Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Kuros]

Actually I reduced the last word in my title from eight letters to four to comply with TOS.

Anyone want to defend Yemen?

[url=http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=6830636]
Yemen releases 170 Al Qaida suspects[/url]

[mises]

Guess how I voted?

Yemen is a fundamentalist muslim state. We should not expect any different. If one of these dudes turns up with a bomb strapped to his chest in Toronto, London or NYC then Yemen must be punished. Not "bring them democracy" punished, though.

[bucheon bum]

It isn't as backwards as Afghanistan. That's about as strong an argument as I can come up with.

Great country to visit. Friendly people, very hospitable. chewing qat is a fun experience. Weather in most of the cities is pretty ideal.

But yeah, the gov't is corrupt and has been losing control of the country for the past few years.

The part that was formerly South Yemen is also less fundamentalist than the northern part. Alas, the northern part is more densely populated.

In a related note, "'Unprecedented' Security Alert To Tighten Noose Around Al-Qaeda'"

[soviet_man]

I voted "No, it is misunderstood".

I say that because it is refreshing to find a place where capitalism and materialism is not the central objective of the society.

That, and Russian passport holders like myself are allowed in 1 month visa on arrival - one of the few countries to do so.

[Rusty Shackleford]

[endo]

[Kimbop]

harhar! Let 'im have it!

[RJjr]

I've never been to Yemen, but it appears to be as backwards as all Hell. It seems like sending fighters to Afghanistan is more important to them than having a decent standard of living. Of course, it's almost as if the USA, Canada, and Britain are emulating Yemen in that respect.

[Kuros]

Portrait of a backwater

[yingwenlaoshi]

[bucheon bum]

[Adventurer]

Yemen, is a country that used to be two different states. It has so many strong tribes and tribalism is rather strong when compared to other Arab states like Jordan or Syria where the idea of the tribe in the traditional is almost gone. Yemen also has huge disparities in income and some conservative tribes have grievances against the government. You have had Al Qaeda elements who left Iraq and are in Yemen and part of the problem. The are mountain areas where people can hide out and desert.
Some say it is not simple to go and just intervene with massive force in Yemen.

1)The central government is weak, and Yemen has Shia rebels it's having problems with. I don't think the solution is pouring in ground troops into Yemen. The best thing would be to bolster the Yemeni government financially and militarily, but the government must end its corruption and deal with some of the reasonable grievances from tribesmen. The fanatics are used in some cases as a tool.


2)People should be careful about the use of violence there. I am not very familiar with Yemen, but I think one can stir up a tribal hornet's nest and turn people who are not necessarily Al Qaeda people into a lot of violence against the government. T

3)The War in Iraq has led to this in some ways. The fact that some of these guys fought in Iraq can't be ignored and these people can't simply ignored, but people need to tread carefully.


4)If things are mishandled, you can have tribal chaos. These wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are, naturally, going to have created problems. Fanatics are sometimes use as a tool against the government as people are angry with their government.

5)You also have regional concerns at play and a possible break-up of the country again and a separation into two states.

6)Yemen does have many secular people who lived in the former socialist republic.

7)Of course, I know some people are looking at the Yemenis as if they are midieval barbarians with their khanajir (daggers) at their side. It's also the land of the drug Qat and coffee.

I think an understanding needs to be arrived at between the Saudis, Yemen, and the Shia rebels to give the government breathing room.

[beck's]

Any country that lives by a holy book will automatically be corrupt and backward. The stripe of holy book doesn't really matter although at this particular time in history it is the Quaran. Before the Reformation and the Enlightenment in Europe it was the Bible. Same same but different. Yemen is a backward theocracy.

When the infastructure falls apart, when the cities fall into decay and when the kids go malnourished and their teeth fall out with rot the Mullahs will not blame themselves other than to blame their lack of zeal.

They will blame prosperous free countries. Then they will export their jihad there. That is what is happening now.

Why Obama expatriated the Git Bay prisoners to Yemen is entirely another question. Many of these former Git Bay prisoners have taken up arms once more against the west after getting refresher courses in Yemen.

[mises]

[Adventurer]