Yemen: Another Imposed War?!

Local Editor

The ‘balance of power' game has given legitimacy to US-backed Saudi Arabia along with 10 other allies [with probably more yet to join] to launch a military attack against another sovereign state under the claim of protecting the Yemeni government, at the time these very same countries including Saudi Arabia and the United States of America had supported uprisings in other countries such as Egypt and Tunisia and took part in toppling their governments. 

Saudi Arabia announced on Wednesday night that it had launched a military campaign in Yemen, the beginning of what a Saudi official said was "an offensive to restore a Yemeni government."

During a rare news conference in Washington, Adel al-Jubeir, the kingdom's ambassador to the United States said that the Saudis were part of a coalition of approximately 10 nations determined to blunt the advance of Shiite Houthi fighters, who have overrun Yemen's capital and forced the American-backed government into a full retreat, said the Guardian. 

Claiming the move as legitimate, Jubair said "We will do whatever it takes to protect the legitimate government of Yemen," adding "We consulted very closely with many of our allies and in particular with the United States. We are very pleased with the outcome of those discussions."
The US declared clear support to the assault. According to the Financial times, in a statement late Wednesday night, National Security Council spokesperson Bernadette Meehan said that President Obama has authorized the provision of logistical and intelligence support to GCC-led military operations on Yemen. 

According to the New York Times, in a sign of the broadening scope of Barack Obama's intervention across the region, officials in Washington said the US was establishing a "joint planning cell" with Saudi Arabia to co-ordinate the air strikes on the Houthi forces seeking to overthrow the Yemeni government.
"While US forces are not taking direct military action in Yemen in support of this effort, we are establishing a Joint Planning Cell with Saudi Arabia to coordinate US military and intelligence support," the official said. 

The US and Gulf countries repeat history once again, where the same countries had launched an attack on the Iran after the Islamic Revolution. The US and its allies turned from being the good friends of Iran during the Pahlavi Era to the antagonist foes after the Islamic Republic was established. Iraq back then launched its war in September 1980 with US approval all the way until 1988, where the US provided Iraq with intelligence to help battle the Iran troops through giving Iraq detailed information on Iranian deployments, tactical planning for battles, and plans for airstrikes and bomb damage assessments.

The scenario seems to repeat itself today, with the US, Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf countries again giving themselves green light to launch an attack on Yemen.

Answering to US and Saudi claims that the offensive comes in defense to the allegedly legitimate government of Yemen, Baraa Shaaban, Reprieve's Yemen Progect Coordinator said in an interview with Russia Today that The US never really cared whether the government in Yemen was democratically elected or if the government is representative of the Yemeni people. 

"I think what we should learn here is that leaders do come and go, but actually the people on the ground are the people that all the international community should be working with and the people will remain. Saleh was in power for 33 years and then he was gone, now it's Hadi. But the people who either benefited or got harmed by those strategies are the people on the ground. And I think you should have long-term sustainable programs with people instead of undemocratic governments." 

Yemen shares a long border with Saudi Arabia, a major American ally, and the Saudis had been reported to be massing forces on the Yemen frontier as Mr. Hadi's last redoubt in Aden looked increasingly imperiled.

Meanwhile the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya news channel said the kingdom had lined up 150,000 soldiers in preparation for a ground offensive, with Egypt, Pakistan, Jordan and Sudan also ready to commit troops. According to the International Business Times, a US-backed military offensive began at Sana'a airport, when unidentified warplanes attacked it and the al Dulaimi military airbase. 

Earlier, The Associated Press, which cited Yemeni security and port officials, said Hadi had left the country by boat, however those reports could not be confirmed.
The ongoing Saudi air strikes on Yemen have so far claimed the lives of 13 civilians with more deaths feared, Yemeni sources say.

"Thirteen civilians, including women and children, were killed in the Saudi raids overnight," a civil defense source said on Thursday.

According to witnesses, residents are helping civil defense authorities in the search for any more victims under the rubble of houses damaged in the air raids.

Following the attacks, forces loyal to fugitive Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi seized control of the international airport in the southern port city of Aden. Troops of the 39th Armored Brigade, who are allied to the Houthi Ansarullah movement, had earlier seized the facility. Saudi Arabia announced in the early hours of Thursday that it had begun launching airstrikes in Yemen where the Ansarullah fighters have been making advances.

On March 20, two attacks were conducted by so-called Islamic State extremists against the al-Badr and al-Hashoosh mosques [linked to the Houthi fighters], leaving 345 others injured during noon prayers.

Source: Lebanese dailies