence of al Qaeda are unfolding against the background of economic collapse, insufficient state capacity, and governance and corruption issues. The security challenges are the most important in the short run, because economic and governance issues cannot be addressed without a minimum of stability. This volume brings together analyses of the critical problems that have dragged Yemen close to state failure. It provides an assessment of Yemen's major security challenges by recognized experts, and it broadens the discussion of the tools available to the international community to pull Yemen back from the brink. Separate chapters examine the resurgence of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the complex relationship between al Qaeda and the Yemini tribes, the Southern secessionist movement, and the civil war in Saada. Contents include • Yemen: Avoiding a Downward Spiral • What Comes Next in Yemen? Al-Qaeda, the Tribes, and State-Building • The Political Challenge of Yemen's Southern Movement • War in Saada: From Local Insurrection to National Challenge • Instrumentalizing Grievances: Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Contributors include Sarah Phillips (Centre for International Security Studies, University of Sydney), Stephen Day (Rollins College), and Alistair Harris (RUSI and former diplomat and UN staff member).

The Last Refuge

The Last Refuge
Author: Gregory Johnsen
Publisher: Scribe Publications
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2012-11-26
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1922072109

A gripping account of how al-Qaeda in Yemen rebounded from an initial defeat to once again threaten the United States Far from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States and al-Qaeda are fighting a clandestine war of drones and suicide bombers in an unforgiving corner of Arabia. The Last Refuge charts the rise, fall, and resurrection of al-Qaeda in Yemen over the last 30 years, detailing how a group that the United States once defeated has now become one of the world’s most dangerous threats. An expert on Yemen who has spent years on the ground there, Gregory Johnsen uses al-Qaeda’s Arabic battle notes to reconstruct their world as they take aim at the United States and its allies. Johnsen brings readers inside al-Qaeda’s training camps and safe houses as the terrorists plot poison attacks and debate how to bring down an airliner on Christmas Day. The Last Refuge is an eye-opening look at the successes and failures of fighting a new type of war in one of the most turbulent countries in the world.

"Between a Drone and Al-Qaeda"

Author: Letta Tayler
Publisher:
Total Pages: 98
Release: 2013
Genre: Civilian war casualties
ISBN: 9781623130701

The report examines six U.S. targeted killings in Yemen, one from 2009 and the rest from 2012-2013. Two of the attacks killed civilians indiscriminately in clear violation of the laws of war; the others may have targeted people who were not legitimate military objectives or caused disproportionate civilian deaths. The report also finds that the six strikes did not meet US policy guidelines for targeted killings that President Barack Obama disclosed in May 2013, and which the White House said had been partially implemented. The Yemeni government has compensated some families for civilian deaths, but payments have been haphazard and often inadequate.