This past weekend, AP reported that several Americans were being held in Yemen by the Iranian-backed Houthis. Yesterday we learned from Department of State spokeswoman Marie Harf (starting at 17:05) that one of the hostages, Casey Coombs, has been released, and Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Anne Patterson is in negotiations with “unnamed” people to try and secure the release of the others. While scoffing at a reporter for asking if Patterson was negotiating with AQAP–because terrorists, duh–Harf deflected when asked about negotiating with the Yemen affiliate of ISIS.
Yemen is the country the Obama Administration touts as a successful model for its small footprint counter-terrorism strategy. Never mind that AQAP, ISIS, and Iranian-backed Shiite rebels have taken over the country. Ignore that Yemen’s pro-American President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi was forced into hiding in March. And pay no attention to the evacuation of our special forces and closing the U.S. embassy in Yemen.
With American hostages now being held in Yemen, will the administration finally admit that the country is in chaos and that their strategy failed? Doubtful.
