There is a real danger that unrest across the Middle East is now generating a genuine existential threat to the West – and to people of all faiths everywhere who seek to live peacefully alongside one another. Though at least some of the suicidal gunmen who wreaked havoc on the vibrant and multicultural streets of the French capital’s 10th and 11th arondissements in Paris were European nationals, all were inspired by a hate-filled ideology incubated in the chaos of Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. And as the UK Parliament decides to extend the reach of our RAF bombers into Syria, the question on many lips is, where do we go from here?
First a bit of realism: "we", the West, are not going to fix the Middle East. We don’t see it the way people in the region see it, and we certainly don’t understand it the way they do. In 2003 I saw for myself the harm that such hubris had, with the almost wilful neglect of any serious planning for the aftermath of invading Iraq. The solutions to the region’s problems must come primarily from the regional powers themselves. In particular, rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran must exchange their proxy wars, of which Yemen is but one, for diplomatic engagement. But there are ways we – the West – can and should help. And equally importantly, there are ways in which we can avoid making things worse.
The UK’s close ally, Saudi Arabia, is struggling in a conflict with the Houthi rebels in Yemen which risks becoming a quagmire; it is already breeding extremism and taking a high humanitarian toll. Yemen has not been widely covered in Western media, yet Isil and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) are taking advantage of the chaos there to strengthen their presence – just as they have done in Syria and Iraq, with such devastating consequences. Isil has claimed a number of bloody suicide bombings in the Yemeni capital Sana’a over the past few months, and they brag about their armed presence in the city of Aden. Whatever the debate in Parliament may suggest, the challenge of Isil and extremism goes much further in the region than Syria’s borders, and so should any sensible response.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/yemen/12031049/Our-coalition-partners-the-Saudis-are-creating-conditions-in-Yemen-which-let-Isil-flourish.html
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