Ala Mohsen

 The Yemeni civil war, a devastating conflict that has caused immense suffering for millions of Yemenis and torn the country apart, has been frequently labeled as a proxy war in popular media and policy debates. The involvement of Arab states, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab of Emirates (UAE), on one side, and Iran on the other, has led many to accept this framing without critically examining its implications. However, the proxy war narrative in Yemen is not only reductionist which oversimplifies the conflict's complexity, but it also misrepresents the entire conflict and robs Yemenis of their own agency and undermines their own legitimate concerns. This proxy war characterization misses an important point: Yemen civil war is fundamentally a multifaceted struggle between local groups vying to impose their own political projects, independent of the involvement of external actors. Before delving into the reasons why this portrayal is not only factually incorrect but also has...

T he Saudi withdrawal from Yemen's civil war is inevitable, as foreign powers typically withdraw from local conflicts when their objectives are fulfilled or when the cost of their military intervention can no longer be afforded. In the Yemeni case, the unforeseen Chinese-mediated  accelerated the implementation of the Saudi withdrawal plans, resulting in an earlier date than originally predicted. The Saudi announcement of the end of their operations in Yemen was celebrated by the international community, particularly those who believe that the Yemen conflict is primarily a Saudi aggression against its impoverished neighbor, as portrayed by the Houthi narrative of this Yemeni conflict. For this group of state officials, NGO leaders, and peace activists, the Saudi withdrawal from the conflict is seen as a positive development that will naturally bring the conflict to an end. Despite any initial optimism, an experienced analyst with a deep understanding of the underlying tensions driv...

Among various Arab Spring countries, Yemen was hailed as an exemplar to a good transition. The world was impressed that the region’s no 1 country with the largest arms per capita has not succumbed into a civil war like Syria or Libya. Despite limited armed clashes here and there, the image was far positive than initial expectations of how an armed society may turn into. In Nov 2011 and after numerous cycles of negotiations, Yemen’s longest serving president Saleh officially handed power to his deputy Hadi in exchange for an immunity from legal prosecution for his time in office. This was known as the GCC initiative and it succeeded largely because Saudi Arabia was the main the broker of the deal –an oil-rich neighbor that enjoys tremendous leverage in Yemen. Unlike other turbulent countries like Libya and Syria, the international community has largely delegated Yemen’s issue to its Gulf partners. Hadi assumed his presidency officially after single-candidate nation-wide elections in F...

Well... there are foreigners among "Gezi Park" protesters but so are there among "Kazlıçeşme" ralliers. Foreigners, please get your butt out of internal affairs and support your side with your heart ONLY! You only mess things around. It is not your country and you are not entitled to a vote. Today we wanted to go to Taksim Sunday market to buy food supplies but the metro was closed to Taksim. We decided to walk the 20-minute way instead. Although we noticed a lot of riot police and we could smell fresh gassed air as we walked, we did not expect that protesters will be gathering in the same place. We reached a point where we had to run back as police water hoses started firing. I lost my friends Yassir & Zabih as I took shelter in a nearby shopping center with other protesters. The stores owners were nice to allow us in so that nobody gets hurt. I remained silent as I was not a protester myself ( also I barely know Turkish so I cannot say much). It was short a...