Excellent Yemen Article at Jamestown
Munir Mawari reviews the possible meanings of the divergence between Yemen and Saudi Arabia on the capture of “major financier” Saudi Hassan Alwan. Yemen says they captured him; the Saudis haven’t heard anything yet.
Its quite a similiar situation to the seven Saudis that Yemen breathlessly reported captured in February. The Saudis issued an official statement at the time denying any knowledge, later re-published by SABA, Yemen’s official news agency. (See Oh Seven Saudi Al Qaeda Weren’t Captured in Yemen?) And it looks like they did it again.
Jamestown: Analysts and observers often hesitate to trust Yemeni authorities when they issue their periodic announcements regarding their fight against terrorism. Their often exaggerated or cosmetic claims of their anti-terrorist activities and victories are not as credible as claims made, for instance, by the Saudi authorities, who have a better history of credibility. The uncertainty surrounding the arrest of Alwan should cause any independent observer or analyst to have two hypotheses on the matter, each supported by evidence from openly available sources…
Read the whole thing at Jamestown for a thoughtful analysis of the possible scenarios, the broader picture and its implications.
