|
Yemen on the Brink: Implications for U.S. Policy
Ron Paul
Campaign
For Liberty
Friday, February 5th, 2010
Statement of Congressman Ron Paul
United States House of Representatives
Statement on House Foreign Affairs Committee Hearing:
'Yemen on the Brink: Implications for U.S. Policy'
February 3, 2010
Mr. Chairman, I am extremely concerned over current US policy
toward Yemen, which I believe will backfire and leave the United
States less safe and much poorer. Increasing US involvement
in Yemen may be sold as a fight against terrorism, but in fact
it is more about expanding US government control and influence
over this strategically-placed nation at the gateway to Asia.
The current administration, according to today's testimony
of Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman, has dramatically
increased foreign aid to Yemen, from $17 million in FY 2008
to $40 million in FY 2009, to $67 million for FY 2010, to, according
to the president's recent budget sent to Congress, $106 million
for FY 2011. That represents an incredible six-fold increase
in US aid to Yemen over just four years, at a time when the
US economy continues to falter.
When I look at the US assistance plan for Yemen I see that
it is primarily focused on nation-building. That is the failed
idea that if the United States sends enough money to a foreign
government, with which that government purchases US-manufactured
weapons and hires US-based consultants and non-governmental
organizations, that country will achieve a strong economy and
political stability and in gratitude will become eternally friendly
to the US and US interests. I have yet to see a single successful
example of this strategy.
According to Assistant Secretary Feltman's statement, "Priorities
for U.S. assistance include political and fiscal reforms and
meaningful attention to legitimate internal grievances; better
governance through decentralization, reduced corruption and
civil service reform; human rights protections; jobs-related
training; economic diversification to generate employment and
enhance livelihoods, and strengthened natural resource management."
How can we believe that the US government can achieve abroad
what we know it cannot effectively achieve at home? We are going
to spend millions of dollars to help create jobs in Yemen as
we continue to shed jobs in the United States?
Yemen is a country mired in civil conflict. The Shi'ites in
the north, who make up a significant percentage of the country's
total population and a majority in their region, have been fighting
against what they see as the discriminatory policies of the
Sunni-based government in the capitol, Sana'a, for years. Yemenis
in the south, who up until 1990 were a separate country, likewise
oppose the central government and threaten to escalate this
opposition. Added into this mix are elements of what are called
al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), some of whom are left
over from the US-supported fight against the Soviet occupation
of Afghanistan in the 1980s, and others have been radicalized
by their exposure to Wahhabi extremism in US-allied Saudi Arabia.
Still others in AQAP are veterans of the insurgency against
US occupation of Iraq. We cannot forget either those Yemenis
who were held for years by the United States without charges
at Guantanamo Bay. How many of those were innocent of terrorist
actions or intent but became radicalized under such conditions?
Saudi Arabia's concern over the Shi'ite unrest in north Yemen
has led to unsubstantiated claims of Iranian involvement in
attempt to draw the US into a regional problem that has nothing
to do with the United States. Saudi Arabia has struggled with
unrest among its own Shi'ite population and is determined to
prevent any spill-over. There are some here in the US who repeat
false claims of Iranian involvement in the hope of expanding
the US military presence in the area. Others in the United States
irresponsibly call for a US pre-emptive war in Yemen. We should
be clear on this: expanded US involvement in Yemen plays into
the hands of bin Laden and his organization as has been made
clear on many occasions. Luring the United States into a conflict
in Yemen by falsely advertising it part of a war on terror will
certainly radicalize the Yemeni population against the United
States. It will weaken our over-extended military and it will
further destroy our economy.
Similarly, the US-backed central government in Sana'a stands
to gain by claiming its internal problems are part of a global
crisis that requires US intervention. The central Yemeni government
has much to gain by making its battles and its problems our
battles and our problems. But that gain will come at the expense
of US soldiers, US security, and the American economy. I wonder
how long it will be before the US establishes a permanent base
on the strategic territory of Yemen?
I hope, as we begin to debate the foreign affairs budget for
next year, that we may yet change course from that of the last
administration, where the failed policies of interventionism,
militarism, and nation-building have left the United States
in a diminished position in the world.
"When the people find they can vote themselves
money, that will herald the end of the republic."
- Fall Of The Republic - Buy
the DVD here
|
INFOWARS:
BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND
|
|
