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Amb. Edward W. \u201cSkip\u201d Gnehm Jr. and his State Department colleagues used to joke that Yemen \u2013 the Arabian Peninsula nation that shares borders with Saudi Arabia and Oman \u2013 was their foolproof tactic to fend off tough questions during their frequent visits to Congress to testify.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they were haranguing you or beating you up about selling the wrong equipment to the wrong country, if you could just think of a way to bring up Yemen and start talking about the tribes, their eyes would glaze over, they\u2019d start talking to aides and they\u2019d forget entirely what it was they\u2019d asked you,\u201d said Amb. Gnehm, B.A. \u201966, M.A. \u201968, Kuwait professor of Gulf and Arabian Peninsula affairs. \u201cYou were scot free.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope I don\u2019t do that to you tonight,\u201d said Amb. Gnehm, former U.S. ambassador to Kuwait, Jordan and Australia, in his introduction to the 2010 Annual Kuwait Chair Lecture held March 4. The lecture, which focused on Yemen (PDF<\/a>), was sponsored by George Washington University\u2019s Middle East Policy Forum. In the lecture, Amb. Gnehm drew upon his service as charges d\u2019affaires and deputy chief of mission to the American Embassy in Yemen from 1978 to 1981, and on more recent trips to the region.<\/p>\n \u201cYemen is in deep trouble, and at least one of its problems \u2013 the presence of Al-Qaeda \u2013 impacts American national security,\u201d he said. \u201cThe need for the United States to address this presence is without debate.\u201d<\/p>\n But Washington\u2019s understanding of Yemen is debatable. \u201cIf we are to deal effectively with the al-Qaeda threat stemming from Yemen, we must understand the complexities of the many issues currently facing Yemen,\u201d warned Amb. Gnehm. \u201cWe must also act wisely within a cultural setting that may, in fact, circumscribe our actions.\u201d<\/p>\n Part of acting in a culturally wise manner is realizing that Yemen has a long and proud history. Although many American reporters seem to think Yemen was born on Christmas Day 2009, when a Nigerian-born and Yemen-trained terrorist tied to al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden was captured before he could blow up an airplane.<\/p>\n \u201cReally? Just like that?\u201d Amb. Gnehm said. \u201cAsk a Yemeni and he might remind you of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, a Yemeni queen by the way, or any other of many historical accounts of a country not often in the U.S. news. I was certain that I had lived in Yemen and, in fact, had recently visited Sana\u2019a \u2014 all before December 25, 2009!\u201d<\/p>\n Despite its proud cultural history, Yemen is a nation in crisis today. \u201cYemen faces an extraordinary array of significant issues: political, economic and social,\u201d said Amb. Gnehm. \u201cThe most essential fact to understand is that these issues are deeply intertwined. It is impossible to tackle one without dealing with the broader constellation \u2014 and that includes the major U.S. concern \u2014 the al-Qaeda presence in Yemen.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to al-Qaeda\u2019s Yemeni presence, the republic also faces a rebellion in the north, a southern secessionist movement, tremendous poverty, massive unemployment, a population explosion and severe water crisis, Amb. Gnehm said. Additionally, Yemen could lose its primary source of government revenue, its oil reserve, in five to seven years. \u201cReal questions persist as to the government\u2019s ability to operate effectively both due to a lack of resources and of expertise not to mention rampant corruption,\u201d Amb. Gnehm said.<\/p>\n As one could imagine, there is no easy and quick fix to Yemen\u2019s problems. \u201cSuccess will require the sustained commitment of the international community, most particularly Yemen\u2019s Gulf Cooperation Council neighbors, as well as international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund,\u201d said Amb. Gnehm. \u201cMost importantly, a meaningful commitment and determination by the government of Yemen itself to address the issues it now faces is essential to any success.\u201d<\/p>\n The United States must not stand idly by and watch Yemen develop into a catastrophe, warned Amb. Gnehm. \u201cA failed state on the Arabian Peninsula that looks like Somalia today would be a major threat to the United States, to major oil producers in the region and to the major shipping lane between Europe and Asia that passes through the Red Sea,\u201d he said. \u201cWe simply cannot afford to ignore this \u2018failed state\u2019 possibility; but to be successful we need to address the whole range of political, economic and social issues comprehensively and with a commitment for the long term.\u201d<\/p>\n (Photo: eesti<\/a>)<\/i><\/p>\n Menachem Wecker, who is a writer and editor at the news website of The George Washington University, George Washington Today, where this article was previously published<\/a>. He also blogs on religion and art for the Houston Chronicle<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The United States cannot afford to ignore Yemen, says Middle East expert and former ambassador Edward W. “Skip” Gnehm Jr. Instead, the US must address a range of political, economic and social issues comprehensively.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-briefings"],"yoast_head":"\n