Two attacks in Yemen today, onenear the US Embassy in Sana’a and another in the southern province of Abyan. As of right now, the Yemeni government doesn't see this as targeting the US Embassy, but rather as a “purely criminal incident”. To be sure, the mortars in Sana’a hit a school, some 500 meters from the Embassy. So well it could easily have been an attack on American interests, it could also have been a local matter.
Now, in the last Yemen post here, the jihadi journal “Echo of Battles” was discussed, and it was noted that the last issue directly presaged an attack. So that does lend some credence that this could have been an al-Qaeda operation, designed to co-incide with the publication of the newest issue. Possibly one could say smart money is on that, but I think it is short-sighted to think jihadism is the only problem or the sole source of violence in Yemen.
The attack in the south is a little different. It does carry the scent of Islamic militancy, but it is unsure whether it is al-Qaeda, the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army, or possible any other splinter group. While many- most, even- Islamic militant groups share the same broad aims and are driven by similar motivations, it is wrong to think of them as monolithic. It might be comforting to do so, and possibly fit a pre-conceived political viewpoint, but it does nothing to help the problem. There has no been a single movement in the history of the world that wasn't beset from conception with dissidents, schismatics, heretics. To imagine al-Qaeda, and Islamic militancy more broadly, to be any different is simply counter-productive.
A few months ago, I wrote about the early stages of the conflict in Ukraine through the lens of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. While it appears likely that the war will carry on into the foreseeable future, enough time has passed for us to make an honest assessment of each side’s relative […]
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In mid-May the Irish political party, Sinn Féin, won the plurality of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Many American readers might not fully understand the significance of Sinn Féin’s political victory- but rest assured that subjects of the United Kingdom and a wide range of political movements the world over have heard the message […]
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On the weekend of March 26th, the notorious MS-13 gang went on a massive killing spree in El Salvador which left more than 70 people dead by Sunday. Even for a country where powerful gangs hold massive sway, this recent tragedy stands out considering that it was the bloodiest day on record since the civil […]
