Yemen model

The Yemen Model was the rubric for the Obama Administration's attempts to neutralize foreign terrorist groups hostile to the United States.

Current (November 2021) political and military control in ongoing Yemeni Civil War (2014–present):
  Controlled by the Government of Yemen (under the Presidential Leadership Council since April 2022) and allies
  Controlled by Houthis-led Supreme Political Council
  Controlled by the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council
  Controlled by Al-Qaeda (AQAP) and Ansar al-Sharia

Strategy
Status as of February 2015 of political and military control in ongoing Yemeni Civil War (2014–present). At that time, territory held by AQAP (grey) included portions of many provinces in eastern Yemen.

US President Barack Obama often cited the Yemen Model as his vision for dealing with insurgent groups.[1][2]

Under the Yemen Model, the United States provided weapons, logistics, transportation and cash to a local proxy force, while committing no or few US troops.[3] The United States also carried out air strikes and targeted killings of suspected opposition leaders.

Naming
See also: al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen
Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, President of Yemen from 2012-2015 and the United States' man in Sana'a

The model was named after the conduct of the United States' continuing conflict in Yemen. The US wanted to minimize the ability of the Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) group to attack US territory, while at the same time, the Obama Administration wanted to commit as few resources to the fight as possible.[4]

The United States picked a proxy force (in this case, tribes allied with government leader Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi), armed and trained them, and used them as a ground force against Al-Qaeda factions in exchange for US aid to the regime, totaling more than $600 million.[5] The United States also conducted a significant low-tempo air and drone campaign starting in 2009. The US also occasionally launched commando raids inside Yemen and did base some military personnel in and around al-Annad air base in the south of the country.[6]

The Obama Administration often defended its actions in Yemen as effective, and a model for other conflicts.[1][5][7]

Other American conflicts

During the early stages of the current American conflict in Iraq, Obama cited the Yemen Model as the inspiration for the conduct of the war.[1][7] He went so far as to mention Yemen as a model for success during his first speech about the new war in September 2014.[2]

The Administration also defended its efforts in Somalia as an outgrowth of the strategy.[8]

See also

References
  1. "In devising a plan in Iraq, U.S. looks to its Yemen model". Los Angeles Times. 2014-06-22. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  2. "Four months ago, Obama called Yemen's war on terror a success. Now the Yemeni government may fall". The Washington Post. 2015-01-20. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  3. Zimmerman, Katherine (2014-07-17). "Yemen model won't work in Iraq, Syria". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  4. "Obama's love of the "Yemen model" sums up his disastrously shortsighted foreign policy". Vox. 2015-03-30. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  5. Shuaib Almosawa (12 September 2014). "Obama's 'Yemen Model' for the War on ISIS Is a Wreck". The Daily Beast. Thedailybeast.com. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  6. "Yemeni president demands Houthis quit Sanaa; U.S. evacuates remaining forces". www.reuters.com. March 21, 2015. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  7. Bruce, Mary (March 25, 2015). "White House Continues to Back Yemen as Model For Successful Counterterrorism". abcnews.go.com. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  8. "White House calls Yemen 'model' for ISIS fight, as security deteriorates". Fox News. 2014-09-29. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
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