Modified:
11 Jan 2010
by Booji
Vote totals:
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50%
No:
50%
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DEBATE: YEMEN: AMERICA'S NEXT WAR?
Posted by: Marie4
Karma:
452
Yemen is a country that Al-Queda has presence. America has already invaded Afghanistan to reduce the presence of Al-Queda, should America invade Yemen for the same reasons?
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YEMEN: AMERICA'S NEXT WAR?
America is worried about the presence of Al-Queda in Yemen
There are many reasons why America should be concerned about Yemen and the influence that Al-Queda is having there.The country is one of the poorest within the Arab World with around half the population living below the poverty line. Many of the detainees currently being held in Guantanamo Bay are from Yemen.Barack Obama has found it very difficult to close the camp. The detainees that have been released have turned up in al-Queda's camps based in Yemen. The Telegraph points out that some of those former inmates have since been killed in clashes in Yemen, for example, Fahd Saleh Suleiman al Jutayli who was originally released in 2006 was killed in September in a shoot-out with government forces.According to the BBC, America has made some significant investment in the country - about $70m (£40m) in military training in an effort to pinpoint where Al-Queda's training camps are.
The US and the UK need to learn from experience. Invading Iraq and Afghanistan has not resulted in peaceful states. Indeed it is quite possible that sending troops to these countries has actively helped to recruit more terrorists.Instead the West should offer real help to develop the local communities. The poor should he helped to a more secure and healthy lifestyle. They would then have something to lose if they supported violence.Al-Queda is present everywhere, the organization's presence in the "U.S" should be the U.S.A's main concern. If Al-Queda wasn't in America, her/it's/their presence anywhere would mean squat. Fact is, strains of Al-Queda are cropping up all over the world mainly/largely because of their presence and impact in/on America. Obama should practice what he preaches. If he believes that bombarding cities/towns/villages/red-cross-hospitals, with the excuse that Al-Queda is out and about, is right in other countries; then why does he not do the same thing in the U.S? Or vice versa (If it isn't acceptable in America, then it shouldn't be acceptable anywhere else.)
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YEMEN: AMERICA'S NEXT WAR?
The person who attempted to blow up an airliner on Christmas Day had links with Yemen
Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab who attempted to blow up an airliner over Detroit on Christmas day has links with al-Queda based in Yemen. He had told his family that he had gone to Yemen to learn Arabic. He has later informed investigators that he had visted an al-Queda training camp located in the North of the country.His family were already concerned about his behaviour. They were worried that he had become radicalised. Mutallab began to skip his Arabic lessons and attend lectures at el-Eman university. One of the lecturers at the university is Anwar al-Awlaki is linked to serval other terrorists. It was lucky that the bomb did not detonate. It is likely that other terrorists will emerge from Yemen and the US cannot let this happen.
It has already been proven that links to a country does not mean that there will be invasion. Most of the 9/11 bombers had links to Saudi Arabia but there was not thought of invading there as the Royal family are supported by the US and the west more generally.The main difference is that to a certain extent Saudi Arabia has itself This is not the case in Yemen where the central government is not strong enough to attempt to defeat the Al Qaeda elements within the country.This however is not because Yemen wants Al Qaeda in its country rather because it is tottering on the edge of being a failed state. This means that any action taken by the United States might tip Yemen over the edge and we do not want another Somalia. The best course of action therefore is to help and support the Yemeni government and moderate factions rather than engaging in military action.
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YEMEN: AMERICA'S NEXT WAR?
many terrorist groups in Yemin
there are many terrorist groups in Yemin.Most of these groups are gunning for the U.S.and the west. Therefore we should strike before the groups get more powerful.
YEMEN: AMERICA'S NEXT WAR?
It will be risky for the US to invade Yemen
War (although the chances are that the US will not declare war) does not necessarily mean a full scale invasion of Yemen. Much more likely would be air strikes and missile attacks possibly with special forces on the ground to hunt down militants. The furthest that any attack would be likely to go would be having civilians on the ground to help the Yemeni government.
The US is already engaged in a war in Afghanistan. Barack Obama has recently announced that he going to send more troops to the country - about 4,000 more. The war is showing no signs of coming to an end. If the US does decide to go ahead with a military conflict in Yemen, it will be very risky. The Arab world is weary of the US. Many countries do not agree with the conflict in Afghanistan (or Iraq). It is unlikely that the Us will get support from Yemen's neighbour's to invade. However, the government in Yemen is an ally of the US. If the US did invade, would it be a winable war? Al-Queda are a difficualt oppenent - it is hard to spot its supporters. Support for the organisation appears to be growing especially among disaffected young men. The Us has a hard task to stamp out terrotism, it is unlikely to be stamped out entirely. Invading another middle-easter country may make matters worse for the US. There is also the issue of Iran whose government is strongly against the US. any action against any country in the middle east by the US may provoke Iran.
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YEMEN: AMERICA'S NEXT WAR?
Dangerous consequences of intervening
Simon Tisdall argues that If the US intervenes in Yemen there could be a number of particuarly unpleasant consequences in the country and dangerous consequences for the wider region as a whole.Firstly the US could get involved in aproxy war being fought out by Saudi Arabia and Iran as Iran is reported to be funding and arming insurgents inside Yemen, something that given current tensions could be a bad blow to any chance of a deal over Iranian nuclear technology Secondly the Saudi Arabian Regime could be threatened as insurgents who are much more hardline than the current government could get in. This would be as a result of opponents of the government getting the perfect thing to rally on. Despite Saudi Arabia Thirdly with thousands of refugees from Somalia in Yemen there could be the possibility of additional conflict with Somalian radicals as well as indigenous ones.This is sort of a parralel with what happened in Vietnam where the US sent advisors and then got involved in a full scale conflict which spread to other countries such as Cambodia which had a regime change from monarchy to hardline communism in the form of the Khmer Rouge. There is a difference that if the US does invade or goes beyond security advisors it could lose two "allies" Saudi Arabia and the Yemen and cause a whole lot more trouble to add to Afghanistan and Iraq.[[Accessed 5.1.10. Simon Tisdall "Yemen Intervention Risks Ripple Effect"
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Marie4
|15:05, 03 January 10
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StephenO
|15:40, 04 January 10
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NADIA999
|05:37, 07 January 10
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Marie4
|15:43, 03 January 10
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booji
|11:02, 04 January 10
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debatedave
|01:53, 11 January 10
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Marie4
|15:51, 03 January 10
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booji
|10:55, 04 January 10
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Leo A Capella
|22:11, 05 January 10
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