Gregory Johnsen
Near East Studies Scholar, Princeton University
Gregory Johnsen, a former Fulbright Fellow in Yemen, is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. Johnsen has written for a variety of publications on Yemen including, among others, Foreign Policy, The American Interest, The Independent, The Boston Globe, and The National. He is the co-founder of Waq al-Waq: Islam and Insurgency in Yemen Blog. In 2009, he was a member of the USAID's conflict assessment team for Yemen.
Just because I am busy this week doesn’t mean I don’t have time for the really important things in life like catching a few minutes of the Liverpool v. Chelsea […]
Both this report and this one cite the SITE institute as claiming they have a statement that was posted to the Internet by AQAP claiming responsibility for the attack on […]
For those looking for something to read this weekend, I would recommend this piece by Michelle Shephard of the Toronto Star (and not just because she says some nice things […]
As I mentioned earlier today, AQAP has a statement out on the flooding in Jiddah. This is similar to what the group did last year – in Sada al-Malahim – […]
Despite appearances to the contrary – here at Waq al-waq we don’t actually enjoy playing gotcha, well, ok – sometimes we do. But not all the time. Case in point, […]
Khalid al-Hammadi writes about the arms deal with Russia in al-Quds al-Arabi. (Speaking of Khalid, I would recommend his 1999 interview with Tariq al-Fadhli in al-Quds al-Arabi, which I re-read […]
This is why the names and the details that Waq al-waq so cherishes are important:(CNN) — A man described as “one of al Qaeda’s most dangerous members” was arrested in […]
From time to time Waq al-waq may criticize journalists working on Yemen a bit too much, but we also have our favorites whom we respect. Many of these journalists, I […]
Despite Hilal’s work on the mediation committee and Salih’s insistence that everything is fine, the rest of the government seems to be operating off of a different playbook.Mareb Press is […]
More fighting in the north. After al-‘Awfi’s confession, I think everyone should be worried about the pressure the Saudis may bring to bear on San’a to go after the al-Huthi’s […]
Why do people keep saying that al-Shirri was involved in the September 2008 attack on the US Embassy in Yemen? This quote is from a press release from Senator Orrin […]
Since it appears as though I’m blogging again, Waq al-waq is doing a bit of housekeeping and has changed some of the sidebars. You know, keeping everything up to-date. Up […]
I’ve been waiting for this program on al-Qaeda in Yemen to come out for a few days, and now al-Arabiyya has finally posted it to its website. I haven’t read […]
Even though I’m technically on vacation and studiously avoiding anything that resembles work (I don’t think Richard Yates counts), I couldn’t resist a quick peak at the latest issue of […]
The early news out of Saudi Arabia is that Muhammad bin Nayif, the Deputy Interior Minister, escaped an assassination attempt by a suicide bomber with only light injuries. It is […]
Given how much interest my earlier post on rumors of fighting between Huthi supporters and Salafis in Dammaj generated, I thought I would link to this News Yemen article on […]
Al-Tagheer and other news outlets are reporting that the head of the Central Security Forces in al-Jawf, Ali Zayad survived an assassination attempt on Monday. The government is blaming the […]
Yemen (Hat tip: David Stringer)Sir Patrick Cormack: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what arrangements have been made for the conference on Yemen which he […]
We usually don’t cover good news here at Waq al-waq, which I’m sure is just as much of a commentary on us as it is on Yemen. In fact, I […]
The final push is upon us, which means that posting will likely be light and/or sporadic until May 15. I’ll do my best to put up at least a token […]
Over the weekend the NY Times’ Scott Shane had this piece on Yemeni detainee, Alla Ahmad, and the difficulties in closing Guantanamo as President Obama pledged. The article is, in […]
Waq al-waq formally announces 2010 as the year of the motorbike assassination in Yemen. Seriously, this is getting ridiculous. Today, a security official in Hadramawt (Sayyun, for those wanting details) […]
AQAP has a statement out that is claiming responsibility for the ambush that killed five in Hadramawt on Monday. The group is calling itself the AbdullahBatis Squadron, which is a […]
Oh, I love this quote by an unnamed (Is there any other kind?) Saudi adviser:“The orders are not to go physically into Yemeni territory,” he said. “We don’t want to […]
Al-Arabiyya has two programs on Yemen. The first from the station’s Panorama program takes a look at the alleged Iranian support for the Huthis – claims that the US is […]
I saw this story in Arabic yesterday, and today the BBC has it, saying that Jabir al-Fayfi the surrendered or captured al-Qaeda member (either way he is in Saudi custody) […]
The Ministry of the Interior has announced that it has arrested six Somalis on suspicions of belonging to al-Qaeda. The story is a bit sparse on details, but much of […]
Earlier this morning I wrote that the Washington Post had gotten ‘Abdullah al-Midhar’s name wrong for what I called “reasons passing understanding.” Those reasons have now become clear to me, […]
For those with an interest, I will be a guest on al-Hurra today (5pm -6pm EST) along with some others talking about the war in Sa’dah.
The Washington Post follows the New York Times’ report last week on the potential for Yemenis in Guantanamo to head to Saudi with one of its own. Since there is […]