On Trump’s shameful decision for Yemen

The database tracker from the Armed Conflict and Location Event Data Project has issued a new data on Yemen, showing more than 70,000 have been martyred in the US-backed, Saudi-led war just since January 2016. This is a huge amount of deaths, and if there is some decrease in fighting in Hodeida because of UN talks, it’s not like the war is slowing much.

At least 10,000 Yemeni people were martyred just in the past five months. On Trump’s shameful decision for Yemen is the title of a thought-provoking article published by Fars news agency in this regard.

It begs the question: When will the warmongers stop bombing Yemen? US President Donald Trump answered that earlier when he vetoed a bill passed by Congress to end war in Yemen. This is not what the United Nations and the long-suffering people of the poorest country in the Arab world would like to see. 

 The war-torn nation has been suffering for more than four years because no one shows any trust to stop glorifying the violence, pull back from the port city of Hodeida, and move on from the protracted conflict - despite a ceasefire agreement endorsed by the UN Security Council. 
There was no need for Saudi Arabia to make a rash decision, assemble a coalition, and launch an air campaign against the country in March 2015 to try to restore the toppled government of President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

As well, the United States and its NATO allies had the chance to be a champion of peace in the Arabian Peninsula, yet they erroneously provided logistical support for the Saudi-led campaign of air raids and henceforth became complicit with Saudis in war crimes and in the world's worst humanitarian catastrophe.

It is because of the deliberate actions and mistakes of the Saudis and allies that tens of thousands of innocent civilians, including women and children, have been killed, millions of poor families have lost their homes, and the blockaded country is on the brink of famine and mass starvation. What else did they expect? This was predictable right from the outset. 

The Saudis and their allies are mistaken to assume that risking the lives of millions of civilians to famine, blockade and airstrikes is a price worth for the pointless war to restore to power President Hadi. President Trump is dead wrong to think his veto could help win the battle and protect America’s security and interests in the region.

Far from it, the battle cannot be won and it’s a fantasy to insist otherwise. The warmongers should realize the vision of UN-brokered ceasefire agreement instead, and work for a solution to the humanitarian crisis. They should attend peace talks in good faith and without preconditions, and stick to any agreement reached there. 

Overwhelmed by four years of attacks, counter-attacks, carnage and death, a majority of people in Yemen want an immediate end to the war and the blockade. They expect all powerful groupings to represent this point of view at the United Nations. They expect the international civil society to help the invaders and their disparate regional, tribal and sectarian elements realize the importance of ending the violence, lifting the blockade, and the pressing need for humanitarian relief.

To put that in perspective, the European states should stop perverting facts. They must face their ambitions and realize that they are not saving Yemen. They are disintegrating the country and bringing it to heel. This should give them the chills and leave them with enough determination to bring the war to an unconditional end.

The time to face their modern ignorance, selfishness and exceptionalism is here and now. They shouldn’t suppress hope, or justify war and betray their own conscience. The biggest crime is to step back and not confront and correct their past mistakes. They must refuse to be in the same ill-fated position. They must deal with their impulses and stop peeping into the looking glass.
Whichever way one looks at this deliberate humanitarian disaster, there is no need to rebrand or double down on their doomed obsession with blockade, vetoes and escalation. It won’t help restore their dented prestige, nor will it help dictate policy and determine a self-serving conclusion.

The Saudis and partners should stop the campaign to ravish Yemen and reject any glorification of this immoral violence. Just like the people of Yemen, the international civil society should also support the continuation of the current political process, the ceasefire agreement in Hodeida, and the delivery of humanitarian aid to the battle-torn country.

According to Oxfam, international aid agencies and human rights groups, the decision by President Donald Trump to veto a Congress resolution to end US military support for the Saudi-led war on Yemen sends a sobering message to Yemeni families caught in the daily hell of war: “US administration simply does not care. They see the end to their suffering a little further out of reach.”

The aid agencies warn that Trump’s decision to continue US military involvement will escalate the ongoing war in the trouble-plagued region. They also say the weapons used by the Saudis in the reckless bombing of mostly civilian targets, including schools and hospitals, are largely from the United States: F-15 fighter planes, Bell helicopters, drones, air-to-surface missiles, M60 battle tanks, laser-guided bombs and heavy artillery. However, Trump’s veto on April 16 is designed to ensure the uninterrupted flow of these American-made weapons into the war zone described by the United Nations as the “world’s worst humanitarian disaster”.

In its latest report released last month, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has also said that arms imports by West Asian countries increased by 87 percent between 2009–13 and 2014–18 and accounted for 35 per cent of global arms imports in 2014–18. Saudi Arabia became the world’s largest arms importer in 2014–18, with an increase of 192 percent compared with 2009–13. Currently, the US is one of the largest arms suppliers to Saudi Arabia.

Justifying US arms sales to Saudi Arabia, Trump has repeatedly said that if the US doesn’t sell weapons, the Chinese and the Russians will sell them. His argument is basically irrelevant, and avoids the question of whether the US wants to be complicit in supporting the killing of civilians in Yemen. The United Nations, aid agencies and Congress think the US should not be and that’s the real argument here: The US being complicit in Saudi war crimes.

That said, in a statement released April 17, the 15-member UN Security Council reiterated their call on the warring parties to fulfil their obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including ensuring the protection of civilians. They expressed deep concern at the devastating impact this conflict has had on civilians, especially Yemeni children. They reminded the Saudis and their allies of their obligations towards children affected by the war, and called on them to engage constructively with the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict to implement their commitments and obligations.

As the war grinds on and civilian casualties mount, the Trump administration must answer for its support of the Saudi campaign at the UN, which is prolonging the conflict. Even if Saudi Arabia balks at ending its airstrikes, it can’t keep up the war without US weaponry, intelligence, and logistical help. The Trump administration should stop this bloodshed.

As for the UN, the suffering in Yemen will not stop unless the world body stops supporting Saudi Arabia with top seats at the Human Rights Council and tacit consent. Yemen needs more than joint statements and emergency food aid appeals. UN statements need to follow with actions and aid has to reach the Yemenis.

This entire war has gone by without much comment and resolution at the Security Council. In fact, the opposite has happened as Saudi Arabia’s depleted stores of munitions have been hastily replenished by permanent members France, the UK and the US. These past months - despite evidence that these weapons have been used to massacre civilians - they have continued to supply Saudi Arabia with arms.

In these difficult times, the people of Yemen should realize that no one is going to help them if they don’t help themselves. America’s aggression which began with Obama continues under Trump and will certainly be extended to the next administration. Imperial Washington has flat-out gone mad in its delusional self-righteousness and ridiculous claims that the wanton destruction inflicted on Yemen and the veto by Trump are justified.

EA/SS