From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Thu Jan 07 2010 - 08:05:36 EST
The Yemeni Ambassador: D.C's Dean of Diplomacy — and Dancing
By Jay Newton-Small Wednesday, Jan. 06, 2010
Read more:
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1952139,00.html#ixzz0bvnXo1NC
Almost no one outside the Beltway has ever heard of Yemeni Ambassador
Abdulwahab Abdulla Al-Hajjri and for good reason: the 12-year dean of the
diplomatic corps had never granted an interview before this week. But inside
the Beltway, he's a fixture on the Georgetown social circuit. He often
graces the pages of DC's society magazines and hosts near nightly dinners
and parties, some of which end with dancing under the disco ball in his
basement in the wee hours of the morning.
But life in Washington is not all fun and games for the ambassador,
especially these days. President Barack Obama last week named Yemen as a
priority front on the war against al Qaeda and briefly closed the U.S.
Embassy there as security concerns mounted. The would-be briefs bomber of
Flight 253 on Christmas Day was allegedly trained in Yemen, and Major Nidal
Malik Hasan, the Ft. Hood solider accused of killing 12 people and wounding
31 others was taking spiritual guidance from a Yemeni imam with ties to the
Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Recently, the Ambassador has been in
intense negotiations with the Obama Administration about what to do with the
more than 80 Yemenis in Guantanamo that make of the bulk of the prisoners
left in the camp. "This administration is different in a way," Al-Hajjri
says in an interview in his private study at the Yemeni embassy in
Washington's tony Kalorama Heights, just a block away from Donald Rumsfeld's
home. "I think they deal with countries, especially small countries, with
more respect and they're willing to listen to others."
This is the third U.S. President Al-Hajjri has dealt with, having spent more
than 17 years in Washington, 13 of them as his country's top
representative-more time than any ambassador from any other country save
Djibouti and Singapore. His three children all grew up in the U.S. and two
of them work in Washington. "It is unusual. It's usually four years and then
it's year-by-year afterwards," he says. His bosses have kept him here so
long because, he says, "they think it's an investment because they think you
develop experience and an understanding of how the system works."
Al-Hajjri comes form the kill-them-with-kindness school of diplomacy. He
totes bags of Yemeni almonds, pistachios and coffee with him around town and
most of Washington's elite, from Saudi princes to four-star generals, has
been invited to his home-a sprawling mansion near American University. He
has been voted one of the top Washington hosts by society glossies
Washington Life and DC Magazine. Separated from his wife years ago, he is
often accompanied by some of Washington's most beautiful women. But his
serial socializing isn't just for laughs. "It helps me tremendously,"
Al-Hajjri says. Indeed, Al-Hajjri hosted General David Petraeus for dinner a
month ago and three weeks later the general visited Yemen.
The Ambassador decided at an early age to follow in his father's footsteps
and become a diplomat: his father served as ambassador to Kuwait before
becoming prime minister. Al-Hajjri did two tours in Washington as cultural
attache and deputy chief of mission before becoming ambassador in 1997 (he
also serves as non-resident ambassador to Mexico and Venezuela). When he
arrived, relations between Yemen and the U.S. had deteriorated to a point of
virtual non-existence. His first task was to convince the U.S. of the danger
of the open Yemeni coastline — one of the longest on the Arabian Peninsula.
Just across the Red Sea — and closer than Cuba is to Florida - lie Somalia,
Eritrea and Sudan, three of Africa's most war-torn countries. After the
U.S.S. Cole bombing, the U.S. helped Yemen start a Coast Guard and a Navy,
though only 25% of the coast is patrolled today and pirates and terrorists
cross the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden regularly and easily. Yemen is home
to the largest population in the region, 23 million, and one of poorest —
75% of its income comes from the 300,000 barrels of oil it produces daily, a
drop in the proverbial bucket compared to the 11 million produced by
neighboring Saudi Arabia and the eight million produced by the U.S. It is
the second largest country on the Arabian Peninsula - roughly the size of
California and Pennsylvania put together; it has the highest mountains -
with terrain similar to Tora Bora, Afghanistan; and the longest border with
Saudi Arabia - an open one that has seen traffic rise since the Saudi
government has started cracking down on Islamist militants. All of which is
to say, what Yemen seeks from the U.S. above all is help. "The problem is
there is no limit to what we need. Yemen is a very poor country, the
development challenges are beyond imagination," Al-Hajjri says.
Under Al-Hajjri's tenure, aid to Yemen has gone from nearly nothing to as
much as $80 million one year — peanuts compared to, say, Egypt where for
decades the U.S. has been spending upwards of $1.75 billion annually. "The
administration has always asked for more money for Yemen except it gets
slashed every time by Congress," Al-Hajjri says. "I think the Congress, now,
is convinced that Yemen needs to be helped."
Al-Hajjri maintains that Yemen would not be so vulnerable to terrorism if it
did not have such an open society: it was the first Arabian country to
institute regular elections, limit presidential stays to two terms and allow
women to vote and be elected to government. "You see other problems exposed
when you have a free society," Al-Hajjri says. Is there any chance that
Yemenis might one day feel bought if there is a big influx of money?
"Ironically, Yemenis have been one of the few populations in our
neighborhood that would welcome any help," laughs Al-Hajjri. "When countries
were hiding their alliances with the United States, our President was going
village to village telling people that we are allies with the United States
in fighting terrorism. We're partners, we say this publically."
Read more:
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1952139,00.html#ixzz0bvnQnXQB
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