U.N. says Yemen on brink of civil war as U.S. assesses failures, next steps

The Obama administration’s senior counterterrorism official acknowledged Thursday that U.S. intelligence was surprised by the collapse of the U.S.-backed government in Yemen. In response to questioning by the U.S. Senate intelligence committee, Nick Rasmussen said Yemen’s American-funded army failed to oppose advancing Houthi rebels in the same way the U.S.-supported Iraqi military refused to fight Islamic State militants last year.

What happened in Iraq with the onslaught of the Islamic State group happened in Yemen on a somewhat smaller scale….The situation deteriorated far more rapidly than we expected.

Nick Rasmussen, director of the National Counterterrorism Center

In its own assessment, The United Nations said that Yemen is “collapsing before our eyes”, on the brink of civil war and prime for Al Qaida militants to grow stronger in the country as talks on a political settlement continue. Al Qaida and other Sunni Muslim militants have stepped up attacks since rival Iranian-backed Shi’ite Muslim Houthi fighters from the north seized the capital in September and started expanding across the country.

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