● Anti-Western Ideology: In the early 2000’s, Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, the leader of the Houthi movement, began criticizing the Yemeni government for not only its perceived encroachments against Zaydi culture by the central government, but also its endorsement of American regional policies - including operations against al-Qaida.
○ Houthi slogan: "God is Great, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curses to the Jews, Victory to Islam." First chanted collectively in January 2002.
○ A 2004 Hussein Houthi open letter to Saleh stated: “what I do is my solemn national duty against the enemy of Islam . . . America and Israel”
● By mid-2004, an armed insurgency against the government had begun, with border incursions and attacks into neighboring Saudi Arabia.