U.S. shutters Yemen embassy, undercutting counterterrorism ‘model’

President Barack Obama hailed Yemen as a “model” last year for U.S. counterterrorism efforts in the Middle East, but the coup by the Houthi movement, formalized last Friday, is raising questions about America’s continuing role in trying to curtail the influence of Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). However, the U.S. has refused to call the Houthi takeover a “coup” just yet, and seems to be holding out hope for cooperation with the Houthis.

We’re not against the people of America, we’re just against its policies.

Saleh Ali al-Sammad, the senior Houthi official in the capital

But with the Houthis keeping President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi under under house arrest and the risk of civil war looking ominous, ongoing U.S. efforts inside Yemen seem difficult. Moreover, the U.S. isn’t the only country whose mission in Sanaa is shredding documents and preparing to leave. Reuters reports that the UK, France, and Germany are also preparing to close up shop in the capital and have given their local staffs two months’ paid leave.

Middle East Yemen