Yemen Inflamed (The Nation)

[chill_wind]

Adam Baron writes about the protests and embassy attack in Sanaa that happened Thursday and the roots of those events.

In his twitter account today he says this:

sorry @ambassadorRice, as nearly every yemeni has told me, these thursday and fridays events were NOT just about a movie.

https://twitter.com/adammbaron

Yemen Inflamed
Adam Baron
September 15, 2012

(intro snipped)

Thursday’s events were not solely a response to the controversial film, which few Yemenis—including those taking part in the demonstrations—have seen. Rather, the film struck a nerve in Yemen because of long-simmering resentment of American policy.

Specifically, Yemenis resent what they characterize as the United States’ persistent meddling in Yemen’s internal affairs. Even as government forces cracked down on peaceful anti-government demonstrations last year, the United States appeared reluctant to drop support for Saleh, who American officials viewed as a key ally in the battle against Yemen’s local Al Qaeda franchise. Faced with the choice between siding with the Yemeni people and siding with the corrupt government hundreds of thousands took to the streets to topple, activists complain, the US chose the latter. Since Saleh ceded power, resentment over the United States’ past alliance with the former president has lingered.

Even today, many powerful opponents of Saleh claim that the United States still has not done enough to force the former president’s allies from power. One opposition politician, while condemning the siege, commented that the CSF’s failure to protect the embassy was ironic payback for the United States’ hesitation to make a full break with the Saleh family; after all, CSF commander Yahya Saleh was once a favored US commander. At the same time, factions outside of Yemen’s political establishment have said that American reliance on traditional elites has contributed to their marginalization.

Beyond political issues, many Yemenis have expressed deep resentment over the ongoing American drone campaigns against local AQAP figures. While the Yemeni government has permitted the strikes, many Yemenis see them as an infringement of the nation’s sovereignty and a violation of the rule of law, and they bristle at the way civilian casualties are brushed off as “collateral.” Some Yemeni politicians and tribal leaders have long quietly argued that the strikes have led to a hardening of anti-American sentiment in Yemen. The recent deaths of 10 Yemeni civilians in an apparent US drone strike last week further inflamed popular anger over the drones.

more:
http://www.thenation.com/node/169971#