Edmund Fitton-Brown

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"In the latest episode of the “Sanctions Space” podcast, Justine Walker is joined by Edmund Fitton-Brown, senior advisor at the Counter Extremism Project and former U.K. ambassador to Yemen. They discuss the ongoing tensions in the Red Sea, the political situation in Yemen and the origin and aspirations of the Houthi group, as well as sanctions actions taken by the U.S. and others against the Houthis."

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February 20, 2024
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CEP Senior Advisor Edmund Fitton-Brown interviewed: "This recording is from “The Houthis and the Red Sea: can the Houthis be deterred?” which was an hour long webinar by Noel Brehony and Edmund Fitton-Brown held on 7 February 2024."

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February 7, 2024
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Tuesday, Jan 30, 2024

Edmund Fitton-Brown | CEP Webinar: The Stakes Of Houthi Aggression Against International Shipping Since Oct. 7

Ambassador Edmund Fitton-Brown
Former UK Ambassador to Yemen and Senior Advisor, Counter Extremism Project (CEP)

On January 30, 2024, CEP held a webinar to present a policy paper concerning the threat to global security posed by the Houthi attacks on the international shipping industry since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, 2023. 

Report here: https://counterextre.me/StakesOfHouthiAggression

Since November 18, the Iran-backed Houthis have launched dozens of attacks in the Red Sea and Suez Canal, prompting the United States to announce a multinational naval operation to protect global shipping interests. Several major shipping companies, meanwhile, have started diverting shipments around the Cape of Good Hope—adding weeks to shipping times, fuel consumption, and increasing shipping and insurance costs. Tensions and confrontations have escalated throughout 2024: on January 9, the Houthis ignored recent warnings and launched a complex missile attack against several commercial ships; on January 11, the U.S.-led coalition launched retaliatory strikes against Houthi targets. Most recently, on January 15 the Houthis struck a U.S.-owned and operated cargo ship for the first time. The Biden administration re-designated the Houthis as Specially Designated Global Terrorists on January 17.

These attacks, and the international response to them, have escalated and expanded the stakes of the war between Israel and Hamas. Houthi aggression has significant security and economic implications for international trade and the fight against ramping inflation both in Europe and the United States, as the Red Sea shipping route is a vital component of the global economy. CEP’s policy paper explores the consequences of recent Houthi aggression on the global shipping industry as well as its possible implications for both the peace process in Yemen and the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East connected to Hamas’s war against Israel.

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"'There is insufficient recognition in the [EU] text of the Hamas atrocity that started this round of conflict,' said Fitton-Brown, who is now an adviser to the Counter Extremism Project, a non-profit group based in Germany and the US.

'There is also insufficient recognition of Hamas' explicit commitment to treat any ceasefire as an opportunity to regroup and do it again; with the ultimate aim of killing Jews and destroying the state of Israel. This needs to be stated upfront,' he said."

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January 22, 2024
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"'It's one of the crazy things — the Houthis say this is an operation against Israeli interests, but it's not at all. The Israelis have almost no interests in the Red Sea, and the Houthis are simply harming poor Egyptians,' Edmund Fitton-Brown, a former British ambassador to Yemen and an advisor to the Counter Extremism Project — a group based in Germany and the US, told EUobserver."

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January 22, 2024
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Tuesday, Jan 16, 2024

CEP Senior Advisor Edmund Fitton-Brown Testifies Before the UK Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee

On January 16, 2024, Counter Extremism Project (CEP) Senior Advisor Ambassador Edmund Fitton-Brown was a witness before a UK Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee inquiry on "The UK’s international counter-terrorism policy." The following video features Edmund's responses to questions from Members of Parliament regarding topics ranging from U.K. and U.S. policy, the status of ISIS, al-Qaeda, the Houthis, Iran, relations with Gulf states, and terrorism and organized crime.

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CEP Senior Advisor Ambassador Edmund Fitton-Brown testified before the United Kingdom Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee for hearing, "The UK’s international counter-terrorism policy," 

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January 16, 2024
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"The Houthis are a Yemeni militia group named after their founder, Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi. They represent the Zaidi branch of Shia Islam and emerged in the 1980s in opposition to Saudi Arabia's religious influence in Yemen. With an estimated 20,000 fighters, their official name is Ansar Allah. The group controls most of the west of Yemen and oversees the Red Sea coastline.

Vanessa Feltz speaks with the former UK ambassador to Yemen, Edmund Brown and lecturer in political science Arash Azizi."

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January 12, 2024
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CEP Senior Advisor Ambassador Edmund Fitton-Brown: "The great majority threat is from Islamist extremists. And yes...white supremacists...there is a problem of that kind in the U.K. And it should be taken seriously. But I worry that there may be some systematic talking down of the Islamist threat."

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January 12, 2024
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Daily Dose

Extremists: Their Words. Their Actions.

Fact:

On May 8, 2019, Taliban insurgents detonated an explosive-laden vehicle and then broke into American NGO Counterpart International’s offices in Kabul. At least seven people were killed and 24 were injured.

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