Mr.
Chairman, I am extremely concerned over current US policy toward Yemen,
which I believe will backfire and leave the United States less safe and
much poorer. Increasing US involvement in Yemen may be sold as a fight
against terrorism, but in fact it is more about expanding US government
control and influence over this strategically-placed nation at the
gateway to Asia. The current administration,
according to today’s testimony of Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey
Feltman, has dramatically increased foreign aid to Yemen, from $17
million in FY 2008 to $40 million in FY 2009, to $67 million for FY
2010, to, according to the president’s recent budget sent to Congress,
$106 million for FY 2011. That represents an incredible six-fold
increase in US aid to Yemen over just four years, at a time when the US
economy continues to falter. When I look at
the US assistance plan for Yemen I see that it is primarily focused on
nation-building. That is the failed idea that if the United States sends
enough money to a foreign government, with which that government
purchases US-manufactured weapons and hires US-based consultants and
non-governmental organizations, that country will achieve a strong
economy and political stability and in gratitude will become eternally
friendly to the US and US interests. I have yet to see a single
successful example of this strategy. According
to Assistant Secretary Feltman’s statement, “Priorities for U.S.
assistance include political and fiscal reforms and meaningful attention
to legitimate internal grievances; better governance through
decentralization, reduced corruption and civil service reform; human
rights protections; jobs-related training; economic diversification to
generate employment and enhance livelihoods, and strengthened natural
resource management.” How can we believe that the US government can
achieve abroad what we know it cannot effectively achieve at home? We
are going to spend millions of dollars to help create jobs in Yemen as
we continue to shed jobs in the United States? Yemen
is a country mired in civil conflict. The Shi’ites in the north, who
make up a significant percentage of the country’s total population and a
majority in their region, have been fighting against what they see as
the discriminatory policies of the Sunni-based government in the
capitol, Sana’a, for years. Yemenis in the south, who up until 1990 were
a separate country, likewise oppose the central government and threaten
to escalate this opposition. Added into this mix are elements of what
are called al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), some of whom are
left over from the US-supported fight against the Soviet occupation of
Afghanistan in the 1980s, and others have been radicalized by their
exposure to Wahhabi extremism in US-allied Saudi Arabia. Still others in
AQAP are veterans of the insurgency against US occupation of Iraq. We
cannot forget either those Yemenis who were held for years by the United
States without charges at Guantanamo Bay. How many of those were
innocent of terrorist actions or intent but became radicalized under
such conditions? Saudi Arabia’s concern over
the Shi’ite unrest in north Yemen has led to unsubstantiated claims of
Iranian involvement in attempt to draw the US into a regional problem
that has nothing to do with the United States. Saudi Arabia has
struggled with unrest among its own Shi’ite population and is determined
to prevent any spill-over. There are some here in the US who repeat
false claims of Iranian involvement in the hope of expanding the US
military presence in the area. Others in the United States irresponsibly
call for a US pre-emptive war in Yemen. We should be clear on this:
expanded US involvement in Yemen plays into the hands of bin Laden and
his organization as has been made clear on many occasions. Luring the
United States into a conflict in Yemen by falsely advertising it part of
a war on terror will certainly radicalize the Yemeni population against
the United States. It will weaken our over-extended military and it
will further destroy our economy. Similarly,
the US-backed central government in Sana’a stands to gain by claiming
its internal problems are part of a global crisis that requires US
intervention. The central Yemeni government has much to gain by making
its battles and its problems our battles and our problems. But that gain
will come at the expense of US soldiers, US security, and the American
economy. I wonder how long it will be before the US establishes a
permanent base on the strategic territory of Yemen? I
hope, as we begin to debate the foreign affairs budget for next year,
that we may yet change course from that of the last administration,
where the failed policies of interventionism, militarism, and
nation-building have left the United States in a diminished position in
the world. |