Planning for the Gray Zone: The Yemen Quagmire (MES Insights v9i4 August 2018)
by Adam C SeitzThe conflict in Yemen is in its fourth year, and by many assessments warring factions appear to be locked in a stalemate. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and their coalition partners are engaged in a campaign on the Red Sea coast to break the stalemate, shift the balance of forces in their favor, and secure maritime traffic. Secessionist factions, government-allied forces, and various local militias are competing to consolidate gains in the south and east of the county. The US and its allies have continued to pursue a counterterrorism campaign to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) in Yemen. The complexity of Yemen’s multifaceted conflict is emblematic of the international security environment and the types of intersecting conflicts that policymakers and military planners face when advancing US national security interests and meeting the challenges posed by revisionist actors in the gray zone. ............(Read on)..............
