A former U.S. Marine is recounting his harrowing ordeal at the hands of Yemeni rebels that included many who were trained and funded by the U.S. to fight al-Qaeda. Instead their training was used to kidnap, interrogate, and torture Americans.
From the Washington Post:
Six days after Farran arrived, Saudi Arabia launched an air campaign in an effort to dislodge the rebels, members of a Shiite sect that the Saudis say is backed by Iran. Farran, 54, was in a house owned by the British American Tobacco company, one of his clients, when the bombs began to fall. He was joined there by another American, Scott Darden, who worked for New Orleans-based Transoceanic Development, overseeing the transport of humanitarian supplies in Yemen.
…On the night of March 27, nearly a dozen men — armed with American-made M-4 assault rifles and wearing crisp camouflage uniforms — stormed the villa. Farran recognized them as members of a counterterrorism unit, funded and equipped by the United States, that was built to fight al-Qaeda.
Now they were commanded by three Houthis who wore kaffiyeh scarves, Farran said.
The men confiscated the Americans’ cellphones and computers and ransacked the villa as Farran and Darden sat at a table. They took more than $5,000 in cash that Farran had in his wallet. When the search was complete, the Americans were stripped to their underwear and T-shirts, blindfolded and shoved into separate, armored SUVs.
Darden declined to discuss his detention. Through a spokesman, he said, “I want to thank everyone who has supported me and my family the last six-plus months.”
As he was being driven away, Farran wanted to know where he was being taken. “Don’t ask,” one of the Houthis said.
Farran began to worry he would be summarily executed. “The thought did cross my mind,” he recalled.
About 30 minutes later, Farran, still blindfolded, was hustled into an interrogation room. His computer was on the table. The interrogator wanted to know the password to his e-mail account and his presence on social media, including Facebook.
“Why are you in Yemen?” the interrogator asked.
Farran explained his business in the country.
“You are a spy,” the interrogator said.
He was held captive for 177 days until they became convinced he wasn’t a spy and let him go. Another American is still held by the Houthis.
If you’ll remember, the Obama administration still considers Yemen a “counter-terrorism success” even as the American government abandoned Americans in the collapsing country.