al-Huthi's Rebellion

You might not have heard about the revolt of Hussein Badreddine al-Huthi, and Zaydi Shi'ite preacher who for over two months has been engaged in a military conflict against the Yemeni government. Aside from the daily body count, details are hard to come by, but he apparently has support in the mountainous north of Yemen, which only recently was governed as a Zaydi Imamate. The Lebanon Daily Star has one write-up of the situation, which carries the warning that if Yemen becomes a failed state, it will become a significant base for al-Qaeda.

Although al-Jazeera reports that the government controls his major bases, as in other guerrilla conflicts attacks and ambushes drag on. In fact, al-Huthi's anti-American message may be drawing more support, as the Yemen Times reports that many tribal leaders have renounced their commitment to fight him and Yemen's President, Ali Abdullah Saleh is distancing himself rhetorically from the United States.

Developing...