Across the Middle East, it is heard that the propagation of ?al-Qaeda? cells and the planning of terrorist attacks are due to unpopular US policies, such as the invasion of Iraq , in the region. In Yemen , however, deep-rooted conflicts between tribal or minority groups and the government are the real roots of the terrorism problem in that country. Terrorism in Yemen has traditionally been an outcome of these clashes, whereby groups or tribes secure their autonomy or get certain demands met by threatening stability in the country, including embarrassing the Yemeni government by attacking foreigners in Yemen. The rather weak central government negotiates with such groups in order to keep safe both government entities and foreigners who are so often the targets of this violence. While attacks like those on the USS Cole and the French tanker, The Limburg , are exceptions, most instability and terrorism in Yemen stems from domestic dynamics rather than the policies of foreign countries like the United States.
From such a political environment, however, it is no great leap to a slightly more radical ideological orientation that condones this violence on the basis of Jihadist justifications in addition to being a tactic in the domestic power struggle. Motivations of groups plotting violence in Yemen have revealed elements of both. The problem in Yemen is much more complex than to simply say that ?al-Qaeda? or ?al-Qaeda?s ideology? is spreading through the country. Terrorism in Yemen has more to do with historical tensions between tribes and groups as well as the continuing struggle for resources and power among these groups in a resource-poor, weapons-rich country than it does with al-Qaeda.
For example, a group of 35 men and one woman are on trial for plotting terrorist attacks. On February 19, 29 of them appeared in court (the other seven are still on the run and are being tried in absentia). On display were tools of terrorism that had been captured with them. These items included electronic detonators, 21 sticks of dynamite, 12 missiles, various firearms, and items the prosecution believes were intended to disguise cell members carrying out terrorist attacks: military uniforms, street sweeper uniforms, and other elements of disguises, according to the Yemen Times. A number of firearms, among them two pistols disguised as pens, were also captured with the group.
Authorities suspect that the group members were plotting to execute explosions at government buildings in Sanaa and to assassinate political and military leaders. They were not al-Qaeda, but rather Yemen?s most infamous source of instability: the ?Houthyeen.? The Houthyeen are the followers of Sheikh al-Houthi, killed in 2005 by government security forces. Sheikh al-Houthi was a member of the Zaidi Shia sect, a minority group in Yemen traditionally marginalized. He amassed a large gathering of followers in strongholds in northern Yemen to carry out acts of violence in order to challenge central government discrimination against his group. According to the Yemeni government, he also wanted to overthrow the existing Sunni government. Al-Houthi?s followers are many and still are plotting acts of terrorism and engaging government forces in armed clashes. More than 200 Houthyeen have been killed in battles with the central government. The Houthyeen allege that the government has encouraged the build-up of violent Sunni groups near their strongholds in an attempt to threaten them.
Also currently on trial in Yemen are a group of violent Sunnis. Just a few days after the court session for the 36 Houthyeen, the Sunni alleged terrorist group also appeared in court where their terrorist paraphernalia was also listed: anti-armor missiles, bombs, forged identity cards, electrical circuits connected to cell phones for detonators, and C-4 explosives. The group is accused of plotting attacks against foreigners and government targets, in retaliation for the killing of the leader of an al-Qaeda cell in Yemen. In a country where opposition to the US invasion of Iraq is strong, members of the group say in their defense that they were only plotting terrorist attacks for the cause of Jihad in Iraq, not in Yemen.
The prosecution alleges that the group wanted to attack targets like the Aden Sheraton Hotel in order to harm the Yemeni government?s ties with certain countries. In this way, these acts of terrorism and others in Yemen are not primarily intended as an attack against the foreigners who get caught in the cross hairs or used in the power struggle, but rather primarily a means to attack the Yemeni government. Kidnappings of foreigners, used as bargaining chips against the government, are the most blatant example of this, but even members of larger terrorist operations exhibit root motivations stemming from tribal complaints. In Yemen, terrorist attacks are in some ways only a tactic in a larger and more complex domestic struggle. Understanding this domestic context is prerequisite to an understanding of how to carry out counterterrorism efforts in the country.