Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- December 4, 2017

Daniel Larison, American Conservative: Saleh Is Dead, But Yemen’s Suffering Continues

The Houthi-Saleh alliance collapsed in vicious fighting over the weekend that claimed dozens of lives in the capital, including that of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh himself:

* A video by Yemen’s Houthi rebels purports to show the slain body of the country’s former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh.
* Officials from various sides in the country’s civil war, including the Houthis’ opponents, have confirmed that the video shows the former strongman.

Saleh had been the president of North Yemen and then unified Yemen for more than thirty years when he was ousted in 2011, but his influence once out of office remained substantial. His alliance with the Houthis was always an opportunistic one, and he has previously fought six wars against them as president, so mutual interest had been the main thing that had held them together until now. Saleh seems to have gambled that turning against the Houthis was more to his advantage now, but if so he miscalculated. The Saudi-led coalition had likewise gambled on Saleh’s success, but like so many of their other plans it backfired. Saleh had been a fixture of Yemeni politics for so long that it is hard to know how his death will change things, but the effect will likely be significant.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- December 4, 2017

Death of Yemen's Saleh Leaves Saudi in Tight Spot: Analysts -- Ahmed Feteha and Zainab Fattah, Bloomberg

Saleh's death redraws Yemen's landscape, sharpens Saudi-Iran rivalry -- Tim Lister, CNN

How did Yemen's Houthi-Saleh alliance collapse? -- Faisal Edroos, Al Jazeera

The uncertain future of Palestinian security forces -- Adnan Abu Amer, Al-Monitor

Saudi Arabia Shifts Policy From Risk Averse to Downright Dangerous -- Bruce Riedel, Yale Global

Israel and Iran in Syria -- George Friedman, Geopolitical Futures

The Middle East Never Changes -- Leon Hadar, National Interest

There is no military option to take out North Korean nuclear program -- Todd Rosenblum, The Hill

Catalonia: time for some creative thinking -- Irish Times editorial

Why Russian Oligarchs Remain Loyal to the Putin Government -- David Szakonyi, Russia Matters

Putin Enters the Era of Transition -- Gleb Pavlovsky, Carnegie

Europe’s Crisis Starts at Home -- Mark Leonard, Project Syndicate

The U.S. In Niger -- Frank Archibald, Cipher Brief

Trump Can't Confess to Anything in a Tweet -- Noah Feldman, Bloomberg

TIME Announces 2017 Person of the Year Shortlist on Today Show -- Time