America’s Role in the Yemen Crisis

Abstract

In 2011 the US government strongly supported the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) diplomatic initiative in Yemen. Afterward President Barack Obama became an outspoken champion of the country’s political transition plan. Between 2012 and 2014, he and his staff often referred to Yemen’s version of the “Arab Spring” as an ideal model because it stood in sharp contrast to simultaneous events in Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, and Syria. The GCC initiative was a major reason why Obama eagerly embraced the Yemen model. It suited his foreign policy preference of encouraging foreign allies to play more active roles, “leading from behind” as he once stated in a poor choice of words. This was especially true of his orientation toward allies in regional organizations like the GCC. Once Yemen’s transition collapsed in early 2015, and Saudi Arabia led a coalition to war, President Obama found himself in the awkward position of participating in a foreign agenda he neither chose nor supported. After President Trump entered the White House in January 2017, US policy became far more supportive of the coalition’s war effort. Trump accelerated the process of approving arms sales to the GCC coalition, including authorization of some weapon systems that Obama previously blocked.