Yemeni province launches operation to take bases back from separatist STC

Mainstream coverage treats this as just another shifting front line in Yemen, with the comforting word “peacefully” doing a lot of work. But when a Saudi-backed governor moves to reclaim bases from a separatist force, the real story is about who holds legitimate authority and who can enforce it.

The STC is not a misunderstood civic group. It is an armed faction with outside patrons and its own political project. Calling this a tidy “handover” ignores the risk of fragmentation that turns Yemen into a patchwork of militias, ports, and patronage networks. That is exactly how terror groups and smugglers thrive.

For American interests, national security is not served by romanticizing separatism. What matters is rule of law, public trust, and clear lines of command. Stability comes from accountable control of force, not from competing flags over the same base.