Millions
of Yemenis are starving as Saudi Arabia continues to bomb the
country, while the people of Gaza lack electricity and medical
supplies due to a 10-year Israeli blockade. Both conflicts and the
crises they have unleashed are tied to the U.S.’ arms industry’s
unending pursuit of profit.
by
Whitney Webb
Part
4 - Quiet hands behind the crises in Yemen, Gaza
In considering the enormity of the crises in both Yemen
and Gaza, it is unusual that the international community has taken
little action to stop governments from directly fomenting these
humanitarian catastrophes, especially given how vocal so many top
global organizations have been in recent months. But while unusual,
the fact that both crises are being forgotten by the international
community and the international mainstream media is not surprising,
as the perpetrators of both – Saudi Arabia and Israel – are both
major U.S. allies and major beneficiaries of U.S. arms sales and
military aid.
In the case of Yemen, the U.S. government has had a
covert but direct role in the crisis. Indeed, the U.S. government
directly bombed Yemen last year – without Congressional approval –
and even increased military aid to the Saudis right after the latter
was caught committing an egregious war crime. Furthermore, the U.S.
was recently exposed aiding UAE secret prisons that torture
civilians.
Over the course of the conflict, the U.S. has supplied
the Saudis with billions of dollars in weapons, most recently in a
$110 billion weapons deal signed by President Donald Trump this past
May. The UK government has also sold more than $3.9 billion in arms
to the Saudis over the past two years despite the carnage in Yemen,
because – according to UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd – its “good
for industry.” Thus, taken to its logical conclusion, ending the
conflict in Yemen would be bad for business.
The U.S. has also had a role in fomenting the crisis in
Gaza, albeit a more covert one. The U.S., as Israel’s strongest
ally, has long supported Israeli government policy and helped shield
it from criticism or UN human rights inquiries. In addition, the
Israeli military receives $9.8 million every day in military aid from
the United States, making Israel by far the largest recipient of U.S.
military aid.
Regarding the recent power crisis, Mahmoud Abbas –
president of the Palestinian Authority – is widely believed to have
requested the power cuts to Gaza in a bid to “show Donald Trump
that he is the dominant figure in Palestinian politics and strong
enough to […] be a partner to the U.S.” This suggests that
the U.S. role in the Gaza crisis may be greater than has been
publicly stated.
The silence of Western governments and of the mainstream
media on these two humanitarian catastrophes is sadly predictable. It
is just the latest evidence showing that the U.S. and its allies
opportunistically raise the issue of human rights and humanitarian
crises when it serves the imperialist, war-mongering agenda and
ignore crises that arise as a direct consequence of that same agenda.
It also speaks to the complete lack of empathy shown by
government officials and the media organizations who have chosen to
be silent on these matters. While the crises are political at their
root, it is innocent civilians who bear their brunt. Sadly, their
suffering is considered mere collateral in the advancement of U.S.
and UK weapons sales and the geopolitical goals of their allies.
***
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