Armies of Liberation

They seem to think Saleh is capable of reform, although any reform will undermine his authority and cash flow. Economic reform in Yemen is not possible without serious political reform.

Earth Times: London – World powers must broaden the range of support they give to Yemen immediately and sustain it over many years to stop the country from becoming a base for al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups, top diplomats at a conference in London said Wednesday. That will require aid which goes beyond military assistance to help the Yemeni government defeat rebels in the north and south, instead targeting reform, economic development and the rule of law. (Read on …)

Not one word from the international community or Madam Secretary in reference to freedom of the press.

RSF

The 66-year-old editor of the daily al-Ayyam, Hisham Bashraheel, was arrested on 6 January, the day after the security forces lifted a 24-hour siege of his newspaper in Aden. One of his sons, managing editor, Hani Bashraheel, was also arrested at the same time. Another son of Hisham Bashraheel, Mohammed Hisham Bashraheel, was arrested on 5 January. It is not known where they are being held or what the charges against them are.

Abu al Fida is the individual who negotiated on behalf of al Qaeda with President Saleh and Gamal al Qamish starting in 2006 once the dialog program died. He always praised the relationship and gained some important concessions from the regime. More on al Feida here, with links back to older posts.

Times Online: When Osama Bin Laden decided to marry for the fifth time, he turned to his most trusted advisers to find him a bride.

He wanted a Yemeni girl, he told them. The marriage would cement his relationship with Yemen, his billionaire father’s homeland. Sheikh Rashad Mohammed Saeed Ismael, a Yemeni aide, took up the challenge. (Read on …)

Saving a man not a nation:

Monsters and Critics: Five major Yemeni opposition parties said in a joint statement that the conference ‘tended to save the political regime in Yemen rather than the state which is exposed to a serious deterioration due to the policies of this same regime.’

The parties, led by the main Islamist party, Islah, said the government used the conference to gain foreign support ‘in the face of the dangerously deteriorating internal situation and the democratic life.’

They said the conference’s support for the Sana’a government have ‘depleted the last remaining hopes of Yemen and Yemeni people for a serious and real help from the international community.’

Britain’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for the meeting in response to the failed bomb attack on an airliner over Detroit on December 25. The alleged bomber was reportedly trained in Yemen.

‘The meeting ended with ambiguous decisions that did not affect the essence of the Yemeni crisis in their manifestations except the security aspect,’ the statement said.

By supporting the government, the conference supported ‘instability and corruption,’ it added.

More buzz on Ali Mohsen from al Wahdawi below the fold. This investigative report from “Saadaonline” is not too surprising:

Ali Mohsen coordinating with al Qaeda in Sa’ada
Salafi leaders integrated directly into the military
Tribal militias and other groups armed by the military
Zaidi mosques handed over to Salafis
Kidnappers were unable to relocate the hostages initally because of Houthi control of many areas and were forced to leave the bodies inside the military controlled Al Jbarah valley
Yemeni government behind the recent declaration of jihad if western troops enter Yemen

Hidden roles between Sanaa regime and al-Qaeda

Special News Saada
20/1/2010

we talk about Saada previously and the hijacking of doctors in
Saada province on the role of a hidden secret and to coordinate with the secret coordination with pro Government:

Especially in the area of Wadi (Valley) Al-Abu Jebara
we talked previously about the history of this valley and where Al Qaedeh fighters training.

Funds, which pumps by Saudi princes and their relationship with Osama bin Laden through private sources, News Saada inside the corridors of military bases and political situation in Saada

During the latest sadah War mostly at Abu Ali font , we got field information that confirm that :ABADAH and TAYS group and other groups from WADY- Valley- Al JBAREH had met with local officials of Sadah and received ammunition and weapons to confront Al Hoothy from behind, and that what really happened .

Those days we got secret and confidential information when news focused on Qaeda in Yemen. The information said that there is currently coordination between military commanders/ eaders loyal to Ali Mohsen Al Ahmar through his office in Saddah, the aim of this coordination is bolstering and unify their actions against Al Hoothy. (Read on …)

True. By paying money directly to the sheiks, the Saudis divorce the sheiks’ relationship with and accountability to both state and their constituencies, the tribe. Victoria Clark at the Independent

Saudi aid in the security field is already reckoned to be around double the $140m to be offered to Yemen by the US this year, and there is more – harder to quantify precisely – in the form of mosque-building, charity and religious education. But the hardest Saudi aid to quantify is the cash flowing straight out of a Saudi “Special Office” to the sheikhs of many Yemeni tribes, especially ones located anywhere near the Saudi border.

A Yemeni civil rights activist laments the Saudis’ financial clout, portraying it as one of the chief banes of Yemen’s existence: “Although Yemenis hate Saudis,” he explains, “the Saudis know how to spread their influence by their wealth and they have corrupted everything in Yemen.” He claims that two thirds – in other words, 6,000 of Yemen’s approximately 9,000 tribal sheikhs – benefit from Saudi handouts, the most powerful of them to the tune of $3.5m a month.

The Saudis’ apparent reluctance to invest in the long-term development and improvement of the country and help educate its people is what makes Yemenis baulk at the now frequently voiced Western opinion that Yemen’s rich neighbours, rather than any Western countries, should be taking the lead in supplying aid to Yemen.

- Telegraph: Yemen to open rehab center for about 60 detainees. ” the Yemenis had agreed in principle to the establishment of a Reintegration and Risk Reduction Initiative, which would be internationally funded and monitored.”

- ABC: Ibrahim Al Nahari, sub-governor for foreign banking operations, told Reuters that oil income had fallen to $2bn in 2009, from $4.4bn in 2008, a year-on-year plummet of 55.4 percent.

- Yemeni official accuses Iran, al-Qaeda of funding Houthi rebels, denies UBL in town.

- Yemen carrier seals $700 mn deal with Airbus

- Yemen Times, good article: A woman among the tribes

- the National: Gen David Petraeus, the head of the US Central Command, revealed this week that US funding to Yemen for counter-terrorism and special forces’ operations would increase to about $150 million this year, up from $67m in 2009.

- Youth Initiative: Youth Exclusion in Yemen: Tackling the Twin Deficits of Human Development and Natural Resources

There’s a new ops center and intermediaries to funnel and pass US intel to the Yemenis. Good luck with that, all their sources are going to start having car accidents. Yemeni-American Anwar Awlaki is on a pre-approved hit list. Other reports say theres about 200 Special Ops in Yemen and plans for more but no troops.

WaPo: The operations, approved by President Obama and begun six weeks ago, involve several dozen troops from the U.S. military’s clandestine Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), whose main mission is tracking and killing suspected terrorists. The American advisers do not take part in raids in Yemen, but help plan missions, develop tactics and provide weapons and munitions. Highly sensitive intelligence is being shared with the Yemeni forces, including electronic and video surveillance, as well as three-dimensional terrain maps and detailed analysis of the al-Qaeda network. (Read on …)