Yemen ― Preventing the Next Afghanistan

The United States has a window of opportunity to implement a new US-Yemeni policy to secure vital national interests in the Arabian Peninsula and prevent Yemen from becoming the next Afghanistan. After decades of authoritarian rule, opposition groups with the support of the Gulf Cooperation Council nations have forced Yemeni President Saleh to step down. In addition to political strife, Yemen has significant social, economic and security challenges that are likely to result in state failure without external intervention. This creates an opportunity for Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to entrench itself further in Yemen and conduct terrorist attacks against US regional allies or even the US homeland. To arrest these trends, the US must recognize the strategic importance of Yemen and make it a long-term foreign policy priority. US leadership and action to implement a comprehensive and consistent US-Yemeni policy, in conjunction with the international community, can set conditions to achieve stability and other important US national objectives in the Arabian Peninsula.