The
last thing Saudi Arabia and its Western allies want is a
self-sustaining, economically viable, militarily strong, and
anti-imperialist Yemen at the bottom of the Arabian Peninsula,
controlling the Red Sea and its strategic waterways. Yemen’s
geographic placement in regards to the flow of world capital cannot
be stressed enough.
by
Randi Nord
Part
1
The
U.S.-backed, Saudi-led war against Yemen is entering its fourth year.
This war has killed over 13,000 people, injured over 21,000,
devastated civilian infrastructure, triggered a famine, and created
one of the worst man-made (and very preventable) humanitarian
disasters on the planet.
As a
result of the Saudi-initiated and U.S.-enforced land, sea, and air
blockade, over 8 million Yemenis face famine, while another 17
million are food insecure. The blockade, by restricting medical
supplies and basic goods, has also triggered a devastating cholera
outbreak unprecedented in modern times.
Riyadh
has failed nearly all of its objectives. The Saudis originally
launched the war against Yemen in 2014 to crush Yemen’s rising
revolutionary movement, Ansarullah, after the successful removal of
Saudi Arabia’s puppet government led by Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi.
Yemenis
had long resisted Hadi’s government, as it paved the way for
infliction of Western and Saudi military and economic imperialism on
the poor nation. It was under Hadi that the United States expanded
its so-called War on Terror, in which American drones rained down
death and destruction on civilians while claiming to target al-Qaeda
in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). However, under Hadi’s leadership
and his cozy relationship with the United States and Saudi Arabia,
al-Qaeda only seemed to flourish — just as it had for years under
the former President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s rule.
Ansarullah’s
history dates back to the early 1990’s, nearly two decades before
AQAP became the substantial threat it is today. Still, Ansarullah
leaders, like Mohammed Ali al-Houthi and Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi,
recognized the problems created by foreign meddling. While
reactionary forces grew in countries like Afghanistan, thanks to
support from the United States, Ansarullah provided an ideological
counterweight and grassroots resistance. Leaders preached tolerance,
basic freedoms, and government accountability that supports the
Yemeni people rather than foreign entities.
Today,
Ansarullah’s public support is stronger than ever. Despite
financial devastation from the blockade, Yemenis under its control
are grateful for self-sustainability and, most importantly,
protection from terror groups like AQAP and ISIS.
They are
also proud to defend their country against one of the wealthiest
nations in the world, without support from any foreign entities.
In
addition to botching a war that Riyadh likely (foolishly) never
expected to last this long, Saudi Arabia has spent money totaling in
the hundreds of billions of dollars — at the very least. A
since-deleted article from Al-Monitor estimated costs at $200 million
per day. This can’t possibly have a positive effect on Saudi
Arabia’s overall economy.
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