Yemen Feature: How A Country Was Lost in Obama's "War Laboratory" (Johnsen)

Photo: ReutersIn the final presidential debate, more than 11 years after the Bush administration launched its global war on terror, President Barack Obama identified "terrorist networks" as the gravest national security threat facing America. But Yemen, which is home to the most dangerous al Qaeda affiliate, has attracted precious little attention from either of the candidates in this election.

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Yemen Opinion: Questioning Washington's Model of Drones and Permanent War (Johnsen)

Al Jazeera English's Inside Story asks, "Are US Drone Strikes A War Crime?"

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1. Despite the US bombing campaign in Yemen, which has been partially designed to keep Al Qa'eda in the Arabian Peninsula on its heels so that it can't plot attacks against the US, the organization is still actively plotting and attempting to launch new attacks;

2. The more recruits AQAP gains the bigger of a talent pool it has upon which to draw.

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: An Activist's Death Sparks Protests

Demonstration in Aleppo, Syria last night, expressing solidarity with the slain Meshaal Tammo

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Bahrain Special: Zainab Omran Tells Her Story of Abuse in Detention --- Part 2
Yemen Feature: Nobel Prize Winner Karman "Our Revolution is Uniting Yemen"
Bahrain Special: Zainab Omran Tells Her Story of Detention at City Center Mall
Saturday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: A Celebration in Yemen, A Killing in Qamishli

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2217 GMT: Mohammad Sudam, a Reuters correspondent in Yemen, was kidnapped on Saturday night in Sana’a by forces loyal to defected General Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar, according to Ministry of Defence announced on Sunday.

Sudam, who is also a translator for President Saleh, was arrested at a checkpoint run by Al Ahmar’s troop as he travelled from Sana’a airport to his house.

The Yemen Journalist’s Syndicate condemned the arrest of Sudam and called for his immediate release.

2215 GMT: We are getting unconfirmed reports that the Syrian military is shelling Homs, the country's third-largest city, tonight. It is impossible to verify this at the moment, as almost all communication with the city is cut off.

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Syria, Bahrain, Yemen (and Beyond) LiveBlog: A Libyan-Style Civil War?

2045 GMT: In Bahrain, five leading opposition parties have announced a mass rally on Friday, begining at 4:30 p.m. local time, " We Demand Democracy":

EA sources report demonstrations across the country tonight including Muhaza, Sufala, Wadian, Sanabis, Aldaih, Karbabad, Dar-Khulaib, Alhamalah, Barbar, Buri, and Al Eker. A photo from Sanabis this evening:

And video from Dar-Khulaib:

Claimed footage last night of a clash in Sufala village in Sitra:

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Yemen, Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Who's in Charge Here?

See also US and the World (Video and Transcript): President Obama to UN General Assembly "Peace is Hard"
Yemen Analysis: The Latest Deaths and the Mistakes of US Policy
Wednesday's Syria, Yemen, Bahrain (and Beyond): A "Win-Win" Protest?

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2125 GMT: Another photo of the mass opposition rally in the Bahraini capital Manama today:

2105 GMT: Claimed footage of men trying to rescue a shot companion from a street in Talbiseh in Homs Province in Syria:

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Yemen Analysis: The Latest Deaths and the Mistakes of US Policy (Johnsen)

A man is shot by a sniper at the "Kentucky Roundabout" in the Yemeni capital Sana'a

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The news media, as should be expected, largely ignored Yemen when there were bloodier crises to cover in Libya and Syria and as a result so did the merry-go round experts in [Washington] DC and Europe.

But the US did not.

Now I completely disagree with the way the US has approached the crisis in Yemen since the uprising started in February, and I think my record is pretty clear on that, but I can't say it has ignored Yemen.

In fact, only a couple of weeks ago, John Brennan, who has emerged as the US point man on Yemen - which should tell you something about US priorities in Yemen, given that he is a counterterrorism adviser --- explained that Yemen's cooperation with the US was better than ever since Saleh left the country.

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Yemen Analysis: Why the US Death-by-Drone Strategy Will Not Work (Johnsen)

There are many more Islamists in Yemen --- people who went abroad to fight in Afghanistan or Iraq --- than there are members of Al Qa'eda in the Arabian Peninsula. 

Why?

Because many of those who went abroad to fight did so to defend Muslim lands from western military aggression and when they returned they disagreed with AQAP's claim that Yemen is a legitimate theater of jihad. 

With the US launching bombs into Yemen many more individuals will join up with AQAP for the same reason they went abroad to fight: to defend their land from what they see as Western military aggression. 

As if this wasn't bad enough the US is taking it one step further and, according to the Wall Street Journal, will be targeting people according to their "pattern of life."

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Yemen Feature: Who's Who in the Battle for Power (Al Jazeera English and Johnsen)

Sheikh Abdullah al-Ahmar & His 10 SonsGovernment sources in Yemen said on Sunday that Saleh's sons and nephews have not left the country. That gives Saleh a strong power base inside Yemen; the president has spent years consolidating power within his family.

The elite Republican Guard is headed by Saleh's son, Ahmed, long viewed as a potential heir to the presidency. His nephew Yahya leads the riot police; another nephew, Tariq, is the head of Saleh's personal bodyguards.

Several other brothers and nephews hold key positions in the military and intelligence services as well. Collectively, Saleh's family commands tens of thousands of troops, many of them the best-trained and best-equipped in Yemen.

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Yemen Breaking: "Islamic Militants" Occupy the New York Times

Photo: Hani Mohammad (AP)UPDATE 1930 GMT: The Times has an article with a different approach this afternoon, "Yemen Battles Opponents on Two Fronts". While the reference to "Islamist militants" remains, this at least is set alongside the developments in Taiz:

"The Yemeni government ratcheted up its violent response to opponents on two fronts Monday, pounding a major coastal city with airstrikes aimed at dislodging Islamic militants, and smashing the country’s largest antigovernment demonstration in overnight clashes that killed more than a dozen protesters, according to witnesses reached by phone."

So what happens to the priorities of "Western" reporting when the spectre of "Islamist militants" arises?

Exhibit A from The New York Times, which headlines on the occupation of Zinjibar in Yemen by 300 insurgents, "Islamists Seize a Yemeni City, Stoking Fears". (The lead photograph (see left) of armed men is not actually of "Islamists" in Zinjibar, but of "tribesman" in the capital Sana'a, if you can read the small-font caption.)

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Yemen Special: Three Days That Escalated a Conflict (Johnsen)

Sanaa, YemenThis escalation by government forces will likely have far-reaching consequences.  Already the fighting on Tuesday had been more intense than Monday, with tribal forces shelling the Ministry of the Interior and taking over different government buildings.

It isn't clear where this headed, or what can be done from the outside, probably not much.  President Saleh has let slip the dogs of war.  This is likely to get worse before it gets better.

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