Catherine Shakdam

Catherine is a political analyst ​and reporter ​for MintPress focusing on​ the Middle East and the rise of ​radical movements. The Associate Director of the Beirut Center for Middle Eastern Studies, she has contributed her analyses to the Middle East Monitor, Foreign Policy Association, Your Middle East, IslamistGate, Majalla, ABNA, Open Democracy, International Policy Digest, Eurasia Review and many more.

Houthi Spokesman Lays Blame for Yemen’s Destruction at Feet of Former President Hadi

Hussain al-Bukhaiti represents one side of the conflict in Yemen. The senior official of the Houthis’ political arm condemns the Saudi-led coalition’s actions as “illegal and illegitimate,” and asserts that Yemen’s problems existed long before Ansarallah got involved.

Catherine Shakdam
By Catherine Shakdam
civilian deaths in yemen

SANAA, Yemen --- Hussain al-Bukhaiti is a former human rights activist and spokesman for the Houthis, the rebel group which has seized control of Yemen. He currently serves as a senior official of Ansarallah, the Houthis’ political arm, where he’s a strong advocate for political dialogue and peace. A media adviser for the Houthis since 2011,

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Yemen Timeline: From January 2011 To March 2015

Yemen: A Timeline

Catherine Shakdam
By Catherine Shakdam
A Houthi Shiite rebel carries his weapon as he joins others to protest against Saudi-led airstrikes, during a rally in Sanaa, Yemen, April 1, 2015. . (AP/Hani Mohammed)

January 27, 2011: Protesters in Sanaa call for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to resign after three decades in power. Yemen’s revolution kicks off. Sept. 12, 2011: Saleh signs a document giving Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi special power to negotiate a transition of power with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Joint Meeting

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Exclusive: Yemen’s Former Human Rights Minister Blames Houthis For Yemen Crisis

“The situation has become much harder than anyone could have ever anticipated. We’re hoping to get rid of the Houthis as soon as possible, otherwise it will not be bearable for the people at all.”

Catherine Shakdam
By Catherine Shakdam
Hooria Mashhour

Hooria Mashhour, A human rights activist and Yemen’s Former Human Rights Minister. BEIRUT --- A veteran human rights activist, Hooria Mashhour became Yemen’s first post-revolution human rights minister in 2012. She’s also a former member of the Joint Meeting Parties, but now defines herself as an independent. She was appointed deputy

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Chronicling Yemen: A Day-By-Day Look At A Crisis Unfolding

From Houthi leaders to Yemenis living through the Saudi-led bombings, MintPress is compiling a timeline of events starting from March 25, the day the bombings started.

Catherine Shakdam
By Catherine Shakdam
Yemenis search for survivors in the rubble of houses destroyed by Saudi-led airstrikes in a village near Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, April 4, 2015.

Yemenis search for survivors in the rubble of houses destroyed by Saudi-led airstrikes in a village near Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, April 4, 2015. LONDON --- Since the Arab Spring lit up the streets of Yemen in 2011, the impoverished country on the tip of the Arabian Peninsula has crumbled under the weight of political instability, insecurity,

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What’s Really Driving The Saudi-Led Attacks On Yemen?

Oil.

Catherine Shakdam
By Catherine Shakdam
Yemen's President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, left, walks with Saudi Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman as he arrives in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, March 26, 2015.

Yemen's President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, left, walks with Saudi Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman as he arrives in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, March 26, 2015. SANAA, Yemen --- On March 25, King Salman decided to engage the Saudi military against the Houthis of Yemen, after the latter marched on Aden, the capital of the former South

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Libya Burning: ISIS Lays Claim To Another Country, Right At Europe’s Door

“We have failed to recognize that arming militias and manufacturing a mercenary army under the banner of the dollar would only exacerbate disunity and ultimately play to our disadvantage,” one expert tells MintPress of the international community’s failings in Libya.

Catherine Shakdam
By Catherine Shakdam
Libyan civilians watch fires at an Ansar al-Shariah Brigades compound, after hundreds of Libyans, Libyan Military, and Police raided the Brigades base, in Benghazi, Libya.

Libyan civilians watch fires at an Ansar al-Shariah Brigades compound, after hundreds of Libyans, Libyan Military, and Police raided the Brigades base, in Benghazi, Libya. Factions of the group in 2014 pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group. Libya, virtually a failed state the past years, has provided a perfect opportunity for the Islamic

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America’s Jekyll And Hyde Foreign Policy In The Middle East

Is the U.S. exporting democracy in response to calls for it around the world, or is it simply using this as a guise to assert corporate imperialism that does more harm than good?

Catherine Shakdam
By Catherine Shakdam

A Lebanese army soldier sits on his armored personnel carrier, as he stands guard outside the Burger King as part of stepped up security measures, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Saturday Sept. 15, 2012. The world watched in fascination as Egyptians, Libyans, Syrians, Yemenis, Tunisians and Bahrainis took to the streets of their

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