The West Must Expend Resources Wisely in Yemen

The recent rocket attack on a convoy carrying British embassy staff in the Yemeni capital of San'a raises important questions about security and terrorism in that Gulf country. The United States is currently proposing to allocate $1.2 billion of military equipment and training over the next six years to combat al-Qaida in Yemen. In response, critics both within and beyond government circles are calling for a more holistic approach that focuses on long-term economic development and stability there and in the wider Middle East region. Presently lacking in this debate is the understanding that security and development are not mutually exclusive.

Indeed, both interests can be advanced simultaneously, so why is a dual-track option such a hard sell? The security-development divide (.pdf) is rooted in a longstanding conundrum: Policymakers widely agree that long-term security is not possible without development, while at the same time, they understand that sustainable development is unachievable in the absence of security. ...