It’s not just Al-Qaeda. Water shortages, collapsing oil supplies, war, refugees, pirates, poverty—why Yemen is failing.
 Share
|
Email
Print
|
It’s not just Al-Qaeda. Water shortages, collapsing oil supplies, war, refugees, pirates, poverty—why Yemen is failing.
It’s also now clear that Yemen’s government lacks the capacity to exert full control over much of its territory. This has created a refuge from which alQaeda can mount terrorist attacks across the country—and increasingly across the wider world.
At the heart of all these problems is Yemen’s looming economic collapse. Already the poorest country in the Arab world, Yemen is rapidly depleting its oil reserves and lacks any options for creating a sustainable post-oil economy. Unemployment is estimated at 35 percent, higher than what the U.S. faced during the Great Depression.
Accelerating the economic decline is a protracted civil war in the north between Shia insurgents and the Sana’a-based government. The war has caused a refugee crisis and extensive damage to infrastructure, and its costs will result in a major budget deficit next year. (The government is already burning through roughly $200 million in foreign-currency reserves per month.) Even if that war subsides, the worsening economy will likely inflame a roiling secessionist movement in the south. Yemen has often teetered on the brink of collapse, but it has never faced so many interconnected challenges at once. And the stakes have never been greater.
 |
| Click image to view full map |
National Portrait Gallery
|
The Civil War
President Obama reflects on what Lincoln means to him and to America, in an introduction to our special issue. Read more › |
The History of Thomas Edison
This Must Be the Place: Byun
Video Documentary: The Impact of a Principal
James Fallows on Obama's first term, Raymond Bonner on the death penalty, Christopher Hitchens on G.K. Chesterton, and more
Browse back issues of The Atlantic that have appeared on the Web. From September 1995 to the present, the archive is essentially complete, with the exception of a few articles, the online rights to which are held exclusively by the authors.
See All Back Issues: September 1995
How the iPhone Is and Is Not Like a Chipotle Burrito
Salamanders, Ponytails, and Valentine's Day Drinking
Behold, 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter'
Carla Bruni to Represent the Working Class
Why America Keeps Getting More Conservative
Should Building Taller Be Much, Much Easier?
Join the Discussion
After you comment, click Post. If you’re not already logged in you will be asked to log in or register. blog comments powered by Disqus