It is only Yemen; Who Cares?

All of sudden the world woke up and discovered there was a war on Yemen, for sure as a reaction to the gruesome murder and dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

Editor’s note:  We have highest level confirmation that the Trump administration has given Israel test units of the newest W54 based nuclear glide bombs, designed for use in the F35 “Flying Dump Truck.”

Without the S300, it would be Syrian citizens bathed in ionizing radiation instead of Yemen, where several have been used as depicted above.  If anyone cares, we can go over the specifics of the weapons design program, who is on it, how the weapons are built, where the components come from and how many have been illegally used.

Perhaps if America gets a new government, we might well look to put some folks in prison including Donald Trump who has, we are told, passed out several do Saudi Arabia as well.

When one of these goes off in an American shopping mall, we know who to blame.g

The US Senate all of a sudden is interested in ending the war on Yemen; the Defense Department announced it was stopping refueling of Saudi jet fighters on their bombing raids of Yemen. The Europeans also woke up and discovered there was a war on Yemen, and tens of million are starving. Arab and Islamic institutions continue for political reasons to support the war and remain silent.

All of a sudden the world is interested in ending this stupid reckless and criminal war against Yemen. All sides of the conflict take full responsibility for the devastation and murders that took place – the Yemeni factions and their sponsors, but mostly the Yemeni so-called “legitimate” government that initiated and “legitimized” the war.

For over 3 years, there has been relentless aerial bombing by the “Arab Coalition – Saudi Arabia and UAE – with critical and material support from the US and UK, including aerial refueling and “smart bombs” that only hit schools, hospitals, wedding parties, school buses and public markets, among others.

The war on Yemen and in Yemen, took Yemen back to the dark ages, bombing the hell out of the country, leaving nothing standing. Hospitals, schools, roads, homes, and other infrastructures are in total ruin in a country with little infrastructure to begin with, leaving a generation of Yemenis without hope and no future.

Tens of thousands of Yemenis were killed, hundreds of thousands suffer from diseases, and millions were made homeless, with over 15 million facing starvation. This is perhaps the worst case of deliberate starvation of an entire country in modern history; and the world stood by – the UN, the Arab League, the EU, the Conference of Islamic States and many international institutions all simply watched as Yemen fell into the abyss.

With a population of 28.25 (2017) million and with over 40 million pieces of arms, the Yemeni Arab Spring (Revolution of Dignity) was a model of civility and peaceful uprising demanding basic and badly needed constitutional reforms in the governance of the country, ending a long time criminal and corrupt dictatorship that corrupted the governing institutions and looted the country, stashing tens of millions out of the country in UAE, Germany and in the US.

Like Assad, Ali Saleh did not accept the demands of his “subjects” for modest reforms; he answered with killing of 52 Yemeni on the “Friday of No Return” and precipitated a civil war which invited competing regional parties in their bids for power and influence in Yemen to take advantage of the long history of conflict between the central government of Ali Saleh and the Houthis and the conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis.

Ali Abdullah Saleh, who ruled the country single-handedly with sham and almost nonexistent governing institutions, looted the country to the tune of over $40 billion in his 33 years governing Yemen. He was fully supported by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the US, even though he was somehow involved in clandestine relations with Al-Qaeda blackmailing the US and the Saudis for continued support.

The United Nations intervention was in the form of appointing Jamal Benomar as the UN Special Envoy to Yemen, organizing and leading the National Dialogue Conference held over a period of one year, diffusing the volatile situation.

Jamal Benomar did an exceptional job in a country with so many factions and with so much mistrust, by leading and managing the National Dialogue Conference for over a year, and holding many sessions between fractious factions especially on the issue of the North and the South (two different Yemen) and on the revised and new constitution. However, Benomar was unable to bridge the gap between the North and the South.

By all accounts, the National Dialogue Conference was a great success, applauded by the US State Department with their statement, “the debate, the discussions, and compromises throughout the National Dialogue process are evidence of the will of the Yemeni people to work together constructively for the future of the country”.

The European Union Foreign Affairs Council stated “NDC has set an example in the region for transitional phases”.

All of this was blown away when the GCC interceded, making a deal with Ali Abdullah Saleh giving him full immunity from criminal and civil prosecutions; keeping tens of billions he looted; staying in the country (manipulating the army and the parliament); keeping the same corrupt, incompetent government in place by handing over the powers to his deputy of over 27 years, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, who was kept on for a year, and who later ran for a full term, winning 99.8% of the vote.

How can anyone in their right mind believe that Hadi received 99.8% of the vote when the country was divided into so many factions, and everyone knew Hadi was an extension of the corrupt regime of Ali Saleh?

It was this government of Hadi, with the help of the Saudis, that pushed the UN to dismiss Benomar as special envoy, aborting the idea of a new constitution, precipitating the takeover of Sanaa by the Houthis, who placed Hadi under house arrest. Hadi later escaped to Aden and flew to Saudi Arabia, where he “invited” Saudi Arabia to go to war to regain his “legitimacy”.

The War against Yemen must come to an end. There is a need for both Saudi Arabia and Iran to stay out of Yemen – let them settle their scores somewhere else. The Yemeni people can take care of their own and can solve their own conflicts.

With a ceasefire in place, the entire political and reconciliation process must begin once again. Hadi with his 99.8% and his government do not have superior legitimacy over the Houthis and their own allies within the country.

A new national dialogue must begin to create an independent governing system, address proposed regional divisions, establish term limits, keep the army out of politics, and of course, once and for all settle the issues dividing the North and the South, away from the GCC, and especially keeping Saudi Arabia and Iran away.

Yemen has resisted foreign invaders throughout history and can resist new colonization by its neighbors.

Perhaps placing the country under an international trusteeship for an interim period of three years might be the way to go forward.

The good people of Yemen need a break, and a chance to reconcile their differences and regain their political and sovereign independence.

Let us hope the US Congress will put real pressure on the Trump administration to end this war and force its allies in the Gulf to withdraw their forces and force other Arab nations to withdraw their forces, also making sure Iran stays out of Yemen.

PS. Perhaps someone can explain to me why the Hadi government is legitimate and not Bashar Assad, both winning by 99.8% and both are extension of a long time corrupt and criminal dictatorship?

Sami Jamil Jadallah

 

Sami Jamil Jadallah is a US Army Veteran (66-68) is a graduate of Indiana University and holder of a BA, MPA ( School of Public and Environmental Affairs and Jurist Doctor and is an international legal and business professional with more than 40 years in the construction business (KSA), Management Consulting and Business Development (Swiss), Hospitality, Aviation and Conservation (Morocco). Was the first to establish an internationally recognized conservation (Houbara) foundation in Morocco and North Africa. Currently Sami is managing a conservation and wildlife foundation with 100 employees in Morocco. Sami is a recipient of the “Leadership Award” from the US Sixth Army NCO Academy and recognized student leadership while at Indiana University. Sami was a co-founder of the United Palestinian Appeal and served on its board for over 12 years. He lives in Fairfax, VA. Sami is an advocate of the OneState for All of its People as a solution to the Israeli/Zionist conflict with the Palestinians. Sami has 4 bothers who served in the US military 2 Marines and 2 Army.

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