The Atlantic: Saleh’s Death in Yemen Sends a Message to Other Dictators

Allegiances change swiftly in the Middle East as a brutal proxy fight escalates between Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The death of Yemen’s former President Ali Abdullah Saleh “at the hands of Houthi rebels who were his allies just a few days ago, shows not only the perils of that balancing act, but also the political shifts in a country wracked by civil war since 2015,” reports Krishnadev Calamur for the Atlantic. Iran has backed the Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia supports the Yemen government. Wars and foreign intervention throughout the region in Syria, Iraq and Yemen ensure that anger and extremism run high. “Saleh’s apparent death, six years after Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi was killed and his body paraded on the streets of his hometown of Sirte, will send a signal to strongmen around the world, most notably Syria’s Bashar al-Assad.” Iraq’s Saddam Hussein and Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi of Libya also died in recent years. Calamur explains how Saleh handed over power to a deputy in 2012 and later supported the Houthi rebels. Then in early December he said he was breaking off from the Houthis and expressed a desire for dialogue with the Saudis. The civil war in Yemen has resulted in the death of 9000 and displacement of 3 million and suffering from famine and cholera. – YaleGlobal