Yemen’s Asymmetric Warfare: A Lesson for the West

The American agency, Bloomberg, has observed that Yemenis are teaching the West about asymmetric warfare and how they can replace suicide vests and explosive devices with unmanned suicide drones and precision-guided missiles.

In an article published by the agency, author Marc Champion stated that Yemenis believe they are in a “state of war with the West,” and that it is time to acknowledge “we are in a state of war with them.” The most challenging question, he believes, is “how to fight this kind of asymmetric enemy.”

The agency pointed out that “what the Yemenis prove is that the advanced West faces increasing challenges on two fronts from weaker enemies, starting from non-governmental actors to Iran and Russia.”

Despite the “extraordinary” power of American aircraft carrier fleets, the agency believes that the response to these challenges cannot always be summarized in adopting a stricter stance, drawing boundaries, and establishing deterrence, which is Washington’s standard strategy.

The agency concluded that the first challenge is that advancements in the production of missiles and unmanned aircraft have led to “democratizing very powerful weapons, which until recently were only available to the wealthiest countries.” Suicide vests and explosive devices are being replaced with unmanned suicide drones and precision-guided missiles.

The second challenge, according to the agency, is the “increasing asymmetry in vulnerabilities.” The agency pointed out that Yemenis are demonstrating in real-time the richness of advanced countries in targets.

It explained that rich and complex societies like the United States, where the per capita GDP exceeded $76,000 at the end of last year, have much more that can be attacked (and lose) than a country like Yemen, where the per capita GDP is $650.

Therefore, when Yemenis disrupt nearly 12% of global shipping, which passes through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, it affects consumers in Europe and manufacturers in Asia, but not Yemen, according to the agency.

The agency also pointed out that if oil tankers are forced to switch to longer and more expensive routes than the Suez Canal, leading to higher gasoline prices at American pumps, Yemenis will be much less affected.