Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Welcome! Log in to stay connected and make the most of your experience.

Input clean

Worse than Syria

Now in its eighth month, the conflict that Amnesty International has called Yemen's "forgotten war" grinds on, overshadowed by a metastasizing terrorist threat emanating from Syria, and a seemingly endless wave of Middle East and African refugees sweeping into Europe.

But the international community ignores Yemen's war at its own peril.  In the first place, it has spawned a humanitarian crisis of alarming proportions.  Following a visit to Yemen in August, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said, "Yemen after five months looks like Syria after five years." A major reason is the relentless air campaign a coalition of Sunni Arab states led by Saudi Arabia began in March, which has pummeled Yemen's already fragile infrastructure and traumatized its civilian population.  According to the United Nations, two million people in Yemen are now internally displaced and over 20 million—80 percent of its population—are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

Keep reading...Show less
Access all of The Cipher Brief’s national security-focused expert insight by becoming a Cipher Brief Subscriber+ Member.

Related Articles

Dead Drop: July 18

IN THIS WEEK’S EDITION: CIA’s existential threat might not be what you think it is, the CIA’s EXDIR is back in business, a warning to be careful of [...] More

Does the CIA Have a Trust Problem?

Does the CIA Have a Trust Problem?

In a recent opinion piece published in The Cipher Brief, former senior CIA Executive Mark Kelton suggests that the country’s leading intelligence [...] More

Expert Q&A: Putin Overplayed His Hand with Trump on Ukraine

EXPERT Q&A — President Donald Trump has offered a strong hand of support to Ukraine in recent days, pledging new weapons and threatening Russia with [...] More

Report for Thursday, July 17, 2025

9:03 America/New_York Thursday, July 17 [...] More

A Nuclear Day of the Jackal

BOOK REVIEW: The Moldavian GambitBy Brad Meslin / Manhattan Book GroupReviewed by: James LawlerThe Reviewer — James Lawler devoted more than half of [...] More

Ukraine’s Defense may Hinge on Offensive Operations

Ukraine’s Defense may Hinge on Offensive Operations

CIPHER BRIEF REPORTING – Russia has been bombarding Ukrainian cities with massive aerial assaults, two days after U.S. President Donald Trump pledged [...] More

Report for Wednesday, July 16, 2025

8:45 AM America/New_York Wednesday, July 16 [...] More

China Can Do More to Improve Relations with the U.S.

OPINION — Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, at the ASEAN Summit. Rubio described the [...] More

Report for Tuesday, July 15, 2025

8:57 AM America/New_York Tuesday, July 15 [...] More