Yemen’s president, Abd Rabbu Mansur Hadi, has hastened the pace of political change in Yemen with a series of decrees intended to restructure the national armed forces (Yemen Post, April 11). Not only have the April 10 decrees reshaped the Yemeni military system, but Hadi’s... MORE

The experiment in governance by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the allied Ansar al-Shari’a movement that attempted to establish seven Islamic Emirates in southern Yemen ended in July after less than a year. The end came with a massive June offensive against the... MORE

One of the principal power brokers in Yemen is Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar.  As leader of the Hashid tribal federation, the strongest and second largest in Yemen, al-Ahmar is an individual of unique power. It was via his ability to control both the levers of legitimating... MORE

A telephone conversation between the Saudi Ambassador to Yemen, Ali Hamdan, and an al-Qaeda operative last April gave a rare glimpse into the shadow war between al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The al-Qaeda operative, Mish‘al Muhammad al-Shadawkhi took responsibility... MORE

Since its emergence in March 2011, analysts and experts have tried to pin down the real shape of Ansar al-Shari’a, the militant Islamist group that established seven Islamic Emirates in southern Yemen after its emergence in March, 2011. [1] While many observers maintain that the... MORE

IS RUSSIA SENDING A DETACHMENT OF THE BLACK SEA FLEET TO SYRIA? Despite a recent flurry of contradictory reports, it appears that a detachment composed of ships from the Russian Black Sea Fleet and possibly the Baltic Fleet is preparing for deployment to the Russian... MORE