The US-Led War on Yemen
Washington is hiding its leadership of the war on Yemen behind the Saudis
November 6, 2017
By Stephen Gowans
In October, 2016, two Reuters’ reporters published an exclusive, under the headline: “As Saudis bombed Yemen, U.S. worried about legal blowback.” [1]
The reporters, Warren Strobel and Jonathan Landay, revealed that legal experts at the US State Department had warned the White House that the United States could be charged with war crimes in connection with the Saudi Air Force bombing campaign in Yemen.
So far, the bombing campaign has left tens of thousands dead and many more wounded, as well as over 10 percent of Yemen’s population homeless. Accompanied by naval and aerial blockades, the aggression has created near famine conditions for somewhere between 25 to 40 percent of the population and has contributed to a cholera outbreak affecting hundreds of thousands.
According to Strobel and Landay, “State Department officials … were privately skeptical of the Saudi military’s ability to target Houthi militants without killing civilians and destroying ‘critical infrastructure’”. [2]
The officials acknowledged that the airstrikes were indiscriminate (a war crime), but said that the indiscriminate nature of the bombing was due to the inexperience of Saudi pilots and the difficulty of distinguishing enemy militants not wearing uniforms from the civilian population.
All the same, inasmuch as the bombing is indiscriminate, irrespective of why, it constitutes a war crime.
The second point the State Department lawyers made is that the United States is a co-belligerent in the war.
The Reuters article didn’t reveal the true extent to which the United States is involved, but it did acknowledge that Washington supplies the bombs which Saudi pilots drop on Yemen and that the United States Air Force refuels Saudi bombers in flight.
In other words, the United States plays a role in facilitating the campaign of indiscriminate bombing.
This was of great concern to the State Department legal staff.
The lawyers pointed out that while the indiscriminate bombing is the work of Saudi pilots, blame for the war crime could also be pinned on the United States through a legal instrument Washington had helped to create; hence, the fear of legal blowback.
The legal instrument was created by the UN-established Special Court on Sierra Leone, which the United States backed, if not instigated.
The court had ruled that Liberia’s president Charles Taylor was guilty of war crimes committed in the civil war in Sierra Leone, even though Taylor wasn’t in Sierra Leone when the crimes were committed. What’s more, Taylor, himself, had no direct connection to the crimes. This, everyone acknowledged.
But that, said the court, didn’t matter.
What mattered was that Taylor had provided “practical assistance, moral support and encouragement” to people in Sierra Leone who had committed war crimes.
Therefore, the court ruled, Taylor was guilty of war crimes, as well. [3]
The United States used the same legal instrument to indict Al Qaeda detainees at Guantanamo Bay for the crime of 9/11, even though the detainees in question had no direct involvement in the 9/11 attacks. It was sufficient that they had provided moral support and encouragement to those who had. [4]
This instrument, which had served Washington well in locking up people it didn’t like, now proved problematic, and the reason why is that the United States provides practical assistance, moral support and encouragement to the Saudis in a campaign of indiscriminate (hence, war criminal) bombing. US military personnel and state officials can therefore be charged with war crimes under a legal principle Washington helped to establish.
Worse, Washington offers the Saudis far more than just encouragement and moral support. It also furnishes its Arabian ally with diplomatic support, as well as the bombs that are dropped on Yemenis, and the war planes that drop the bombs. Additionally, it trains the pilots who fly the warplanes who drop the bombs.
And that’s not all. The United States also flies its own drones and reconnaissance aircraft over Yemen to gather intelligence to select targets for the Saudi pilots to drop bombs on. [5] It also provides warships to enforce a naval blockade. And significantly, it runs an operations center to coordinate the bombing campaign among the US satellites who are participating in it, including Egypt, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Jordan—the kingdoms, emirates, sultanates and military dictatorships which make up the United States’ Arab allies, all anti-democratic.
In other words, not only is the United States providing encouragement and moral support to the Saudis—it’s actually running the war on Yemen. In the language of the military, the United States has command and control. The only thing it doesn’t do is provide the pilots to drop the bombs.
Here’s what the Wall Street Journal reported: A Pentagon spokesman said the United States has special operations forces on the ground and provides airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, operational planning [my emphasis], maritime interdiction, security, medical support and aerial refueling. [6]
According to the newspaper, Pentagon war planners run a joint operations center where bombing targets are selected. [7]
When you run the operations center, you run the war.
So, two important aspects of the war: First, the bombing is indiscriminate and therefore a war crime—and Washington knows this. Second, the United States is involved in the war to a degree that is infrequently, if ever, recognized and acknowledged.
In fact, the war on Yemen is almost universally described as a Saudi-led war. This is a mischaracterization. It is a US-led war.
The war is consistent with the immediate aim of the United States in the Arab and Muslim worlds—to eliminate any organized, militant opposition to US domination of the Middle East. It is an aim that accounts for Washington’s opposition to entities as diverse as the Syrian government of Bashar al Assad, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas, and Al Qaeda. While these states and organizations have differing agendas, their agendas overlap in one respect: all of them oppose US domination of the Arab and Muslim worlds.
There are two organizations in Yemen that militantly oppose US domination of Yemen specifically and the Muslim world broadly: Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and the Houthis. Both are Islamist organizations. Both are implacably opposed to US and Israeli interference in the Muslim world. And both are committed to freeing Yemen from US domination. But they have different approaches.
Al Qaeda directs its attacks at what it calls its distant and near enemies.
The distant enemy is the United States, the center of an empire which Zbigniew Brzezinski, a principal figure in the US foreign policy establishment, had called a hegemony of a new type with unprecedented global reach and scale—in other words, the largest empire in human history.
The near enemy, by contrast, according to Al Qaeda ideology, comprises the component parts of the US Empire—the local governments which are subordinate to the United States and do Washington’s bidding (Yemen under the previous government, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and so on.)
Al Qaeda carries out campaigns against both its distant and near enemies—which is to say, against Western targets on Western soil, and against local governments which collaborate with, and act as agents of, the United States.
The Houthis, in contrast, model themselves on Hezbollah and Hamas. They focus on what Al Qaeda calls the near enemy, that is, local governments which are extensions of US global power. Hezbollah focuses on Western interference in Lebanon, Hamas on the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and the Houthis on Western lieutenants in Yemen, but do not seek to strike Western targets on Western soil as Al Qaeda does.
+++
Before the Houthis took control of the government, Washington was waging a war in Yemen against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
Washington had deployed Special Operations Forces and the CIA to deal with an Al Qaeda branch in Yemen that had organized the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris and an attempted 2009 Christmas bombing of a Detroit-bound airliner.
But these Al Qaeda attacks were only a symptom of what the United States is waging a war on. The United States says it’s waging a war on terrorism but what it’s actually waging a war on are the forces that oppose US domination of the Muslim world.
That some of those forces happen to use terrorist methods at times, and that they engage in violent politics, is less important to Washington than the fact that they’re against US domination and influence.
+++
The United States was prepared to wage a war against Al Qaeda in Yemen unilaterally, without the cooperation of the former Yemeni government.
Rear Adm. John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, said “Certainly a willing partner in Yemen…makes missions much more effective. But we have also proven the ability to go after terrorists in various places unilaterally. We … retain that right.” [8]
This was really quite an extraordinary statement, for Kirby was acknowledging in words what was already evident in actions: that the United States does not recognize the sovereignty of any country. It retains the right to intervene anywhere, militarily or otherwise, whether that country’s government assents to the intervention, or not.
The most conspicuous current example of Washington arrogating onto itself the right to intervene unilaterally in any country in pursuit of its foreign policy goals is the US invasion of Syria, carried out over the objection of the Syrian government, and without the slightest regard for the rule of law, which prohibits such affronts against the principle of national sovereignty.
Shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, the CIA persuaded Yemen’s president at the time, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to allow the U.S. military to conduct operations in Yemen against Al Qaeda targets.
Saleh was reluctant to cede Yemen’s sovereignty, but believed that if he refused the US request, Washington would invade (as it reserved the right to do.)
Hence, under duress, Saleh agreed to allow the CIA to fly Predator drones armed with Hellfire missiles over his country and agreed to the entry of US Army Special Forces into Yemen. [9] He agreed, in other words, to the US occupation of his country.
In early 2011, as the US war against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was in progress, a massive revolt against the Saleh government broke out, part of the so-called Arab Spring. It involved tens of thousands of Yemenis participating in weeks-long sit-ins.
Washington supported Saleh throughout this distemper, while at the same time demanding that Syrian president Bashar al Assad step down, charging (falsely) that he, Assad, had lost the support of his people.
In contrast, Saleh, despite having no popular support (or very little) enjoyed US backing—and he did so because, unlike Assad, he was willing to cede his country’s sovereignty to the United States.
After months of unrest in Yemen, Washington came to the conclusion that Saleh’s continued rule was no longer viable. He had become far too unpopular and chances were that he would be toppled by the popular revolt. Whoever took his place might not be as compliant.
So, meetings were arranged with leaders of the opposition, to make the case for continuing US operations. Eventually, a plan was agreed to in which Saleh would step down in favor of his vice-president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. [10]
Hadi proved to be no more popular than Saleh, although he proved to be just as popular with Washington as his predecessor was. Top US officials supported Hadi because he allowed the Pentagon a free hand in Yemen. [11]
Yemenis, in contrast, didn’t like Hadi—and they didn’t like him for a number of reasons, not least of which was that he was perceived correctly as a puppet of the United States.
In September, 2014, the Houthis, who had launched an insurgency 10 years earlier, seized the capital, demanding a greater share of power.
By February 2015, they had taken control of the government. Soon after, Hadi fled to Saudi Arabia.
What did the Houthis want?
The Houthis self-stated aim – their political project – is to cleanse the country of corrupt leaders beholden to foreign powers. They’re against the interference of the United States and Israel in Yemen’s affairs. A Houthi spokesman said, we’re “simply against the interference of those governments.” [12]
In 2015, Newsweek reported that “In essence what the Houthis call for are things that all Yemenis crave: government accountability, the end to corruption, regular utilities, fair fuel prices, job opportunities for ordinary Yemenis and the end of Western influence.” [13]
Newsweek also reported that “Many Yemenis believe the Houthis are right in pushing out Western influence and decision making.” [14]
So, what was the situation, then, for the United States in February 2015, with the unpopular Hadi government ousted and the Houthis, committed to Yemen’s independence, taking control of the government?
The situation was now much worse than it had been when Washington began its war in Yemen on Al Qaeda. Rather than one group militantly opposing US domination of Yemen, there were now two and control of the government had slipped from the hands of Washington’s marionette. In an effort to reverse a deteriorating situation, Washington instigated a war on the Houthis, overlaying a new war upon its existing war on Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
But the US administration had no legal authorization to wage a war on a group whose remit was internal to Yemen and wasn’t implicated in the 9/11 attacks. The US Congress had provided the US president with an open-ended authorization to “use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons.” [15] That included Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. But it didn’t include the Houthis.
If the United States was to lead a war against the Houthis legally, it would have to seek out and obtain Congress’s authorization. And the chances of the White House obtaining Congress’s consent for a war on the Houthis was next to zero. So Washington prepared a deception. It put the Saudis out front and said the war on the Houthis was Saudi-led.
To give the deception a semblance of credibility, the Saudis were said to view the Houthis as a threat. The Houthis were alleged to be a proxy of Iran, a country the Saudis regard as their principal rival in the Middle East.
But this was nonsense. In April, 2015, the US National Security Council declared that, “It remains our assessment that Iran does not exert command and control over the Houthis in Yemen,” adding “It is wrong to think of the Houthis as a proxy force for Iran.” [16]
The United States instigated the war on the Houthis for two reasons: First, because the Houthis are an organized, militant force against US interference in Yemen. And second, because the Houthis had ousted a government whose subordination to the United States had been useful for Washington in pursuing a campaign to eliminate another organized, militant force against US interference in the Muslim world, namely Al Qaeda.
The aim of the war is to drive the resistant sovereigntist Houthis out and bring the malleable puppet Hadi back in.
So, the United States organized a war using Saudi pilots as the tip of its spear, in exactly the same way it is pursuing a war against ISIS in Iraq and Syria using Kurds as the tip of its spear. In both cases the United States provides command and control, while in Syria and Iraq the Kurds provide the boots on the ground and in Yemen the Saudis provide the pilots in the air. But the war on the Houthis is no more a Saudi-led war than the US war on ISIS is a Kurd-led war.
US leaders don’t put US boots on the ground or US pilots in the air if they can get someone else to do the fighting for them.
As long ago as 1949, the US journalist Marguerite Higgins remarked on how “an intelligent and intensive investment of combat-hardened American men and officers could be used to train local forces to do the shooting for you.” [17]
More recently, in 2015, The Wall Street Journal reported that “America’s special-operations forces, have landed in 81 countries, most of them training local commandos to fight so American troops don’t have to.” [18]
There are a number of advantages for the United States of using local forces to do the fighting so that it doesn’t have to.
First, cost savings. It costs the US Treasury less to have Saudi pilots drop bombs on the Houthis than to have US pilots do the same.
Second, control of public opinion. Consent for yet another US war doesn’t have to be obtained.
Third, certain legal obligations are avoided, such as the need to obtain a legal authorization for war.
From the perspective of the US state, to run a war from behind the scenes, and let local forces assume the burden of being the tip of the spear, is simpler, more cost effective, less troublesome legally, and easier to manage issues of public consent.
Another reason we should believe the war on Yemen is a US- and not a Saudi-led war is that US national security strategy insists on US leadership. It is inconceivable that the United States would cede leadership of a military campaign in which it is involved to a satellite country.
Statements of US leadership abound in the utterances of US politicians, US military leaders, and US commentators.
“We lead the world,” declared former US ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power. [19]
“The question is never whether America should lead, but how we lead,” asserted Obama’s National Security Strategy. [20]
Barbara Stephenson, president of the American Foreign Service Association, describes the United States as having a “global leadership role.” [21]
In his second inaugural address, Bill Clinton described the United States as imbued with a special mission to lead the world. [22]
John McCain recently said that the United States has “an obligation” to lead. [23]
Would a country with such a fixation on leadership willingly assume a back-seat support role in a military campaign in a country in which it had already initiated a war and spent years fighting it? If the answer isn’t obvious, the reality that US war planners provide operational planning of the anti-Houthi war should lay to rest any doubts about who’s really in the driver’s seat.
This is a US-led war for empire, against an organized, militant force, which insists on Yemeni sovereignty; which insists on self-determination; and which therefore repudiates US leadership (a euphemism for US despotism and US dictatorship.)
If we’re committed to democracy, we ought to support those who fight against the despotism of empires; we ought to support those who insist on the equality of all peoples to self-determination; we ought to support those who find repugnant the notion that the United States claims a right to intervene in the affairs of any country, regardless of whether the people of that country agree to the intervention or not.
The fight of Yemenis to organize their own affairs, in their own way, in their own interests, by their own efforts, free from the interference of empires and their local proxies, is a fight in which all of us have a stake.
The struggle to end the war on Yemen, and the larger struggle to end the empire-building, the despotism, the dictatorship, of the United States, is not only a struggle for peace, but a struggle for democracy—and a struggle for the Enlightenment values of freedom (from despotism) and equality (of all peoples to determine their own affairs.)
1. Warren Strobel and Jonathan Landay, “Exclusive: As Saudis bombed Yemen, U.S. worried about legal blowback,” Reuters, October 10, 2016.
2. Strobel and Landay.
3. Strobel and Landay.
4. Strobel and Landay.
5. Mark Mazzetti and Eric Schmitt, “Quiet support for Saudis entangles U.S. in Yemen,” The New York Times, March 13, 2016.
6. Gordon Lubold and Paul Sonne, “U.S. troops return to Yemen in battle against Al Qaeda, Pentagon says,” The Wall Street Journal, May 6, 2016.
7. Lubold and Sonne.
8. Damian Paletta and Julian E. Barnes, “Yemen unrest spells setback for U.S.”, The Wall Street Journal, January 23, 2015.
9. Dana Priest, “U.S. military teams, intelligence deeply involved in aiding Yemen on strikes,” The Washington Post, January 27, 2010.
10. Mark Mazzetti, “U.S. is intensifying a secret campaign of Yemen airstrikes”, The New York Times, June 8, 2011.
11. Paletta and Barnes.
12. Ben Hubbard, “Plight of Houthi rebels is clear in visit to Yemen’s capital,” The New York Times, November 26, 2016.
13. “Photo essay: Rise of the Houthis,” Newsweek, February 9, 2015.
14. Newsweek.
15. Authorization for Use of Military Force, S.J.Res.23, September 14, 2001.
16. Kenneth Katzman, “Iran’s Foreign Policy,” Congressional Research Service, August 24, 2016.
17. Bruce Cumings, Korea’s Place in the Sun: A Modern History, W.W. Norton & Company, 2005, p. 255.
18. Michael M. Phillips, “New ways the U.S. projects power around the globe: Commandoes,” The Wall Street Journal, April 24, 2015.
19. “U.S. envoy urges no cut in U.N. funding,” The Associated Press, January 13, 2017.
20. US National Security Strategy, 2015.
21. Felicia Schwartz, “U.S. to reduce staffing at embassy in Cuba in response to mysterious attacks,” The Wall Street Journal, September 29, 2017.
22. William J. Clinton, Inaugural Address. January 20, 1997.
23. Solomon Hughes, “Trump warns McCain: ‘I fight back’,” The Wall Street Journal, October 17, 2017.
https://gowans.wordpress.com/2017/11/06 ... -on-yemen/
The US-Led War on Yemen
Re: The US-Led War on Yemen
Yemen: 10 Myths Debunked and a Global Call to Action
An almost entirely ignored war and genocide in the Middle East has been receiving some (but still not nearly enough) media attention lately. Media outlets, as well as a few celebrities, have started tweeting about the blockade, famine, poverty, and disease that have become an epidemic in Yemen. As journalist and author Brandon Turbeville asks in his article The Faces of Yemen- Where is American “Outrage?”
Saudi Arabia has been carrying out vengeful aggressive missile strikes against civilians in Yemen for almost three years now, with weapons purchased from the US and UK. Here is a short Slideshow that I created for The Rabbit Hole my Facebook news page (with before and after pictures of Yemen and brief commentary). In addition to the airstrikes and military action it has also blocked food, and resources from reaching civilians.
What would happen if Western countries refused to sell weapons to genocidal nations such as House of Saud? Taking into consideration that these weapons are used to commit genocide against one of the poorest nations in the region. If your answer is along the lines of fewer people would be killed, then you may be right. Either these wars of aggression would cease to exist or at the bare minimum, they would be minimized substantially.
This is a clear indication that not only are these “first world countries” complicit in these crimes against humanity but that they are actually fueling these wars. The United States thrives on wars, it benefits financially from creating creative chaos in other countries. The United States bases its military and political intervention on false allegations and pretenses. Under the guise of offering “help” through “humanitarian intervention,” it sets the stage for massacres, death, famine, and destruction.
Morally bankrupt men and women in suits are responsible for death and disease around the world, it goes against everything we are taught or more accurately indoctrinated to believe through our educational systems in the West. These bankers, politicians, war-hungry psychopaths are simply human shells roaming the earth, completely void from within.
As was just reported less than an hour ago on ABC by Middle East correspondent Sophie McNeill, writes:
“The reopening of Yemen’s main port by Saudi Arabia will not be enough to avert famine in the country unless all restrictions are lifted and commercial goods allowed in, aid agencies say.
Key points:
Aid agencies say it is good news but they are waiting for more details
Over 130 children were already dying a day before the blockade
Rights groups say Yemen is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis
On Monday, the Saudi-led military coalition announced it would allow aid to re-enter Yemen’s main port and United Nations flights to resume, more than two weeks after they imposed a total blockade on the country. The UN and international aid agencies have repeatedly urged the coalition to lift the Yemen blockade.
“It is good news, but we are still waiting to see the specific details,” Jamie McGoldrick, the UN’s humanitarian chief for Yemen, said.”
The innocent lives that are spared from death by missile strikes are left to barely survive while famine and disease demolish any chance for a normal existence. Currently, “Yemen’s cholera epidemic is the worst in recorded history according to Oxfam”.
As was written in an article by Vanessa Beeley with 21st Century Wire, “The following report from Randi Nord of Geopolitical Alerts debunks 10 of the mainstay myths that are being promulgated by the colonial media in the west to muddy the waters on Yemen and distract from the Saudi coalition ethnic cleansing-project reality:
1: Not A Civil War
A civil war would indicate that Yemenis are fighting other Yemenis for control. This in itself is wrong. Yemen’s resistance (which includes Ansarullah, the Republican Guard, and others) is currently fighting Saudi-backed mercenaries on the ground. This includes many Sudanese and U.A.E. soldiers as well as privately-hired Blackwater mercenaries. It can’t be a civil war because Saudi Arabia and their allies are an invading force occupying Yemen shipping in foreign fighters.
2: Not a Proxy War
Well, on the one hand, it is a proxy war, but the only proxies are the ones backed by Saudi Arabia and their allies. Yemen’s resistance does not receive outside support and is not fighting for any foreign power– they simply want to self-determine and control Yemen free of foreign interference. For the conflict in Yemen to be a proxy war, another foreign power would have to be manipulating Yemen’s resistance and this simply isn’t the case. (More on that later.)
3: Not a Sunni vs Shia Conflict
If any news outlet boils the war in Yemen (or any war, really) down to a mere Sunni-Shia conflict, you should immediately stop reading that outlet. This argument, first of all, ignores all other factors and power structures boiling a conflict down to mere religious differences. It’s just plain ignorant. Yes, Yemen’s Ansarullah movement was founded by Zaydi Shia Muslims. But it includes fighters and politicians from several sects and religions who simply don’t want foreign powers controlling their country. Plus, calling Saudi Arabia Sunni while ignoring their intolerant and violent Wahhabi ideology is a disgrace to all peaceful Sunni Muslims.
4: Saudi Arabia has Always Wanted Political and Economic Control of Yemen
A look back at the last century of Arabian history tells you all you need to know about the Saudi’s intentions in Yemen. During Yemen’s 1962 revolution, Saudi Arabia supported the Royalists fighting to keep Yemen an Imamate. They knew that an independent Yemen would turn into a strong country– just south of their border– which would become a competitor. Even back then, a Shia-led Imamate was preferable to a Yemeni republic from the Saudi’s perspective. Yemen is still the only republic on the Arabian peninsula. Such is still the case today: Saudi Arabia cannot stand to see a pluralist, economically-viable, independent republic on the Arabian Peninsula.
5: The Houthis (Ansarullah) are NOT an Iranian Militia
The Saudi’s behavior in Yemen is genuinely gruesome and repulsive. How can the United States and their friends in Europe possibly justify militarily supporting this war of terror? Ah yes, Iran, of course. Unfortunately for the imperialists, there isn’t evidence to back this accusation. In fact, all of their “Iranian influence” claims end up leading to dead-ends such as ambiguous boats in the gulf or unidentified smuggling routes via Kuwait. Not only do Ansarullah, Yemen’s resistance, and Iran all deny a relationship, but there isn’t evidence to suggest they have one. Yemen’s Supreme Revolutionary Committee based in the capital Sana’a has the equipment to manufacture and develop their own weapons. The former President Saleh was a previous U.S. ally who received significant military aid during the early “War on Terror” years. So there’s no shortage of weapons in Yemen. And has the media forgotten the Saudi-imposed land, sea, and air blockade?
6: Al Qaeda is a De Facto US Ally in Yemen
Why is Saudi Arabia bombing civilians in the resistance-held territory while al-Qaeda continues to flourish in other areas? Al-Qaeda is a de-facto ally and pawn of Saudi Arabia and the United States. That is until they get a little too strong and the U.S. steps-in to carry out some messy, high-profile, special operations. In portions of southern Yemen, al-Qaeda members fight alongside Saudi-backed troops. Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. employ local mercenaries to fight on their behalf. Who’s to say there aren’t al-Qaeda members on this payroll? No one, because this is never discussed.Regardless, al-Qaeda and the Saudi coalition both fight a common enemy: Ansarullah. The Saudi’s main objective in this war is to destroy Yemen’s resistance movement– not fight al-Qaeda. Any attack on al-Qaeda from the United States is done so in a way to exert pressure on Ansarullah forces– not to obliterate the group entirely– just like they use Daesh (ISIS) in Syria and Iraq.
7: Ansarullah and Allies Fight ISIS and AQAP
The only force capable of fighting al-Qaeda and Daesh in Yemen is Ansarullah along with their allies. They are the only genuine enemy of these terror groups in the country. As a revolutionary movement, they have a significant stake in keeping communities safe from violence and reactionary, intolerant forces like al-Qaeda. Ansarullah and their allies are the only entities in Yemen taking substantial steps to eradicate terrorist groups from their territory. Security forces set up multiple checkpoints and frequently bust would-be terror attacks. This fact, of course, is conveniently ignored by mainstream media. On the other hand, suicide attacks from groups like Daesh or al-Qaeda are relatively frequent in Saudi or U.A.E.-held territory.
8: The Blockade Kills People Faster than Bombs Do
Official estimates track the Yemen war death toll at about 12,000. Local sources report the number as much, much higher. And still, this number only reflects deaths from air strikes and military operations. Yes, the Saudi’s air strike campaign kills civilians on a near-daily basis. But just since April, over 2,000 people have died from a globally-unprecedented cholera outbreak. And once again, this is only the official number. The Saudi-imposed land, air, and sea blockade is directly responsible for triggering this outbreak. This is clearly intentional and strategic. Not only do the Saudis frequently deny aid entry to Yemen, but they do not allow civilians to leave for medical treatment and they’ve destroyed infrastructure at key Yemeni ports. Not to mention, due to the blockade, millions of Yemenis are on the brink of famine at any given point.
9: The UN and International Community Have Literally Done Nothing to Help.
Since the world powers ally with Saudi Arabia and their friends in the Gulf Cooperation Council, Yemenis’ cries for help fall on deaf ears. Other than a few scoldings, the United Nations has done absolutely nothing to slow down the war. They have not pressured Saudi Arabia to open the Sana’a airport. They rarely encourage peace talks. And they have not urged the United States or the United Kingdom to stop arming Saudi Arabia. In fact, under pressure from Saudi Arabia, the UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon actually removed them from a list of countries violating children’s human rights.
10: Western Media Whitewashes Saudi War Crimes While “Condemning Violence on All Sides”
Until the war in Yemen ends, western media will continue to play both sides of the fence. In the iconic words of Donald Trump, they will continue to condemn “violence on all sides.” (Not related, but seems to apply well.) And of course, they will completely ignore that one side has an air force and the backing of the world’s most powerful military while the other side is defending themselves from invaders and terrorists. Western media will continue to condemn the wrong groups while whitewashing the terrorist behavior of Saudi Arabia’s and their allies.
Hear how little displaced Yemeni children described the war, and what they miss most about Yemen in the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... Kaq0DPXATo
Yemen: 10 Myths Debunked and a Global Call to Action
Posted on November 22, 2017 by Sarah Abed in U.S. Domestic and Foreign Politics, Uncategorized // 0 Comments
An almost entirely ignored war and genocide in the Middle East has been receiving some (but still not nearly enough) media attention lately. Media outlets, as well as a few celebrities, have started tweeting about the blockade, famine, poverty, and disease that have become an epidemic in Yemen. As journalist and author Brandon Turbeville asks in his article The Faces of Yemen- Where is American “Outrage?”
Saudi Arabia has been carrying out vengeful aggressive missile strikes against civilians in Yemen for almost three years now, with weapons purchased from the US and UK. Here is a short Slideshow that I created for The Rabbit Hole my Facebook news page (with before and after pictures of Yemen and brief commentary). In addition to the airstrikes and military action it has also blocked food, and resources from reaching civilians.
What would happen if Western countries refused to sell weapons to genocidal nations such as House of Saud? Taking into consideration that these weapons are used to commit genocide against one of the poorest nations in the region. If your answer is along the lines of fewer people would be killed, then you may be right. Either these wars of aggression would cease to exist or at the bare minimum, they would be minimized substantially.
This is a clear indication that not only are these “first world countries” complicit in these crimes against humanity but that they are actually fueling these wars. The United States thrives on wars, it benefits financially from creating creative chaos in other countries. The United States bases its military and political intervention on false allegations and pretenses. Under the guise of offering “help” through “humanitarian intervention,” it sets the stage for massacres, death, famine, and destruction.
Morally bankrupt men and women in suits are responsible for death and disease around the world, it goes against everything we are taught or more accurately indoctrinated to believe through our educational systems in the West. These bankers, politicians, war-hungry psychopaths are simply human shells roaming the earth, completely void from within.
As was just reported less than an hour ago on ABC by Middle East correspondent Sophie McNeill, writes:
“The reopening of Yemen’s main port by Saudi Arabia will not be enough to avert famine in the country unless all restrictions are lifted and commercial goods allowed in, aid agencies say.
Key points:
Aid agencies say it is good news but they are waiting for more details
Over 130 children were already dying a day before the blockade
Rights groups say Yemen is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis
On Monday, the Saudi-led military coalition announced it would allow aid to re-enter Yemen’s main port and United Nations flights to resume, more than two weeks after they imposed a total blockade on the country. The UN and international aid agencies have repeatedly urged the coalition to lift the Yemen blockade.
“It is good news, but we are still waiting to see the specific details,” Jamie McGoldrick, the UN’s humanitarian chief for Yemen, said.”
The innocent lives that are spared from death by missile strikes are left to barely survive while famine and disease demolish any chance for a normal existence. Currently, “Yemen’s cholera epidemic is the worst in recorded history according to Oxfam”.
Image Source
As was written in an article by Vanessa Beeley with 21st Century Wire, “The following report from Randi Nord of Geopolitical Alerts debunks 10 of the mainstay myths that are being promulgated by the colonial media in the west to muddy the waters on Yemen and distract from the Saudi coalition ethnic cleansing-project reality:
1: Not A Civil War
A civil war would indicate that Yemenis are fighting other Yemenis for control. This in itself is wrong. Yemen’s resistance (which includes Ansarullah, the Republican Guard, and others) is currently fighting Saudi-backed mercenaries on the ground. This includes many Sudanese and U.A.E. soldiers as well as privately-hired Blackwater mercenaries. It can’t be a civil war because Saudi Arabia and their allies are an invading force occupying Yemen shipping in foreign fighters.
2: Not a Proxy War
Well, on the one hand, it is a proxy war, but the only proxies are the ones backed by Saudi Arabia and their allies. Yemen’s resistance does not receive outside support and is not fighting for any foreign power– they simply want to self-determine and control Yemen free of foreign interference. For the conflict in Yemen to be a proxy war, another foreign power would have to be manipulating Yemen’s resistance and this simply isn’t the case. (More on that later.)
3: Not a Sunni vs Shia Conflict
If any news outlet boils the war in Yemen (or any war, really) down to a mere Sunni-Shia conflict, you should immediately stop reading that outlet. This argument, first of all, ignores all other factors and power structures boiling a conflict down to mere religious differences. It’s just plain ignorant. Yes, Yemen’s Ansarullah movement was founded by Zaydi Shia Muslims. But it includes fighters and politicians from several sects and religions who simply don’t want foreign powers controlling their country. Plus, calling Saudi Arabia Sunni while ignoring their intolerant and violent Wahhabi ideology is a disgrace to all peaceful Sunni Muslims.
4: Saudi Arabia has Always Wanted Political and Economic Control of Yemen
A look back at the last century of Arabian history tells you all you need to know about the Saudi’s intentions in Yemen. During Yemen’s 1962 revolution, Saudi Arabia supported the Royalists fighting to keep Yemen an Imamate. They knew that an independent Yemen would turn into a strong country– just south of their border– which would become a competitor. Even back then, a Shia-led Imamate was preferable to a Yemeni republic from the Saudi’s perspective. Yemen is still the only republic on the Arabian peninsula. Such is still the case today: Saudi Arabia cannot stand to see a pluralist, economically-viable, independent republic on the Arabian Peninsula.
5: The Houthis (Ansarullah) are NOT an Iranian Militia
The Saudi’s behavior in Yemen is genuinely gruesome and repulsive. How can the United States and their friends in Europe possibly justify militarily supporting this war of terror? Ah yes, Iran, of course. Unfortunately for the imperialists, there isn’t evidence to back this accusation. In fact, all of their “Iranian influence” claims end up leading to dead-ends such as ambiguous boats in the gulf or unidentified smuggling routes via Kuwait. Not only do Ansarullah, Yemen’s resistance, and Iran all deny a relationship, but there isn’t evidence to suggest they have one. Yemen’s Supreme Revolutionary Committee based in the capital Sana’a has the equipment to manufacture and develop their own weapons. The former President Saleh was a previous U.S. ally who received significant military aid during the early “War on Terror” years. So there’s no shortage of weapons in Yemen. And has the media forgotten the Saudi-imposed land, sea, and air blockade?
6: Al Qaeda is a De Facto US Ally in Yemen
Why is Saudi Arabia bombing civilians in the resistance-held territory while al-Qaeda continues to flourish in other areas? Al-Qaeda is a de-facto ally and pawn of Saudi Arabia and the United States. That is until they get a little too strong and the U.S. steps-in to carry out some messy, high-profile, special operations. In portions of southern Yemen, al-Qaeda members fight alongside Saudi-backed troops. Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. employ local mercenaries to fight on their behalf. Who’s to say there aren’t al-Qaeda members on this payroll? No one, because this is never discussed.Regardless, al-Qaeda and the Saudi coalition both fight a common enemy: Ansarullah. The Saudi’s main objective in this war is to destroy Yemen’s resistance movement– not fight al-Qaeda. Any attack on al-Qaeda from the United States is done so in a way to exert pressure on Ansarullah forces– not to obliterate the group entirely– just like they use Daesh (ISIS) in Syria and Iraq.
7: Ansarullah and Allies Fight ISIS and AQAP
The only force capable of fighting al-Qaeda and Daesh in Yemen is Ansarullah along with their allies. They are the only genuine enemy of these terror groups in the country. As a revolutionary movement, they have a significant stake in keeping communities safe from violence and reactionary, intolerant forces like al-Qaeda. Ansarullah and their allies are the only entities in Yemen taking substantial steps to eradicate terrorist groups from their territory. Security forces set up multiple checkpoints and frequently bust would-be terror attacks. This fact, of course, is conveniently ignored by mainstream media. On the other hand, suicide attacks from groups like Daesh or al-Qaeda are relatively frequent in Saudi or U.A.E.-held territory.
8: The Blockade Kills People Faster than Bombs Do
Official estimates track the Yemen war death toll at about 12,000. Local sources report the number as much, much higher. And still, this number only reflects deaths from air strikes and military operations. Yes, the Saudi’s air strike campaign kills civilians on a near-daily basis. But just since April, over 2,000 people have died from a globally-unprecedented cholera outbreak. And once again, this is only the official number. The Saudi-imposed land, air, and sea blockade is directly responsible for triggering this outbreak. This is clearly intentional and strategic. Not only do the Saudis frequently deny aid entry to Yemen, but they do not allow civilians to leave for medical treatment and they’ve destroyed infrastructure at key Yemeni ports. Not to mention, due to the blockade, millions of Yemenis are on the brink of famine at any given point.
9: The UN and International Community Have Literally Done Nothing to Help.
Since the world powers ally with Saudi Arabia and their friends in the Gulf Cooperation Council, Yemenis’ cries for help fall on deaf ears. Other than a few scoldings, the United Nations has done absolutely nothing to slow down the war. They have not pressured Saudi Arabia to open the Sana’a airport. They rarely encourage peace talks. And they have not urged the United States or the United Kingdom to stop arming Saudi Arabia. In fact, under pressure from Saudi Arabia, the UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon actually removed them from a list of countries violating children’s human rights.
10: Western Media Whitewashes Saudi War Crimes While “Condemning Violence on All Sides”
Until the war in Yemen ends, western media will continue to play both sides of the fence. In the iconic words of Donald Trump, they will continue to condemn “violence on all sides.” (Not related, but seems to apply well.) And of course, they will completely ignore that one side has an air force and the backing of the world’s most powerful military while the other side is defending themselves from invaders and terrorists. Western media will continue to condemn the wrong groups while whitewashing the terrorist behavior of Saudi Arabia’s and their allies.
Hear how little displaced Yemeni children described the war, and what they miss most about Yemen in the video below.
Yemen: More than 50,000 children expected to die of starvation and disease by end of year
Sarah Abed @sarahabed84
Statement of outrage by the humanitarian community on the continued YemenBlockadeby the (US-backed) Saudi-led coalition of criminals. They are blocking humanitarian and commercial supplies desperately needed for the survival of the Yemeni population! YemenFamine YemenCrisis
If you’ve been on twitter lately you might have noticed the influx of tweets with the hashtags: Yemenblockade, Yemengenocide, Yemenstarvation, YemenCrisis, and a new one that came out recently and was started by Marwa Osman hashtag AgainstAlSaud.
Marwa Osman @Osman_Marwa1 Nov 15
Get ready and be part of the Cyber protest against #AlSaud to expose their crimes and interventionism. Tweet a photo with #AgainstAlSaud
Rana Harbi @RanaHarbi
Due to siege imposed by US/UK-ally Saudi Arabia, 130 Yemeni children or more die every day from preventable causes. 50,000 children have died so far this year. 2.3 million children suffer from acute malnutrition. Tweet about it. AgainstAlSaudضد_آل_سعود
Shireen Al-Adeimi @shireen818
Friends, please please please email your Senators about Yemen now. I’m attaching the emails I’ve sent to @SenWarren and @SenMarkey below. Before you send yours, take a screen shot and respond here. Let’s do this for Yemen!
https://sarahabed.com/2017/11/22/yemen- ... to-action/
An almost entirely ignored war and genocide in the Middle East has been receiving some (but still not nearly enough) media attention lately. Media outlets, as well as a few celebrities, have started tweeting about the blockade, famine, poverty, and disease that have become an epidemic in Yemen. As journalist and author Brandon Turbeville asks in his article The Faces of Yemen- Where is American “Outrage?”
Saudi Arabia has been carrying out vengeful aggressive missile strikes against civilians in Yemen for almost three years now, with weapons purchased from the US and UK. Here is a short Slideshow that I created for The Rabbit Hole my Facebook news page (with before and after pictures of Yemen and brief commentary). In addition to the airstrikes and military action it has also blocked food, and resources from reaching civilians.
What would happen if Western countries refused to sell weapons to genocidal nations such as House of Saud? Taking into consideration that these weapons are used to commit genocide against one of the poorest nations in the region. If your answer is along the lines of fewer people would be killed, then you may be right. Either these wars of aggression would cease to exist or at the bare minimum, they would be minimized substantially.
This is a clear indication that not only are these “first world countries” complicit in these crimes against humanity but that they are actually fueling these wars. The United States thrives on wars, it benefits financially from creating creative chaos in other countries. The United States bases its military and political intervention on false allegations and pretenses. Under the guise of offering “help” through “humanitarian intervention,” it sets the stage for massacres, death, famine, and destruction.
Morally bankrupt men and women in suits are responsible for death and disease around the world, it goes against everything we are taught or more accurately indoctrinated to believe through our educational systems in the West. These bankers, politicians, war-hungry psychopaths are simply human shells roaming the earth, completely void from within.
As was just reported less than an hour ago on ABC by Middle East correspondent Sophie McNeill, writes:
“The reopening of Yemen’s main port by Saudi Arabia will not be enough to avert famine in the country unless all restrictions are lifted and commercial goods allowed in, aid agencies say.
Key points:
Aid agencies say it is good news but they are waiting for more details
Over 130 children were already dying a day before the blockade
Rights groups say Yemen is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis
On Monday, the Saudi-led military coalition announced it would allow aid to re-enter Yemen’s main port and United Nations flights to resume, more than two weeks after they imposed a total blockade on the country. The UN and international aid agencies have repeatedly urged the coalition to lift the Yemen blockade.
“It is good news, but we are still waiting to see the specific details,” Jamie McGoldrick, the UN’s humanitarian chief for Yemen, said.”
The innocent lives that are spared from death by missile strikes are left to barely survive while famine and disease demolish any chance for a normal existence. Currently, “Yemen’s cholera epidemic is the worst in recorded history according to Oxfam”.
As was written in an article by Vanessa Beeley with 21st Century Wire, “The following report from Randi Nord of Geopolitical Alerts debunks 10 of the mainstay myths that are being promulgated by the colonial media in the west to muddy the waters on Yemen and distract from the Saudi coalition ethnic cleansing-project reality:
1: Not A Civil War
A civil war would indicate that Yemenis are fighting other Yemenis for control. This in itself is wrong. Yemen’s resistance (which includes Ansarullah, the Republican Guard, and others) is currently fighting Saudi-backed mercenaries on the ground. This includes many Sudanese and U.A.E. soldiers as well as privately-hired Blackwater mercenaries. It can’t be a civil war because Saudi Arabia and their allies are an invading force occupying Yemen shipping in foreign fighters.
2: Not a Proxy War
Well, on the one hand, it is a proxy war, but the only proxies are the ones backed by Saudi Arabia and their allies. Yemen’s resistance does not receive outside support and is not fighting for any foreign power– they simply want to self-determine and control Yemen free of foreign interference. For the conflict in Yemen to be a proxy war, another foreign power would have to be manipulating Yemen’s resistance and this simply isn’t the case. (More on that later.)
3: Not a Sunni vs Shia Conflict
If any news outlet boils the war in Yemen (or any war, really) down to a mere Sunni-Shia conflict, you should immediately stop reading that outlet. This argument, first of all, ignores all other factors and power structures boiling a conflict down to mere religious differences. It’s just plain ignorant. Yes, Yemen’s Ansarullah movement was founded by Zaydi Shia Muslims. But it includes fighters and politicians from several sects and religions who simply don’t want foreign powers controlling their country. Plus, calling Saudi Arabia Sunni while ignoring their intolerant and violent Wahhabi ideology is a disgrace to all peaceful Sunni Muslims.
4: Saudi Arabia has Always Wanted Political and Economic Control of Yemen
A look back at the last century of Arabian history tells you all you need to know about the Saudi’s intentions in Yemen. During Yemen’s 1962 revolution, Saudi Arabia supported the Royalists fighting to keep Yemen an Imamate. They knew that an independent Yemen would turn into a strong country– just south of their border– which would become a competitor. Even back then, a Shia-led Imamate was preferable to a Yemeni republic from the Saudi’s perspective. Yemen is still the only republic on the Arabian peninsula. Such is still the case today: Saudi Arabia cannot stand to see a pluralist, economically-viable, independent republic on the Arabian Peninsula.
5: The Houthis (Ansarullah) are NOT an Iranian Militia
The Saudi’s behavior in Yemen is genuinely gruesome and repulsive. How can the United States and their friends in Europe possibly justify militarily supporting this war of terror? Ah yes, Iran, of course. Unfortunately for the imperialists, there isn’t evidence to back this accusation. In fact, all of their “Iranian influence” claims end up leading to dead-ends such as ambiguous boats in the gulf or unidentified smuggling routes via Kuwait. Not only do Ansarullah, Yemen’s resistance, and Iran all deny a relationship, but there isn’t evidence to suggest they have one. Yemen’s Supreme Revolutionary Committee based in the capital Sana’a has the equipment to manufacture and develop their own weapons. The former President Saleh was a previous U.S. ally who received significant military aid during the early “War on Terror” years. So there’s no shortage of weapons in Yemen. And has the media forgotten the Saudi-imposed land, sea, and air blockade?
6: Al Qaeda is a De Facto US Ally in Yemen
Why is Saudi Arabia bombing civilians in the resistance-held territory while al-Qaeda continues to flourish in other areas? Al-Qaeda is a de-facto ally and pawn of Saudi Arabia and the United States. That is until they get a little too strong and the U.S. steps-in to carry out some messy, high-profile, special operations. In portions of southern Yemen, al-Qaeda members fight alongside Saudi-backed troops. Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. employ local mercenaries to fight on their behalf. Who’s to say there aren’t al-Qaeda members on this payroll? No one, because this is never discussed.Regardless, al-Qaeda and the Saudi coalition both fight a common enemy: Ansarullah. The Saudi’s main objective in this war is to destroy Yemen’s resistance movement– not fight al-Qaeda. Any attack on al-Qaeda from the United States is done so in a way to exert pressure on Ansarullah forces– not to obliterate the group entirely– just like they use Daesh (ISIS) in Syria and Iraq.
7: Ansarullah and Allies Fight ISIS and AQAP
The only force capable of fighting al-Qaeda and Daesh in Yemen is Ansarullah along with their allies. They are the only genuine enemy of these terror groups in the country. As a revolutionary movement, they have a significant stake in keeping communities safe from violence and reactionary, intolerant forces like al-Qaeda. Ansarullah and their allies are the only entities in Yemen taking substantial steps to eradicate terrorist groups from their territory. Security forces set up multiple checkpoints and frequently bust would-be terror attacks. This fact, of course, is conveniently ignored by mainstream media. On the other hand, suicide attacks from groups like Daesh or al-Qaeda are relatively frequent in Saudi or U.A.E.-held territory.
8: The Blockade Kills People Faster than Bombs Do
Official estimates track the Yemen war death toll at about 12,000. Local sources report the number as much, much higher. And still, this number only reflects deaths from air strikes and military operations. Yes, the Saudi’s air strike campaign kills civilians on a near-daily basis. But just since April, over 2,000 people have died from a globally-unprecedented cholera outbreak. And once again, this is only the official number. The Saudi-imposed land, air, and sea blockade is directly responsible for triggering this outbreak. This is clearly intentional and strategic. Not only do the Saudis frequently deny aid entry to Yemen, but they do not allow civilians to leave for medical treatment and they’ve destroyed infrastructure at key Yemeni ports. Not to mention, due to the blockade, millions of Yemenis are on the brink of famine at any given point.
9: The UN and International Community Have Literally Done Nothing to Help.
Since the world powers ally with Saudi Arabia and their friends in the Gulf Cooperation Council, Yemenis’ cries for help fall on deaf ears. Other than a few scoldings, the United Nations has done absolutely nothing to slow down the war. They have not pressured Saudi Arabia to open the Sana’a airport. They rarely encourage peace talks. And they have not urged the United States or the United Kingdom to stop arming Saudi Arabia. In fact, under pressure from Saudi Arabia, the UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon actually removed them from a list of countries violating children’s human rights.
10: Western Media Whitewashes Saudi War Crimes While “Condemning Violence on All Sides”
Until the war in Yemen ends, western media will continue to play both sides of the fence. In the iconic words of Donald Trump, they will continue to condemn “violence on all sides.” (Not related, but seems to apply well.) And of course, they will completely ignore that one side has an air force and the backing of the world’s most powerful military while the other side is defending themselves from invaders and terrorists. Western media will continue to condemn the wrong groups while whitewashing the terrorist behavior of Saudi Arabia’s and their allies.
Hear how little displaced Yemeni children described the war, and what they miss most about Yemen in the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... Kaq0DPXATo
Yemen: 10 Myths Debunked and a Global Call to Action
Posted on November 22, 2017 by Sarah Abed in U.S. Domestic and Foreign Politics, Uncategorized // 0 Comments
An almost entirely ignored war and genocide in the Middle East has been receiving some (but still not nearly enough) media attention lately. Media outlets, as well as a few celebrities, have started tweeting about the blockade, famine, poverty, and disease that have become an epidemic in Yemen. As journalist and author Brandon Turbeville asks in his article The Faces of Yemen- Where is American “Outrage?”
Saudi Arabia has been carrying out vengeful aggressive missile strikes against civilians in Yemen for almost three years now, with weapons purchased from the US and UK. Here is a short Slideshow that I created for The Rabbit Hole my Facebook news page (with before and after pictures of Yemen and brief commentary). In addition to the airstrikes and military action it has also blocked food, and resources from reaching civilians.
What would happen if Western countries refused to sell weapons to genocidal nations such as House of Saud? Taking into consideration that these weapons are used to commit genocide against one of the poorest nations in the region. If your answer is along the lines of fewer people would be killed, then you may be right. Either these wars of aggression would cease to exist or at the bare minimum, they would be minimized substantially.
This is a clear indication that not only are these “first world countries” complicit in these crimes against humanity but that they are actually fueling these wars. The United States thrives on wars, it benefits financially from creating creative chaos in other countries. The United States bases its military and political intervention on false allegations and pretenses. Under the guise of offering “help” through “humanitarian intervention,” it sets the stage for massacres, death, famine, and destruction.
Morally bankrupt men and women in suits are responsible for death and disease around the world, it goes against everything we are taught or more accurately indoctrinated to believe through our educational systems in the West. These bankers, politicians, war-hungry psychopaths are simply human shells roaming the earth, completely void from within.
As was just reported less than an hour ago on ABC by Middle East correspondent Sophie McNeill, writes:
“The reopening of Yemen’s main port by Saudi Arabia will not be enough to avert famine in the country unless all restrictions are lifted and commercial goods allowed in, aid agencies say.
Key points:
Aid agencies say it is good news but they are waiting for more details
Over 130 children were already dying a day before the blockade
Rights groups say Yemen is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis
On Monday, the Saudi-led military coalition announced it would allow aid to re-enter Yemen’s main port and United Nations flights to resume, more than two weeks after they imposed a total blockade on the country. The UN and international aid agencies have repeatedly urged the coalition to lift the Yemen blockade.
“It is good news, but we are still waiting to see the specific details,” Jamie McGoldrick, the UN’s humanitarian chief for Yemen, said.”
The innocent lives that are spared from death by missile strikes are left to barely survive while famine and disease demolish any chance for a normal existence. Currently, “Yemen’s cholera epidemic is the worst in recorded history according to Oxfam”.
Image Source
As was written in an article by Vanessa Beeley with 21st Century Wire, “The following report from Randi Nord of Geopolitical Alerts debunks 10 of the mainstay myths that are being promulgated by the colonial media in the west to muddy the waters on Yemen and distract from the Saudi coalition ethnic cleansing-project reality:
1: Not A Civil War
A civil war would indicate that Yemenis are fighting other Yemenis for control. This in itself is wrong. Yemen’s resistance (which includes Ansarullah, the Republican Guard, and others) is currently fighting Saudi-backed mercenaries on the ground. This includes many Sudanese and U.A.E. soldiers as well as privately-hired Blackwater mercenaries. It can’t be a civil war because Saudi Arabia and their allies are an invading force occupying Yemen shipping in foreign fighters.
2: Not a Proxy War
Well, on the one hand, it is a proxy war, but the only proxies are the ones backed by Saudi Arabia and their allies. Yemen’s resistance does not receive outside support and is not fighting for any foreign power– they simply want to self-determine and control Yemen free of foreign interference. For the conflict in Yemen to be a proxy war, another foreign power would have to be manipulating Yemen’s resistance and this simply isn’t the case. (More on that later.)
3: Not a Sunni vs Shia Conflict
If any news outlet boils the war in Yemen (or any war, really) down to a mere Sunni-Shia conflict, you should immediately stop reading that outlet. This argument, first of all, ignores all other factors and power structures boiling a conflict down to mere religious differences. It’s just plain ignorant. Yes, Yemen’s Ansarullah movement was founded by Zaydi Shia Muslims. But it includes fighters and politicians from several sects and religions who simply don’t want foreign powers controlling their country. Plus, calling Saudi Arabia Sunni while ignoring their intolerant and violent Wahhabi ideology is a disgrace to all peaceful Sunni Muslims.
4: Saudi Arabia has Always Wanted Political and Economic Control of Yemen
A look back at the last century of Arabian history tells you all you need to know about the Saudi’s intentions in Yemen. During Yemen’s 1962 revolution, Saudi Arabia supported the Royalists fighting to keep Yemen an Imamate. They knew that an independent Yemen would turn into a strong country– just south of their border– which would become a competitor. Even back then, a Shia-led Imamate was preferable to a Yemeni republic from the Saudi’s perspective. Yemen is still the only republic on the Arabian peninsula. Such is still the case today: Saudi Arabia cannot stand to see a pluralist, economically-viable, independent republic on the Arabian Peninsula.
5: The Houthis (Ansarullah) are NOT an Iranian Militia
The Saudi’s behavior in Yemen is genuinely gruesome and repulsive. How can the United States and their friends in Europe possibly justify militarily supporting this war of terror? Ah yes, Iran, of course. Unfortunately for the imperialists, there isn’t evidence to back this accusation. In fact, all of their “Iranian influence” claims end up leading to dead-ends such as ambiguous boats in the gulf or unidentified smuggling routes via Kuwait. Not only do Ansarullah, Yemen’s resistance, and Iran all deny a relationship, but there isn’t evidence to suggest they have one. Yemen’s Supreme Revolutionary Committee based in the capital Sana’a has the equipment to manufacture and develop their own weapons. The former President Saleh was a previous U.S. ally who received significant military aid during the early “War on Terror” years. So there’s no shortage of weapons in Yemen. And has the media forgotten the Saudi-imposed land, sea, and air blockade?
6: Al Qaeda is a De Facto US Ally in Yemen
Why is Saudi Arabia bombing civilians in the resistance-held territory while al-Qaeda continues to flourish in other areas? Al-Qaeda is a de-facto ally and pawn of Saudi Arabia and the United States. That is until they get a little too strong and the U.S. steps-in to carry out some messy, high-profile, special operations. In portions of southern Yemen, al-Qaeda members fight alongside Saudi-backed troops. Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. employ local mercenaries to fight on their behalf. Who’s to say there aren’t al-Qaeda members on this payroll? No one, because this is never discussed.Regardless, al-Qaeda and the Saudi coalition both fight a common enemy: Ansarullah. The Saudi’s main objective in this war is to destroy Yemen’s resistance movement– not fight al-Qaeda. Any attack on al-Qaeda from the United States is done so in a way to exert pressure on Ansarullah forces– not to obliterate the group entirely– just like they use Daesh (ISIS) in Syria and Iraq.
7: Ansarullah and Allies Fight ISIS and AQAP
The only force capable of fighting al-Qaeda and Daesh in Yemen is Ansarullah along with their allies. They are the only genuine enemy of these terror groups in the country. As a revolutionary movement, they have a significant stake in keeping communities safe from violence and reactionary, intolerant forces like al-Qaeda. Ansarullah and their allies are the only entities in Yemen taking substantial steps to eradicate terrorist groups from their territory. Security forces set up multiple checkpoints and frequently bust would-be terror attacks. This fact, of course, is conveniently ignored by mainstream media. On the other hand, suicide attacks from groups like Daesh or al-Qaeda are relatively frequent in Saudi or U.A.E.-held territory.
8: The Blockade Kills People Faster than Bombs Do
Official estimates track the Yemen war death toll at about 12,000. Local sources report the number as much, much higher. And still, this number only reflects deaths from air strikes and military operations. Yes, the Saudi’s air strike campaign kills civilians on a near-daily basis. But just since April, over 2,000 people have died from a globally-unprecedented cholera outbreak. And once again, this is only the official number. The Saudi-imposed land, air, and sea blockade is directly responsible for triggering this outbreak. This is clearly intentional and strategic. Not only do the Saudis frequently deny aid entry to Yemen, but they do not allow civilians to leave for medical treatment and they’ve destroyed infrastructure at key Yemeni ports. Not to mention, due to the blockade, millions of Yemenis are on the brink of famine at any given point.
9: The UN and International Community Have Literally Done Nothing to Help.
Since the world powers ally with Saudi Arabia and their friends in the Gulf Cooperation Council, Yemenis’ cries for help fall on deaf ears. Other than a few scoldings, the United Nations has done absolutely nothing to slow down the war. They have not pressured Saudi Arabia to open the Sana’a airport. They rarely encourage peace talks. And they have not urged the United States or the United Kingdom to stop arming Saudi Arabia. In fact, under pressure from Saudi Arabia, the UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon actually removed them from a list of countries violating children’s human rights.
10: Western Media Whitewashes Saudi War Crimes While “Condemning Violence on All Sides”
Until the war in Yemen ends, western media will continue to play both sides of the fence. In the iconic words of Donald Trump, they will continue to condemn “violence on all sides.” (Not related, but seems to apply well.) And of course, they will completely ignore that one side has an air force and the backing of the world’s most powerful military while the other side is defending themselves from invaders and terrorists. Western media will continue to condemn the wrong groups while whitewashing the terrorist behavior of Saudi Arabia’s and their allies.
Hear how little displaced Yemeni children described the war, and what they miss most about Yemen in the video below.
Yemen: More than 50,000 children expected to die of starvation and disease by end of year
Sarah Abed @sarahabed84
Statement of outrage by the humanitarian community on the continued YemenBlockadeby the (US-backed) Saudi-led coalition of criminals. They are blocking humanitarian and commercial supplies desperately needed for the survival of the Yemeni population! YemenFamine YemenCrisis
If you’ve been on twitter lately you might have noticed the influx of tweets with the hashtags: Yemenblockade, Yemengenocide, Yemenstarvation, YemenCrisis, and a new one that came out recently and was started by Marwa Osman hashtag AgainstAlSaud.
Marwa Osman @Osman_Marwa1 Nov 15
Get ready and be part of the Cyber protest against #AlSaud to expose their crimes and interventionism. Tweet a photo with #AgainstAlSaud
Rana Harbi @RanaHarbi
Due to siege imposed by US/UK-ally Saudi Arabia, 130 Yemeni children or more die every day from preventable causes. 50,000 children have died so far this year. 2.3 million children suffer from acute malnutrition. Tweet about it. AgainstAlSaudضد_آل_سعود
Shireen Al-Adeimi @shireen818
Friends, please please please email your Senators about Yemen now. I’m attaching the emails I’ve sent to @SenWarren and @SenMarkey below. Before you send yours, take a screen shot and respond here. Let’s do this for Yemen!
https://sarahabed.com/2017/11/22/yemen- ... to-action/