Ben Cohen, Algemeiner/JNS.org: Could Yemen Be the Start of a Major Middle East War?
Back in Roman times, Yemen went by the name “Arabia Felix”—Latin for “Happy Arabia.” It’s hard to think of a greater misnomer for this Arab state on the southern tip of the Persian Gulf, a few miles across the water from the Horn of Africa.
The Romans actually had a pretty miserable time there. Aelius Gallus, who was the Prefect of Egypt in 26 BCE, tried to conquer the territory and was roundly defeated. Through the ages, Yemen maintained its warlike image, with its various tribes doing battle with the Ottoman Turks and the British Empire. The north won independence from the Turks on 1918, while the south remained under British rule. By 1967, there were two states in Yemen. In the north, you had the Yemen Arab Republic, and in the south you had the People’s Democratic Republic of South Yemen; the north was oriented towards the Arab states, while the south was a run by hardline communist government.
WNU Editor: A brief but good summary on the history of Yemen. As to the possibility that Yemen may be the start of a major Middle Eastern war .... I doubt it .... the war in Syria and Iraq is where the action is. But being apart of the greater Sunni - Shiite conflict .... definitely.