Al Qaeda’s Goal in Yemen
Solid analysis from Ali Saif Hassan of the YPDF at Time:
“If the government wants to fight [al-Qaeda] seriously, they can do it,” says Ali Saif Hassan, the director of Yemen’s Political Development Forum. But, he adds: “It’s a matter of political decision — how much they will win, and how much they will lose.” Sana’a has recently focused more of its attention on the rebel separatist movement in the south and on the recent Houthi uprising in the north than it has on al-Qaeda.
While some western analysts say that al-Qaeda seeks to overthrow Yemen’s government, Hassan disagrees, saying that al-Qaeda only seeks to establish a base there — a link between the Horn of Africa and the rest of the Arabian Peninsula — and that so long as Saleh leaves al-Qaeda alone, they’ll do the same for him. “The government still sometimes thinks it is too costly for it to fight al-Qaeda. If you ask them to go and fight al-Qaeda, they say ‘Why? And what do I get back?’” says Hassan. Fighting al-Qaeda would mean losing key fundamentalist support in the country, support that is already falling away. What would compel Saleh to turn it around? “It is business,” says Hassan. “If the government gets more support from the Americans, they will change.” The Obama administration has requested $65 million to help Yemen battle its resurgent terrorist threat.
