Yemen

Tom Friedman writes in the New York Times today about the impact education can have to counter extremism in Yemen. The country was allegedly much more culturally progressive decades ago. Friedman delineates a trend in Yemeni schools that started in the 70s and 80s funded by oil money.  A governance professor he interviews laments the loss of "skills like problem-solving, communication, critical thinking, debate, organization and teamwork" in the face of absolutism.  Friedman says:


In other words, we are now fighting for the Middle East of the 2020s and 2030s. Huge chunks of this generation are lost. When I went to see Yemen’s president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, at his Sana palace, he was in a reflective mood: “I would wish that this arms race could end and instead we could have a race for development.”


Also check out Friedman's earlier Postcard From Yemen.