Ned Whalley is an editor and analyst at the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies. He has degrees in History from Yale University, and in Conflict Management and International Economics from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He has been published in Nationalities Papers, The Daily Star, and Now Lebanon among other outlets.
Whalley's latest contributions
US Leaves Yemen Worse Than It Found It
At a May 6 press conference with the Canadian prime minister, US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire with the Houthis (Ansar Allah). Trump said the group had agreed to end attacks on the US Navy and maritime shipping transiting the Red Sea in exchange for an immediate halt to US airstrikes in Yemen. Each side claimed the other had backed … Read more
The Yemen Review Quarterly: January-March 2025
On March 15, the US launched Operation Rough Rider, a massive expansion of its aerial campaign against the Houthi group (. The strikes followed a Houthi threat to resume targeting Israeli ships due to the blockade of aid into Gaza on March 2. Strikes have been taking place continuously as of the time of writing. The Houthi-affiliated Health … Read more
Leaked Texts and Limited Strategy: The US Strikes in Yemen
Recently leaked US attack plans, shared inadvertently with Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, were startling not just in their disclosure but in what they disclosed – that the Trump administration may have no intermediate or long-term plan for how to deal with the Houthis. Rather, the airstrikes appear intended simply to reassert American … Read more
Renewed US Bombing and Houthi FTO Designation Signal Shift in Yemen Conflict
US military forces recommenced strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen on March 15 as part of a new pressure campaign against the group and its primary backer, Iran. The bombing campaign, which so far has killed a reported 53 people and wounded more than 100, followed a Houthi threat to resume attacks against Israeli-linked vessels in the Red Sea … Read more
Houthi Detentions Leave Stark Choices for Aid Sector
On January 23, the Houthi group () detained seven UN staff members working in Sana’a.[1] In response, the UN halted the movement of all staff working in Houthi-controlled territories[2] as Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for the UN workers’ immediate release.[3] But the incident is just the latest in a string of disappearances and … Read more