International Hypocrisy

International hypocrisy has struck again in Syria.

Donald Trump (a man of great moral wisdom 😊) with support from the leaders of the UK and France have decided that Bashar al-Assad is evil and must be punished, without waiting for the official OPCW investigation to be completed. (The same intelligence agencies who were sure about WMD in Iraq are sure that they know what happened).

Meanwhile, Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia is continuing his unprovoked war in Yemen without restraint. With US logistical support, the Saudi air force has bombed schools, hospitals and other infrastructure. Save the Children estimate that 5000 children have been killed. A Saudi blockade of Yemeni ports is shutting out imports of food, with the result that 400,000 of children are on the verge of starvation.

Yet Prince Salman is rewarded for his evil with a visit to the US Whitehouse. The leaders of the UK and France are falling over themselves to sell billions of dollars’ worth of weapons to the Saudi.

Evil seems to look better when it is accompanied by oil wealth.

Yemen

I cannot understand why the Western media are silent about the atrocities being committed by an ally of the United States in Yemen. Michael Horton describes the current situation.

Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners are enforcing a naval blockade of Yemen. Yemen—already the poorest country in the Middle East— imports 90 percent of its food and medicine. Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis face starvation as food prices have soared and aid is either non-existent or slow to arrive. The United Nations estimates that more than 80 percent of Yemen’s population of 23 million are in immediate need of humanitarian assistance.

The chief executive of Oxfam, Mark Golding, stated: “Yemen is being slowly starved to death. First there were restrictions on imports including much need food. When this was partially eased, the cranes in the ports were bombed, then the warehouses, then the roads and the bridges. This is not by accident. It is systematic.”

Concurrent with the naval blockade, Saudi Arabia is waging an aerial campaign that has laid waste to Yemen’s limited infrastructure. There are few parts of the country that have not been impacted: bridges, roads, schools, hospitals, water wells and, according to some reports, even farms and orchards have all been targeted. The damage to Yemen’s infrastructure will take billions of dollars and probably decades to rebuild, if it is ever rebuilt.

However, this is only the physical cost of the war. The cost to the Yemeni people and particularly to its young people—roughly 60 percent of Yemenis are under the age of 24—is incalculable. Vast numbers of Yemeni children are unable to attend school, child malnourishment—already high—has soared, and unemployment—also high before the war—is now endemic. It is likely that an entire generation of Yemenis, who already faced profound challenges, has been further disadvantaged and made more vulnerable by a war that is even more senseless than most.

Why is they United States and the United Kingdom supplying weapons to Saudi Arabia to wreck this poor country. What on earth do they think they are achieving. Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the world. What can be achieved by destroying its inadequate infrastructure.

Pointless Destruction

I live in a city where much of the CBD was destroyed by an earthquake four years ago. It is now being rebuilt and repaired with insurance money, but the pain of people who lost homes and business is still very raw. Having seen the consequence of mindless destruction, I hate seeing cities and towns being deliberately destroyed for no real benefit. It imposes an enormous cost on the people who lose their homes and businesses. Treating it as "collateral damage" belittles the real pain.

Saudi Arabia is currently engaged in an airwar against the nation of Yemen, purportedly to return a President that no one wants. Matthieu Aikins recently sneaked into Yemen and filmed the destruction of homes and businesses. You can see his video at this link. No insurance companies will come and rebuild these towns and cities. Saudi Arabia does not want them rebuilt, because they want an empty buffer zone in the north of Yemen.

Why does no one care about this pointless destruction?

Saudi Arabia is an American ally. You can see his video at this link. The US provides the Saudis with refuelling and reconnaissance support. Most of the weapons used to destroy these homes and businesses were made in the United States. To wage war in Yemen, Saudi Arabia is using F-15 fighter jets bought from Boeing and Lockheed Martin’s F-16 to bomb Yemen and Syria. Saudi Arabia is currently negotiating with the US weapons industry to buy thousands of missiles, bombs and other weapons to replenish its depleted arsenal.

Why is no one screaming to US members of congress who support support this war and sales of weapons to Saudia Arabia?

New Zealand is no better. It is currently a rotating member of the UN Security Council, but it has remained silent, because it wants a free trade deal with Saudi Arabia.

Yemen (4) War

Yemen was controlled by a President Saleh for twenty years. He was deposed following a civil war in 2011. In a deal engineered by the United States, Vice President Hadi was appointed in his place. In 2012, he elected for a two-year term in a strange election, in which no one stood against him. He had promised to hand over to an elected president and parliament in 2014, but has refused to hold an election, using insecurity as an excuse.

Hadi is not popular in Yemen. He comes from the south, so he does not have support of the powerful northern tribes. In the south, he is seen as a trait, because he served under President Saleh, who came from the north.

The group currently rebelling in Yemen are called Houthi. This name comes from a tribe that launched and insurgency in 2004. The US media refer to the Houthi as “Iranian–backed”. This plays well in the United States, but there is no evidence to support the claim. It has been talked up by the Saudi’s as a way to justify their illegal war on Yemen, but US military analysts say there is no evidence of significance Iranian involvement in the war.

The US media have just woken up to the differences between Sunni and Shia Islam, and not think it explains everything. They cannot be bothered learning about the significant religious and culture differences between Shia Islam, Zaidi Islam and the Alawites of Syria, because that would not fit with the popular narrative

Most of the Houthi rebel group are belong to the Zaidi branch of Islam. 35 percent of the population of Yemen is Zaidi. They are often referred to as “fivers”, because they recognise five Imams following Mohammed. The Shia Moslems of Iran are called “twelvers” because they recognise twelve Imams following Mohammed. In their cultural aspects, the Zaidi are more like Sunni than Shia, because they do not have Ayatollahs.

The Yemenis are a proud people, with a 2000 year history. They will not be controlled by anyone. They are Arabs, not Persians, so they will not be controlled by Iran.

Many of the tribes in Yemen are Shaf’i Sunni. They have joined the Houthi movement because they dislike the Wahhabi form of Islam that is dominant in Saudi Arabia.

Yemen is a divided nation. Many tribal groups have a long history of independence. The only thing that will untie them is an attacker from outside.

The Houthi rebels do not need weapons from Iran. They already have access to the millions of dollars or armaments that the US has supplied to the Yemeni government over the last few years.

Yemen (3) Saudi Dabbling

Up until World War 1, the Arabian Peninsula was controlled by a patchwork of military leaders under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in World War 1, it consisted of four different territories. Ibn Saud rose to power in El Ahsa (Eastern Arabia) at the end of the war. By 1921, he had gained cpntrol of Najd. He seized Hejaz In 1926. Asir (Southern Arabia) was conquered later in the decade. The House of Saud that controls Saudi Arabia is a military dictatorship.

Saudi Arabia is a major client of the United States. In returning for maintaining oil, supplies, the Saudis have been allowed to purchase huge amounts of military hardware from US armaments producers. This is odd, because powerful people in Saudi Arabia have funded terrorism activities all over the world. Most of the 9/11 attackers were Saudis. The US has turned a blind eye to these activities to maintain a steady flow of oil from Saudi wells.

They have announced this publicly, but Israel has recently established an operational alliance with Saudi Arabia. These are very strange bedfellows.

The population of Saudi Arabia is about 30 million. This creates a huge problem for defending such a large area of land. Saudi Arabia can only sustain an army of 75,000. A separate Saudi Arabia National Guard with another 75,000 men is an independent force loyal to the King. This is small compared to the forces of Iran (more than a million).

The problem is compounded by the fact that nearly a third of the population are immigrants or foreign nationals, including nearly a million Yemenis. A large number of Yemenis serve into the armed forces. They will not be keen on fighting in their home country.

Yemen has a population of nearly 25 million, nearly as many people as Saudi Arabia. This is one reason it is feared by the Saudis.

Saudi Arabia has a long history of dabbling in Yemen. In 1934, The Saudis invaded Yemen and advanced towards Sanaa. Their armoured cars and tanks struggled in the mountains and they had to withdraw.

During the northern civil war between 1962 and 1970, the royalist side was supported by Jordan and Saudi Arabia, with covert British support. The Egyptian President Gamal Nasser supported the republicans with weapons and 30,000 troops. They really struggled in the steep mountains of Yemen. By the time they withdrew, as many as 15,000 Egyptians were captured or missing.

In 2009-10, the Saudis advanced into Yemen and bombed Houthi positions. The attack was a failure.

In the recent years, the Saudis have tried to control Yemeni politics by providing lavish support to selected tribal leaders. They are currently trying to buy the loyalty of some Yemeni generals.

Yemen (2) History

Saudi Arabia has started an air war against is southern neighbour Yemen. The irony is that Saudi Arabia which is ruled by and autocratic king claims to be fighting for democracy in Yemen.

The roots of this struggle go back a long way, as Yemen has a very long history. It was the home of the Sabeans (biblical Sheba) a trading state that lasted for more than a thousand years. They Ottoman Empire controlled the western part of Yemen up until the beginning of World War 1.

Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Imam Yahya Muhammad declared himself king of northern Yemen. He was recognised as the spiritual leader of the Zaidi sect of Islam. The border with Saudi Arabia was agreed after a war in 1934. When Yahya’s son died in 1962, a civil war developed between forces loyal to his successors and others wanting a republic. The republic of Yemen was eventually established in 1970.

The British Empire took control of southern Yemen and established a military base in in Aden in the 19th century, as a coal station to refuel the steamers sailing to India. Following World War 1, Britain continued to control southern Yemen through a series of treaties of protection with the local sheikhdoms and emirates. After the Suez Canal was nationalised, the British began to withdraw from Yemen. An independent republic was established in 1967 and a Marxist government was elected in 1970.

The two republics amalgamated in 1990. For the next two decades, it was ruled by President Saleh.

Al Qaida has been active in Yemen for a long time. The US has launched many drone attacks against it. These US drones are launched from Saudi Arabia, which increases the hatred towards the Saudis.

Although Yemen is one of the poorest nations in the world, it sits in a very strategic spot by a narrow straight between Djbouti and Yemen that leads into the Gulf of Aden and the Suez Canal. A huge numbers ships through this 30 mile wide strait called the Nab el Mandeb, which means Gateway of Anguish. An island in the middle narrows it even further. According to reports, a billion barrels of oil pass through this strait every day.

Yemen (1)

A month ago, Saudi Arabia started a bombing campaign in Yemen. This military dictatorship claims to be supporting democracy, but it is actually supporting a ruler who has lost the limited support he had and has refused to hold elections. The bombs have killed 500 civilians, including 150 children.

At a time when we are remembering the horrors of war, the New Zealand Government has been silent about his new horror. The UN Security Council passed a resolution banning the flow of arms to Yemen, but was silent about the illegal military invasion by Saudi Arabia.

New Zealand holds one of the revolving seats on the Security Council. When campaigning for the seat, New Zealand said it would be an independent voice, standing up for justice and law, but now it has just kowtowed to the US and the Saudis by going along with their limp resolution.

The reason for this capitulation is that the New Zealand government is currently trying to negotiate a free trade agreement with Qatar, which is supporting the Saudi war efforts, and does not want to offend them. The NZ Prime Minister was planning a visit to Saudi Arabia that will take place this week. He is wanting to push the free trade deal ahead, so he did not want to disrupt this meeting by being overtly critical of their illegal war.

Back in 1915, we jumped when the British Empire said “Jump!”. We have not learned much since then, because now we dance to the tune of the US Empire. I am embarrassed by this lame behaviour. If it wants to participate in the halls of power at the UN, the New Zealand government needs to show some integrity and moral fortitude.

Yemen

I have just completed reading a book by Victoria Clark called “Yemen: Dancing on the Heads of Snakes”.

I found the book quite frustrating. It was good in parts and annoying in others.

Like many books written by a journalist, she intersperses the history of Yemen with accounts of her meetings with various people she met while researching the book. This is distracting, and often verges on the name-dropping. I wish she had put more effort into describing the way that the people of Yemen live from day to day.

The first half of the book gives the history of Yemen from beginnings of the Ottoman Empire up to the present day. She tells this story well, so I found this part of the book really helpful.

The second half of the book was really frustrating. It was mostly an assessment of Yemen as a partner with the UK and the USA in the War against Terrorism. She does not pause to ask, if Yemen should be joining in the so-called war. From this part of the book, I go the impression that she does not even like the Yemeni people, a fairly important requirement for writing a good book.

Only in the last few pages does she write about the political, economic and social forces that are pulling Yemen apart. I sense that she could have written much more on this theme, but was prevented from doing so by here editors, because it would not go down so well with the potential purchasers of the book in the UK and the USA. They do not want to understand Yemen. They just want a scapegoat to blame.

Yemen sits in a strategic place in the world. The more that we know about it the better. Despite my frustration with the book, I would encourage people to read it.