A new counterterrorism fund for Yemen?

The danger, obviously, is that Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh will use this fund to finance his domestic battles against the Huthi rebels and the southern separatists. The Huthi conflict, in particular, is a huge drain on Yemen's rapidly-shrinking treasury. But -- as Human Rights Watch pointed out last week -- the U.S. will alienate a large segment of Yemeni society by bankrolling those conflicts. Mareb Press touches on these concerns in the story I linked above:

"There are a number of concerns, such as ensuring the counterterrorism training and assistance goes to fighting [AQAP], and is not diverted toward other priorities of the Yemeni government. This will involve some very difficult diplomacy with Sanaa," Christopher Boucek, an expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said.

Yemeni officials have spent the last 48 hours pushing for new international contributions. Analysts say Yemen is likely to ask its Gulf neighbors for substantial donations. And in an interview yesterday with Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Yemen's prime minister, Ali Mohamed Mujawar, called for a $40 billion "Marshall Plan" (عربي) for his country. (Marshallplanism!)

Update: Good point from Gregory Johnsen at Waq al-Waq:

The US is just asking for trouble if it designates it for use against terrorists, since Yemen and the US seem to have different definitions. For the US it means al-Qaeda, while Yemen has no problem calling Huthis and supporters of the "Southern Movement" terrorists.

Just this morning, for example, Al-Thawra reports on "five terrorists" -- Huthis -- killed in Saada province (عربي).