Hamid al-Ahmar has been named the “most prominent political personality of 2009” in a poll conducted by Yemen Today. This should surprise no one besides a few in the US […]
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While protesters were clashing with security forces and militias in the south, the fighting continued in the north between Huthi supporters and government forces all the while President Salih is […]
Tomorrow the new issue of Foreign Policy hits the newsstands. Inside the issue I have a small(ish) article on Yemen. The article was solicited months ago as part of a […]
The fall-out from al-Fadhli’s announcement continues. (I have a very interesting assessment in my in-box from a Yemen, which I’m hoping to post once I get his/her permission – along […]
For those with any interest, I did a couple of radio spots this morning, although if you are reading this you have probably heard it all before.First on the Takeaway […]
For those of you who have been closely following the reports out of Yemen lately it appears as though either A.) the al-Haniq family of Arhab is the most dangerous […]
The government has launched a massive campaign against the Huthis. Heavy fighting is reported, in the latest round of this debilitating, years-long struggle, in which neither side seems capable of […]
Just in time for my post on AQAP’s financing, the GAO has released a new report on al-Qaeda financing in Saudi Arabia. (Full disclosure: I participated in an interview for […]
It has been just under a month since I made the decision to drastically reduce my posts – one a month, or so – and while I’m still trying to […]
Laurent Bonnefoy, a bright young French scholar, has a new article out on the Varieties of Islamism in Yemen.I respect Laurent’s opinion, but I don’t agree with everything he says […]
Abdulahi is promising more information on his January interview with Nasir al-Wahayshi on his blog. Along with everyone else I’m excited and waiting. Also of interest our two new Yemeni […]
Neither Greg nor I are energy experts- even The Prize, as gripping as it was, was more or less Finnegan’s Wake for me. And zinc mines are nowhere near as […]
One of the more frustrating things about watching and reading the coverage of Yemen over the past month has been the insistence – some of it by people who really […]
For the past few years one of the more intriguing questions about Yemen has been: what is Muhammad bin Nayyif (Saudi Arabia’s deputy Minister of the Interior) thinking about his […]
Here at Waq al-waq we like to pride ourselves on our gravitas and serious attention to detail and historical fact – except of course when we are talking about swords […]
Yemen, or at least the newspapers in Yemen, are fairly quiet this morning.Trey pointed out that the Ministry of the Interior has put together a list of terrorist that combines […]
I have had some more conversations today about the truce that al-Ghad reported, and at least some government sources are pouring cold water on the report. This is the first […]
Headline! Shi’ites Warn Of New War In YemenLede! “The Iranian-sponsored Shi’ite revolt could again erupt inYemen.”If you follow Yemen, you probably know there are a few things wrong here. If […]
Thanks to the good people at the Carnegie Endowment, Tuesday’s event is now on-line for any and all who weren’t able to make it but still might have an interest. […]
One can sometimes get the impression – not from reading this blog, of course – that all Islamists are violent, even if they aren’t all al-Qaeda. For those, I would […]
More accusations and counter-accusations over the deaths of two soldiers in Sa’dah. Could this be the beginning of the sixth war? Here at Waq al-waq, we have been warning for […]
The problems in the south continue, as the government decided to storm the offices of al-Ayyam, which have been under siege for the past several days. The AFP is reporting […]
AQAP has a new video out, and just in time. This is the video that was teased in issue 8 of Sada al-Malahim along with the audio message from ‘Adil […]
One of the old men of Yemeni tribal politics – which, I guess, is really the same as saying Yemeni politics – Shaykh Sinan Abu Lahum, he of the 4-volume […]
For those who missed it or who don’t read the comments section of Waq al-waq, yesterday the Yemeni government – through its official daily, al-Thawra – published a blacklist of […]
The news is still coming in about today’s ambush in Yemen, which left at least three security officials dead with some reports claiming 7 dead.Both Mareb Press and News Yemen […]
News Yemen is now reporting that al-Watani editor, ‘Abd al-Raqib al-Hadayani, has been released although more than 40 people are still in custody after today’s events in al-Dhala’. Naba News, […]
The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations will hold a hearing on Yemen this week – Yemen: Confronting al–Qaeda, Preventing State Failure – of which I will be a part. I […]
Every so often – say once or twice every few months – it really does seem, at least from the outside, as if Yemen is falling apart, and, gasp, could […]
Studying and thinking about groups like al-Qaeda can be an intellectually dangerous undertaking. Like most areas of study, the information one is dealing with is often heavily biased. Additionally, there […]