IN THE YEMEN

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31754, 10 August 1968, Page 4

IN THE YEMEN

Yemen. The Unknown War. By Dane Adam* Schmidt. Bodley Head. 316 pp.

President Nasser’s little venture into Yemen—a small but strategic corner of the Arabian peninsula provoked little reaction in the world at large. His puppet republican regime succeeded centuries of cruel and repressive Imamic rule, and even accusations of gas attacks on royalist villages raised few voices in protest. Mr Dan* Adams Schmidt was the “New York Times” correspondent with the fighting prii ces of the Yemen and his experiences there have moved him to write this very readable account of the war. His aim is to publicise the “unknown” war for he believes that the struggle for power in the Yemen will influence the future roles there of the United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union and also of Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

The centre of the story is the war between the Yemeni republic and the Yemeni royalists: the republic backed by and often supplanted by the Egyptians; the royalists supported by Saudi Arabian arms and gold. There were Imams in Yemen 200 years before the Normans invaded Britain, but in 1962, an Egyptian-backed revolt forced the Imam to flee his capital of Sana. A striking example of the paradoxes present in this part of the world is given with Imam al Badr scaling the medieval wall of the city and fleeing on foot through the tribal countryside but listening to latest news of the roup on his transistor radio.

Mr Schmidt visited the Imam in hi* cave hide-outs several times and moved around the royalist-held parts

of the country. He also made visit* to the republican side and although it is obvious where his sympathies lie, he does try to present both points of view. For much of the war the two sides were locked in stalemate with neither able to defeat the other, but at four distinct stages convulsive efforts from both side changed the shape of the conflict. ”r Schmidt estimates that Nasser’s desire to get out of the Yemen dated back to early 1963, but prestige and ambition prevented a withdrawal despite the fact that the war, with its military cost and economic aid, was a great burden on Egypt. The author describes President Sallal's overthrow, the departure of the Egyptians in 1967 and ends his book with the consequent siege of Sana by royalist forces. Chapters are devoted to the role of the International Red Cross in the war, the gassing attacks and the policy of the United States and United Nations. Yemen’s colourful history is given in considerable detail for the author considers that the Yemenis behave as they do because their geology, climate and ethnology have made them unique in the Middle East Their society is the most profoundly traditional of all the Arab nations in the area. Mr Schmidt sees the Yemenis victorious in the broadest sense because the foreigner has been obliged to withdraw from their land but predicts a future filled with violent strife as they attempt to settle their affairs amongst themselves. Now that the Western powers appear to have abdicated their interest in the region, he feels that the way has been left open for the Soviet Union, whose interest in the area has never flagged.