UAE Involvement in the Yemen’s War

Principally, the United Arab Emirates armed forces has an obligation to defend its seven emirates. The military group consists of 65,000 personells and has its headquarters in Abu Dhabi, UAE. It is a significant military player in the Middle East region. Over the last 30 years, Mohamed bin Zayed, Supreme commander, has been working to achieve a mission to expand to expand the United Emirates army and secure the interest of the Gulf Kingdom in the region. A War occurred in Yemen after President Ali Abdullah Saleh, an autocratic leader, handed over power to the deputy president, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi. The antagonism was between the supporters of Hadi as a new president and the supporters of the former president. The United Arab Emirates deployed its troops to assist the pro-government forces fighting in Yemen. The main aim of the military was to restore Mansour Hadi as the president and defeat the Shia Houthi rebels. In this paper, I will explore on the involvement of the UAE in the Yemen conflict. I will further discuss transnational threats of the conflict and the interests of United Arab Emirates.

Background

Basically, the United States and Saudi Arabia are close military partners. However, the United Arab Emirates operates independently. The United Arab Emirates transfers its military troops to resolve any conflicts and to restore peace. The United States of America is the main supplier of weapons such as missiles and bombs to UAE. Additionally, France is also a supplier of weapons to the UAE’s military forces. The UAE recognized that its intervention in the antagonism between the supporters of president Hadi and Saleh was an important strategy to fight against the terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda.

Predominantly, Saudi Arabia has been leading military operations in Yemen with an objective of restoring the power of the government under the ruling of Mansour Hadi.  However, the former president has not been fully defeated despite the long victories in favor of Hadi. Since the beginning of Operation Decisive Storm, the UAE has been amongst the allies of Saudi Arabia’s erstwhile allies based in Yemen. The UAE military expended its time, resources, and to influence events in the country. The UAE military forces used military mechanisms in support of Hadi’s and his government in the Southern part of Yemen.

Transnational threats

The instability in Yemen has been one of the major threats on global security. In fact, Yemen became one of the footholds for major transnational networks for terrorists. In 2015, the Islamic State group was entrenched in Syria and Iraq and later established its branches in Yemen. The country, yemen, has been linked with major attacks by terrorists on a global perspective. Therefore, the government needs to address such a problem. If the international bodies ignores the necessity for stability in Yemen, the country might be at a higher risk to worldwide security.

As a result of the antagonism between the supporters of president Hadi and Saleh, the country has been facing major economic, political, and security issues. Additionally, the country became a land of corruption, numerous conflicts, and unprecedented devastation. The situation in the country makes it more convenient for terrorist groups to thrive and recruit the jobless youths in the country. Most of the terrorist organizations have learnt to take advantage of the instability in Yemen and to recognize the country as an ideal place to conduct terror activities.

After the September 11, 2001 terrorist’s attacks in the United States, Yemen became one of the global spotlights. As a part of the counterterrorism efforts, both President Mansour Hadi and Abdullah Saleh ordered for drone strike campaigns. Besides the intervention of the United Emirates troops, the US pentagon deployed US troops in Yemen. Apparently, the acquisition of mass destruction weapons are common examples of transnational threats. Most of the non-governmental terror groups in Yemen would take advantage of the availability of air transport to reduce the time needed to travel from one location to another.

Terrorism is one of the examples of how advances in new forms of technology have changed a local problem into one of the international dimensions. The groups involved in conducting terror attacks are confined into one geographical area in Yemen. The groups such as Al Qaeda used the modern forms of technology such as the use of social network of communication to conduct its mission in Yemen. It i9s apparent that crimes committed on national territory might have a major impact on a country such as Yemen. In most instances, transnational organized crimes, resulting from the instability in Yemen, have threatened peace and security and hindered economic development in the country.

UAE’s National interests

United Arab Emirates army was committed to restore peace and stability in Yemen. UAE has been one of the closes allies of Saudi Arabia. UAE had interests in Yemen pertaining to the security of prominent individuals in the country. The military troops had an objective to restore stability in Yemen and prove that wealthy emirates have the capability to prove that wealthy emirates are capable of creating first effective weapons.  Apparently, the main motivation of UAE’s entrance to Yemen was to preserve the status quo in the region and preserve economic prosperity of Yemen.

Additionally, UAE had a desire to counter Iran and maintain its influence over the domestic affairs of Saudi Arabia. The UAE believes that the intervention in Yemen has been effective in assisting the southern allies in the fight against terror groups such as Al Qaeda. However, the military success does not mean that they might compel Emirates to leave Yemen. It is apparent that bot the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are committed to end the war in Yemen. Although the Saudis are frustrated with Hadi, they have to remain committed to him as the leader in Yemen.

Basically, Saudi Arabia and UAE used differing military approaches in the endeavor of restoring peace in the warring nations. The UAE had an objective to endorse secularism in in all the regional states of Yemen. Similarly, UAE rejected the existence of political Islamism. The UAE intended to use Islamists groups to suit any political ends. In such a scenario, the governments of United Arab Emirates had an objective to maximize its influence over the political advancements in Yemen.

In conclusion, Yemen is one of the less developed nations in the Arabs region. However, the country has been experiencing instances of war between the supporters of President Masour Hadi and Abdullah Salleh. The antagonism exposed the country to risks of terror attacks because the youths could be easily recruited as terrorists. In fact, the country became one of the footholds of terror groups such as Al Qaeda. Additionally, the war caused further instability of Yemen as a result of the heightened struggles. Nevertheless, the United Arab Emirates got involved in the efforts of restoring peace and stability in the country.

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