February 3, 2010

Chairman Berman’s opening remarks at hearing, “Yemen on the Brink: Implications for U.S. Policy”

With so many pressing issues in the Middle East, the country of Yemen has received relatively little public attention since the October 2000 bombing of the U.S.S Cole.

But that all has changed in the last three months.

On November 5th, 12 brave soldiers and one Army civilian were brutally gunned down at Fort Hood, Texas, by an Army psychiatrist with links to a radical Yemeni-American cleric.

And on Christmas Day, a young Nigerian man who had plotted with al Qaeda operatives in Yemen tried to bring down Northwest Airlines Flight 253.

Even before these heinous acts, the Obama Administration recognized that Yemen should be a much higher priority, and took steps to more than double U.S. economic and military assistance to that country.

Today’s hearing will focus on the numerous challenges that endanger Yemen’s domestic stability and regional security. These include the presence of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, religious and tribal conflict, separatist movements, dwindling natural resources, and a failing economy.

Yemen is rich in culture, history, and geographic beauty. But it is also the poorest country in the Arab world. More than 43 percent of its nearly 24 million people live below the poverty line, and per capita GDP is estimated to be between $650 and $800.

Yemen’s oil, which provides the government with 75 percent of its income, is quickly running out. Some experts believe that its oil reserves will be depleted in the next seven years. Yemen’s dire economic situation makes it increasingly difficult for the government to deliver the services needed to hold the country together.

An even more precious liquid, water, is also quickly running out. Yemen could, in fact, become the first nation ever to exhaust its fresh water supplies. Experts agree that the capital, Sana’a, has about ten years at current rates before its wells run dry -- but that city of two million continues to grow as water shortages elsewhere force people to migrate.

And then there’s the pervasive use of qat, a narcotic plant that produces feelings of euphoria and stimulation, but ultimately undermines individual initiative. Sort of like being in Congress. The overwhelming majority of Yemeni males are known to chew qat, and for many it is a daily habit. Its cultivation is one of the major drains on Yemen's scarce underground water resources and on individual productivity. Qat production may use as much as 40% of water resources consumed by local agriculture.

The most immediate threats to Yemen’s stability are the ongoing civil war against Houthi rebels in the north, a rejuvenated secessionist movement in the South, and a resurgent al-Qaeda. The Houthi rebellion, which began in 2004, spilled across the border and has engaged Saudi Arabia’s military forces since November.

The more unstable Yemen becomes, the more likely it is that terrorism will thrive there, threatening U.S. regional interests and our homeland.

After years of tepid bilateral relations, now is the time for the United States to engage Yemen comprehensively. President Obama is working with the Yemeni government and others to aggressively pursue terrorists. But a policy of counterterrorism in isolation will not suffice. Yemen’s deteriorating security is intimately linked to a host of political, economic, and social problems.

This hearing provides an opportunity to ask some key questions: How important is Yemen’s stability to U.S. interests and U.S. security? Is Yemen on the brink of becoming another “failed state?” And what, if anything, can the United States do to tip the balance in the right direction?

To help us answer these questions, we have two panels of distinguished witnesses, whom I will introduce shortly.

But before I do, let me turn to the Ranking Member, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, for any opening remarks that she’d like to make.