This blog was started for a few reasons. We both have been studying Yemen for years, and as the country has risen in importance, the quality of discussion has declined. We wanted to contradict some other individuals, blogs and commentators who have no experience in Yemen or with Arabic, and who turn the facts to fit their opinions. We feel that presenting a thoughtful and nuanced discussion of Yemeni affairs, based in knowledge of its history and culture is in the best interest of all. That said, this is not an academic blog, and provides a lighter tone than our other publications, and also allows us to indulge our unhealthy interests in medieval swords and mysterious islands that color Yemeni history.

Enjoy.


Thursday, July 2, 2009

See Pakistan Think Yemen

One of the things about thinking so much about one particular country is that everything tends to be processed through that one filter. This can be both good and bad. Good in that one is constantly thinking about the country in different ways, but bad in the sense that over time everything begins to resemble Yemen, which is not always, indeed often is not, true.

Still I couldn't help but think of Yemen when I read this paragraph in Nicholas Schmidle's book on Pakistan (pg. 134):

"Cynics parading as realists said Musharraf had everything under control. That his intelligence agencies allowed the various crises to fester and create the impression in Washington that Pakistan was beleaguered with threats - and that Musharraf was the only one who could manage them all."
Posted by Gregory at 10:17 AM

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