Aftandilian Publishes Op-Ed on Trump’s Yemen Strategy
Gregory Aftandilian, Lecturer at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, published a recent Op-Ed on the Trump administration’s policy on Yemen.
Aftandilian’s Op-Ed, entitled “Despite a Tougher Stand Towards Iran on Yemen, US Favours a Political Solution,” was published in The Arab Weekly on May 7, 2017.
From the text of the Op-Ed:
The Trump administration’s Yemen policy is murky but some trends are becoming discernable.
It seems that US Defense Secretary James Mattis is in charge of formulating the policy. He has become the most influential voice in the Trump administration on national security issues. Although he has reportedly developed a good working relationship with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, it is clear that Mattis is the one who calls the shots.
US President Donald Trump is enamoured by strong military leaders and Mattis, as a former Marine Corps general with extensive combat experience and former US Central Command commander, fits the bill. Trump has reportedly given Mattis wide berth to formulate and carry out strategy without checking in with the White House on every detail.
Aftandilian spent over 21 years in government service, most recently on Capitol Hill where he was foreign policy adviser to Congressman Chris Van Hollen (2007-2008), professional staff member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and foreign policy adviser to Senator Paul Sarbanes (2000-2004), and foreign policy fellow to the late Senator Edward Kennedy (1999).