With Al-Qaeda and ISIL Taking Advantage of Chaos in Yemen, U.S. Must Do More to Restore Stability or Risk Yemen Becoming the Next Syria

Press Release

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee, made the following statement at a subcommittee hearing entitled, "Yemen Under Attack by Iranian-Backed Houthis." Statement by Ros-Lehtinen:

"On September 10th of last year, President Obama announced to the American public his plan to degrade and destroy the terrorist group ISIL. While making his case for America's role in the fight against ISIL, the President highlighted our strategy in Yemen and held it up as a model of success to be emulated in the fight against ISIL. Yet, about a week later, the Iran-backed Houthis seized control of the capital and the government.

Despite this, the administration continued to hail our counterterror operations in Yemen as a model for success, even though we effectively had no partner on the ground since President Hadi was forced to flee. But perhaps even more astonishingly -- in what can only be described as alarmingly tone-deaf and shortsighted -- when Press Secretary Earnest was asked at a press briefing if this model was still successful after the Yemeni central government collapsed and the U.S. withdrew all of its personnel, including all Special Forces, he said yes, despite all indications pointing to the contrary.

So where do we stand now? That's the important question. President Hadi was forced to flee, and Saudi Arabia has led a coalition of over ten Arab nations in Operation Decisive Storm, which so far has consisted of air strikes only, but very well could include ground forces in the near future; Iran feels emboldened in Yemen because of the leverage it has gained over the administration through the nuclear negotiations, but I commend the Gulf countries -- the GCC countries -- for taking a strong stance against Iran and stepping up to the plate in Yemen.

Despite their action, the Houthis actually control more territory now than they did before the Saudi response; Our embassy is closed, our personnel have been evacuated, and there is no Hadi government to speak of; And al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, AQAP, has taken advantage of the fighting and has capitalized on the deteriorating situation in Yemen, and we have very little visibility into the movements or their actions.

I am concerned that AQAP, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, has gained ground in eastern Yemen and has been left virtually unchecked to recruit and train. Let's not forget that it was AQAP that was responsible for the Paris attacks earlier this year, or that al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was responsible for overtaking a prison last month and releasing several hundreds of prisoners, including a senior-level operative of al-Qaeda. AQAP's leader is a follower of Bin Laden, and like Bin Laden, also seeks to strike Western targets, including here in our homeland in the United States.

Iran has reportedly dispatched a naval destroyer near Yemen in a game of chicken over one of the most important shipping routes in the Gulf of Aden. This area is a gateway between Europe and the Middle East, and Iran must not be allowed to escalate any tensions nor attempt to disrupt the shipping lanes.

Yet we continue to see the administration make the same mistakes it made in Syria. And just like in Syria - today Yemen is in utter chaos in large part due to Iran's antagonism and meddling. But we must learn our lesson from Syria and engage in the Yemen crisis head on with a comprehensive strategy before it spirals further out of control.

There will be no political solution in Yemen based on the GCC Initiative or restarting the National Dialogue Conference that collapsed in early 2014 without addressing the underlying issues. The Houthis were reluctant participants in the National Dialogue in Yemen, but it was clear that they had no interest in ceding power over to a centralized government. As a result, they withdrew from the National Dialogue, it collapsed, and the Houthis took control over Sana'a and now other areas. So why would the administration think that the circumstances have changed that would allow for a reconciliation to occur?

It's naïve and dangerous to believe that a political solution is achievable as long as the Houthis are unwilling to cede their power and as long as Iran continues its support for these fighters, just as it is naïve and dangerous to believe a political solution in Syria is achievable as long as Assad remains in power. Even more absurd is the fact that Iran -- just this morning - has allegedly proposed a peace plan for Yemen. This is the same Iran that continues to use its terrorism tentacles throughout the region to undermine U.S. interests and by supplying arms and fighters aimed to further destabilize its neighboring countries.

So today we hope to hear from the administration that we have a comprehensive plan on how to get to a political solution, rather than just supporting a reconciliation process, while also addressing the current gap in our intelligence and counterterror capabilities in Yemen as well as the deteriorating humanitarian situation. Because if we act in Yemen in the same way we have acted in Syria, then we are likely going to see the same crisis follow in Yemen -- a war with no end in sight; the rise of dangerous terror groups; a dire humanitarian crisis; and Iran's increased power grab in the region."

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