Page 98 - What Kind of Yemen ?

What Kind of Yemen?

only possible by raising the wages of the military and police force to

the highest level on a regular basis and to endow them with a wide
range of privileges. That of course means a massive amount of spend-
ing from the state treasury.
Nothing can be more natural than for a country to foresee external
and internal threats against it and to take precautions against them;
indeed, that is one of the primary responsibilities of the state. Howev-
er, if it does not consider various factors in doing so, this can lead to

severe problems in the national economy and structure.
Defense expenditures are high in many Middle Eastern countries;
the difference between Yemen and other Arab countries is that its
defense spending is largely focused on personnel costs than buying
arms. In contrast to countries such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, spend-
ing on weapons and technological improvements is at a low level,
while paying salaries occupies a very important place. Enrolment in
the military is used as a form of job creation, rather than meeting secu-
rity needs. Therefore, rather than the military being highly developed,

modern and with a strong defensive capacity, it is technologically
weak, cumbersome and difficult to manage.
Soldiers' salaries must not be used for social or political purposes
other than military objectives. If that happens, the result will be people
who are soldiers only on paper, yet who contribute nothing to national
defense and security. Troops who do not really exist but whose salaries
are paid every month will begin to be used as vehicles for transferring

funds to please the tribes or ensure their loyalty, and this will lead to
big problems.
Politicians must not establish military and security forces out of
tribes or relatives they regard as loyal to them. If that happens, the
army stops being a national army and becomes the armed force of one
particular group; that, of course, leads to the targeting of those who
cannot be part of the army and their arming themselves by illegal
means.
Another important matter is the establishment of transparency in

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