THINGS GOING THROUGH THE CHANGE YEMEN THE STORY Yesterday, Yemen’s president, prime minister, and cabinet all said ‘I’m out.’ THE LAST TIME I HEARD ABOUT YEMEN WAS WHEN CHANDLER BING TRANSFERRED THERE… The reason you’ve been hearing about it again is because a particularly scary branch of al-Qaeda operates there. They’re the ones who earlier this month claimed responsibility for the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris. Yemen’s president has been an important ally to the US’s counterterrorism efforts against this group. So no, not good. SO WHAT JUST HAPPENED? A militant group called the Houthis — who have nothing to do with al-Qaeda — have been in open conflict with the president’s party for months. They’ve been demanding a bigger say in the drafting of a new constitution, and more political power. Earlier this week, the Houthis invaded the presidential palace and shelled the president’s home. And cue early retirement. theSKIMM When President Obama announced that the US would start airstrikes against ISIS, he cited Yemen as a place with a successful US counterterrorism operation. Much of that was thanks to cooperation with Yemen’s president. TBD on what this turn of events could mean. SAUDI ARABIA THE STORY Yesterday, Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah died at age 90. HOW BIG OF A DEAL IS THIS? There’s lot up in the air right now. His 79-year-old half-brother Crown Prince Salman took the throne but is reportedly not in the best health. Despite recent tensions, Abdullah has been a key US ally in the Mideast, especially in the fight against al-Qaeda and ISIS. His death could also have an impact on the oil markets, since Saudi Arabia is the biggest oil producer in OPEC (an organization made up of major oil-exporting nations). Abdullah was a major force behind the group’s surprise decision last year to keep adding to the global oil supply – which is part of why oil prices have been so crazy ever since. theSKIMM One of the US’s most strategic allies just died and it’s now left a lot of important questions unanswered in a region that is currently overwhelmed by crises. THE *: King Abdullah didn’t have a great human rights record. One blogger was recently sentenced to 1,000 lashes for his critical writing on some of Saudi Arabia’s religious figures. Yes, lashes.
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 15:09:32 +0000
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