- Social:
independent Yemen analyst
Non-resident fellow at the Sana'a Center for Strategic Studies; Yemen researcher and analyst, and founder of the blog, Yemeniaty.com
PROFILE
Sama'a Al-Hamdani
Guest
FROM Sama'a Al-Hamdani
To the Point
The United States in another Middle-East civil war For months, State Department officials and a few members of Congress have warned that America's at risk of violating international law. Until today, it was all about US military aid to Saudi Arabia's bombing of civilian targets in Yemen, its tiny neighbor already devastated by civil war. Today, an American warship fired cruise missiles into Yemen — in retaliation for shots fired from shore -- making the US more directly involved than ever. Now Iran is sending ships to the region -- escalating an already tense international situation while a humanitarian disaster unfolds on the ground.
To the Point
New Yemen airstrikes change shape of war Why are some bloody conflicts all but ignored, while others are continually making the news? This weekend in Sana'a, capital city of Yemen, hundreds of mourners were paying their respects to a family after the death of its patriarch. The funeral was suddenly shattered by an aerial bombardment that killed more than 100 people. Yemen researcher and analyst Sama'a Al-Hamdani, a fellow at the Sana'a Center for Strategic Studies, says the reasons the Yemeni conflict is overlooked, are often misunderstood.
To the Point
Has Obama's War on Terror Lost a Key Ally? Since the attempted underwear bombing of 2009, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has not been accused of trying to attack the United States. But its operatives in Yemen have increased from hundreds to thousands — and they claim responsibility for the massacre at Charlie Hebdo. Yesterday, the US conducted its first drone attack of the year against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Are President Obama's drone strikes keeping America safe? He admits his strategy is "not neat and not simple," but he calls it "the best option we have." After last week's collapse of a sympathetic Yemini government, is that still true?
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