WASHINGTON, D.C., United States —
Panel: Regional Security and Armed Groups
Organizer: National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations
Moderator: Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founder, and CEO of NCUSAR Panelists: Abdulrahman Al-Eryani- International Development Consultant Giorgio Cafiero- Founder and CEO of Gulf State Analytics David B. Des Roches- Associate professor at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University In this panel, Dr. Anthony commenced the discussion by highlighting the essence of the economic and intra-regional components in establishing security to achieve stability and, thus, foster investments and relationships. On the economic component, Abdulrahman Al-Eryani, who formerly served as an Economic Advisor to the Embassy of Yemen in the U.S., defined Yemen as a plural state, where groups and tribes yield influence over the government, which poses dialogue as the only way to move forward. As a result, al-Eryani sees that it is vital for the PLC to invest in promoting stability factors and use this time to provide essential services in areas they control to give a consensus for all Yemenis on what democracy could contend with the population. He added that there is room for the regional countries and allies to provide the Yemeni government with adequate resources to extend that to their people. David Des Roches, Associate professor at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, spoke on the developments in warfare that will impact Yemen and its future. Des Roches elaborated on the elements of a proxy war with Iran and stated- Iran did not create the situation or the Houthis; they are different from militias in Iraq, but they are capitalizing on it.
- Iran does not seek to control everything; however, they seek to disrupt what would be dominant because it is cheaper and more accessible.
- Iran operates through proxy attacks, disrupting shipping and commerce to impose costs on their adversary. They also take hostages; the Yemeni population is held hostage by Iran.