>> like eitheror questions to which the answer is yes. this is essentially a yemen issue. the houthi problem goes back at least 10 years, before the iranians knew there were houthis, before they recognised the houthis, because for theo logical reasons it's different. the problems in the south go back a long title. they are problems of yemeni governs, questions of economic development, and are quintessentially a yemen problem. there are outside players, primarily saudi arabia and iran who are turning this into something of a proxy war, and, of course, you have al qaeda and the arabian peninsula. what you have are three players more who are taking advantage of an inherently weak yemen and all the political vacuums to play out there own battles. it's not the first time for yemen. >> when you talk about the united states having a role from outside as this continues to roll out. do you have to have somebody to talk to? if you are at the west asia desk in state, and you pick up a phone, do you have to know there's going to be someone at a phone on the other end whose word means