The mountains near the village of Al Qaeda. Lawlessness, growing poverty, a water crisis, a raging conflict with Houthi rebels in Yemen's north and clashes with separatists in the South continue to destabilize the Arabian Peninsula's poorest state.
The men were firing their Kalashnikovs so close by that I was certain I could hear the bullet casings cascading down onto the roof of the tent. A crowd of women swaddled in black cupped their hands over their veiled mouths to emit a wave of high-pitched ululations a call of celebration familiar across the Middle East. The 16-year-old bride, draped in a sparkly white gown, henna tattoos running up her arms, sat silent and tearful as she prepared to meet her groom for the first time. I hadn't meant to spend the night in this tiny village in a...
