Vice President Joe Biden welcomed Yemen’s newly elected president to the White House in 2012, while the United States welcomed my homeland for its “historic and peaceful transfer of power.” Yemenis have approved a roadmap to inclusive and responsible democracy.
It was ambitious, but we were determined and we knew we had a partner in US President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi led a national dialogue that included political parties, tribal envoys, regional representatives, labor leaders, women and youth. We drafted a constitution and planned new elections.
We Yemenis have had a hard time learning the price of a collapsed democratic transition. In 2014, Iran-backed Houthi armed factions seized power and plunged Yemen into civil war. The Houthis attacked civilian targets, including schools, mosques, airports and parades. They launched drones and ballistic missiles in neighboring countries and coordinated with US-designated terrorist groups such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah. Last week we learned that it was still obstructing international efforts to save the oil tanker FSO Safer and prevent an environmental catastrophe.
Unfortunately, much of the attention of Congress – especially among Democrats – has focused not on the Houthis, but on the Arab countries that are striving to restore the legitimate government of Yemen in accordance with multiple UN resolutions.
We welcome President Biden’s desire to speed up a negotiated solution, even after announcing the end of US assistance to the coalition’s “offensive” operations.