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The U.S. should not be seen now--even in the wake of a recession--as abandoning any peaceful country or region to Al-Qaeda, especially in regions of Southwest Yemen, where citizens are continuously reaching out to the West to make investment. The West and neighboring Arab countries, like the oil-rich Gulf states, need to help them regain their footing on the way to modernization (at a tempo appropriate to the needs and efforts of the Yemenis on the ground these days).
In short, high unemployment is likely the biggest obstacle to combating radicalism in Yemen. This means public works projects will be quite beneficial in the short and intermediate term. Empowering women can become part of the project if the West is creative in implementing such large scale training and construction efforts.
Nonetheless, with the expensive banking debacles in the West this decade, most of the developing world and Ban Ki Moon at the UN are all extremely nervous that the U.S. and European governments, NGOs, and private investors will not try to do more to (1) fight Al-Qaeda by (2) targeting development moneys along with (3) providing some military training to those under-trained regimes, who are overwhelmed by Al-Qaeda.
Yemen is the place to start to really win hearts and minds. Both Gulf state oil money and (NGO or) foreign government cooperation with Yemen is a very important project to focus on in 2009 and 2010, i.e. before new elections in Yemen take place and change the political landscape.
NOTESAl-Masmari, Hakim, "Exactly What I Said"-, YEMEN POST, September 22, 2008, p. 6.
"Global Financial Crisis Could hurt UN Program"-, YEMEN OBSERVER, September 23, p.10.
"Yemen Faces New Jihad Generation"-, YEMEN POST, September 22, 2008, p. 9.
