Carnegie Institution: Terrorism and piracy are a threat that must be combated in Yemen
English - Wednesday 01 March 2023 الساعة 04:51 pm
Aden, NewsYemen:
The Carnegie Institute said that terrorism, along with piracy in the Gulf of Aden, is the threat that must be combated in Yemen, adding that "no multilateral security and military structure has been formed in the region capable of confronting terrorism."
In an article by the Arab writer Mustafa Naji, the institute stated that the (American) central tendency in combating terrorism prevented the success of regional frameworks in combating terrorism due to their lack of resources and the lack of harmony between the parties involved.
It made it clear that the American perception of combating terrorism was subject to criticism and revision in strategy and operational methods, in addition to a change in the American position with the Biden administration, by focusing on internal extremism and confronting global competition with China and Russia.
It added, "The shift in the American position accompanied by a will to reduce the cost of intervention and influence in the region of the arc of crises that extends from Afghanistan to Mauritania corresponds to the emergence of emerging regional powers desiring to achieve influence and play a growing regional role to gain control over the emerging regional countries (Iran, Turkey, the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar) has a large room for maneuver.
It believed that "the appetite of the emerging regional countries, in playing an important role, has strengthened the militarization of the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea region, where naval patrols are being carried out and an Emirati-Saudi military presence is being secured, within the framework of the Arab coalition, on the shores and islands of Yemen and Eritrea, in addition to the presence of international military bases." Especially after Yemen turned, due to the civil war, from a partner country in combating security threats in the region to a source of threat to navigation as a result of the behavior of the Houthis and their use of naval mines and drone boats targeting military and civilian ships.
In this context - the author says - and despite the introduction of regional initiatives in the fight against terrorism that did not succeed, such as Russia's initiative to build a regional security system in the Gulf or Saudi Arabia's initiative to establish a bloc of Red Sea countries, the multi-cooperation was exposed to atrophy, so that countries proposed an alternative bilateral cooperation approach.
He pointed out that among these countries is the United Arab Emirates, which recently concluded two agreements with Yemen in December 2022 and Somalia at the beginning of this year 2023 for military cooperation, the details of which did not appear except that it is based on combating terrorism, training and military preparation.
He believed that this agreement is consistent with the strategic vision of the UAE's foreign policy and its objectives in the region and in Africa: (economically, protecting and developing UAE interests, and geopolitically, ensuring the security of waterways, especially the Bab al-Mandab Strait).
Thus, the UAE's professional and operational capabilities are enhanced.
The presence of local security and military units in the countries of the agreements is consistent with the culture and mechanism of Emirati military action and exempts the UAE from military deployment, according to the author.
He continued, "After years of intervention within the framework of the Arab military coalition led by Saudi Arabia in Yemen, it is good to institutionalize external intervention in the countries of the region."
However, he added, "However, the date of the recent UAE security agreements falls within a complex context that makes the UAE's foreign policy more focused on the security and military approach in fragile or semi-collapsed countries that suffer from severe divisions and are vulnerable to regional polarization that undermines the state's support and social peace in these countries."
While he pointed out that the agreement with Yemen has not yet passed through the internal legislative process and has not been presented to parliament, the writer did not rule out that such agreements would arouse the sensitivity of the countries of the region competing with the UAE or be understood as an indication of the inefficiency of the multiple cooperation within the framework of the Arab coalition.
He concluded by saying: "The unilateral security approach in combating terrorism has proven its failure. Its continuation means a decline in the importance of political and social approaches, governance and political participation."
