Wow! They made a fancy elementary level poster so Trump can understand. - Jobs! Who cares about the Yemeni civilians being killed by the Saudis with US weapons. Selling those weapons produces jobs! Trump's ethical foreign policy.
March 22, 2018: The US trail of blood (German) – Air raids – Saudi blockade – Kidney failures – One’s fate in air raids – UAE military strategy – Saudi PR and propaganda – US Senate rejects Sanders/Lee bill, votes for Yemen war – Prince Salman visits President Trump – and more
Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Klassifizierung / Classification
Für wen das Thema ganz neu ist / Who is new to the subject
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
cp1a Am wichtigsten: Seuchen / Most important: Epidemics
cp2 Allgemein / General
cp2a Allgemein: Saudische Blockade / General: Saudi blockade
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
cp7a Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
cp9a USA: Senate
cp9b USA: Trump & Salman
cp9c: USA: Sonstiges / Other
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms Trade
cp13b Wirtschaft / Economy
cp15 Propaganda
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
Klassifizierung / Classification
***
**
*
(Kein Stern / No star)
? = Keine Einschatzung / No rating
A = Aktuell / Current news
B = Hintergrund / Background
C = Chronik / Chronicle
D = Details
E = Wirtschaft / Economy
H = Humanitäre Fragen / Humanitarian questions
K = Krieg / War
P = Politik / Politics
PH = Pro-Houthi
PS = Pro-Saudi
T = Terrorismus / Terrorism
Für wen das Thema ganz neu ist / Who is new to the subject
[In German above, in English scroll down]
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Der vergessene Krieg im Jemen
Die humanitäre Lage im Jemen, gegen das Saudi-Arabien einen erbarmungslosen Krieg führt, ist katastrophal. [Kurzer Überblicksartikel]
https://www.swp.de/politik/inland/der-vergessene-krieg-im-jemen-24771468.html
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Zwischen Cholera und Hungersnot
Der humanitäre Alptraum des Jemen-Kriegs
Seit März 2015 wird der Jemen von einem brutalen Krieg beherrscht, in dem eine von Saudi-Arabien geführte Koalition einen erbarmungslosen Bombenkrieg gegen die Aufständischen der Houthi-Bewegung führt, dem bereits weit über 10.000 Menschen zum Opfer fielen, über 3 Millionen sind auf der Flucht. Der Krieg wird dominiert von brutalsten Kriegsverbrechen der Saudi-Koalition. Eine „vollständig menschengemachte“ Folge ist die größte Cholera-Epidemie in der Geschichte und die größte Hungersnot seit Jahrzehnten mit potentiell „Millionen von Opfern“ - von Jakob Reimann
http://justicenow.de/2018-03-04/zwischen-cholera-und-hungersnot/=https://www.freitag.de/autoren/jakob-reimann-justicenow/zwischen-cholera-und-hungersnot=https://diefreiheitsliebe.de/politik/zwischen-cholera-und-hungersnot/
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Die Houthis und das Haus Saud: Die Wurzeln des Jemenkriegs
Saudi-Arabien beteuert, die Houthi-Rebellen wären eine Marionette Teherans und rechtfertigt damit den erbarmungslosen Krieg im Jemen, da dieser die Expansion des Iran auf die Arabische Halbinsel verhindern würde. Die tatsächlichen Gründe sind jedoch wesentlich banaler: Riad will die Grenzen seiner 1934 annektierten Provinzen schützen und seinen jahrzehntelangen Einfluss auf die jemenitische Regierung wiederherstellen - von Jakob Reimann
http://justicenow.de/2018-03-07/die-houthis-und-das-haus-saud/=https://ffd365.de/2018/03/07/die-wurzeln-des-jemen-kriegs/=https://www.freitag.de/autoren/jakob-reimann-justicenow/die-houthis-und-das-haus-saud#1520529803902904=https://diefreiheitsliebe.de/politik/die-houthis-und-das-haus-saud/
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Die Houthi-Iran-Connection
Krieg im Jemen: Die Verbindungen Teherans zu den Houthi-Rebellen werden von den Saudis massiv übertrieben. Ein regionaler Krieg wird so zum globalen Kampf gegen den „Schurkenstaat“ Iran.
Daher malt Riad das Bild der Houthis als hörige Marionetten Teherans, der Kampf gegen sie wird so zum Kampf gegen einen feindseligen Iran. Und westliche Politiker wie Medien übernehmen dieses Narrativ größtenteils, ohne es zu hinterfragen oder gar zu überprüfen. Ist der „Schurkenstaat“ Iran das eigentliche Ziel, so ist das bittere Elend der jemenitischen Bevölkerung offensichtlich akzeptabler –Collateral Damage.
Im Jemen-Kontext wird diese Strategie der sektiererischen Aufheizung geschickt mit Macht- und Geopolitik verknüpft. Der Iran als Kernland der Schiiten wird bezichtigt, als Drahtzieher hinter den schiitischen Houthis zu stehen, die von den Saudis und ihren Verbündeten als Werkzeuge Teherans dargestellt werden, um einen Fuß auf die Arabische Halbinsel zu bekommen. AnParanoia grenzend wird von Saudi-Arabien das Schreckgespenst eines „vom Iran dominierten Jemen“ bemüht, der saudische Angriffskrieg gegen die Houthis wird so zur Selbstverteidigung gegen den Erzfeind Iran umgemünzt.
Doppelstandards und die offenkundige Heuchelei westlicher Staaten im Jemen-Kontext: Der Iran wird aufgrund einer nicht zweifelsfrei nachgewiesenen Waffenlieferung an die eine Kriegspartei verurteilt, während eben diese vier verurteilenden Staaten zusammengenommen seit dem Jahr 2000 für jeweils 86 Prozent der Waffenimporte der zwei treibenden Kräfte der anderen Kriegspartei – Saudi-Arabien, Vereinigte Arabische Emirate – verantwortlich sind.
Mit der „Iranisierung“ des Jemen-Krieges spielt Saudi-Arabien ein geschicktes PR-Spiel. Indem der iranische Teufel in Übergröße an die Wand gemalt wird, konnte die westliche Welt überzeugt werden, dass es sich keineswegs um einen lokalen Konflikt handelt, sondern um einen, der mit der indirekten Bekämpfung eines vermeintlich feindseligen Iran gar globale Kreise zieht. Wer würde schon für einen Grenzkonflikt mitten in der arabischen Wüste die faktische Vernichtung eines bettelarmen Landes tolerieren? – von Jakob Reimann
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/jakob-reimann-justicenow/die-houthi-iran-connection=http://justicenow.de/2018-03-11/die-houthi-iran-connection/=https://diefreiheitsliebe.de/politik/die-houthi-iran-connection/
Mein Kommentar: Dieser Artikel zeigt sehr schön die saudische Propaganda auf, wie sie auch, mehr oder weniger deutlich, die Berichterstattung fast aller Mainstream-Medien durchsetzt hat.
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Das Achte Emirat Südjemen
Krieg im Jemen: Die Emirate wollen zur globalen Energiesupermacht aufsteigen und nutzen dafür den Krieg zur Errichtung eines Vasallenstaats am strategisch so wichtigen Golf von Aden.
Die Emirate verfolgen über die Kontrolle strategisch wichtiger Knotenpunkte auf energierelevanten Handelsrouten den Aufbauüberregionaler Strukturenim Nahen Osten und darüber hinaus, um so ihren Handel mit fossilen Rohstoffen nach Europa und Nordamerika zu konsolidieren und weiter auszubauen.
Hierzu drängt sich Abu Dhabi im Eiltempo in dieEnergie- und Sicherheitsinfrastrukturder Region hinein
Seit gut einem Jahr gewinnen die sezessionistischen Kräfte im Inland mehr und mehr an Einfluss und erhalten dabei tatkräftige Unterstützung aus dem Ausland: von den Vereinigten Arabischen Emiraten, die auch auf diesem Gebiet aus der Linie der Saudi-Koalition ausscheren, was mittlerweile als offener Bruch mit den Herren in Riad betrachtet werden sollte.
Die VAE verfolgen ambitioniert das Projekt eines geteilten Jemen
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/jakob-reimann-justicenow/das-achte-emirat-suedjemen=http://justicenow.de/2018-03-14/das-achte-emirat-suedjemen/=https://diefreiheitsliebe.de/politik/das-achte-emirat-suedjemen/
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Der Westen als treuer Al-Qaida-Verbündeter
Krieg im Jemen: Die vom Westen unterstützte Saudi-Koalition hat engste Verbindungen zur Al-Qaida im Jemen. Vertraute des Exil-Präsidenten Hadi sind hochrangige AQAP-Funktionäre.
Im gemeinsamen Kampf gegen die Houthi-Rebellen wurden Allianzen geschlossen, die nicht nur die „War on Terror“-Logik zum Einsturz bringen, sondern auch die Restglaubwürdigkeit des US-geführten Westens hierin: Die Houthis werden neben den Truppen des pro-westlichen Exilpräsidenten Hadi ebenso erbittert auch von den radikalen Dschihadisten im Jemen bekämpft. Hierdurch entstand die absurde Situation, dass die westlichen Alliierten der Saudi-Koalition Seite an Seite mit IS- und Al-Qaida-Terroristen gegen die Houthis kämpft.
Die Associated Press bezeichnet Al-Qaida daher vollkommen zutreffend als „de-facto-Alliierten” der Hadi-Regierung und der Saudi-Koalition – was Al-Qaida im Jemen damit zum „de-facto-Alliierten“ des Westens macht.
„Wir“ kämpfen im Jemen gleichzeitig für die Vernichtung und den Aufstieg Al-Qaidas. Das permanent kolportierte „War on Terror“-Narrativ bricht vollständig in sich zusammen – von Jakob Reimann
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/jakob-reimann-justicenow/des-westen-als-treuer-al-qaida-verbuendeter = http://justicenow.de/2018-03-18/des-westen-als-treuer-verbuendeter-der-al-qaida/ = https://diefreiheitsliebe.de/politik/des-westen-als-treuer-verbuendeter-der-al-qaida/
und Teil 6 der Serie von Jakob Reimann, Die Blutspur der USA, als ersten Beitrag unter cp1 Am wichtigsten.
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Amnesty: JEMEN 2018
In dem 2017 weiterhin andauernden bewaffneten Konflikt verübten alle Beteiligten Kriegsverbrechen und andere schwere Verstöße gegen das Völkerrecht; unzureichende Maßnahmen im Rahmen der Rechenschaftspflicht verhinderten, dass Opfer Gerechtigkeit und Wiedergutmachung einfordern konnten. Die von Saudi-Arabien geführte Militärallianz, welche die international anerkannte Regierung des Jemen unterstützte, bombardierte erneut zivile Einrichtungen und verübte wahllose Angriffe, bei denen Zivilpersonen getötet oder verletzt wurden. Die bewaffnete Gruppe der Huthi und ihre Verbündeten, darunter Armeeeinheiten, die dem ehemaligen Präsidenten Ali Abdullah Saleh die Treue hielten, beschossen Wohnviertel in Taiz mit Granatwerfern und feuerten Artilleriegeschosse wahllos über die Grenze nach Saudi-Arabien. Dabei gab es Tote und Verletzte unter der Zivilbevölkerung. Die jemenitische Regierung, die Huthi und mit ihnen verbündete Armeeeinheiten des ehemaligen Präsidenten Saleh sowie jemenitische Streitkräfte, die sich den Vereinigten Arabischen Emiraten unterstellt hatten, griffen auf rechtswidrige Haftpraktiken wie Verschwindenlassen, Folter und andere Misshandlungen zurück. Frauen und Mädchen wurden nach wie vor Opfer von Diskriminierung und anderen Menschenrechtsverstößen wie Zwangsverheiratung und häusliche Gewalt. Die Todesstrafe blieb in Kraft. Es gab jedoch keine öffentlich zugänglichen Berichte über Todesurteile und Hinrichtungen.
https://www.amnesty.de/jahresbericht/2018/jemen
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What Is Really Happening In Yemen?
A look into one of the most horrific humanitarian crises in modern history
In March-April, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Muhammad Bin Salman ordered airstrikes on Yemen that continue to be carried out today. These strikes are ruthless, hitting schools, hospitals, apartment buildings, ports, bridges, and roads. With blocked access to basic supplies, 2.9 million people were forced from their homes, 17 million people face famine, and 7 million people do not know when they will get their next meal.
Yemen is dependent on maritime imports for more than 80 percent of its annual staple food supply. According to theFamine Early Warning Systems Network(FEWS Net), “a prolonged closure of key ports an unprecedented deterioration in food security to Famine (IPC Phase 5) across large areas of the country.” FEWS Net also predicted that this would occur in three to four months if the blockade is not resolved.
Here are some brief statistics on how children are being affected by the Yemen Famine, as provided by Save the Children:
https://www.theodysseyonline.com/what-happening-yemen
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Film: For those new to #Yemen here's a 25 minute doco we made 2016 explaining how this UK & US backed war has already killed tens of thousands of civilians in airstrikes, from famine & lack of medical care
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CxiNMN5EsM
(* B H K)
Film: Yemen Millions of children and families are on the brink of starvation UNICEF
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT9jRp2Z1K4
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Film: Yemen crisis closes in on third anniversary
More than 10,000 Yemeni civilians have died as a Saudi Arabia-led coalition – with critical support from the US and UK – wages war against the powerful Houthi rebel group. The UN has called the nearly three-year-old war the worst humanitarian crisis in the world
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKp_QhRAZq4=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLSb4ayUSVc
(* B H)
MORE THAN 21 MILLION YEMENIS LACK ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER
More than 21 million Yemeni citizens lack access to clean drinking water and need urgent assistance, 17.8 million of whom are unable to meet their food needs, Minister of Agriculture Othman Majali said on Thursday.
This comes during a speech at the fortieth session of the International Fund for Agricultural Development in Rome, noting thatabout 19.4 million people lack access to clean water and sanitation services, 9.8 million people can not access the water because of the war.
According to Saba news agency, about 8.4 million Yemenis are threatened by famine, an increase of 24% compared to the data of 2017.
He pointed out that about 14.1 million citizens live without adequate health care, in addition to the fact that at least 2.7 million people have fled their homes to other areas within Yemen or to other countries.
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Amnesty International: YEMEN 2017/2018
All parties to the continuing armed conflict committed war crimes and other serious violations of international law, with inadequate accountability measures in place to ensure justice and reparation to victims. The Saudi Arabia-led coalition supporting the internationally recognized Yemeni government continued to bomb civilian infrastructure and carried out indiscriminate attacks, killing and injuring civilians. The Huthi-Saleh forces indiscriminately shelled civilian residential areas in Ta’iz city and fired artillery indiscriminately across the border into Saudi Arabia, killing and injuring civilians. The Yemeni government, Huthi-Saleh forces and Yemeni forces aligned to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) engaged in illegal detention practices including enforced disappearance and torture and other ill-treatment. Women and girls continued to face entrenched discrimination and other abuses, including forced and early marriage and domestic violence. The death penalty remained in force; no information was publicly available on death sentences or executions.
https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/middle-east-and-north-africa/yemen/report-yemen/
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"1- The humanitarian crisis in #Yemen is the most important story in the world,but it rarely receives the coverage that such a massive crisis ought to have.
2- Ongoing blockade by #Saudi and willingness to impose collective punishment on the civilian population.
3- suffering from the largest famine the world has seen 4 decades .
4- struggling with an acute hunger crisis that has effected at least 17M ppl ,third of them considered close to famine.
5- Diseases r spreading like a wildfire,the closure of Yemeni ports will worsen the epidemics.
6- There is a gas and fuel crisis ,people are without salaries for 18 months ,the #Saudi bombardment has really scared our children .
7- Almost daily massacres by #Saudi bombs made in #UK & #US.
8- Poor sanitation,famine,malnutrition,water crisis and etc...
9- The delay to the restoration and expansion of humanitarian access will cost the life of innocent people .
10- The only way to stop the war is if people put pressures on #UK & #US governments to stop selling arms to #Saudi and to find a sustainable peace solution. "
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/967827245212602368(thread) =https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1659463720773318
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Ten things you need to know about #Yemen:
1-Yemen is the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
2-The number of #UK & #US made bombs, &missiles sold to #Saudi since the start of its bloody war on Yemen has risen by 500 %.
3-There are 1.8 million acutely malnourished children.
4-The war has decimated Yemen's economy, 2 million people are displaced, 3,000 children killed and 2000 injured, 1.5 million born into war zone.
5--No electricity, no salaries, no fuel, no gas, no access to health care, no access to clean water, no jobs, and Famine.
6- 70 % of Yemeni infrastructure have been destroyed, the number of causalities is devastating, 12k civilians killed, and 21k civilians wounded.
7-The disease can spread rapidly in areas with inadequate treatment of sewage and drinking water. In Yemen, collapsing health, water & and sanitation systems have cut off 14.5 million people from regular access to clean water and sanitation, increasing the ability of diseases to spread.
8-1085 days of : Aerial bombing, merciless war, terrorizing children, and living under siege.
9-The incalculable suffering of #Yemeni's people has been a mark of shame for humanity and the failure of world's leaders.
10- Yemeni people call for peace and humanitarian access to every woman, man & child in need.
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/974357308162695169 (thread)
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
US-Senat, Salman bei Trump: cp9a, 9b / US Senate, Salman visiting Trump: cp9a, 9b
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Die Blutspur der USA: Die Gewalt des US Empire im ärmsten Land der Arabischen Welt
Krieg im Jemen: Auf sämtlichen Ebenen unterstützen die USA den Bombenkrieg der Saudis und ziehen mit Massakern und Drohnenmorden seit Jahrzehnten ihre eigene Blutspur durch das Land.
[Sanaa, Oktober 2016 mit mindestens 155 Toten] das blutigste Massaker in der Geschichte des dreijährigen Jemen-Krieges wurde mit MK-82-Bomben der US-amerikanischen Rüstungsschmiede Raytheon durchgeführt.
Das Massaker von Sana’a steht exemplarisch für diesen absurden Krieg im ärmsten Land der Arabischen Welt: die von Saudi-Arabien geführte Koalition macht sich schwerster Kriegsverbrechen schuldig, die US-Regierung gibt ihr die Mittel dazu in die Hand und macht sich so zur Komplizin.
Nachdem die Saudis nach einem halben Jahr erbarmungslosen Bombardements ihr Raketenarsenal leergeschossen hatten, segnete Barack Obama im November 2015 den Verkauf von rund 30.000 neuer Bomben und Raketen ab – darunter auch 8.020 Stück exakt der MK-82-Bomben, die auf die Trauerfeier in Sana‘a niederregneten.
Präsident Obama verkaufte den Saudis während seiner acht Jahre im Oval Office Rüstungsgüter in Höhe von 115 Milliarden Dollar – so viel wie kein anderer der 13 US-Präsidenten in den 85 Jahren diplomatischer Saudi-US-Beziehungen zuvor. Allein 20 Milliarden davon wurden 2015 genehmigt, dem Jahr in dem der Jemen-Krieg ausbrach.
Donald Trump zog nach nur wenigen Wochen im Amt mit seinem verhassten Vorgänger gleich, als er im Mai 2017 Rüstungsdeals im Wert von 110 Milliarden Dollar mit den Saudis vereinbarte, die in der nächsten Dekade gar auf bis zu 380 Milliarden anwachsen können. Trumps Kommentar dazu: „Jobs, jobs, jobs.“
Das Signal ist klar: Washington steht felsenfest an Riads Seite.
Seit Beginn des Jemen-Kriegs stammt mit zwei Dritteln der Mammutanteil des nach Saudi-Arabien verschifften Kriegsgeräts aus den USA, einzig Großbritannien hat mit einem Fünftel noch einen signifikanten Anteil, die anderen Staaten bewegen sich im untersten Prozentbereich.
Obwohl Waffenlieferungen die zentralste Form sind, geht die US-Unterstützung der Saudis in ihrem Krieg gegen den Jemen weit darüber hinaus.
Von entscheidender Bedeutung sind die Luftbetankungen saudischer Kampfjets durch die US-Luftwaffe, ohne die es der Saudi-Koalition unmöglich wäre, quer über die riesigen Wüstengebiete hinweg ihren erbarmungslosen Bombenkrieg zu führen.
Auch die Ausbildung des saudischen Militärs durch die USA ist von zentraler Bedeutung. Spätestens seit 1977 gibt es derartige Trainingsmissionen im Königreich, um „unsere gemeinsamen Interessen in Middle East zu verteidigen“, wie es auf den Seiten des US Centcom heißt. In letzter Zeit wurde das Programm deutlich hochgefahren.
Doch die Rolle der US-Ausbilder geht über bloßes Training weit hinaus: Nach ihrem Selbstverständnis begreift sich die US-Trainingsmission auch als „Vertreter von US-Unternehmen, um Rüstungsgeschäfte mit den saudischen Streitkräften“ einzufädeln.
Hinzu kommt US-Support auf vielen weiteren Ebenen, etwa logistische Unterstützung, Bereitstellung von Geheimdienstinformationen, Entsendung von Militärberatern und mit am wichtigsten: die politische und diplomatische Rückendeckung. Ohne den Freifahrtschein aus dem Weißen Haus hätte die Saudi-Koalition die drei Jahre andauernde Vernichtung des ärmsten Lands der Arabischen Welt politisch nicht überlebt.
Halten wir fest: Ohne die USA wäre der erbarmungslose Bombenkrieg der Saudi-Koalition im Jemen undenkbar. Würde Washington die Unterstützung heute einstellen, wäre der Krieg morgen beendet.
Warum diese bedingungslose Unterstützung?
Um den umfassenden Support der Saudis durch die USA zu verstehen, muss neben allgemeingültigen Erklärungen wie der historischen Saudi-US-Allianz und die für US-Rüstungskonzerne höchst lukrativen kriegsbedingten Waffendeals ein weiterer zentraler Punkt berücksichtigt werden, um den sich für die Saudis im Nahen und Mittleren Osten letztendlich alles dreht: der Iran. Insbesondere der so wichtige Iran-Nukleardeal von 2015.
Die Saudis wollten das Zustandekommen des Iran-Deals um jeden Preis verhindern und waren am Ende wutentbrannt über das historische Abkommen. Obamas Entscheidung, den Krieg der Saudis gegen die Bevölkerung des Jemen überhaupt erst zu ermöglichen, ist als Geste der Wiedergutmachung zu verstehen, als Beschwichtigung eines wegen des Iran-Deals aufgebrachten Hauses Saud.
Die Bevölkerung des Jemen war der Bauer auf Obamas Schachbrett, der für das Zustandekommen des Iran-Deals geopfert wurde. Komplizenschaft in Kriegsverbrechen als Geste der Wiedergutmachung – so zynisch wie nur Geopolitik sie sein kann.
Doch die USA sind im Jemen keineswegs bloße Komplizen in Kriegsverbrechen der Saudi-Koalition, vielmehr blickt Washington auf eine eigene lange Liste an Massakern an der Bevölkerung des Jemen zurück.
Die Blutlinie, die Trump mit Obama verbindet: Der Fall al-Awlaki
Trump eskaliert den Krieg im Jemen
Nachdem Trump im Wahlkampf noch aufs Schärfste gegen die Saudis gehetzt hatte (und nebenbei trotzdem acht neue Firmen in Saudi-Arabien gründete), ist Präsident Trump nun der engste Verbündete, den das Haus Saud seit Jahrzehnten im Weißen Haus hatte.
Donald Trump steht treu an der Seite der faschistischen Diktatur Saudi-Arabien. Die Leidtragenden dieser unheilvollen Allianz sind die geplagten Kinder, Frauen und Männer im Jemen – von Jakob Reimann
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/jakob-reimann-justicenow/die-blutspur-der-usa = http://justicenow.de/2018-03-21/die-blutspur-der-usa-im-jemen/ = http://justicenow.de/2018-03-21/die-blutspur-der-usa-im-jemen/
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Death from above: Every Saudi coalition air raid on Yemen
Overview of Saudi air aids , more than 16,000 have been counted [according to Saudi sources, it’ even much more], shown in animated texts. Impressive: The interactive map at the end.
https://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2018/Saudi-Arabia-air-raids-on-Yemen/index.html
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The Saudi-Led Blockade Is Still Starving Yemen
As the Saudi crown prince visits Washington today, Jan Egeland and David Miliband remind us what the Saudi government and its allies have done to Yemen with U.S. and other Western backing.
The coalition blockade of Yemen is the single most destructive part of the war on Yemen. It threatens the lives of millions upon millions of innocent civilians, and yet it is probably one of the least covered aspects of the conflict over the last three years. The countless victims of starvation and preventable disease that the blockade has caused remain largely invisible to the outside world, and the lives cruelly and prematurely ended by the man-made humanitarian catastrophe engulfing Yemen are usually left out of descriptions of the war’s true costs. It is certain that the blockade has silently claimed thousands and thousands of innocent lives, and it threatens to claim far more if the coalition continues to interfere with and block commercial and humanitarian shipments. This is the principal cause of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, and it is one that could be removed fairly easily if the coalition’s Western patrons demanded it and stopped helping them.
Instead of pressing Mohammed bin Salman to end the blockade, Western governments are only too happy to sell his government more weapons while ignoring the deliberate starvation of Yemen. Because he is the Saudi heir to the throne and a U.S. client, he is warmly received at the White House, many of our media outlets go out of their way to conceal his crimes from the American public, and he is feted as a “reformer” and modernizer. If the de facto ruler responsible for these outrages wasn’t considered an “ally” in Washington, he would most likely be facing sanctions, travel bans, and regular condemnation by U.S. officials. He would rightly be regarded as a war criminal and international pariah. The problem isn’t just that the U.S. holds its clients to a very different, lower standard than it holds other governments, but that when it comes to its clients it seems to have absolutely no standards at all.
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/the-saudi-led-blockade-is-still-starving-yemen/
(** B H)
Kidney failures are on the rise in Yemen
The war in Yemen has caused a major health crisis across the country and kidney failures alone have taken 1,200 lives so far.
On March 8, the Ministry of Human Rights in Sanaa revealed that more than 1,200 patients have died of kidney failure in the last three years of war, citing lack of medicines and frequent electricity outages in hospitals.
The ministry also stated that there are around 6,000 patients suffering from kidney failure, and they are most likely going to die due to lack of treatment.
We recently visited a clinic in Taiz, where we spoke to several people suffering from life-threatening kidney ailments.
"My name is Ola Mansour, and I am a doctor. This centre is facing a shortage of medicines that are needed for dialysis. Many patients cannot afford decent housing in Taiz since they come from poor and far-off districts. Some of them sleep on the streets outside the hospital.
Each dialysis session continues for four hours, but they take only three hours because we are short staffed. Though we haven’t been paid for three years, we try our best to save some lives."
https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/kidney-failures-are-on-the-rise-in-yemen-16103
(** B H K)
The Story of Ahmad Abdullah al-'Ussari and His Family
Ahmad Abdullah al-'Ussari tells us of the traumatising and life-changing experience with his children under the air raids on his home in the area of Faj Attan, Sana'a, on August 25 of last year. That day three of his children died, Ahmad Abdullah was wounded along with his wife and his eight-year old daughter Sarah.
"That Friday, at 2:00 am, I woke up with the sound of explosion because of the air raids in the neighborhood where we lived.
I could hear the screams of the children, women and men in the neighborhood, scared, traumatised, and everyone was running on the streets to find shelter.
I brought my children and wife to the lower floor and hid us in a small room, but there was no place which could actually protect our lives from such destructive bombs.
Suddenly, the second missile came. And it targeted our house.
I saw the light of the missile but somehow I felt life changed. I did not lose my consciousness completely. I could still hear screams from my daughter Nora calling me 'Please father save our lives, we are dying'.
My wounds were severe and shrapnel filled my body so I could not get up.
My heart hurt more and more, especially when my daughter was calling me, at that moment no one could come to us and take us to the hospital.
Once again, after a period of more than 15 minutes , as soon as people came to take my body lying on the ground I saw my daughter Sarah's hand visible from the rubble. The hand was shaking.
I told myself that as long as Sarah is still alive, she and her and sibling are alive. They are in the lap of their mother and, yes, they are all still alive.“
(** B K P)
Jemen: Konflikt zwischen Nord und Süd macht Frieden noch unwahrscheinlicher
Nun droht ein Bruch, dessen Folgen weit über das Land hinausreichen könnten.
Seit Jahren brodeln im Süden die Abspaltungstendenzen, die Bürger der ehemaligen britischen Kolonie rümpfen nicht selten die Nase über die angeblich weniger weltoffenen Nordstaatler.
"De facto haben wir eine Spaltung in Nord- und Südjemen. Die Regierung Hadi hat keine Legitimität mehr", sagt Jens Heibach, Jemen-Experte vom Giga-Institut in Hamburg.
Das liege auch daran, dass die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate (VAE) - enger Verbündeter Saudi-Arabiens und Teil ihrer Koalition - im Jemen ihre eigene Agenda verfolgten.
Der Kampf gegen die Huthis sei ihnen weniger wichtig, dafür unterstützen sie die Separatisten und haben im Süden auch Truppen stationiert.
"Der Jemen erlebt eine halbe Abspaltung zwischen dem Norden und dem Süden", bestätigt der jemenitische Analyst Asem al-Sadeh. Stabilität gebe es keine, stattdessen werde der Jemen seiner strategisch wichtigen Häfen - etwa Aden - und Inseln im Süden beraubt.
Der Experte Heibach sagt: "Es geht um die Kontrolle der Wasserwege, die Emirate haben schon zwei Militärbasen am Horn von Afrika." Mit einem hörigen Südjemen könnten die VAE künftig besser die Handelswege und Verbindungen nach Afrika überwachen.
Ob die Separatisten wirklich eine Chance haben, ist umstritten.
"Alle Akteure in der Jemen-Krise, auch die Militärkoalition, sind daran gescheitert, den Menschen im Jemen zu helfen. Der Krieg war nicht im Interesse unseres Heimatlandes." – von dpa
https://web.de/magazine/politik/jemen-konflikt-nord-sued-frieden-unwahrscheinlicher-32880840 = https://www.noz.de/deutschland-welt/politik/artikel/1178913/wie-der-krieg-den-jemen-zerreisst#gallery&0&0&1178913
(** B K P)
The Southern Strategic Arc of the UAE Military Presence
Roughly ten years ago the UAE devised a strategy for establishing a strong Emirati military presence in Somalia, Yemen and the Bab al-Mandab (BAM). Ultimately, Abu Dhabi’s interest has been to project the UAE into the Horn of Africa. At this juncture, amid the disintegration of the Yemeni state, Abu Dhabi in tandem with Saudi Arabia is shaping the strategic environment, for better or for worse. The UAE’s growing influence throughout Africa and the Arabian Peninsula’s southwestern corner must be interpreted within a complicated geopolitical context. Abu Dhabi is in competition with Turkey and a host of regional and international actors, including China and Russia. Such strategic competition is pitting a host of different powers against each other as these different actors seek to assert their clout in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The future security landscape of the southwestern Arabian Peninsula and Horn of Africa will bear major implications for the future of global energy trade as the flow of energy from East to West and North to South traverses the BAM and remains vulnerable to the forces of piracy and terrorism.
While the Saudis and other allies are conducting their air and ground campaign targeting Houthis, for the most part, the UAE’s military forces are spread across this arc of land and sea, and involved in major operations, using special operators to achieve strategic goals. The path stretches from Mahra Province along the Yemeni-Omani border to Somalia. In the Emirati path to controlling Yemeni territory has been infighting among Yemeni notables in the Southern Security Belt scrambling for influence and power as Aden’s future governance is determined.
http://gulfif.com/the-southern-strategic-arc-of-the-uae-military-presence/
(** B P)
Saudi ‘prince of PR’ arrives in US, unleashing a royal media spin
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Washington Tuesday at the start of a visit aimed at wooing US backing on issues ranging from business to confronting Iran. He will be aided by a sophisticated Saudi PR machine.
Ahead of Prince Mohammed’s US visit, there appeared to be few signs of a London-style PR blitz across the Atlantic. “I can’t recall seeing any commercials in the media or billboards. I’m sure what happened in London was viewed as a blunder, it was counterproductive and the Saudi embassy in the US seems to be doing a better job. But then again, American cities are so huge, I can’t say for sure if this is true everywhere,” said Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist-in-exile living in Washington DC.
But while there are fewer outward signs of a publicity campaign, the Saudi war for the hearts and minds of Americans is being waged with ferocity and finesse, using a sophisticated arsenal of opinion-making weapons, including armies of experts employed by Saudi-funded think-tanks and unlikely alliances with pro-Israeli groups, in an extension of the age-old military maxim: “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”.
Business is booming these days for PR firms that have signed up with various arms of the Saudi establishment as the Gulf monarchy confronts mounting criticism of its military campaign in Yemen, which has sparked a massive humanitarian disaster in the world’s poorest Arab nation.
Earlier this year, when Saudi Arabia launched a $1.5 billion initiative, called the Yemen Comprehensive Humanitarian Operations (YCHO), journalists received briefings from PR firms that were “successors to disgraced UK firm Bell Pottinger”, according to the Geneva-based Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) news agency.
The extensive list of PR firms employed by Saudi authorities include the MSLGROUP, a subsidiary of French PR giant Publicis, which won a contract worth more than $6 million from the Saudi embassy in the US over a 12-month period up to September 2017, according to IRIN.
But while there’s nothing wrong with US- or Europe-based PR firms signing contracts with Saudi state entities, the work of APCO Worldwide, a Washington DC-based PR firm, has come under scrutiny -- not for what it did, but for what it glaringly failed to do.
[…] said Khashoggi: “Everybody is giving him [MBS] the benefit of the doubt. A number of articles are saying let’s support him and turn a blind eye to the arrests of intellectuals, journalists, the intimidation, the lack of press freedom in Saudi Arabia.”
One of the more interesting features of the Saudi PR blitz is an unusual meeting of interests between various think-tanks and lobby groups operating on “K Street” – the pejorative term used by Beltway insiders for influence-peddlers operating on the northern end of the Washington DC thoroughfare.
The pro-Riyadh Saudi American Public Relation Affairs Committee (SAPRAC) has a long history of effective engagement on K Street dating back to the backlash following the 9/11 attacks. But in recent months, the Gulf diplomatic spat between Saudi Arabia and Qatar and their respective allies has proved to be good business for US-based PR firms.
The Saudi’s adamant opposition to the Iran nuclear deal mirrors the line adopted by powerful US think tanks such as the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), which, as noted in a Slate profile, “closely tracks” its positions to “those of the [Israeli ruling] Likud party and its leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu”.
In a searing media critique of how think tanks such as the FDD are framing US public opinion and “making war with Iran more likely,” left-leaning news site The Intercept detailed how major US dailies such as The New York Times rely heavily on FDD experts while making no attempt at balanced coverage or providing insights on Tehran’s geostrategic interests in the region.
With a powerful PR machinery updated following the mistakes in London, American audiences are in danger of become prisoners to a US-Saudi love-fest. But behind the scenes, K Street is also working away on critical geostrategic issues, from nuclear programs to regional rivalries that drag in the world’s major powers. The question is whether the famed independence of the American press can withstand a charm offensive from across the seas.
http://www.france24.com/en/20180320-saudi-arabia-usa-mbs-prince-public-relations-trump
(** B K P)
War in Yemen: European divisions on arms-export controls
As arms exports to parties in the war in Yemen such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates come under increasing criticism, some European countries are set to fully or partially halt such sales. This creates an increasing divergence in European arms export control policies, at a time when states are looking to deepen defence armament cooperation.
The ongoing negotiation between the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia occurs at a time when the debate on arms sales to coalition states involved in the war in Yemen is heating up throughout Europe. As noted by the World Peace Foundation and others, an increasing number of European states are debating the appropriateness of arms sales to states participating in the Saudi-led Operation Restoring Hope.
Some of the weapons supplied to these states by European countries in previous years are being used in the conflict
While these examples relate to arms supplied prior to the outbreak of conflict, today’s debate is about ongoing exports and licensing since April 2015. Looking at the major regional powers involved in the war, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the latest available data on arms exports reveals that the main European suppliers to these countries are France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK (see Figures 1–3 and Table 1).
However, as these arms sales have become increasingly controversial, decisions to stop exporting to coalition states have divided European states on the issue. In February 2016, the European parliament called for the imposition of an arms embargo against Saudi Arabia.
However, despite the emergence of domestic debate on the issue, other major European arms suppliers are taking an opposing position and are not considering ceasing arms sales to members of the Saudi-led coalition.
(** A B P)
Why 55 U.S. Senators Voted for Genocide in Yemen
But if you watch the debate via C-Span, the top question in your mind might not be "What incredible activism, information, accident, or luck got 44 people to vote the right way?" but rather "Why did 55 cheerful, well-fed, safe people in suits just vote for mass-murder?" Why did they? Why did they take a break for political party meetings in the middle of the debate, and debate other legislation just before and after this resolution, and walk around and chat with each other exactly as if all were normal, while voting for genocide?
So, why? Why did the Senate vote for genocide? And why is nobody surprised by it?
Perhaps that's a case that has to be made to the public first and then to the senators, but many senators made clear how they were thinking.
So, a vote against one war is never just a vote against one war. It's a vote to challenge, if ever so slightly, the power of the war machine. These Senators are paid not to do that.
Here is a list of Senators and their 2018 bribes (excuse me, campaign contributions) from dealers of death (excuse me, defense companies). I've indicated how they voted on tabling Tuesday's resolution with a Y or N. A pro-war vote is a Y:
[Following list]
Obviously one must look at numerous votes and other actions, and at bribes from previous years, and at the relative cost of running in each state, etc., but we do see here 51 of the 55 yes votes receiving weapons profits, and most of them near the top or middle of this list. And we see 42 of 44 no votes receiving weapons profits, and most of them near the middle or bottom of this list. Of the top 70 recipients, 43 voted yes. Of the bottom 20 recipients, 14 voted no.
A bigger factor would seem to be political party, since 45 of the 55 yes votes were Republican (plus 10 Democrats)
But this can hardly be separated from funding, as the amounts above are dwarfed by the money brought in and distributed to candidates by parties, with the "defense" profiteers giving the Republican party $1.2 million, and the Democratic Party $0.82 million. One can be very confident that neither party's "leadership" privately asked its members to vote to end the war on Yemen. Publicly, the Republican party leadership urged a vote for continued genocide. If we look at party and money combined, we see that all of the Republicans who voted no are pretty low in the list, while the relevance of bribes is less clear with Democrats who voted yes. But a no vote as part of a majority -- had such a thing happened -- would have been unlikely to have pleased either party.
Then there's the media problem. The Democratic Party-promoting MSNBC was silent, while NPR told its listeners that poor innocent Saudi Arabia was surrounded and under attack by the demonic Iran. The New York Times editorial board did better than its reporters. But if any coverage of the U.S. role in Yemen had made it onto television, then I would be able to find people when I travel around the United States who are aware that there is a war in Yemen. As it is, I can find few who can name any current U.S. wars. If Senator Sanders had opposed this war when he was running for president, instead of urging Saudi Arabia to spend more and get its blood-soaked hands dirty, progressives would have heard that -- and I would have backed Sanders for president.
Or what if Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, ACLU and other groups claiming to support human rights had helped oppose the war on Yemen? Or what if pundits stopped referring to such groups as human rights groups and called them, instead, Pro-U.S.-War/Human Rights groups? Would that have made a difference?
What about the rest of us? – by David Swanson
(** B P)
Stumbling Blocks: Tim Kaine and the Bipartisan Abettors of Atrocity
It was the statement by one of the senators who DID vote for the measure to end US involvement in Yemen that caused my gall to overflow: the sanctimonious prig Tim Kaine – the man who would’ve been vice president. After casting a vote that he knew wouldn’t matter (many Democratic “leaders,” like Chuck Schumer, didn’t even vote until the 51-vote approval threshold was passed), Kaine put out a smarmy, pious statement lamenting the millions of Yemenis who may starve and the tens of thousands already killed in a war that, he says, the US “stumbled into.”
It was this arrogant, arrant, brazen, soulless lie that outraged me to the top of my bent. Kaine knows — as does anyone who has simply read the news in the past few years — that it is an indisputable, established fact that the US did not “stumble” into the Yemen war. He knows the indisputable fact that the former leader of his party, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, very openly and deliberately and knowingly not only greenlighted the Saudi invasion but actively, openly and directly aided the slaughter in almost every way — with weapons, with bombs, with US forces helping aim and target the bombs, with US warships helping enforce a naval blockade against the desert country that has plunged millions of innocent people into famine … all to “restore” a “president” who was the hand-picked toady of the US and the Saudis in an “election” in which NO OTHER CANDIDATE WAS ALLOWED TO RUN.
Again, all of this was done openly, directly, unashamedly: you could read about it in the most respectable newspapers in the country. The Obama administration didn’t try to hide it.
So no, Senator Kaine, the United States did not “stumble” into the Yemen war. It plunged whole-heartedly into the putrid slaughter, under the direction of the progressive, scandal-free Democratic president, Barack Obama, with the full support of the bipartisan foreign policy establishment and the mainstream media.
And when — in God’s holy name — will we quit pretending that “we are great because we are good,” that when we take a three-year-old child and rip her small, frail body into shreds of bloody goo with our missiles, we are noble, we are righteous, we are a light in the darkness? I’m sick of it. I’m sick of the sanctimony, sick of the self-righteousness, I’m sick of the pious bullshit from mouths that are dripping with blood. I’m sick of the whole ungodly freak show of murderers, and apologists and cheerleaders for murder, prancing around in their pomp and their power while they grind innocent people – by Chris Floyd
(** A P)
Fact check: No, Sen. Mike Lee is not an ‘Iran helper’
The enemy of the enemy of my enemy.
The Wall Street Journal editorial page is attacking conservatives again. This time, the WSJ has labeled Senator Mike Lee, R-Utah, as an “Iran helper” because Lee is involved in an effort to prevent the United States from interfering in an Islamic civil war without authorization from Congress.
The WSJ editorial writers calls Lee’s demand for Congress to assert its constitutional duties a “gratuitous gift to Iran.” They dismiss Lee’s constitutional concerns, asserting that because the Houthis are backed by Iran, failure to take action against the Houthis and in support of the Saudis is actually aiding Iran.
The smear of Mike Lee as pro-Iran is absurd, but not unusual. Former U.S. Senator Jim Demint, R-S.C., rose to Lee’s defense, noting that the WSJ editorial board has a long history of smearing constitutional conservatives.
The WSJ is not alone. The Washington Free Beacon has also noted that Sen. Lee’s effort has received support from “fringe anti-Israel, pro-Iran groups” like the radial anti-war group Code Pink. Many quoted by the Free Beacon assert that Lee is making common cause with pro-Iran groups. This too is absurd. The fact that radical far-Left groups support Lee’s effort does not take away from the fact that unauthorized intervention in the Yemeni civil war is unconstitutional. The situation in Yemen is far more complicated than pro-Iran/anti-Iran factions.
Senator Mike Lee’s proposal simply requires the elected representatives of the American people to weigh in on intervention in Yemen. All he is asking for is a vote to “authorize—or decline to authorize—military engagement and define U.S. national interests.” The American people ought to have a say in where their sons and daughters are shipped overseas to fight. This is why the American founders gave Congress the authority to declare war, not the president.
The Wall Street Journal’s attempt to silence dissent from the pro-intervention foreign policy establishment as a “gift to Iran” is shameful.
https://www.conservativereview.com/articles/fact-check-no-sen-mike-lee-not-iran-helper/
My comment: Hitting the spot. The same of course must be said in the case of Sanders who had been smeared the same way, and the other supprters of his bill, whether they were "conservative" or not.
cp1a Am wichtigsten: Seuchen / Most important: Epidemics
(* A H)
Fast 2,7 Millionen Kinder im Jemen gegen Diphtherie geimpft
Die Weltgesundheitsorganisation (WHO) hat zusammen mit dem Kinderhilfswerk Unicef und nationalen Gesundheitsbehörden eine groß angelegte Impfkampagne gegen Diphtherie im Jemen abgeschlossen. Die Kampagne richtete sich an fast 2,7 Millionen Kinder im Alter von sechs Wochen bis 15 Jahren in elf Regionen des Landes. Mehr als 6.000 Mitarbeiter des Gesundheitswesens wurden während der Kampagne mobilisiert.
Hintergrund ist der Diphtherieausbruch in dem Bürgerkriegsland.
cp2 Allgemein / General
(* B K P)
The relationship between money, oil and weapons
Relations between states are based on interests; this sentence is frequently repeated and remains valid in understanding politics. Saudi Arabia’s relationship with the United States, the region’s most established and longest lasting relationship with Washington, is no exception
The biggest challenge to Saudi Arabia was when the previous US administration decided to stop supplying ammunition and providing military intelligence, without which the air war in Yemen would be almost impossible. Together with military deals comes the special political relationship, which is just as important, and which makes countries such as Iran take extra care when dealing with the Kingdom. Consequently, interests, viewed as a balance that holds the relationship, remain generally in our favor. A relationship between two countries that is based on economic and military cooperation delivers the most desired outcome.
What distinguishes Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to the US is that he represents a new Saudi project — or, perhaps more accurately, a new Saudi Arabia; a country that is heading toward change, and government and community development – Abdulrahman Al-Rashed is a veteran columnist. He is the former general manager of Al Arabiya news channel, and former editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1271231
My comment: This one of the many Saudi propaganda articles, by an author who often writes quite horrible propaganda. . Bur it is interesting for two points. Here he admits a) The US relation to Saudi Arabia is based on US interests (or lets say better: US leading class interests), and b): The Saudis could not continue their aerial war against Yemen without US support. (while he exaggerates the halt of supply od ammunition Obama finally had decided. Even at this nadir of US-Saudi relations, President Obama still sanctioned an unprecedented $115bn worth of weapons to the kingdom over his eight years in office). This exactly is it.
(* B K P)
Drei Jahre im Schwitzkasten – Der Krieg zerreißt den Jemen
Als vor drei Jahren, am 26. März 2015, Kampfjets aus Saudi-Arabien die Grenze zum Nachbarland Jemen überquerten, nannte Riad seinen Eintritt in den Bürgerkrieg «Operation Entscheidender Sturm». Der Sturm im bitterarmen Jemen hörte seitdem nicht mehr auf. Doch eine Entscheidung, ein Ende des Desasters, ist auch nach mehr als 10 000 Toten und einer beispiellosen humanitären Katastrophe nicht in Sicht. Es scheint nicht einmal mehr ausgeschlossen, dass das Land auseinanderbricht.
[Überblicksartikel]
(B K P)
Saudi options in Yemen exhausted
The country's disintegration is matched by growing difficulties in envisioning a peace deal
Sometimes there's merit in simplicity. It highlights truths that are camouflaged by complexity. Hundreds of thousands of words have been written about the horrors of the war in Yemen, a bewildering cauldron of Yemeni, regional and international interests. Yet few can possibly understand why it's happening, let alone how it might end. The New Yorker magazine recently added a few more thousand words to the heap, detailing US links to the war and to Saudi Arabia, its instigator. In the course of the article, the writer quoted an Arab diplomat from the Saudi-led coalition. Asked about a possible leader to head a transition government, he replied: "Who would you hand Yemen to? Who would be part (subscribers only)
Comment by Judith Brown: Gerald Butt has long studied Arab issues and he has made a very interesting point here. Exactly who would you hand Yemen over to? The disintegration of Yemen has lead to so many perspectives - those who hate Saudi Arabia (but would have supported them wholeheartedly if they had restricted their warring activities to attacking Houthis and protecting civilians but it's too late for that) - and those that still are giving Saudi Arabia the benefit of the doubt - those that think UAE did a useful job and those that think they are overstepping the line - those that hate Hadi and the minority that still support him - those that don't like the Houthis, those that support the Houthis, and those that only support the Houthis inasmuch as they are fighting off Saudi Arabian occupation a spectre that they hate more - those that are in support of secession of Aden or of Mahra and those that want to remain united - the people of Taiz whose case is unique inasmuch as they have suffered most and their Islah militias polarise people in Taiz and the rest of Yemen making a solution to the incredible suffering there quite elusive even if the rest of Yemen finds peace. And the supporters of Saleh and his family versus those who detest and despise them. Where oh where does Yemen go from here?
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10156510975218641
(A K P)
Interactive map of Yemen
(* B K P)
Recently I have become very concerned about the developing situation in Yemen; I have many friends there, all of whom are educated to at least degree level and speak excellent English. From the start of the war, friends in Yemen have had their homes bombed and severely damaged, friends who have shared their homes with displaced people who have lost their homes in the war, friends who have been fired upon by snipers, friends whose family members have suffered disease or even died from easily treatable diseases, friends who were close to bombs when they were pregnant and subsequently have had children with birth defects, friends whose university courses have been ended by destruction of their university campuses, and now more and more friends whose children are suffering malnutrition, friends who no longer feel they can send their children to school, as they have no money for school fees and they are worried about the security situation in state schools.
These are not the traditional Yemeni uneducated poor, they are intelligent, resourceful, with loving families who offer as much help and assistance as they can, but they too are running out of savings or things they can sell. I am one old woman; there is so little that I can offer in the face of such appalling need amongst friends that I know and love. How much more can Yemen take. I am heartbroken. And yet I see May and Trump selling more and more bombs. How many Yemeni children have to die before these disgusting weapons are withheld from all parties who are fighting in this appalling war – by Judith Brown
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10156508815088641
(* B K P)
Britain and the US must stop fuelling the bloody Saudi war on Yemen
This conflict has revealed in the starkest possible terms the real cost of the lucrative global arms trade, not to mention the challenge of implementing the UN arms trade treaty. Beyond the US and the UK, many other countries – including France, Spain and Italy – profess their support for human rights and adherence to the treaty while similarly lavishing hi-tech weaponry on the Saudi coalition.
In the UK, public opinion and all opposition parties support an end to arming Saudi Arabia. Much of the outcry over Mohammed bin Salman’s recent visit to London focused on this.
A growing legal and moral quandary now faces European supplier countries that still pour weapons into the bloody conflict – by Patrick Wilcken, Amnesty International arms control and human rights researcher
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/20/yemen-arms-saudi-arabia
(A)
Yemen border guards receive training from US, Saudi security experts
Border guards affiliated with the legitimate Yemeni government have completed a “rigorous” training program in Riyadh, led by American and Saudi security professionals, according to a US embassy statement.
A total of 29 Republic of Yemen Government (ROYG) Border Guards completed the two-week course, the first such group to receive US-sponsored training since 2015, when the war in Yemen began.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1270941/saudi-arabia
Just a reminder from Feb. 27, 2017, for Trump and Salman when meeting in Washington:
(** B P)
The Houthis Are Not Hezbollah
Donald Trump wants to ramp up Yemen's proxy fight against Iran. One small problem: Tehran doesn't really have a proxy there.
http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/02/27/the-houthis-are-not-hezbollah/
cp2a Saudische Blockade / Saudi blockade
Siehe / Look at cp1
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
Siehe / Look at cp1
(A H)
UN warnen vor Zuspitzung der Versorgungskrise im Jemen
Die Situation im Jemen hat sich im vergangenen Jahr drastisch verschlechtert. Wegen des Bürgerkriegs warnt die UN vor einer weiteren Zuspitzung der Versorgungssituation.
Angesichts des verheerenden Bürgerkriegs im Jemen haben die Vereinten Nationen vor einer weiteren Zuspitzung der Versorgungssituation gewarnt. «Der Jemen bleibt mit Abstand die grösste Nahrungsmittelkrise», heisst es in einem Bericht, den die UN-Ernährungs- und Landwirtschaftsorganisation FAO als Teil eines Netzwerks internationaler Partner am Donnerstag in Rom vorstellte.
«Die Situation wird sich voraussichtlich verschlechtern, vor allem wegen des eingeschränkten Zugangs (in das Land), dem Zusammenbruch der Wirtschaft und dem Ausbruch von Krankheiten.» Neben dem Südsudan war der Jemen dem Bericht zufolge das Land, in dem sich die Situation im vergangenen Jahr am stärksten verschlechtert hat.
https://www.nau.ch/ausland/un-warnen-vor-zuspitzung-der-versorgungskrise-im-jemen-65313767
(* B H)
Film: UN: 'The humanitarian crisis in Yemen is the world's worst'
In an interview with FRANCE 24, Mark Lowcock, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, expressed his concern about the situation in Yemen, a country ravaged by war, famine and cholera. "There are eight and half million people right on the brink of starvation", he said. Lowcock underlined, however, that the blockade of key ports by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had been lifted, a move he welcomed.
http://www.france24.com/en/20180321-interview-mark-lowcock-un-humanitarian-crisis-yemen-syria-eastern-ghouta-afrin-dr-congo?ref=tw = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcrz29MaXqE
(B H)
SMEPS: The return of fisheries to fishing will keep many jobs as well as the availability of fish in the markets on a continuous basis! Fishermen received fishing nets and returned to fishing after stopping for a while. It's nice to see life returning to the sea! (photo)
https://twitter.com/SMEPSYEMEN/status/976519695183634432
Remark: In Southern Yemen.
(* B H)
CARE warns: Three years on from escalation of conflict, Yemeni people left sick, starving, and plunged into the darkness
After three years of brutal conflict, Yemeni people have been left sick, starving, and in the dark, warns international aid organization CARE. An analysis of satellite images by Prof. Xi Li and Prof. Deren Li of China’s Wuhan University shows that Yemen’s cities have lost more than half of their electricity since the escalation of the conflict. Twelve of Yemen’s 21 provinces have lost more than 70 percent of their light compared to before the war, with some losing as much as 95%.
“The war in Yemen has quite literally turned off the light for most people. It shows how much the infrastructure and economy have been damaged and what a struggle it is for the Yemeni people to survive,” says Jolien Veldwijk, CARE Yemen’s Assistant Country Director. Since the conflict escalated in 2015, nearly 10,000 Yemenis have died and more than 52,000 have been injured. In total, more than 22.2 million Yemenis are in need of humanitarian assistance, including 11.3 million children.
(* B H)
World Bank: Building Resilience and Protecting Vulnerable Yemenis Through Cash Transfers
The cash transfer project is supported by a US$200 million grant from the International Development Association (IDA-the Bank’s fund for the world’s poorest countries) in support of Yemen. It is part of an ongoing Emergency Crisis Response Project. The project is implemented by UNICEF and targets Yemen’s most vulnerable families by using the existing beneficiary list from Yemen’s SWF cash transfer program.
The IDA-funded project finances cash benefits and the technical assistance and services required to deliver them
Over 1.33 million families, totaling almost 9 million Yemenis (approximately 30 percent of the population) benefited from cash transfers in the first cycle.
(A H)
The Ministry of Public Health and Population of Yemen (Hadi's government) on Tuesday sent a convoy of medical supplies to the province of Hays in Hodeidah governorate, which was liberated from the Houthis weeks ago.
"The convoy contains 10 tons of medicines, including antibiotics, children's medicines, intravenous fluids and other medical supplies".
According to the ministry, shipments of medicines were sent to the areas under the control of the Houthisconsisting of 8 thousand dialysis sessions for #Sanaa, 500 meetings to #Ibb and 500 sessions to Bagel Hodeidah and 500 sessions of the military hospital in Sanaa.
(A H)
URGENT MESSAGE, As received.
We ask the humanitarian organisations and NGOs to please follow the matter and keep us updated.
''An entire family suffering from permanent disability in the village of Al-Ja'ara in Muqabdah Al-Barah in Taiz province appeals to the good people and humanitarian organizations to intervene to help them.
Anyone who wants to help the family can call: 733788212'' (photos9
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1686066758113014
(A H)
FAMINE AND WATER SCARCITY AFFECTING AL-JADAB in BANI MATAR DISTRICT West of #Sanaa.
Citizens call for urgent intervention
Al-Jadab in the Directorate of Beni Matar in Sana'a Governorate is facing the specter of hunger and water scarcity. Suffering is hitting all the area and people cannot even rely on salaries (which were stopped more than a year and a half ago).
''Seven villages, isolated, are suffering from famine and scarcity of water (anyhow unsafe)" said the secretary-general of the al-Jadab Youth Union.
(A H)
SFD team rehabilitated this 720 m3 water tank serving 33,000 persons in #Zinjibar of #Abyan. It was not working for the last 36 years
https://twitter.com/faizahsulimani/status/976502829149048833
(B H)
Film: Lebensmittel - Lieferung Jemen unter schwierigen Bedingungen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2SvYD4QoFw
(A H)
World Food Programme, Emergency Telecommunications Cluster: Yemen Conflict - ETC Situation Report #21 (Reporting Period: 06/01/18 to 15/03/18)
(* B H)
Planting Food Security for Yemeni Farmers
The ongoing conflict has significantly impacted crop production, which in 2015 was 30% inferior to the production in 2014.
ACTED worked with the OFDA to support 2,400 farmers across Raymah, AlDhale’e, and AlJawf governorates. These are key agricultural zones to encourage agricultural production and food security since they are where the most vulnerable farmers cannot buy seeds and, as a result, are unable to produce anything.
In this programme, ACTED distributed an estimated of 50kg of seeds from various types (wheat, potato…), determined through community discussions and in consultation with local experts.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/planting-food-security-yemeni-farmers
(* B H)
Fighting Hunger through cash for work
As per the Yemen Socio-Economic Update report in 2017, the lack of household cash affects overall community resilience, as households are unable to purchase necessary food and domestic items, subsequently impacting the community’s markets. Lack of cash comes from loss of livelihoods and this can compel people to resort to negative coping strategies, such as reducing frequency of meals or borrowing money.
This cash for work location is one of the many ACTED and OFDA are implementing across Yemen in the governorates of Al Jawf, Raymah, Al Hudaydah, Ibb, and Al Dhale’e to support economic recovery and market systems. The idea is to immediately increase the purchasing power of vulnerable households in these areas, providing them with the agency to cover their needs.
Cash for work sites focus on community infrastructure. This can be related to market access, agricultural infrastructure and roads that connect villages to schools, health facilities, and nearby villages, as well as the general clearing of rubble and debris caused by the fighting.
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/fighting-hunger-through-cash-work
cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
(A H)
Somalia: Arrivals from Yemen at 28 February 2018
https://reliefweb.int/map/somalia/somalia-arrivals-yemen-28-february-2018
(* A H)
Detained African migrants stuck in limbo in wartime Yemen
Anxious and hungry, hundreds of African migrants lie cramped together on the ground of a open-air warehouse in the southern Yemeni port city of Aden.
Most are from desperately poor Horn of Africa countries and like tens of thousands each year, were willing to risk the treacherous journey through war-torn and impoverished Yemen in the hope of finding work in Saudi Arabia and other wealthy Gulf Arab states.
But their plan was not to be. Caught and detained by the Yemeni authorities, the 600 or so men now await deportation, prevented from leaving their makeshift jail by armed soldiers.
Conditions at the warehouse are growing increasingly desperate. Several days ago, the authorities stopped handing out food and basic supplies.
The frightened men in the Aden warehouse, subsisting on bread bought with meager savings and washing their clothes in an rubbish-strewn outdoor space, are just the tip of the iceberg.
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
(A P)
President calls for ending aggression forces’ control over Yemeni oil
President of the Supreme Political Council Saleh Al-Sammad called on Wednesday the international community to end the control of the aggression forces over Yemen’s oil sources, which he considered a sovereign right.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news490962.htm
(* A P)
Al Houthi movement forces used gunfire to disperse a large demonstration in front of the house of the late former president Ali Abdullah Saleh on March 21, according to local sources. The demonstrators gathered to commemorate Saleh’s birthday.[5]
and
Witnesses: The #Houthis have kidnapped a number of people who participated in the protest rally today in the capital #Sanaa .
the rally was for those who wanted to remember the former president Ali Saleh. they went and put some flowers next to his house (photos)
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/976471345545601025
The #Houthis have assaulted the General People's Congress (GPC) affiliates, including #women when they went to house of ex-president Ali Abduallah Saleh to put some flowers on the occasion of his birthday, which he used to celebrate every year before his death (photos)
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/976406001455857665
The #Houthis attack an old man in the street when he was on his way to put some flowers at the house of ex-president Ali Abduallah Saleh. #GPC affiliates were badly attacked as the Houthis continue to suppress the freedoms of all #Yemen-is, but in particular the GPC affiliates (film)
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/976417963539599367
(* B P)
Location of former Yemeni president's body still unknown, loyalists say
A great deal of conflicting news has been reported on the fate of Saleh's corpse since his murder on December 4, 2017 at the hands of the Houthi rebels.
"For me, as I used to be too close to Saleh, I confirm that his body is still with the Houthis," Faeka Al Sayed, the minister of social affairs, told The National.
Mr Al Sayed is one of the very few Saleh loyalists who were able to visit the president’s two sons while in Houthi custody.
“They told me that the news, which claimed they participated in the funeral of their father, is a lie," Mr Al Sayed said. "Saleh's sons, Salah and Madyan, told me that they know nothing about their father's body.”
A source close to Saleh told The National at the time that the Houthis claimed to have buried the former leader, but that the funeral procession of Yemen’s longest-standing ruler was attended by not more than 20 people.
“The fate of Saleh's body is not recognised yet, neither his family nor the leaders of his party GPC (General People's Congress) know anything about his corpse," Fares Saeed, the editor-in chief of the GPC-owned Khabar news agency, said in Sanaa.
(A K P)
Special committee formed by the #Houthis to enumerate the members of the military forces who were recruited in 2011, and force them to attend their camps in preparation for being assigned to the frontlines; and those who won't attend will be discharged and replaced.
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/976147415895101442
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
Siehe / Look at cp1
(A T)
ISIL leader captured in Yemen in overnight raid
Counter terrorism units have successfully extracted information to help foil future attacks in Aden
Yemeni police raided an ISIL hideout in Aden capturing a high-ranking member believed to be the mastermind behind a series of deadly attacks.
During questioning, the ISIL leader, code-named 'FAS', admitted his involvement in an attack on a military base last month that killed 14 people and injured 40 others.
Forces also extracted information on planned attacks targeting the interim capital, Aden.
https://www.thenational.ae/world/mena/isil-leader-captured-in-yemen-in-overnight-raid-1.715147 and http://adengad.net/news/309184/
(A P)
Concerns persist in #Yemen's #Mahra over perceived encroachment by #Saudi, #UAE & Hadramawt. This 2014 video is re-circulating. Mahra was not the single integrated structure with firm borders that nostalgia paints, but it did & does exist with its own identity, culture, language (film)
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/976540449937788928
(B P)
UAE withheld 680 million US$ since earlier February when the money entered Aden seaport. UAE does not want brotherhood in the south to receive their salaries. UAE is in conflict wiht Saudi Arabia over brotherhood. Separatists work with UAE Brotherhood work with Saudi
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/976735649914146816
(A)
QUEEN BILQIS: New Airliner
A private carrier announced it plans to launch its first flights to and from Yemen as a first stage through three international routes.
The company will start flights from #Aden
(A T)
At least seven #civilians we killed or injured, including #women and #children in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in the Sanah area of Al-Dhale province, south #Yemen (photo)
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/976407892663439360
(* A P)
Arab coalition 'robbing Yemen of sovereignty'
Minister departing from Hadi's government says Saudi-led coalition has deviated from its objectives in war-torn country.
A former Yemeni minister of state has said that the Saudi-led coalition has deviated from its objectives, adding that the sovereign Yemeni decision has been taken away from the people.
Salah al-Sayadi's statement followed his resignation on Wednesday and came just days after he said that Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was under house arrest in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/03/arab-coalition-accused-undermining-yemen-sovereignty-180322053041573.html referring to his statement https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2106201109397946&id=100000242332133 (Arabic)
and
(* A P)
Yemen ministers resign in protest at Saudi-led coalition
Two Yemeni government ministers announced their resignations on Wednesday in a gesture of protest at Saudi Arabia, who they claim has prevented president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi from returning home for months.
Minister of State Salah el-Sayadi announced his resignation in a statement on Wednesday, a day after Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Civil Service and Insurance Abdulaziz el-Jabari said in televised comments that he was stepping down.
El-Jabari said he handed in his resignation on Monday to Hadi in Riyadh and though he said Hadi is not held in Saudi Arabia, the president cannot return home to Aden.
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2018/3/21/yemen-ministers-resign-in-protest-at-saudi-led-coalition and also https://aa.com.tr/en/politics/two-yemeni-ministers-tender-their-resignations/1094808 and https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-16641
and
(A P)
Deputy prime minister, Jubari, and minister of state Sayadi, of the Saudi-backed Yemeni exiled government, both resigned today in Riyadh. Both men said that Hadi is banned from returning to Aden south Yemen Both said that Saudi&UAE r doing everything in Yemen, ignoring them!
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/976443288579428352
and
(A P)
Yemeni minister resigns after calling for President Hadi's return
Yemen's Minister of State, who recently said the country's president was held under house arrest in Saudi Arabia, has announced his resignation.
In a post on Twitter late on Tuesday, Salah al-Sayadi said: "I declare my final resignation from the government for reasons I will explain later".
The minister had said that President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was under house arrest in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. He warned of negative consequences for Yemenis if Hadi did not return back to his country.
My comment: What he had told certainly was unbearable for his and Hadi’s Saudi puppet masters.
(* A P)
Families of Hadramout detainees call on Hadi to enforce obstructed court rulings
The families of people held in arbitrary detention in Hadhramout are calling on President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to intervene to ensure that the courts rulings to free their relatives are put into effect.
A number of detainees are held in Hadhramout prison for more than one year just for their political affiliations including the Islah party and are in jail facing no charges against them.
The courts have issued verdicts to release them for there is no charge to be leveled against them, but influential local leaders prevent their release.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-16617
(A P)
Syndicate of Yemen Journalists condemns detention, intimidation of a reporter
The Syndicate of Yemeni Journalists has condemned the "detention and intimidation of journalist Awad Keshmim" at the hands of Hadhramout military intelligence officials.
Kashmim has been in jail for a facebook post which his sympathizers say it, out of context, was interpreted as critical of the latest military operation against al-Qaeda in Hadhramout.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-16642
(A P)
Muneer Al-Yafey: Liberation and Independence Will be Achieved Without Giving Up a Single Particle of Sand All Over the South
Brigadier Muneer Al-Yafey (Abu Yamama), commander of the southern backup and support forces, issued a press release that SAMA News is publishing as it is:
Our dignity stims from defending our country and securing its sacred soli. To our south I say, defending your soil is an honor, being martyr for you is hope and betraying your cause is shame.
and
(A P)
Dr. Al-Khabjy: Despite Variances, We Will Correct all Mistakes and the Southern Transitional Council Will Remain the Rescue Boat for All Southern People
In a relatively long post on his official account on face book, Dr. Nasser Al-Khabjy, chairman of the political department of the southern transitional council, said that the council is the security valve for the south and the rescue boat that we should all navigate to safety. Dr. Al-Khabjy discussed several facts and concerns that are of major importance. SAMA News is republishing the post as it is:
The southern transitional council was found to remain, continue and achieve the goals of the southern people and his rightful cause, gaining its strength from the public will of freedom, independence and development. It can never be mere a political card for any one or any party because it is the fruit of two decades of sacrifice and struggle by the southern people. It was established to achieve the southern goals and protect serious and prolonged sacrifices.
Remark: Southern separatists’ statement on their news agency website.
(A P)
Security Belt Forces in Yafea Sector Seizes a Car Bomb Coming from Al-Baida
Security belt forces in Yafea sector – Lahj seized a blue-sky Santa Fe car that was prepared as a car bomb on Tuesday March 20th, 2018. The seized car was parked next to a house near a security post of the security belt in Al-Mahajy – Al-Had.
http://en.smanews.org/security-belt-forces-in-yafea-sector-seizes-a-car-bomb-coming-from-al-baida
My comment: The real rulers in the south: The UAE and their Yemeni militia (“Security Belt” and others).
(* A P)
The Transitional Political Council of the South (STC) rejected a Hadi government attempt to create a new military axis in central Yemen on March 19. The Hadi government issued a decree on March 16 to integrate Bayhan, Usaylan, and Ain districts of Shabwah governorate into a new operational coalition that includes al Jubah and Harib districts of Ma’rib. The Hadi government affirmed on March 18 that the military decision would not affect the administrative or geographical makeup of Shabwah. The STC affirmed that Shabwah will remain intact and part of a unified southern Yemen. The STC is an Emirati-backed representative body that seeks increased southern autonomy.[3]
(A T)
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) militants attacked Emirati-backed Shabwani Elite Forces at a checkpoint near Ataq city, Shabwah governorate, eastern Yemen on March 19. [4]
(A P)
An explosion rocked Yemen's temporary capital #Aden this morning. Reports say residence of a security official was targeted as the situation in the city continues to deteriorate because of power struggle between local factions.
https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/976352586197557248
(A P)
Clashes between paramilitary force, tribesmen kill one man in Shabwah
Clashes between the Shabwani Elite Forces, a paramilitary force, and tribesmen in the provincial capital of the southeastern province of Shabwah, Ataq, has led to the killing of one man and injury of another.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-16643
Remark: UAE-backed pro-separatist forces.
(* A P)
Confrontations between military troops and al Hizam forces in Aden
Three people were killed and six wounded Tuesday in Aden, the interim capital of Yemen, in clashes between the UAE-backed "al Hizam security forces" and military police.
A security source told Almasdaronline that the fighting broke out between the two parties after a dispute over the ownership of a land, in al Tawahi district.
The reason for the dispute is when a leader in al Hizam security forces seized a land of Basuheib hospital, al Tawahi district, according to the source.
"Military police arrived in the area to prevent the leader from his control over the land, but he refused, and the matter led to confrontations."
http://almasdaronline.com/article/97784
and
(* A P)
Several ppl were killed & injured in clashes btwn local forces in Aden today. Yemen's temporary capital #Aden: clashes, social unrest, assassinations & terrorist bombings. Who is responsible for all this? Please don't say UAE is backing internationally recognized government there
https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/976121054211997700
(B P)
Prognosis not good. Al Abr, Al Qatn, Shibam, Seiyun, Tarim, Thamud, Ramah: The entire length of Wadi Hadhramaut threatens to descend into widespread violence.
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/976104027388772352
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
(* B P)
If the US Won’t Stop Saudi War on Yemen, the UN Should
It is time for the United Nations to implement a full ban on Western and US arms sales to Saudi Arabia, that’s because the US Senate has once again authorized the War Party and the Military-Industrial Complex to continue their support for Saudi Arabia’s illegal war on Yemen.
Still unauthorized, the war remains illegal under International Law and the UN Charter, meaning, there has to be some legal challenges at the UN and the Security Council, even if the US is a member with veto power. After all, a majority of member states oppose this dirty war and would vote against it if given the chance.
This will be great news, but it’s long past overdue - and still not enough. US companies - the makers of weapons sold to Saudi Arabia - have profited far too long off the death and destruction caused by their products placed in Saudi hands. They should also be held to account for aiding and abetting the Saudis in this murderous campaign.
Due to the indiscriminate killing caused by America’s horrific weapons, both the Saudis and their regional allies should also be held to account.
Now that the international civil society has woken up to the horrors of the Saudi use of American bombs and US government complicity in Saudi war crimes, the UN has a duty to exert pressure on Washington and other Western governments to stop supporting weapon sales to the Saudis, as called for by the European Parliament and implemented by some members. It’s unconscionable for the Western governments to sell any additional weapons to this repressive regime. It’s time to implement a full ban on arms sales to Saudi Arabia before its fledgling de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman starts yet another war in this geopolitically most important world region. If the western states continue this shortsighted policy of profiteering, then they will be forced to incur financial and economic losses hundreds of times larger in size due to wartime skyrocketing energy prices in future.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13970101000434
My comment: From Iran, but simply right. – But the UN will do nothing: It is dominated by Western powers and bought-in by Saudi money.
(A P)
Antonia Calvo: the solution in Yemen is not military
European Union Ambassador Antonia Calvo confirmed in a press statement before leaving Sanaa International Airport Tuesday March 21 that she was happy to visit Yemen and said that the program of her visiting prepared by the authorities here was very good, which facilitated task of the European mission during their meetings with the authorities represented by Ansar Allah and the General People's Congress. And added, she is ready to do everything in the power with the various humanitarian organizations, both those of the United Nations or other international NGOs to provide food and medicine for Yemen people.
She also expressed her thanks for the positive position of Ansar Allah and the General People's Congress who confirming their commitment to the peace process. She also called them to seize the opportunity to visit the new UN envoy to Yemen in the coming few days to find solution in order to end the ongoing war.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news490980.htm
(A P)
Jemen: EU-Kampagne für Aufnahme von Friedensgesprächen
Eine Delegation des Europaparlaments ist nach Sanaa gereist, um Wege zur Wiederaufnahme der jemenitischen Friedensgespräche zu erkunden und Gespräche mit den an der Krise beteiligten Parteien aufzunehmen.
Die Delegation setzt sich aus Vertretern Frankreichs, der Niederlande und Schweden zusammen, hieß es in einem Bericht des Nachrichtensenders Russia al-Yaum, wobei Schweden die Leitung der Delegation inne hat.
(A P)
UN Envoy Promises New Political Process in Yemen
The new envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, said on Tuesday that he plans to launch a comprehensive political process that would start from where UN-brokered negotiations led by his Mauritanian predecessor Ismail Ould Sheikh Ahmad had stopped.
Griffiths kicked off his mission to broker a UN peace deal in Yemen, from the Saudi capital, Riyadh, by meeting President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and members of his legitimate government.
“A political process will require all sides to be flexible, make difficult compromises, and prioritize the national interest for the sake of the Yemeni people,” the envoy said.
"We will always continue to call for peace to affirm our principle attitude, out of our national and moral responsibility toward our nation,” Hadi said.
The Yemeni President also told Griffiths that previous peace talks held with Houthis showed that the rebels don't honor deals and commitments, but follow a foreign agenda.
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1212016/un-envoy-promises-new-political-process-yemen
My comment: Hadi again telling his odd every-day-the-same-propaganda. Griffith soon will learn (I hope so at least) that he does not start a „new political process“ but just continues the old failed one, as he adopted the old biased preconditions (llok at YPR 394, cp7).
And
(A P)
GCC chief: we support efforts of new UN envoy for Yemen
The Gulf Cooperation Council said on Wednesday it backs the newly appointed UN special envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths' efforts for a political process in Yemen based on the GCC Initiative, which ensures the security and stability of that country.
GCC Secretary General Abdullatif Al-Zayani made the remarks during a meeting with Griffiths as he wished the British diplomat success in his newly acquired mission.
https://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2704363&Language=en
My comment: Of course, as bias will continue.
(A P)
Hadi meets HRC experts, briefs them on Houthis abuses
President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi met in Riyadh on Monday the Human Rights Council's Eminent Experts on Yemen and recounted to them the Houthis' severe atrocities associated with their years long insurgency.
The experts delegation included Kamel Jendoubi, Charles Garraway Melissa Parke, and the representative of the OHCHR in Riyadh Farid Hamdan.
Hadi told them that the rebel militia is responsible for all what has happened in Yemen, for they abandoned the national dialogue, mounted a coup in 2014 and set off an insurgency that plunged Yemen in its current conflict.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-16616
My comment: Already some days ago. The experts had been at Aden and Sanaa after having met Hadi at Riyadh and already had left Sanaa again. – Odd: „Hadi told them that the rebel militia is responsible for all what has happened in Yemen“, which would include Saudi coalition airstrikes and Saudi blockade.
cp7a Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran
(* B P)
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is moving on to his next target: Iran
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, nicknamed MBS, has rapidly consolidated power within the kingdom.
With his position secured and his rivals vanquished, he is moving on to his next target: Iran.
With hostilities rising, war is seeming more inevitable, which increases the likelihood of rising oil prices
The topic of Iran is a key agenda item for his meeting with President Trump on Tuesday. President Trump should find himself well-versed on the topic, which he discussed at-length with Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu, earlier this month.
Iran is serving as a unifying force among its Middle East neighbors.
We are now dealing with a much more forward-leaning Saudi Arabia that is also seeking to modernize.
The new Saudi doctrine is also being seen in the form of the blockade of Qatar, which several other Gulf nations have joined in.
It does appear that policies and regional ambitions of Saudi Arabia and Iran are putting them on a collision course that will result in direct hostilities, and Saudi Arabia has partners willing to assist it with such a fight, that coalition of the willing.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/20/crown-prince-mohammed-bin-salmans-next-target-iran.html
(* B K P)
Could Saudi Arabia's nuclear ambitions shake up the Middle East?
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has stated that the Kingdom could develop nuclear weapons if Iran also does so. What would this mean for the Middle East and how would Israel and Egypt view such an arms race?
Ultimately, Saudi Arabia and Iran both weaponizing their nuclear programs could not only complicate the balance of power in the Middle East, but could prove detrimental to their respective security interests. "If both Iran and Saudi Arabia acquired nuclear weapons it would then raise the probability of either nation eventually using them," Brom said. "I don't think anybody wishes to see such a thing happening."
http://www.dw.com/en/could-saudi-arabias-nuclear-ambitions-shake-up-the-middle-east/a-43052693
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
(** B P)
Mohammed bin Salman, son of the Iraq War
Much of the discourse in recent weeks has focused on the personality of the Saudi crown prince to explain what seem to be extraordinary changes in Saudi foreign and domestic policies. But the connection between these events and George W. Bush’s war is often missed.
For decades, Saudi foreign policy had two central security features in the Gulf region and domestically: relying on the United States, and maintaining a balance of power between Iraq and Iran to assure that neither could pose a threat to Saudi security and interests in the region. That environment allowed Saudi Arabia to avoid being directly dragged into conflict, using its economic and political assets to influence events as needed.
The 2003 Iraq War had three predictable consequences: It created so much instability that al-Qaida, and later ISIS, could thrive right next door, first in Iraq, later in Syria and Yemen, posing greater threats to the Saudi homeland. Second, the war ended any prospect of Iraq serving as a balancer of Iran, just as Iranian power was on the rise. Third, the extraordinary costs of the failed Iraq War, both in blood and treasure, led to an anti-war sentiment in the United States that undermined Saudi confidence in the U.S. willingness and ability to intervene effectively if and when the Saudis felt this was needed. These events generated significant insecurity within and outside Saudi borders, which was exacerbated by the Arab uprisings that toppled seemingly entrenched rulers, including close Saudi allies.
In other words, the Iraq War—combined with the Arab uprisings—intensified Saudi insecurity at home and in the neighborhood at a time when the anchors of Saudi security policy were significantly undermined by the war, forcing the Saudis into a higher degree of self-reliance than they were accustomed to, or good at. Thus, Riyadh became far more interventionist in foreign policy, even before the rise of King Salman and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
As the shadow of the Iraq War follows the Saudi crown prince into the White House, the agenda is equally influenced by that war – by Shibley Telhami
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2018/03/21/mohammed-bin-salman-son-of-the-iraq-war/
(** B P)
Mohammad Bin Salman’s ‘Charm Offensive’: Hype Or Substance? – Analysis
MBS basically has two goals during his visit to Washington. One is to legitimize his position as the future king of Saudi Arabia with American recognition, and the second goal for MBS is to promote his ideas for regional policy that align U.S interests with Saudi interests in the Middle East. However, the extent to which the U.S and Saudi Arabia can achieve common goals together on the global stage remains unclear.
Mohammad bin Salman does not really care about President Trump’s political standing domestically, and the Saudis assume that Trump will hang around until the 2020 presidential elections.
The key factor behind the U.S-Saudi relationship has been the close working cooperation on public relations which resulted in millions of dollars pouring into influencing policies in U.S think tanks and advertising lobby groups.
In regards to Mohammad bin Salman’s recent visit to London, it was a well-planned trip that allowed MBS to take advantage of Prime Minister Theresa May’s desire to show the British public that she can bring in foreign investment in light of the current Brexit negotiations with the European Union. But the difference with MBS’s visit to the U.S is to rectify Saudi Arabia’s influence on institutions that don’t rely heavily on the Trump Administration.
Mohammad bin Salman’s visit to the United States is fundamental for Saudi Arabia because MBS realizes that relying on Trump alone is not enough and he needs to win over U.S institutions. This ensures that Riyadh is on board with the policies of the Pentagon and the State Department, as well as with the White House who value the U.S-Saudi partnership.
The problem many people will have with MBS is his arbitrary nature of governance.
We will see in the short-term if MBS is a capable Crown Prince or not for Saudi Arabia going forward.
(* B E P)
Cinema chains, amusement park operators queue up to enter Saudi Arabia market
In his seven-city tour of America, the prince is also meeting corporate CEOs with a view to striking deals with companies dealing in renewable energy, high tech, sport, tourism and, perhaps most importantly, entertainment.
When it comes to the entertainment industry, Saudi Arabia is virtually a blank page. There are no cinemas or concert halls or amusement parks — yet. The message from the crown prince is that Saudi Arabia is not only open for business, it is open for fun too, with a large young generation — his generation — crying out for entertainment on their own doorstep, that does not entail a drive or flight to neighboring Bahrain or the United Arab Emirates.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1271141/saudi-arabia
Comment: Meanwhile, Yemenis queue for water, food distribution.
They queue outside hospitals or to reach the nearest displacement camp.
Perspective
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1686087301444293
(* B P)
'Only death': How Mohammed bin Salman has torn up the rules of kingship
By insisting that only death would stand in the way of him becoming king, Mohammed bin Salman dropped all pretence about Saudi Arabia's consensual royal family politics.
Asked what would stop him from becoming king during an interview on CBS's 60 Minutes show, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman replied "only death".
Such a deterministic and bold reply undermines his rule in many ways.
By invoking death, he sent a strong message to his royal rivals and opponents. Can the large pool of the recently marginalised and humiliated princes interpret this as a warning? Can they conclude that Mohammed bin Salman is here to stay and the only way to get rid of him is to assassinate him?
By insisting that only death would stand in the way of him becoming king, the crown prince dropped all pretence about so-called consensual royal family politics, thus undermining the one crucial security pillar upon which the Al-Saud had established their rule.
By insisting that only death can remove Mohammed bin Salman from the stage over the coming 50 years or so, the prince sets the rules of the internal game within the Al-Saud household. If anyone seriously contemplates challenging him, he needs to be prepared to assassinate Mohammed bin Salman. The stakes will be too high if blood is to flow in the palace corridors like it did in a previous era.
But by saying that only death would stand in his way of becoming king, the crown prince is in reality not only sending a warning to his own relatives but also undermining another pillar upon which the absolute monarchy had always rested.
He is making a mockery of the Bayaa, the oath of allegiance, that Saudi kings had always insisted on staging the morning after they are appointed king.
Under Saudi rule, the Islamic Bayaa had become a cliche, a travesty, and a theatrical performance staged for propaganda purposes. Many Muslims interpret the Bayaa as a contract between the ruler and the ruled, according to which the former manages the affairs of the people.
Mohammed bin Salman has truly undermined a system of succession that claims to be based on an oath of allegiance, granted to the crown prince by other members of the royal family followed by Saudi commoners. He is sure that he will be king, regardless of the monarchical formalities that his ancestors had clung to.
Today Saudi Arabia is in the grip of naked power, with the ruler able to exercise power over people without any regard to their interests – by Madawi al-Rasheed
http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/what-could-prevent-mohammed-bin-salman-becoming-king-1428554577
(C B P)
Aug 1976, @nytimes. Familiar? US Senate: Critical of massive American arms sales to Shah of Iran Shah: Strong Iran serves US objectives in region Kissinger: Iran plays a stabilizing role and pays U.S. for arms in cash (link)
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/976530711128748032
1979 : Opposition to the Shah of Iran. Familiar? (image)
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/976531494511546369
(A E P)
Formerly detained Saudi businessmen Alwaleed and Alhokair in talks for loans
Two businessmen formerly detained a part of Saudi Arabia’s anti-corruption campaign are now in talks with banks for loans for their firms in excess of $3 billion, sources said, suggesting that bank markets are open again for those who have reached financial settlements with the government.
(A P)
Saudi Arabia says revamping education to combat 'extremist ideologies'
Saudi Arabia is revamping its education curriculum to eradicate any trace of Muslim Brotherhood influence and will dismiss anyone working in the sector who sympathizes with the banned group, the education minister said.
Promoting a more moderate form of Islam is one of the promises made by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman under plans to modernize the deeply conservative Muslim kingdom.
The education ministry is working to “combat extremist ideologies by reviewing school curricula and books to ensure they do not reflect the banned Muslim Brotherhood’s agenda,” Ahmed bin Mohammed al-Isa said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
It would “ban such books from schools and universities and remove those who sympathize with the group or its ideology from their posts,” he added.
My comment: This is propaganda for Western ears. The Saudis had promised to remove religious radicalism form textbooks already several times before. – And: The real problem of radicalidation and extremism is not the Muslim Brotherhood, but Saudi Wahabism. And this will not be eradicated.
(B P)
Video: Take a tour inside Saudi Crown Prince's office
After giving an interview to the CBS anchor Norah O'Donnell for the show 60 Minutes, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman let Norah tour his office in Riyadh
"This is where you spend all night?" O'Donnell asked to which Prince replied, "that it's also where all the workaholic ministers spend their time."
The office wears a complete palatial look with splendid flooring and furniture adding to the charm.
According to the Al Arabiya, the Crown Prince stays in his office till late night after arriving in the afternoon.
https://www.khaleejtimes.com/region/saudi-arabia/video-take-a-tour-inside-saudi-crown-princes-office
(* B P)
The Saudi Crown Prince Auditions for Trump as ‘Policeman of the Middle East’
But with friends like this—a repressive monarch, a war criminal, and a sectarian ideologue—who needs enemies?
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Washington is part of his search for American backing for his ambitious plans to turn his country into the regional hegemon. The prince wants to play the sort of role Nixon and Kissinger assigned to the shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. While they thought of the shah only as “policeman of the Gulf,” the crown prince has his eye on the whole Middle East. One of the duties he is seeking is blocking Iran’s influence in the area.
Mohammed bin Salman’s goal of blocking Iran is incoherent, and while it will tempt Trump and Washington and please belligerent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it offers US policy in the Middle East no actual gains.
Mohammed bin Salman’s erratic and so-far disastrous foreign policy in the Middle East does not speak well for him as a policeman of the region. Despite his friendship with Jared Kushner, his de facto alliance with Israel against Palestinian interests, his oil wealth, and his anti-Iran fulminations, his country does not actually have the geopolitical weight to shape the Middle East.
Washington keeps looking for a gendarme in the Middle East, but past candidates for the role, like the shah of Iran, discovered that they could not even keep stability in their own country. The same question mark hovers uneasily over the head of the brash young crown prince of Saudi Arabia – by Juan Cole
(** B P)
Saudi Arabia coverage confronts its own ‘heartland’ problem
[Salman] projected the carefully manicured image of a dynamic reformer who’s hard at work liberalizing religious mores, diversifying the economy, and shaking up Saudi Arabia’s sclerotic institutions to end decades of graft.
That image isn’t a total fabrication. There’s no denying MBS’s chutzpah in grabbing power from the old guard and steering his country down a new path. And he is tweaking Saudi’s prevailing hardline strain of Wahhabi Islam, for example by allowing women to attend soccer matches, ascend to more prominent positions in business and politics, and, starting in June, drive cars.
But one man’s progressive is another man’s tyrant. The Saudi press is all but barred from questioning the crown prince’s motives. And in the US and beyond, reporting on MBS’s turn in the spotlight has been focused largely on the elite. Even where coverage has been nuanced or skeptical, its obsession with government spin and (literal) palace intrigue underplays how deeper social forces—in a vast country of around 30 million people—have crafted the current moment.
“[MBS] wants to control the whole scene: He’s a transformer, he wants to have a monopoly on the narrative, on the ideas that are being exchanged in Saudi Arabia. And right now he does have total control,” says Jamal Khashoggi, a veteran Saudi journalist who lives in exile in the US and regularly blogs for The Washington Post. “The American media should not see the cup half full—see only the reform. Yes, he’s fulfilling a promise to purge radicalism in Saudi Arabia. But at the same time he’s not allowing any form of expression, except expression that supports him.”
Nonetheless, coverage of Saudi Arabia—and of MBS’s reforms—could try harder to seek out authentic Saudi voices where they are.
“It becomes very easy to say ‘Saudis want this,’ or ‘Young people want this,’ and I just think, if we’re honest about it, we have to be very modest about what we know,” says Hubbard at the Times. “Much [of our knowledge of Saudi Arabia] is anecdotal. We go and we interview five people and we assume those five people are representative.” – by Jon Allsop
https://www.cjr.org/analysis/saudi_arabia_mbs_reforms.php
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Film (talk): What impression is MBS making on the global stage?
Saudi Arabia's crown prince is promoting himself as a social and an economic reformer, reinventing his kingdom for the modern era.
But since his rise to power last year, Mohammed bin Salman, or MBS, has been a controversial figure.
(A P)
Saudi women take up jobs in Makkah hotels
Saudi Arabia is witnessing massive social changes as part of an ambitious drive led by Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman
In a new development that reflects Saudi Arabia’s drive to empower women, 41 Saudi women have taken up hospitality jobs in Makkah hotels.
The women are holding positions in human resources departments, reservations, reception, and cooking.
“We are determined to be more professional and learn everything new in the hotel world,” Sarrah Najjar, a receptionist, said.
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/saudi-arabia/saudi-women-take-up-jobs-in-makkah-hotels-1.2191397 = https://tribune.com.pk/story/1664986/9-saudi-women-take-jobs-makkah-hotels/
(A P)
What life is like now for women in Saudi Arabia: Reporter's Notebook
I was in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for the second time in six months and could feel the change between my visits despite the short span of time. More women were walking around in colorful abayas in the conservative Saudi capital. Music was audible in some cafes. And a weekend outdoor funfair was teeming with young Saudis, mingling at pop-up street food carts and cheering on a local rapper.
Colorful abayas may seem like a frivolous detail but some women told me it was a tanglible way they were slowly shedding some of the restrictions imposed on them for generations, literally stepping out of the dark shadows of society.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/life-now-women-saudi-arabia-reporters-notebook/story?id=53849924
My comment: The purpose of such articles like these two evidently is propaganda in combination with Prince Salman’s visit to the US.
cp9a USA: Senate
Siehe / Look at cp1
(* A B P)
Senate vote ‘signals US support for Yemen war effort’
A US Senate vote against a resolution on Yemen’s civil war signaled that Washington would continue to back Arab coalition military operations there, former US officials told Arab News on Wednesday.
According to the former officials, the vote signaled that lawmakers are worried about Yemeni civilian deaths, but that Riyadh can expect continued US support with targeting and the midair refueling of its warplanes in Yemen.
“I don’t think the congressional action will change the degree of America’s involvement, if only because (US Defense Secretary) Jim Mattis will convince them in private not to,” Dov Zakheim, a former Pentagon official, told Arab News.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1271206/saudi-arabia
My comment: This is from Saudi media. And in this case, it is exactly true. This is it. As Iona Craig said: The senators who had votest down the bill have blood on their hands.
(* A P)
Senate votes to ignore the Constitution and continue unauthorized war in Yemen
In a statement, Lee expressed his disappointment about the vote, saying, "The power to declare war belongs to Congress. By tabling this measure today we have chosen yet again to abdicate our constitutional responsibility."
Sanders and Murphy also shared their dismay on Twitter.
While the U.S. has taken a backseat with respect to this conflict, they've become more-or-less a backseat driver. Since war broke out in the region in 2015, the U.S. has refueled Saudi and UAE warplanes mid-air during bombing raids, shared intelligence, and sold them arms and equipment.
What has resulted from U.S. participation in the Saudi war in Yemen has been a humanitarian crisis comparable to the Syrian civil war.
This move by the Senate is a sad rebuke of the Constitution. Despite the fact that the U.S. is involved in a number of military conflicts, like Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya, they were either authorized by Congress (i.e. Afghanistan and Iraq) or by the United Nations Security Council (i.e. Libya).
In terms of national security, the U.S. has a vested interest in defeating terrorism. However, the Houthi rebels — who are backed by the Iranians — have not attacked the U.S. in any way.
(* A P)
Calls to end Yemen war renewed after US Senate bill failure
Rights groups decry the rejection of a US Senate motion to end US support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen.
Human rights advocates and Yemeni activists are voicing their frustration after a US Senate resolution to end the United States' involvement in thedestructive and deadly war in Yemen was rejected.
Radhya al-Mutawakel, chairperson and co-founder of Mwatana Organization For Human Rights, an independent Yemeni organisation, said the Senate vote result was "very depressing".
"It was time for something different to be done," Mutawakel told Al Jazeera over the phone from Sanaa on Wednesday.
She said countries such as the US, UK and France have the power to stop the war in Yemen since they provide military and political support to Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners, such as the United Arab Emirates.
"But instead they are fuelling the war by the arms trade and by political support to some members in the Saudi-led coalition," Mutawakel said.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/03/activists-renew-call-yemen-war-senate-bill-falure-180321171822925.html and also https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/paxymz/congress-opts-to-keep-supporting-brutal-war-in-yemen-but-activists-say-tide-is-turning
(** A P)
Senate rejects bid to end U.S. support for Saudi campaign in Yemen
The U.S. Senate on Tuesday killed a resolution seeking an end to U.S. support for Saudi Arabia’s campaign in Yemen’s civil war, the same day President Donald Trump was due to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House.
The Senate voted 55-44 to dismiss the resolution, which sought for the first time to take advantage of a provision in the 1973 War Powers Act that allows any senator to introduce a resolution on whether to withdraw U.S. armed forces from a conflict not authorized by Congress.
During Senate debate before the vote, some backers called the three-year-long conflict in Yemen a “humanitarian catastrophe,” which they blamed on the Saudis.
Independent Senator Bernie Sanders noted the deaths of thousands of civilians, displacement of millions, famine and potentially the largest cholera outbreak in history because of the conflict.
The vote was largely along party lines, although a handful of Democrats voted with the majority Republicans to kill the measure, and a handful of Republicans supported the failed effort to let it move ahead.
(* A P)
US Senate blocks move to end involvement in Yemen
“Some will argue on the floor today that we’re really not engaged in hostilities, we’re not exchanging fire,” Sanders said. “Please tell that to the people of Yemen, whose homes and lives are being destroyed by weapons marked ‘Made in the U.S.A.,’ dropped by planes being refueled by the U.S. military on targets chosen with U.S. assistance. Only in the narrowest, most legalistic terms can anyone argue that the United States is not actively involved in hostilities alongside of Saudi Arabia in Yemen.”
On Tuesday, Corker urged his colleagues to vote for his tabling motion and let the legislative process take its course. His panel will hold a hearing and mark up nascent, bipartisan legislation on the Yemen question, as well as a new AUMF, he argued.
“This is vote to skip the Foreign Relations Committee,” Corker said, calling the bill’s fast-track procedure, “a Wild West debate.” “Let us bring something to the floor which will also have an outcome,” he said.
Corker said he and panel’s top Democrat, Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., met with Salman earlier Tuesday and “strongly pushed back and demarched what is happening in Yemen and asked them to take strong corrective action.”
Menendez, in a floor speech, acknowledged the severity of the humanitarian crisis and ballistic missile attacks on Saudi Arabia from Yemen, but he argued a U.S. withdrawal would strengthen Iran and diminish U.S. influence in the Mideast.
He and other Democrats argued that amid President Trump’s chaotic foreign policy, and weakening of U.S. diplomacy, now was the wrong time to deny aid to an ally.
“I worry that withdrawal of limited U.S. military support to the Saudi coalition will weaken our leadership and our ability to influence a political settlement, and improve humanitarian conditions, and could even make the situation worse,” Menendez said. “Let us be clear eyed about who will most benefit from an absence of American power.”
(* A P)
Senate hands Saudi Arabia key victory, hours after crown prince met with Trump
This timing is impeccable.
Tuesday’s vote coincided with the Saudi Arabian PR machine going into full overdrive, as Bin Salman (aka: MBS) visits the United States hoping to court more support for his kingdom’s efforts in Yemen and trying to counter Iran’s influence in the region.
Tuesday’s vote could have made things uncomfortable for Trump if it went the other way.
Still, The Post also reported last week that Trump had hit up the Saudis for $4 billion in order to “rebuild and stabilize the parts of Syria that the U.S. military and its local allies have liberated from the Islamic State” — part of his exit strategy from the warn-torn country.
What will Saudi want in return? If it’s not continued military support for their operations in Yemen, it could be more cooperation in their attempts to counter Iran. Shortly before his meeting with President Trump, the two held a press conference when they were asked about Iran and, specifically, if Trump intended to pull out of the 2015 nuclear deal. Here’s what they said:
https://thinkprogress.org/senate-vote-saudi-bombing-yemen-mbs-trump-8e8f1f57b1ce/
(* A P)
Lawmakers just tried — and failed — to end US support for the Saudi war in Yemen
Sens. Bernie Sanders, Mike Lee, and Chris Murphy had their Yemen resolution killed. The US will therefore continue to help commit war crimes in Yemen.
Lee, one of the measure’s co-sponsors, told me the push to pass the resolutionwas also to make a statement about how America goes to war. “We have a set of processes that have to be followed,” he said, noting that Congress has the constitutional authority to declare war.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), who led the House effort, noted his displeasure with the vote in an interview with me but struck a note of optimism. “Eventually, we will prevail because our position is on the side of human decency and human rights, consistent with basic American values,” he told me. “We just need to keeping speaking up for peace and for the children in Yemen.”
https://www.vox.com/world/2018/3/20/17144332/senate-yemen-saudi-arabia-sanders-lee-murphy
(* A P)
Senate rejects resolution cutting US military aid in Yemen
“We've encouraged our colleagues to let the committees do their work,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, the majority whip. “Not everybody is as expert or knowledgeable about this topic as the Committee on Foreign Relations, and we think we can come up with a better, more considered product following the committee's work, if we allow them to do their job.”
“Hopefully the Senate will not only have an ability to deal with a real bill on Yemen that will actually generate a real outcome coming through committee but also have the ability to deal with an AUMF that will set aside the fact that for years the Congress has not weighed in on this issue. To me that is a much better route,” Corker said.
Corker said the committee already is working on bipartisan legislation on Yemen and is planning an April 19 markup on a new authorization for the use of military force
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/senate-rejects-resolution-cutting-us-military-aid-in-yemen
My comment: Showing the maneuvers of majority leader Corker to pull the resolution down.
(* A P)
Senate sides with Trump on providing Saudi military support
Supporters of the resolution argue that too much power on foreign policy has been ceded to the executive branch and Congress needs to sign off on military action in Yemen. The Sanders-Murphy-Lee resolution would require congressional approval for future operations.
“It is Congress that has the power to declare war. The founding fathers gave the power to authorize military conflicts to Congress … not the president,” Sanders said. “For far too long, Congress under Democratic and Republican administrations has abdicated its constitutional role in authorizing war.”
Menendez noted the Foreign Relations Committee, where he is the top Democrat, “has the jurisdiction over the questions of the use of force.”
“As we consider this resolution, we must fully grasp the situation on the ground and the scope of the attacks on one of our traditional security partners. Saudi Arabia has endured Yemeni-originated attacks inside its territory on a scale that no American would accept,” he said.
GOP leadership publicly lined up against the resolution ahead of Tuesday’s vote.
“Withdrawing U.S. support would increase, not decrease, the risk of civilian casualties. And it would signal that we are not serious about containing Iran or its proxies," McConnell said.
Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) separately introduced legislation that would require the State Department to certify that Saudi Arabia is working in “good faith” to try to negotiate an end to Yemen’s civil war and alleviate the humanitarian crisis.
Young added on Tuesday that the Lee-Murphy-Sanders resolution is the “wrong approach.”
My comment: Note the twisted arguments of those who voted down the resolution, always pretending they also would care for Yemen, just to make sure that in fact nothing would really change. That’s the conniving purpose of the Shaeen / Young alternative bill.
(A P)
Film: Bernie Sanders’ Yemen Bill Fails
TYT Politics’ Emma Vigeland (https://Twitter.com/EmmaVigeland) gives an update on the bill proposed by Senators Bernie Sanders, Mike Lee and Chris Murphy, which was designed to end U.S. involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen. It failed yesterday by a 55-44 vote.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2naI9TFyXF0
(* A P)
In Tight Vote, Senate Bucks Bernie And Allows U.S. Role In Yemen War To Continue
10 Democrats aligned with most Republicans to kill the Sanders proposal. But it got more support than expected, and activists say it’s given them momentum.
Earlier Tuesday, Sanders said it would be cowardly and irresponsible for lawmakers to oppose putting his bill to a vote.
“I am deeply disappointed that Congress has once again abdicated its constitutional responsibility to authorize war,” he said in a statement after the resolution was tabled.
“We saw leadership divided” on the Democratic side, said Kate Gould, the Middle East legislative policy director at the Friends Committee on National Legislation. “We still had 44 senators that took the step not just of blocking a bomb sale, but of [considering] actually withdrawing U.S. armed forces from the conflict altogether, despite the fact that the Pentagon and the Saudis were really trying to scare senators.”
Sens. Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) have filed an alternative bill requiring the State Department to certify that the Saudis are trying to wind down the war, but it would not take immediate steps to end American support vital to the Saudi-led coalition’s operations.
Activists who mobilized around the issue ― highlighting the plight of the more than 20 millions Yemenis now in need of some aid ― say Tuesday’s vote has only emboldened them. Some began publicly shaming the Democrats who voted against the Sanders-Lee-Murphy bill.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/senate-yemen-war-vote_us_5ab15ea7e4b008c9e5f226aa
(* A P)
15 Years After the Invasion of Iraq, Here Are the Dems Who Just Voted for Endless War in Yemen
Senators voted today to table a measure that would withdraw U.S. support for the Saudi-led onslaught.
“The fact that 10 Democrats decided to table this resolution speaks volumes,” Matt Howard of about Face: Veterans Against the War tells In These Times. “It lets us know loud and clear that they are complicit in the continued humanitarian disaster in Yemen and aren’t ashamed of that fact.”
http://inthesetimes.com/article/21001/Yemen-war-iraq-democrats-saudi-arabia-senate-menendez/
(* A P)
'Blood of Thousands on Their Hands': 55 Senators Vote To Continue US-Backed Carnage in Yemen
Iona Craig, the foreign correspondent who this year won a prestigious George Polk Award for her coverage in Yemen, said that those who voted against the effort will now have the "blood of thousands" of Yemenis on their hands as the war continues and the crises worsens.
See the full roll call listed below:
Anti-war groups, while disappointed with the outcome, celebrated the vote and heralded it as an important step in terms of getting congressional lawmakers to final assert themselves against an executive branch that has been allowed to wage war with nearly no restraint over the last 17 years.
and this are statements by Win Without War: https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2018/03/20/us-senate-sends-loud-message-saudi-arabias-war-yemen-must-end and by The Friends Committee on National Legislation: https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2018/03/20/44-senators-made-history-voting-end-illegal-us-war-yemen
(* A P)
Reed, Whitehouse vote to continue Yemen war, breaking with most Dems
“I’m deeply disappointed that Congress again abdicated its constitutional duty to authorize war,” Sanders tweeted after the vote. “Over and over, Congress has sat back and failed to ask the hard questions as administrations have misled us into conflicts, including Vietnam and Iraq, with disastrous consequences.”
Reed and Whitehouse were among just 10 Democrats who voted against the Sanders resolution.
Reed is the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, while Whitehouse is less dovish than some of his party colleagues.
In a speech on the Senate floor, Reed agreed that the war in Yemen presents “a very difficult set of issues,” saying it has gone on “for too long” and is causing hardship and instability. He also criticized the Trump administration for failing to lay out a clear strategy regarding the conflict.
But Reed went on to say he thinks American involvement is making the situation better for civilians in Yemen, and he fears a U.S. withdrawal could lead to escalation.
Alexander McCoy, a Rhode Island native and Marine Corps veteran who is now communications director for the progressive group Common Defense, criticized the senators’ votes as “shameful and unacceptable.”
http://wpri.com/2018/03/20/reed-whitehouse-vote-to-continue-yemen-war-breaking-with-most-dems/
My comment: This is the base of this twisted argumentation: Furnishing more arms to a theater of war helps saving lives. – And: Our staff in the Saudi aerial command rooms helps to improve targeting for not hitting civilians – after 3 years of totally failure of this approach.
(* A B P)
Senate Rejects Resolution to Remove Unauthorized U.S. Forces From Hostilities in Yemen
Sanders made a valid point during the debate: “The Founding Fathers gave the power to authorize military conflicts to Congress, the branch most accountable to the people. Not to the President but to Congress.”
“This is not a complicated issue,” he continued. “Article 1, Section 8 [of the Constitution] says that the president can’t make war and send our young people into harm’s way. It is the Congress of the United States that should make war.”
The New York Times observed that the Senate debate on the resolution revolved around two separate issues: whether the U.S. forces in Yemen were, in fact, active participants in hostilities and how lawmakers should confront and potentially curtail foreign policy set by the executive branch.
Senator Paul’s father, former Representative Ron Paul (R-Texas) wrote a column in 2015 entitled: “The Failed ‘Yemen Model,’ ” that summarized the history of U.S. interventionism in Yemen as follows:
Paul concluded his article with this lesson: “The lesson from Yemen is not to stay the course that has failed so miserably. It is to end a failed foreign policy that is killing civilians, creating radicals, and making us less safe.”
More reports: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-20/senate-scuttles-yemen-measure-as-saudi-prince-meets-with-trump
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/senate-blocks-war-powers-resolution-yemen-n858451
https://www.lawfareblog.com/senate-votes-down-yemen-resolution
http://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/senate-opts-limiting-trumps-war-powers
And this was the debate before the vote:
(* A P)
Iran looms large as Congress casts Yemen war vote
“The Trump administration has tried to justify our involvement in the Yemen war as necessary to push back on Iran,” bill sponsor Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said ahead of the vote. “While Iran’s support for Houthi insurgents is of serious concern for all of us, the truth is that this war has increased, not decreased, the opportunities for Iranian interference.”
Others sharply disagreed.
“As it has done in political vacuums throughout the region, Iran will continue to expand its proxy power,” said Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “Through its Revolutionary Guard, Iran will continue shipping weapons to the Houthis.”
“The longer we fight against [the Houthis], the more reason we give them to fight America and embrace the opponents who are our true enemy in the region, Iran,” said Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who joined Sanders in introducing the bill last month. “We’re spending a great deal of time and treasure to defeat a regional rebel group with no desire to attack the homeland and unclear ties to Iran.”
Congressional leaders — including Menendez, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn. — joined forces to defeat the Sanders bill. Instead, Corker promised to have administration officials publicly testify before the committee about the US strategy in Yemen.
Corker committed to working with the administration to advance an alternative bill in April.
He floated a bill sponsored by Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H, that would make US support for the Saudi campaign in Yemen contingent on “an urgent and good faith effort to conduct diplomatic negotiations to end the civil war in Yemen” and “appropriate measures to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Yemen by increasing access for all Yemenis to food, fuel and medicine.” The US military, however, would still have free rein to counter “Iranian terrorist activities” and “the transport, assembly or employment of Iranian ballistic missiles or components in Yemen.”
The Saudi Embassy, for its part, distributed an extensive list of talking points to lawmakers emphasizing the threat the Houthis pose to Saudi Arabia as well as US ships in the Bab el-Mandeb strait. Opponents of the Sanders resolution made many of those same arguments.
Menendez
My comment: This shows to which extent the US anti-Iranian paranoia ruled this debate – even in the head of Bernie Sanders – and again gives an idea on how the soft Young / Shaheen bill was introduced to pull oxygen away from the Sanders / Lee bill to pull it down.
(* A P)
Senators spar over vote to block US role in Yemen war
A debate over the U.S. position in Yemen’s civil war scrambled party lines in the Senate on Tuesday, hours before a vote over a resolution to bar President Trump from providing aid to ally Saudi Arabia.
“Our military’s involvement in Yemen has not been authorized by Congress, as required by the Constitution,” as Lee put it Tuesday in his prepared remarks on the floor. “
Murphy has argued since 2016 that support for the Saudi Arabians in Yemen is counterproductive.
New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations panel, opposed the proposal despite his misgivings about Saudi Arabian tactics in the conflict.
“And let us be clear-eyed about who will most benefit from an absence of American power: As it has done in political vacuums throughout the region, Iran will continue to expand its proxy power, and through its Revolutionary Guard, Iran will continue shipping weapons to the Houthis in violation of the arms embargo,” Menendez said.
Corker and Menendez agreed that Lee is short-circuiting the Foreign Relations Committee’s ability to develop legislation that would address the Yemen conflict as well as broader issues of congressional authorization for U.S. military deployments.
“Legislation is going to be introduced to try to deal with this, and that's the way we deal with complicated issues,” Corker said. “No one is shying away from the debate. We just hope to table this and move it back and deal with it in the orderly, appropriate way.”
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Sen. Young continues efforts to address Yemen's humanitarian crisis
Republican U.S. Senator Todd Young of Indiana spoke on the Senate floor Tuesday about the path forward in Yemen and his legislation with Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), S.J.Res.55, to pressure the Saudi government to end the civil war in Yemen and to take additional steps to alleviate the humanitarian crisis.
Senator Young thanked Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Senator Corker for his commitment to markup Yemen legislation in the committee next month.
My comment: That’s hypocrisy. Young’s Resolution 55 was forwarded in rivalry to Sander’s resolution 54 and helped to pull it down. Youngs’s resolution by itself is toothless, and even when accepted easily would allow to continue the US involvement in the Yemen war. Thus, it’s just words and nothing more, and it actually has helped to prolong bloodshed.
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With Vote Looming, Anti-War Groups Call on Nation to Demand Congress End US-Backed Slaughter in Yemen
With a vote expected later on Tuesday, and as the Senate debates a joint resolution that aims to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led bombing of Yemen, peace advocates are urging Americans to immediately call their representatives in Congress to back the legislation.
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Senators To Force Vote On Ending US Support For Saudi War In Yemen
The Senate is set to vote Tuesday on a bipartisan resolution that would withdraw U.S. military support for Saudi Arabia’s bombing campaign in Yemen, a move ardently opposed by the White House and top Pentagon officials.
Lee, one of a small contingent of Republican lawmakers calling for more oversight of U.S. military intervention abroad, says his resolution seeks to reassert Congress’ role in the war-making process.
“If the Pentagon insists on perpetuating a senseless, unauthorized war first launched by President Obama … to appease Saudi Arabia, the White House must persuade majorities of the House and Senate to approve of U.S. hostilities against Yemen’s Houthis,” Lee tweeted Monday.
http://dailycaller.com/2018/03/20/senators-vote-ending-us-support-for-saudi-war-yemen/
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Senators criticize U.S. support for Saudi campaign in Yemen as crown prince visits
U.S. senators debated a resolution seeking an end to U.S. support for Saudi Arabia’s campaign in Yemen’s civil war on Tuesday, the same day President Donald Trump was due to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House.
Some backers of the measure took to the Senate floor to call the three-year-long conflict in Yemen a “humanitarian catastrophe,” which they blamed on the Saudis.
Senator Bernie Sanders, a lead sponsor of the legislation, noted the deaths of thousands of civilians, displacement of millions, famine and potentially the largest cholera outbreak in history because of the conflict.
(A P)
Film: Bernie Sanders: Congress must reassert its Constitutional authority over the issue of war
https://www.pscp.tv/w/1MYxNpzPMDyGw = https://twitter.com/SenSanders/status/976103756319285248
and more by Sanders in his Twitter account (March 20): https://twitter.com/SenSanders
(* A P)
Film: Is the US engaged in hostilities in Yemen? Are we at war? Damn right we are. ChrisMurphyCT lays out how US involvement isn't helping. "If we continue to support this nothing will change except more people will die"
https://twitter.com/WeLoveBernie1/status/976119106528251904
(A P)
.@SenatorMenendez is arguing that continuing to help the Saudis bomb Yemeni civilians is "practical." This is a pretty sanitized way of viewing a humanitarian disaster where millions face starvation. We need to act to end suffering NOW.
https://twitter.com/WinWithoutWar/status/976127588459532289
(* A P)
Film and transcripts: Senate Session, Part 1 The Senate debated the Yemen war powers resolution, which directs President Trump to remove U.S. armed forces from Yemen that have not been authorized by Congress.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?442870-1/us-senate-debates-online-trafficking-bill
(* A P)
Yemen Can’t Wait
As military veterans who have served in combat, or indirectly seen the effects of combat, we’ve seen and we know the true cost of war. We’ve seen soldiers return home in body bags from fighting in the endless wars that are still ongoing sixteen years after they started. Congress has the power to debate and vote on whether to send U.S. troops to support or wage wars. Yet, the U.S. involvement in the Yemen civil war was never authorized by Congress.
It is time for our senators to listen to U.S. citizens, and veterans who have fought in our endless wars, and support this resolution. The crisis in Yemen, is one that the U.S. helped to create.
https://medium.com/@commondefense/yemen-cant-wait-bd891d5dfa95
and
(* A P)
Film: Veterans across the country are calling on Congress to end U.S. involvement in the illegal, unauthorized war in #Yemen. Call your Senators TODAY at 1-833-STOP-WAR (786-7927) and ask them to support SJRes54.
https://twitter.com/commondefense/status/976143305632370689
(* A P)
Film: Colorado veteran @AnarchoAlan - who earned a Purple Heart in Iraq - asks @SenCoryGardner to uphold the Constitution by supporting #SJRes54.
https://twitter.com/commondefense/status/975816092915519488 and more veterans in thread
(* A P)
Former Marine: Colorado’s Senators Must End America’s Unauthorized War in Yemen
The upcoming debate in Congress must include an examination of what the military and political objectives are, how success is determined, how to minimize the targeting and killing of non-combatants, and what impact the continued destabilization of Yemen will have on American national security interests.
These requirements for the use of force aren’t conjecture.
It is a far stretch to conclude that the Saudi-led and U.S. backed actions against the Houthi rebels in Yemen are essential to the self-defense of the United States; after all, the Houthis have not attacked the United States and aren’t in cahoots with Al Qaeda.
(A P)
Rep. Ro Khanna: Each of these 5,000 flowers represents a child killed or injured in the Yemen Civil War. The US is helping carry out this civil war which is killing children. I urge the Senate to pass the Sanders-Lee-Murphy resolution and end our military support for this travesty. (photo)
https://twitter.com/RepRoKhanna/status/976122182387499008
cp9b USA: Trump & Salman
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Saudischer Kronprinz bringt Milliarden und fallende Schleier
Beim Besuch von Mohammed bin Salman bei US-Präsident Donald Trump geht es um Geschäft und Imagewandel
Mit Trump gemeinsam durfte der 32-jährige Thronfolger, der zum ersten Mal in dieser Funktion die USA besucht, einen Bilderbogen mit Waffensystemen betrachten, die die Saudis bereits eingekauft haben. Gleichzeitig wurde im US-Senat ein Versuch gestoppt, die militärische Unterstützung für Saudi-Arabien, das im Krieg im Jemen der Menschenrechtsverletzungen beschuldigt wird, herunterzuschrauben.
Für Saudi-Arabien sind die USA in dieser Phase der Neuorientierung enorm wichtig, was sich schon darin ausdrückt, dass ein jüngerer Vollbruder des Kronprinzen, Khaled bin Salman, Botschafter in Washington ist. Eine gewisse Ironie des Schicksals besteht darin, dass die USA die saudische Reformbereitschaft insofern beschleunigt haben, als sie durch ihre Schieferölproduktion Saudi-Arabien zur Niedrigölpreispolitik veranlassten, die zu Budgetnöten geführt hat.
Vision 2030
Die Charmeoffensive von MbS, wie er meist genannt wird, in den USA wird drei Wochen dauern. Die "Vision 2030" des Kronprinzen, die manche Experten als aufgewärmte McKinsey-Studie bezeichnen, sieht ein völlig neues Saudi-Arabien mit einer diversifizierten Wirtschaft vor.
Um das zu verkaufen, braucht es aber auch eine kulturelle und gesellschaftliche Öffnung, bei der vor allem die neue Rolle der – unter anderem autofahrenden – Frauen einen Imagewandel herbeiführen soll.
(* A P)
Der gemeinsame Feind heißt Iran
Der saudische Thronfolger Mohammad sucht den Schulterschluss mit Präsident Trump
Zweieinhalb Wochen wird die Reise des Kronprinzen dauern. Am Dienstag traf sich der Thronfolger mit US-Präsident Donald Trump hinter verschlossenen Türen; es sei »ein ehrliches, offenes Gespräch« gewesen, sagte ein Sprecher des Weißen Hauses danach. Schon seit seinem Amtsantritt drängt die saudische Regierung Trump, er möge alsbald das Atomabkommen aufkündigen. Man liegt damit auf einer Linie mit Israels Regierungschef Benjamin Netanjahu. Darüber hinaus wünscht sich der Kronprinz, der auch Verteidigungsminister ist, dass die USA ihre logistische Unterstützung im Jemen-Krieg ausbauen.
Im Gespräch mit Kronprinz Mohammad habe Trump seine Unterstützung im Konflikt mit Iran zugesagt, so ein Sprecher des Weißen Hauses. Zudem habe der Präsident »darum gebeten, ein größeres Engagement bei der Lösung des Syrien-Krieges in Erwägung zu ziehen«. Es sei ein »freundschaftliches Treffen zwischen Partnern gewesen«, heißt es dazu aus dem Umfeld des Thronfolgers.
https://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/1083043.der-gemeinsame-feind-heisst-iran.html
(* A P)
Trump: Saudischer Kronprinz sehr guter Freund
US-Präsident Donald Trump hat am Dienstag den Schulterschluss mit den saudischen Kronprinzen Mohammed bin Salman gesucht. „Wir sind innerhalb sehr kurzer Zeit sehr gute Freunde geworden”, sagte Trump, als er am Dienstag mit dem Kronprinzen Seite an Seite im Oval Office des Weißen Hauses saß.
Trump zeigte Grafiken, die die Verkäufe amerikanischer Rüstungsgüter nach Saudi-Arabien zeigten und verwies auf die Anzahl von Jobs, die dadurch in den USA gesichert würden. Das Verhältnis beider Länder sei noch nie so gut gewesen wie seit seinem Amtsantritt, sagte Trump. Das bedeute riesige Investitionen in den USA und Jobs für amerikanische Arbeiter. Und er glaube, dass die guten Beziehungen beider Staaten noch besser würden.
Einig sind sich Trump und der Kronprinz in ihrem Bemühen, den Iran in der Golf-Region in die Schranken zu weisen. Das internationale Atomabkommen mit dem Iran bezeichnete Saudi-Arabien am Montag als fehlerhaft. Trump macht keinen Hehl daraus, dass er das Abkommen am liebsten sofort aufkündigen würde.
(* A P)
"Eine großartige Freundschaft"
US-Präsident Donald Trump hat den saudi-arabischen Thronfolger zu Gesprächen im Weißen Haus empfangen. Der Bürgerkrieg im Jemen gehörte dabei zu den schwierigeren Themen.
Trump lobte die hohen Ausgaben Riads für Rüstungsgüter aus den USA sowie deren Nutzen für die heimische Wirtschaft. "Saudi-Arabien ist ein sehr reiches Land, und sie werden hoffentlich einen Teil dieses Reichtums an die USA abgeben in Form von Arbeitsplätzen und durch den Kauf der besten Militärausrüstung in der Welt", sagte der Präsident. Er zeigte dabei Schautafeln, auf denen einzelne Rüstungsdeals mit Saudi-Arabien aufgeführt waren.
In den Gesprächen mit dem saudi-arabischen Thronfolger sollte es um eine breite Themenauswahl gehen. Sie reichte von den Konflikten in Syrien und im Jemen über die eingeleiteten Reformen in dem Königreich bis hin zu Rüstungsdeals.
(A P)
Saudische Charmeoffensive in Washington
Der saudische Kronprinz Mohammed bin Salman ist ein gern gesehener Gast. Heiter und herzlich fällt der Empfang im Weißen Haus aus. US-Präsident Donald Trump bezeichnet seinen saudischen Besucher als sehr guten Freund. Das Verhältnis beider Länder sei noch nie so gut gewesen.
Kronprinz Mohammed lächelt und erwidert freundlich: "Herr Präsident, vom ersten Tag an im Amt haben wir an einem Deal im Wert von 200 Milliarden Dollar innerhalb von vier Jahren gearbeitet. Am Ende ist es mit 400 Milliarden doppelt so viel."
Das ist eine Menge Geld unter anderem für Waffen und Kriegsgerät made in USA. Mit dem Deal rüstet Trump das wohlhabende Königreich im Nahen Osten auf. Das sei gut für die USA, jubelt Trump, Tausende Jobs seien dadurch gesichert.
So gerne beide über ihre wirtschaftlichen Beziehungen reden - es fällt auf, was beim Pressetermin im Oval Office nicht zur Sprache kommt, wohl aber hinter verschlossenen Türen: Der verhängte Boykott gegen Katar zum Beispiel.
Der brutale Krieg im Jemen ist ein anderes Thema mit Konfliktpotential. (mit Audio)
http://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/trump-saudi-arabien-125.html
Weitere Berichte https://www.epochtimes.de/politik/welt/saudiarabischer-thronfolger-zu-besuch-im-weissen-haus-trump-lobt-gute-zusammenarbeit-a2380158.html
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Trump’s courtship of Saudi prince can’t mask Yemen’s horror
“The relationship was, to put it mildly, was very, very strained during the Obama administration, and the relationship now is probably as good as it’s really ever been,” Trump said. The president made his usual complaints about Iran while sitting alongside the crown prince, an inveterate Tehran foe, and he bluntly celebrated $12.5 billion in finalized arms sales to the Saudis. The pair grinned as they examined a poster outlining some of the American weaponry on Riyadh's shopping list.
“The U.S. government claims that it’s not engaged in hostilities unless U.S. troops are on the ground being shot at by the enemy,” said Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), another co-sponsor of the war-powers bill. “It stretches the imagination, and it stretches the English language beyond its breaking point, to suggest the U.S. military is not engaged in hostilities in Yemen.”
Meanwhile, Mohammed is being courted in Washington by U.S. arms companies hoping to sell tens of thousands of precision-guided weapons to both the Saudis and the Emiratis. Yet Trump said next to nothing about Yemen during the their meeting, let alone the prospect of bringing the war to an end – by Ishaan Tharoor
[overview on US-Saudi relations and what had happened in the last time]
(* A B P)
The War in Yemen: No End in Sight
While Yemen was very much on the agenda when Trump met the crown prince at the White House in Washington on March 20, there was scarce mention following their meeting of any productive effort to end the war in that country.
“I just don’t see between these two men in charge that they’re going to be able to do the right thing [in Yemen,] which is to put diplomacy first,” said Nabeel Khoury, a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East.
“Saudi Arabia and the United States, the two big powers that can actually make things happen in Yemen, are looking past Yemen,” he added.
For MbS and Trump, “the suffering of the Yemeni people is beside the point,” said Khoury, adding, “they don’t care.” What the two leaders discussed in their meeting, however, remains unclear and both Khoury and Dov Zakheim, an Atlantic Council board member, were critical of the Trump administration for this lack of transparency.
According to Zakheim, MbS, whose agenda is dominated by consolidation of power and social and economic reform in the kingdom, does not want to find himself mired in the war in Yemen for much longer.
The first step to ending the war in Yemen, according to Zakheim, is to bring Iran to the table. “You’re not going to get a diplomatic resolution [in Yemen] until the fighting is close to being stopped,” which will not happen “unless the Iranians are willing to play ball,” he said.
According to Khoury, “the United States should exercise some leadership here in making that happen.”
For now, there appears to be no dialing down of the animosity toward Iran in Riyadh or Washington. The Trump administration shares Riyadh’s deep-seated distrust of and disdain for Tehran. Trump’s opposition to the Iran nuclear deal has further strained the relationship with Tehran.
The crown prince is “young, brash, and doesn’t have an adult in the room to counsel him on Iran,” said Khoury. “I don’t see MbS discussing these issues in [a] balanced and thorough way,” he added.
Ultimately, “between the United States and Saudi Arabia, there doesn’t seem to be much they can do to strategize on Iran,” said Khoury, adding, “it’s mostly posturing.”
According to Khoury, economic cooperation “is what Trump wants to focus on and what he displayed on television so happily, pointing to the weapons sold and bought.”
http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/the-war-in-yemen-no-end-in-sight
(A P)
Sad thing is it's hard to decide which side's lack of women is less surprising. (photo)
https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/976187091783704581
(* B P)
Trump, Saudi leader discuss Houthi 'threat' in Yemen: White House
U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed the situation in war-torn Yemen during a meeting on Tuesday, including Houthi rebel and Iranian activity and the humanitarian crisis, the White House said.
“On Yemen, the President and the Crown Prince discussed the threat the Houthis pose to the region, assisted by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps,” it said in a statement on Wednesday. “The leaders discussed additional steps to address the humanitarian situation and agreed that a political resolution to the conflict is ultimately necessary to meet the needs of the Yemeni people.”
My comment: LOL.
And
(* A P)
Trump, Saudi Prince Assail Iran Over Support For Yemeni Rebels
The White House and ally Saudi Arabia assailed Iran for its support for rebels in Yemen, while the Iranian supreme leader hit back in a speech saying the United States was not capable of creating stability in the region.
The White House said on March 21 that President Donald Trump and visiting Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman discussed the "threat" that Yemen’s Shi'ite Huthi rebels "pose to the region, assisted by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps."
"The leaders discussed additional steps to address the humanitarian situation and agreed that a political resolution to the conflict is ultimately necessary to meet the needs of the Yemeni people," the statement said, referring to a March 20 White House meeting.
The crown prince also spoke with Trump about their perceived flaws with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-salman-saudi-arabia-iran-yemeni-rebels/29113576.html
(** B P)
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s US visit is a shopping trip for war
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman markets himself as a domestic reformer with the ambition to unleash the potential of 32 million Saudi citizens.
His actions both at home and among his neighbors call into question whether he can be a useful ally for the West.
MBS comes to Washington with the rhetoric of a domestic reformer, but under his arm he clutches the shopping-list of a war-monger that includes the acquisition of nuclear reactors.
MBS, in a charm offensive, will certainly curry favor on both sides of the political aisle, pitching Saudi Arabia as the frontline defense against Iran's regional ambitions both to his country and to Israel.
So what kind of thinking and future does this young prince telegraph? Some observers speaking under condition of anonymity accuse MBS of extreme narcissism, which clouds his judgment. Coupled with the conviction that he is the savior of the Gulf Arabs and Islam, MBS is a prime candidate to cast himself as a millennial figure in time to come.
Actors with such mindsets believe they must destroy the world in order to save it. And the Trump White House will unfortunately only reinforce his mindset as a strongman who has America's backing.
MBS also lacks moral insight.
Given the strategic relationship between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, all of MBS's wrongdoings are heaped on the U.S. since he receives the tacit approval of the Trump White House. This means the U.S. still remains in danger emanating from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its homegrown political monsters.
With no foreign-policy adults in the White House—and an inexperienced and unconfirmed secretary of state in Mike Pompeo—one can expect little substantive foreign policy exchange during MBS' visit. The only winners will be those who conclude back-room business deals with the extended Trump clan and their cronies and with the US arms industry.
MBS has come to stockpile his country against his self-created regional monsters and to invest the monies he recently confiscated from his country's business elite—even as oil fortunes and futures dwindle. It is time for a sober assessment of whether Saudi Arabia is a strategic ally or a millstone around the U.S.'s neck – by Ebrahim Moosa, professor of Islamic Studies, University of Notre Dame
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/20/mohammed-bin-salmans-u-s-visit-a-shopping-trip-for-war.html
(** A P)
Trump Boasts of Killer Arms Sales in Meeting with Saudi Dictator, Using Cartoonish Charts
Trump kicked off his White House meeting with his authoritarian "good friend" Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman by pulling out charts listing the weapons the U.S. is selling to Saudi Arabia - Ben Norton reports.
BEN NORTON: President Donald Trump has removed the mask on U.S. foreign policy and dispelled any illusions that it is based on human rights, rather than economic interests.
Trump held a historic meeting in the White House with Saudi Arabia's crown prince on Tuesday, March 20. Immediately at the beginning of their Oval Office press briefing, Trump boasted of his arms sales to the Saudi regime, praising the repressive absolute monarchy as a "very great friend" and a "big purchaser of equipment."
DONALD TRUMP: Thank you very much, everybody. It's a great honor to have the crown prince with us.
Saudi Arabia has been a very great friend and a big purchaser of equipment and lots of other things. And one of the biggest investments in the United States is their, I guess it's your big investment, is buying stock in companies and various other things in the United States and creating jobs.
We've become very good friends over a fairly short period of time. I was in Saudi Arabia in May. And we are bringing back hundreds of billions of dollars into the United States.
BEN NORTON: Trump didn't beat around the bush; he instantly made it clear that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was there to finalize arms sales he had made during his trip to Riyadh in May. Just 40 seconds into their meeting, Trump pulled out a cardboard chart listing the billions of dollars in arms sales the United States is doing with the Saudi regime.
BEN NORTON: Within 90 seconds of their meeting, Trump then pulled out another cardboard chart, this one showing the U.S. states that are manufacturing these weapons. The map makes it clear that Trump is using these massive arms sales to gain support in what the chart describes as "key states" those that will be important in the 2020 election, including the Rust Belt states and swing states like Florida.
BEN NORTON: What Trump did not acknowledge is that these billions of dollars of U.S. weapons are being used to massacre Yemeni civilians.
Trump expressed no concern whatsoever over the millions of lives being crushed in Yemen. Nor did he even mention the egregious human rights abuses committed by Saudi Arabia and its de facto leader Mohammed bin Salman, who has been purging his political rivals, imprisoning human rights activists, and crushing all dissent.
Instead, Trump made it clear that his political strategy is to sell weapons and rely on $400 billion of Saudi investment in key states that can help him win re-election.
DONALD TRUMP: And the other thing that I really am very happy about is that we talked about 400 billion dollars' worth of investment, of which we've already invested and seen invested $200 billion to our companies, to various other places, and people that make things.
So a lot of places throughout the United States are benefitting by this massive investment made by Saudi Arabia to buy product from the United States. And again, we make the best military product in the world, whether it's missiles or planes or anything else. There's nobody that even comes close – by Ben Norton
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=21415
Comment: If the president of the US wants to be treated as a salesman not a statesman Gulf States are ready to deal with him as salesperson. And if the US is up for the highest bidder they will pay the right price for the best of US weapons products & services. B2B
https://twitter.com/Abdulkhaleq_UAE/status/976183967207559174
(** A P)
Trump praises U.S. military sales to Saudi as he welcomes crown prince
U.S. President Donald Trump gave a warm welcome to Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday and credited U.S. defense sales to the Saudis with boosting American jobs, even as Riyadh’s involvement in Yemen’s civil war faced criticism.
In the Oval Office, Trump and the crown prince praised the strength of U.S.-Saudi ties.
The talks were part of the first visit by the prince to the United States since he became the heir apparent last year to King Salman.
Trump’s red-carpet treatment highlighted his administration’s strong backing of the crown prince, who carried out an anti-corruption purge that consolidated his power and whose aggressive foreign policy has caused unease among some Western allies.
Trump and Prince Mohammed discussed an agreement last year for $200 billion worth of Saudi investments with the United States, including large purchases of U.S. military equipment. Trump said the military sales contributed to the creation of 40,000 American jobs.
Trump held up charts to show the depth of Saudi purchases of U.S. military hardware, ranging from ships to missile defense to planes and fighting vehicles.
“Saudi Arabia is a very wealthy nation, and they’re going to give the United States some of that wealth, hopefully, in the form of jobs, in the form of the purchase of the finest military equipment anywhere in the world,” he told reporters.
A senior Trump administration official said the two leaders talked about the humanitarian situation in Yemen and that civilian casualties “did not come up in a major way,” given that Washington had been working with the Saudis to minimize them.
They also discussed nuclear cooperation. Riyadh has been stepping up plans to develop a civilian nuclear energy capability as part of a plan to reduce its dependence on oil.
Republican Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the chamber’s Foreign Relations Committee, said senators questioned the crown prince closely about Yemen during a meeting with him on Tuesday.
The Saudi embassy said the prince discussed with members “countering the threat posed by Iran and the Iran-backed Houthi militias” as well as Saudi “efforts to address and alleviate the humanitarian situation in Yemen.”
Also high on the agenda in the White House talks was confronting Iran, a country Trump has repeatedly criticized for its expansionist policies in the Middle East.
The prince was also due to have dinner with Jared Kushner, Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law.
(* A P)
Trump asks Saudi crown prince to share kingdom's wealth by buying more American weapons
President Donald Trump focused on the tens of billions of dollars in arms sales to Saudi Arabia in remarks before a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Trump asked the crown prince to share his nation's wealth and create American jobs by purchasing more weapons.
In opening remarks before a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Trump crowed about the sales, running through a list of $12.5 billion in approved arms purchases by Saudi Arabia and previewing billions more to come.
"Saudi Arabia is a very wealthy nation, and they're going to give the United States some of that wealth, hopefully in the form of jobs, in the form of the purchase of the finest military equipment anywhere in the world," Trump said.
"There's nobody even close, as I said before, when it comes to the missiles and the planes and all of the military equipment," Trump said. "There's nobody that even comes close to us in terms of technology and the quality of the equipment, and Saudi Arabia appreciates that."
After discussing the arms sales, Trump suggested that the United States could soon extricate itself from Middle East conflicts after years of involvement in Iraq and Syria. He noted that the United States and its allies have clawed back territory in those two nations from the so-called Islamic State.
"We'll be able to get out of certain areas that we've wanted to get out of for a long period of time, and other countries can handle it," he said. "At this point, they'll be able to handle it."
https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2018/03/20/trump-asks-saudi-crown-prince-to-share-wealth-by-buying-us-weapons.html and also http://www.newsweek.com/trump-touts-military-cooperation-saudi-arabia-congress-pushes-halt-us-aid-over-853841
My comment: Trump is either insane – or he is at the intellectual level of a 5. class schoolboy.
And
(* A P)
Trump's 'Middle School Project-Level' Posters Reveal Much About America's Blood-Soaked Backing of Saudi Regime
During a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) on Tuesday, President Donald Trump—whose love of "killer graphics" has been well-documented—presented two "middle school project-level" posters to relay his appreciation for the tens of billions of dollars of military equipment the kingdom has bought from the U.S. over the past several months, much of which has been used to slaughter innocents in Yemen.
"We make the best equipment in the world, there's nobody even close, and Saudi Arabia's buying a lot of this equipment," Trump said, using a poster headlined "KSA Sales Pending" to highlight tanks, missile defense systems, and planes the U.S. has agreed to sell to Saudi Arabia over the past year. "We really have a great friendship, a great relationship."
Watch a video of Trump's presentation, courtesy of the U.S. State Department:
"Jobs! Who cares about the Yemeni civilians being killed by the Saudis with U.S. weapons," Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, wrote in response to Trump's enthusiastic run-down of American arms sales to the repressive kingdom. "Selling those weapons produces jobs! Trump's ethical foreign policy."
Comment: Did Trump manhandle #Saudi #MBS? It seems so. This is the fate of despots who sell their countries wealth & sovereignty to others.
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/976433465829797888
Comment: We live in a real-life dystopia: Trump met with Saudi Arabia's repressive dictator and, immediately, the first thing he did was use cartoonish charts to show that his strategy is to sell hundreds of billions in arms to bring Saudi investment to key states to help win re-election.
https://twitter.com/BenjaminNorton/status/976613352200982529
(* A P)
Dep. Of State video: @POTUS Trump welcomes Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman of the Kingdom of #SaudiArabia to the @WhiteHouse.
https://twitter.com/StateDept/status/976136083149762560
and adopted by RT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O0uR03s7m4
My comment: Ridiculous, if it would not be so sad and bloody.
(A P)
Trump showed off Saudi Arabia's massive US military buys in giant charts — here's everything that's on them
http://www.businessinsider.de/saudi-arabia-us-military-buys-charts-2018-3?r=US&IR=T
(* A P)
Trump tells Saudi crown prince US has 'zero tolerance' for terrorist funding
President Trump told Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, on Tuesday that the U.S. has "zero tolerance" for terrorism funding, and that he was pleased to see Saudi efforts to stop donations to extremist groups.
"One thing you really have to really focus on is the terrorism threat and the funding of terrorism, whether it's Saudi Arabia or other countries, as we know there will be no funding, we have zero tolerance for the funding of terrorists," Trump said at the White House. "I will say Saudi Arabia has been working very hard on that."
"We talked about terrorism and the funding of terrorism, and it will not be allowed. It will not be allowed. That would be the one thing that would end the relationship with any country. I think there's a very big focus on that, the funding of terrorism, meaning it's over," Trump said.
My comment: What a joke. By this, Trump even admitted that the Saudis REALLY ARE FUNDING TERRORISTS (at least, up to now).
(* A P)
Trump’s Saudi Infatuation and the War on Yemen
The president hosted the Saudi war criminal at the White House today:
During Tuesday’s meeting with the Crown Prince, who was chosen last year as his father’s successor, the president’s tone was almost fawning [bold mine-DL].
“Now you’re beyond the Crown Prince. I want to congratulate you. I thought your father made a very wise decision,” Trump said.
Trump’s enthusiastic embrace of the Saudis is nothing new, but it is nonetheless striking how obsequious the president is towards the Saudi king and his son.
The president is excessively fond of many foreign authoritarian leaders, but with the Saudis he still seems to be even more under their sway ever since they buttered him up during his visit to Riyadh. Trump has shown that he can be very easily manipulated with flattery, and once that is done a foreign leader doesn’t have to do anything else to earn his support.
A president as enamored of Saudi despots as Trump is won’t end U.S. support for the war on Yemen on his own.
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/trumps-saudi-infatuation-and-the-war-on-yemen/
More reports: http://www.euronews.com/2018/03/20/trump-hails-arms-sales-to-saudi-as-he-hosts-crown-prince
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-saudi-crown-prince-mohammed-bin-salman-weapons-armaments-yemen-civil-war-a8265821.html (with film showing Trump in the press conference)
https://wtop.com/national/2018/03/crown-prince-seeks-saudi-image-makeover-on-grand-us-tour/
(* A K P)
USA: New Saudi arms deal risks further human rights abuses in Yemen
Responding to reports that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and U.S. President Donald Trump finalised a new £8.9 billion ($12.5 billon) arms deal in a meeting today at the White House, Raed Jarrar, advocacy director of Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International USA, said:
“By finalising weapons deals worth billions of dollars with the government of Saudi Arabia, the Trump administration puts the U.S. at risk of being complicit in war crimes committed in Yemen.
“The Trump administration must stop supplying arms to the Saudi-led coalition. U.S. weapon manufacturers must also ensure that their munitions will not be involved in violations of international law. Amnesty will continue to work with Congress to block these deals.”
(* A P)
Iran, Yemen in focus as Trump and Saudi prince meet at White House
U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will discuss tensions with Iran and a Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen which has come under criticism in Congress when they meet on Tuesday.
Their talks at the White House are part of the first visit by the prince to the United States since he became the heir apparent last June to succeed King Salman.
Both Trump and the crown prince want to constrain Iran’s rising influence in the Middle East.
The crown prince is also due to meet with members of the U.S. Congress, some of whom have been critical of the Saudi campaign in Yemen.
(* A P)
Senate votes on ending support for Saudi campaign in Yemen as crown prince meets Trump
The bipartisan bill – backed by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut) – invokes the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which gives Congress the authority to overrule the president and withdraw the military if it decides the conflict is unauthorized.
https://www.rt.com/usa/421839-senate-saudi-yemen-prince-trump/
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Audio: Saudi Crown Prince Visits The White House
President Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meet at the White House on Tuesday. Among the topics of discussion will be Saudi investment in the United States, U.S. investment in Saudi Arabia, the war in Yemen and the Saudi relationship with Russia.
Here & Now‘s Jeremy Hobson talks with Ali Al-Ahmed (@AliAlAhmed_en) from the Institute for Gulf Affairs.
http://wesa.fm/post/saudi-crown-prince-visits-white-house#stream/0
cp9c USA: Sonstiges / Other
Siehe / Look at cp1
(* B P)
SAUDI CROWN PRINCE BOASTED THAT JARED KUSHNER WAS “IN HIS POCKET”
It is likely that Crown Prince Mohammed would have known who his critics were without Kushner mentioning them, a U.S. government official who declined to be identified pointed out. The crown prince may also have had his own reasons for saying that Kushner shared information with him, even if that wasn’t true. Just the appearance that Kushner did so would send a powerful message to the crown prince’s allies and enemies that his actions were backed by the U.S. government.
One of the people MBS told about the discussion with Kushner was UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, according to a source who talks frequently to confidants of the Saudi and Emirati rulers. MBS bragged to the Emirati crown prince and others that Kushner was “in his pocket,” the source told The Intercept.
Access to the President’s Daily Brief is tightly guarded, but Trump has the legal authority to allow Kushner to disclose information contained in it. If Kushner discussed names with MBS as an approved tactic of U.S. foreign policy, the move would be a striking intervention by the U.S. into an unfolding power struggle at the top levels of an allied nation. If Kushner discussed the names with the Saudi prince without presidential authorization, however, he may have violated federal laws around the sharing of classified intelligence.
SENIOR U.S. GOVERNMENT officials have long worried about Kushner’s handling of sensitive foreign policy issues given his lack of diplomatic experience.
KUSHNER’S SUPPORT FOR Saudi Arabia and the UAE over Qatar in the Gulf crisis has raised questions about a possible conflict of interest.
Since 2011, Kushner and his relatives have been searching the globe for a new investor. As recently as the spring of 2017, Charles Kushner, Jared’s father, asked former Qatari prime minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani to invest in the building. Then in April 2017, Charles Kushner made a direct pitch to the Qatari government through the country’s minister of finance.
Qatar rejected the deal as not financially viable.
“If the reason this administration put U.S. troops at risk in Qatar was to protect the Kushners’ financial interests, then that’s all the evidence you need to make some big changes in the White House,” Murphy said.
https://theintercept.com/2018/03/21/jared-kushner-saudi-crown-prince-mohammed-bin-salman/
(* B P)
Saudi crown prince boasts HE got Rex Tillerson fired after telling Jared secretary of state had to go - and second Gulf royal close to Kushner makes the SAME claim
Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson learned he was fired after President Donald Trump tweeted the news on Tuesday last week
DailyMail.com can reveal that Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia is claiming credit
So too is the de-facto United Arab Emirates ruler Mohammed bin Zayed - Salman told friends that he made a deal that Tillerson would be removed from his position during meetings with Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner last year
The crown prince visited Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on Tuesday
De-facto UAE ruler Zayed, has also been 'gloating' to his inner circle that he is responsible for replacing the secretary of state
During a meeting with the president last year, Trump donor Elliott Broidy suggested Trump meet with Zayed
A meeting memo was sent to George Nader, a UAE adviser with links to Trump
Nader had been specifically tasked to lobby for Tillerson's removal, insiders said
(* B P)
Is US-Saudi alliance just a marriage of convenience?
As Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visits US, how resilient is the partnership?
Donald Trump chose Saudi Arabia as the location for his first official overseas visits, a symbolic decision that reasserted the country’s position as America’s pre-eminent ally in the Middle East.
This led relations to an “all time high”, says The Washington Post - and today the alliance is more than just a superficial marriage of convenience bred through familiarity.
According to the Post, Trump wants billions worth of job-creating Saudi investment in the US. A senior administration official told reporters on Monday the President also wants the Saudis to back off from co-operation with Russia, to make progress toward a political settlement in Yemen and to end their damaging dispute with Persian Gulf neighbour Qatar.
For his part, Bin Salman wants more US investment and job creation in Saudi Arabia, along with technology and education assistance for his campaign to modernise the kingdom.
But “there is a growing sentiment on the right and left that we should hold Saudi Arabia more accountable” for its abysmal human rights record, conduct abroad and continued funding of Islamic extremist groups, Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna told the New Statesman.
http://www.theweek.co.uk/92421/is-us-saudi-alliance-just-a-marriage-of-convenience
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Yemen Shows Why US Needs to Change Its Arms Sales Policy
The resolution was a failure, but senators and policymakers seeking to make America less complicit in Yemen’s humanitarian crisis still have another option: they can curtail the arms deals the U.S. makes with Saudi Arabia, starving the war machine currently ravaging Yemen and its people.
And it’s not just about Yemen; lawmakers should reevaluate the overall practice of selling arms to foreign nations. In 2017 the Trump administration doubled down on arms sales, not only selling more arms abroad than any of his most recent predecessors, but also promising policy changes to enable a dramatic increase in the number of weapons sold abroad.
This approach to arms sales invites negative downstream consequences. Shockingly, in most recent military interventions, U.S. troops have faced adversaries armed with American-made weapons. Indeed, U.S. arms exports tend to fuel conflicts abroad.
Although advocates argue that the United States can exert greater leverage over the Middle East through arms sales, the evidence of arms for influence is thin at best. A better use of American resources would be to generate diplomatic momentum to resolve the conflict. Yemen’s instability and destruction is not in the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States. If nothing else, the past seventeen years of conflict in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, and elsewhere should have proved that conflict often fuels downstream problems like terrorism. Arming an aggressor isn’t the best way to broker a peaceful solution.
(* B P)
Yemeni Americans seek peace as Saudi crown prince tours US
Activists condemn 'Saudi and Emirati aggression' in their homeland
Yemeni Americans watched the exchange of praise between the two leaders with a kind of detached weariness after years of war in their homeland and economic and civil rights hardships in the US, activists say.
"It's painful that he would be welcomed in a democratic country like this one. He's a war criminal," Abdulnasser Soofi, a 44-year-old Yemeni American, said of bin Salman's visit to Washington.
"This is a man who oppresses his own people. He kills children and has besieged 27 million Yemenis. It's shameful."
Thousands of Yemeni Americans reside in Detroit and its suburbs. They hail from different regions in Yemen and espouse diverse ideologies, but they all want peace in their homeland, local organisers told Middle East Eye.
Soofi said Yemeni Americans seem unmoved by bin Salman's trip to the US beause they are focused on more immediate needs.
Soofi dismissed the prince's statement, saying that Iran is being used as a scapegoat for the Saudi royals' crimes and failures.
"Iran has no border with Yemen. Maybe it has some influence or it offers political support (to the Houthis); it's a regional power," Soofi said. "And if you want to push against Iran, what's the solution? You kill and starve Yemenis? If you have a problem, Iran is right there, go and fight Iran."
Akram Alward, who owns a restaurant in Detroit, echoed Soofi's comments.
"The country is besieged from the air, sea and ground; Yemenis are dying of hunger," Alward told MEE. "How can the Saudis say Iran is sending weapons. If indeed it is, it's a sign of the Saudis' own incompetence."
He added that the war's aim is to systematically destroy Yemen in order to subjugate its people.
According to Alnozili, the Yemeni community in the Detroit area is home to wildly different views on the conflict, from Houthi supporters to Saudi partisans to people who loathe all the parties involved.
However, there's agreement over the notion that the war is a part of a global "game."
"There's no fighting inside the community... We all agree that this is not a war for Yemenis. Everyone is demanding a meaningful peace process," Alnozili said.
(* B P)
US Support for Brutal Saudi Campaign in Yemen Serves Desire to Oppose Iran
Mohammad Marandi, a professor at the University of Tehran, told Loud & Clear hosts Brian Becker and John Kiriakou Wednesday, "on the whole, Iranians are skeptical about US intentions. The belief is that a lot of what the United States is doing in this region is because of Israel, to support Israeli policy in Syria and Yemen, and because of Iran. Because of US hostility toward Iran, any group or country or government that is somehow seen as close to Iran is considered by the United States an enemy."
"Therefore, when the Saudis behave erratically, or when they export extremists, if the Americans perceive it to be hurting Iran, they will support it — that's the widely held view here," Marandi explained.
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201803221062779541-us-saudi-yemen-oppose-iran/ .
(A P)
Crown prince, US officials discuss latest Middle East peace efforts
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed the latest efforts to find a lasting peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis with Jared Kushner, Trump adviser, and Jason Greenblatt, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East peace process, Tuesday night.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1270966/saudi-arabia
(* B H P)
To Stop Famine in Yemen, Lift the Saudi-Led Blockade
U.S. support for the war on Yemen could be used as leverage to press Saudi Arabia and its allies to lift the blockade, but coalition governments would have to believe that the administration is willing to cut off military assistance if they won’t do that. Following the administration’s intense lobbying to defeat S.J.Res. 54, it is unlikely coalition governments will take such a threat seriously. Until they believe that the administration is willing to cut off that assistance, they will continue to assume that they have Washington’s unstinting support.
Yemen’s population relies on commercial imports to survive, and nothing less than a full lifting of the blockade is sufficient to halt the enormous humanitarian crisis in the country.
The trouble is that the administration doesn’t seem willing to risk straining relations with Riyadh for any reason. Until that changes, it is up to Congress and the public to pressure the administration into doing just that.
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/to-stop-famine-in-yemen-lift-the-saudi-led-blockade/
(* B P)
The MBS tour will raise the cost of securing US interests in the Middle East
There has never been as alarming a moment in the history of US support for Saudi Arabia as this one
In the past, the Saudi regime faced considerable constraints on its internal and regional policies by virtue of its alliance with the US, and such a reckless reconfiguring of the state and unchecked aggression toward its neighbours would have been unthinkable.
All of that changed following Trump’s visit to Riyadh last spring, where he was welcomed with a golden golf cart and the chance to ruminate over the region’s future with King Salman in the presence of a glowing orb.
That meeting, and the subsequent alignment of interests between MBS and Trump’s son-in-law and trusted advisor Jared Kushner, would only embolden the crown prince.
For millions of people observing from across the region, this meeting represents how vast the disparity between authoritarian rulers and their respective populations in the Arab world has become.
Whereas the autocrat historically had to pay lip service to notions of Arab unity, economic justice, and anti-imperialism, MBS has openly flaunted his convergence with the Trump agenda on critical issues that have emerged in the wake of the Arab uprisings and their aftermath.
In advance of his upcoming visit to Washington, segments of the establishment media in the US have hailed MBS as a bold reformer who offers a hopeful future not only to his country but to the wider Middle East.
Ignoring the Saudi regime’s untold destruction of Yemen, and with no regard for its role in deepening sectarian violence and supporting brutal dictatorships, the New York Times’ Thomas Friedman has proceeded resolutely in his enduring support for Saudi monarchs as beacons of neoliberal enlightenment and religious moderation.
This comes as little surprise, considering that Friedman represents something of an ideological father figure to the young crown prince. Bin Salman’s announced reforms, including greater state corporatisation, adoption of European educational models, and granting women the right to drive came as the fulfilment of Western expectations of what a moderate Saudi ally should look like.
For Friedman, these proclamations ushered in the "Saudi Arab Spring".
Beaming proudly, he proclaimed that MBS was "more McKinsey than Wahhabi - much more a numbers cruncher than a Quran thumper". What makes these and other recent celebrations of Saudi reform ring so hollow is that they have persisted through more than seven decades of repressive policies by Saudi rulers within the kingdom and across the region.
Indeed, advancing this narrative has done little more than secure US strategic policy objectives in the Middle East, and it is poised to do so yet again, albeit at a much higher cost.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/high-cost-securing-us-interests-middle-east-1965623245
(* A P)
Saudi Arabia's Brash Prince Takes His Show on the Road
For MbS to re-invent his economy, he needs help not just from Washington but also Wall Street, Silicon Valley and even Hollywood.
The time-span and breadth of travel is a strong indication of how much is at stake for the brash 32-year-old national leader, and how central Saudi Arabia's political and economic relationship with the U.S. is to his national, and personal, strategy.
The list of policy imperatives is extensive, but MbS also knows that, first and foremost, he needs to polish his image in the U.S
But while they may share the broad goal of containing, and even rolling back, the expansion of Iran's influence in the Arab world, it's unclear how closely Riyadh and Washington are working together to achieve this. Indeed, one of MbS's most important goals must be to ascertain what, exactly, the Trump administration hopes to achieve in regional battlegrounds like Syria and how, precisely, Washington intends to accomplish it.
In Seattle, MbS will be hosted by Bill Gates in a meeting that, along with San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Boston, will focus on technology. In Houston, he will confer with energy industry honchos, and in New York City with financial industry and investment bigwigs. Perhaps his most intriguing stop is Los Angeles, the home of the entertainment industry.
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-03-20/saudi-prince-mbs-hits-the-road-in-america
(* B H K P)
US must press Saudis to prevent a famine threatening millions in Yemen
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, who met with President Trump at the White House Tuesday on his three-week visit to the U.S., is hoping to promote a new and modern vision for his country. But the specter of a potential famine that threatens millions of people in neighboring Yemen – brought on in large part by Saudi military policy – looms large over his visit.
Amidst this grim backdrop, Saudi Arabia late last year imposed a total economic blockade on most of Yemen following a failed Houthi missile attack (likely with Iranian support) on the Saudi capital of Riyadh.
The blockade has sparked a rapid worsening of the humanitarian situation, leaving the majority of the Yemeni population cut off from the commercial shipments that supply the bulk of the country’s food, fuel and medicine. According to analysis from the U.S. government’s own Famine Early Warning System, sustainment of the blockade will push Yemen into a historic famine.
Preventing this famine will require that the Trump administration balance relief priorities with other important U.S. objectives, including Saudi Arabia’s legitimate right to self-defense against Houthi border attacks, rolling back Iranian influence in Yemen, restoring a legitimate government, and preventing illicit Iranian arms traffic.
The on-again, off-again Saudi blockade collectively punishes Yemen’s entire civilian population while simultaneously failing at its stated goal of stopping illicit arms flows.
The U.S. should make clear that maintaining the blockade is unacceptable and undermines our partnership with Saudi Arabia, and state explicitly that considerable U.S. support for the Saudi military – particularly U.S. arms sales and ongoing aerial refueling and intelligence-sharing – hangs in the balance.
U.S. pressure to date has prompted only modest action from the Saudis, and still no fundamental changes to the destructive policies that are starving millions of civilians in Yemen. A famine can still be prevented, but only if the Trump administration lays out tangible consequences – now – for Riyadh.
Millions of innocent lives hang in the balance.
My comment: What to say? “A step into the right direction”, but somewhat weak and twisted. – The real opportunity to “press Saudis to prevent a famine threatening millions in Yemen“ just has been missed by the 55-44 senate vote. – Not clearly condemning the US military support for Saudi Arabia means willingly to give away the best tool to „press Saudis to prevent a famine threatening millions in Yemen“, and the authors exactly do this. – The „other important U.S. objectives“ the authors mention here are pure bullshit and mere propaganda subjects; as the authors miss to emphasize this, they once again willingly gave away another main tool to „press Saudis to prevent a famine threatening millions in Yemen“.
(* B P)
MBS-Linked Corruption Hits Washington
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s (MBS) widely publicized crackdown on corruption appears to have excluded his immediate family, after his brother Khalid shelled out around $20 million on luxurious properties and the charter of a luxury head of State jumbo jet in the past 18 months alone, the Gulf Institute investigation has revealed.
The younger brother of MBS, Khalid bin Salman AlSaud, also known as KBSA, purchased the $12 million luxurious mansion under an assumed name and regularly charters a luxurious a Boeing 767 at the cost of $30,000 an hour, the Gulf Institute investigation have found.
KBSA, who was appointed by his father as Saudi Ambassador to Washington in April of last year, bought the 24,000 Sq. Ft. brand new mansion on February 17, 2017, sales records show. The mansion known as Le Chateau de Lumiere, the Palace of Light is, located on Georgetown Pike in Great Falls, Virginia 18 miles from Washington DC, our investigation found.
In what appears to be an attempt to hide his identity, KBSA purchased Le Chateau de Lumiere using a front company called Cutlass Properties LLC.
The source the money for the house, the plane and other expensive items is most likely obtained from the country’s oil revenue, a practice through which the Saudi ruling family have amassed hundreds of billions of dollars since 1932 from the country’s national treasure. There is no word if the US Department of Justice is investigating this as a corruption case.
https://www.gulfinstitute.org/mbs-linked-corruption-hits-washington/
(* B P)
Why Are US Colleges Collaborating With Saudi Arabia?
Harvard, Georgetown, Yale Law School, UNH—all have taken money from the Saudi government or businessmen allied with it.
Harvard and Georgetown each received $20 million from a Saudi prince back in 2005 to foster “Islamic studies.” Georgetown used the money to fund its Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, which it renamed the HRH Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. Harvard has a Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Islamic Studies Program.
The Saudi regime’s terrible human-rights record did not prevent Harvard and Georgetown from accepting the money. When they did so, Saudi Arabia’s internal repression was just as intense as today, but its foreign military adventures were not so blatant or deadly. That has changed.
In 2015, Saudi businessman Abdallah S. Kamel announced he was giving Yale Law School $10 million for the study of Islamic law and civilization.
Neither these unsettling connections nor the Saudi government bombing and siege of Yemen deterred Yale University Law School from accepting Kamel’s money. The Yale Center is up and running with seminars and conferences. None appear to be concerned with what Islamic law may say about atrocities in Yemen or whether Islamic law justifies the lack of human rights in Saudi Arabia.
Then there is the case of the University of New Haven, which in 2016 started an academic program with a Saudi police college.
https://www.thenation.com/article/why-are-us-colleges-collaborating-with-saudi-arabia/
(* B P)
In Run-Up to Vote to End Yemen War, MSNBC Remains Totally Silent
What use is having a “liberal” cable network if it remains silent on the major issues facing the left?
As FAIR noted in January (FAIR.org, 1/8/17), MSNBC’s coverage of the US-assisted bombing and siege of Yemen is virtually nonexistent. In the year 2017, MSNBC ran only one segment that focused on the US’s role in Yemen; zero in the second half of the year. In 2018 so far, MSNBC hasn’t run a single segment on Yemen, much less the US’s role in in it.
In the run-up to a vote this week on a bill co-sponsored by senators Bernie Sanders, Mike Lee and Chris Murphy to withdraw US support for the Saudi air campaign—a move that, according to at least one insider, would end the war itself—the US’s major “liberal” cable network has continued its radio silence. MSNBC continued to ignore the story this week as activists and a broad coalition of anti-war groups tried to put pressure on the Senate to finally end the US-sustained siege of Yemen.
Even as frequent MSNBC guests Bernie Sanders and Chris Murphy, as well as celebrities like Mark Ruffalo and Susan Sarandon, lobby directly for the bill, MSNBC has not dedicated a single segment to the war, or to the recent high-profile efforts to end it.
https://fair.org/home/in-run-up-to-vote-to-end-yemen-war-msnbc-remains-totally-silent/
(* A P)
Saudi Crown Prince US visit likely to emphasize economics over politics
Within the context of these debates, fueled, in part, by intense political polarization in Washington, MBS’s visit is likely to emphasize economics over politics. This approach, if successful, will expand the scope and value of a 75-year-old partnership, which has always been bigger than oil-for-security.
Much of what the crown prince hopes to achieve will take place outside of Washington. After just three days in the capital, he will travel to New York, Boston, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, and Houston. In these cities, MBS’s primary goal will be to cultivate, expand, and deepen ties with leading US financial, technology, entertainment, and energy companies in order to advance Saudi’s economic development and diversification plan, as laid out by Vision 2030.
In terms of the Washington agenda, there is a real opportunity for progress on a nuclear power agreement that benefits both parties.
Remark: By Saudi media.
(* A P)
Trump: US-Saudi relations are better than ever
United States President Donald Trump has said on Tuesday that his country’s relations with Saudi Arabia are “better than ever”.
Trump’s comment came during his meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House on Tuesday.
and film here: https://twitter.com/AlArabiya_Eng/status/976149676238999553
(* A P)
Saudi Prince’s Visit Chance to Demand Focus on Terrorism, Not Political Opponents
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visits the White House today as alarm grows in Washington about his country’s conduct of the war in Yemen, its misuse of anti-terror laws, and his government’s targeting of peaceful dissidents.
Whether at home or in Yemen, MBS seems more concerned with consolidating his personal power base than introducing reforms that would help combat violent extremism.
During his White House meeting this week, the Crown Prince will no doubt appeal for more weapons from the United States to continue the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen.
The Crown Prince will also likely use his meeting with Trump to appeal for U.S. support of Saudi Arabia’s admission into the Financial Action Task Force, a multilateral body set up to stop terrorist financing.
But a closer look at who Saudi has been convicting of terrorism shows that many are actually human rights lawyers, journalists, protestors, and even children, who have been condemned to death.
Without real reform, based on measurable commitments to the rule of law and human rights, Saudi Arabia will remain a dangerously erratic ally, increasingly vulnerable to extremism and instability.
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
Siehe / Look at cp1 (Emirates)
(* B K P)
Report finds French arms sales to Saudi and UAE could breach international law
A report commissioned by Amnesty International and French human rights group ACAT has found that French arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE could breach international law if these weapons are being used in the ongoing war in Yemen.
As a signatory to the UN Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) of 2014, which was ratified by France and 88 other states in a bid to regulate international trade in conventional weapons, France is legally obligated to prevent arms sales in any situation in which its weapons will be used to violate international humanitarian law.
The report’s authors, Joseph Breham and Laurence Greig of the French law firm Ancile Avocats, stated that the study “shows a legally high risk that France’s arms transfers are contrary to its international commitments”. French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe has previously said that French weapons sold to Riyadh were “defensive” and condemned the “collateral damage” taking place in Yemen.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180321-report-finds-french-arms-sales-to-saudi-and-uae-could-breach-international-law/ and also https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/935165/france-shame-amnesty-international-arms-trading-saudi-arabia-UAE-yemen
(* A K P)
Trudeau defends Saudi arms export deal, points finger at Harper government
The export of over 900 armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia, including some outfitted for "heavy assault," falls in line with Canada's foreign and defence policies, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
He was responding to NDP attacks in the House of Commons over new details of the $15 billion 2014 contract.
CBC News obtained documents which outline — for the first time — specifics of the agreement involving General Dynamics Land Systems, of London, Ont.
The deal was sealed from outside view by the federal agency which brokered the arrangement — the Canadian Commercial Corporation — at the insistence of the Saudis.
Trudeau defended the deal and his government's decision to approve it.
"Permits are only approved if the exports are consistent with our foreign and defence policies, including human rights," he told the House of Commons Tuesday. "Our approach fully meets our national obligations and Canadian laws."
Trudeau has stood behind the deal in the past, saying Canada had to respect contracts signed by previous governments.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/saudi-lav-deal-1.4585035
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
Siehe / Look at cp1, cp9b, cp12
(* A K P)
Großbritannien verkauft den Eurofighter an Saudi-Arabien
Bei einem Besuch des saudischen Kronprinzen Mohammed bin Salman in London wurde vereinbart, über den Verkauf von 48 Eurofighter Typhoon an Saudi-Arabien zu verhandeln.
Die Absichtserklärung über den Typhoon-Verkauf wurde fast zeitgleich unterschrieben wie der deutsche Koalitionsvertrag in Berlin. Das ist deshalb pikant, weil sich CDU, CSU und SPD dort darauf verständigt haben, keine Waffen mehr an Länder zu liefern, die im Jemen Krieg führen. Das betrifft natürlich in erster Linie Saudi-Arabien, aber auch seine Verbündeten. Und der Eurofighter ist ein von Deutschland, Italien, Spanien und Großbritannien gemeinsam entwickeltes Flugzeug.
Bis heute hält die deutsche Airbus Defence and Space GmbH 33 Prozent an der Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH, ebenso viel wie die britische BAE Systems, die den Kampfjet jetzt verkaufen will. Weitere 21 Prozent halten die italienische Leonardo S.p.A. und die spanische Airbus Defence and Space S.A. mit 13 Prozent.
Der geplante Verkauf des Eurofighters Typhoon an Saudi-Arabien zeigt, wie wenig der Koalitionsvertrag in der Praxis Wert ist. Auf europäischer Ebene greift er nicht. Europäische Gemeinschaftsunternehmen wie der Eurofighter-Hersteller können munter deutsche Exportbestimmungen unterlaufen.
BAE Systems teilte jetzt zufrieden mit, die Vereinbarung von London sei "ein guter Schritt hin zu einem Verkaufsvertrag mit unserem geschätzten Partner", so das Unternehmen. "Wir müssen das Königreich dabei unterstützen, die saudischen Streitkräfte zu modernisieren und industriellen Fähigkeiten zu entwickeln, damit die Vision 2030 verwirklicht werden kann."
Saudi-Arabien sucht den Schulterschluss mit Großbritannien nicht zuletzt deshalb, weil die Beziehungen zu Deutschland gerade auf Eis liegen.
(* A K P)
Trump to boost exports of lethal drones to more U.S. allies
President Donald Trump will soon make it easier to export some types of lethal U.S.-made drones to potentially dozens more allies and partners, according to people familiar with the plan. Trump is expected to ease rules for such foreign sales under a long-delayed new policy on unmanned military aircraft due to be rolled out as early as this month, the first phase of a broader overhaul of arms export regulations.
U.S. drone manufacturers, facing growing competition overseas especially from Chinese and Israeli rivals who often sell under lighter restrictions, have lobbied hard for the rule changes.
http://news.trust.org/item/20180320100004-mak0q
cp13b Wirtschaft / Economy
(A E P)
One US dollar = 484 Yemeni rials, up from 370 rials before floating national currency in August and 215 rials before war started in 2014. I think Saudi Arabia has already deposited $2 bl in Central Bank of Yemen to stabilize our currency. What is wrong? Incompetent govt? Mayb
https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/976422290304000000
(A E P)
OMV will resume operations in #Yemen soon. Good news. Oil & gas revenues used to account for 75% of budget & 90% of total export revenues. All oil & gas projects are based in Govt-run regions; so it should bring situation under control to reopen them & help starving ppl
https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/976731810846650368
Remark: Earlier reporting YPR 394, cp13c.
cp15 Propaganda
Siehe / Look at cp1
(A P)
Yemen and the Ideologue’s Luxury
President Obama’s reluctance to commit the United States to anything beyond the occasional drone strike on rogue targets in Yemen was understandable, if ill-advised.
Yemen seemed to be following a trajectory forged by Libya, which had recently become yet another failed state in the region where Islamist militias could gain a foothold. The Houthi-led regime in Sana’a was overtly hostile toward America’s counter-terrorism efforts in Yemen and rebuffed Washington’s obsequious overtures of friendship. The success of the Iranian proxy group represented Tehran’s latest victory.
If Barack Obama, a president genuinely committed to American modesty on the world stage, consented to support an allied intervention in the Yemeni civil war, it stands to reason that almost any American politician with an ounce of concern for U.S. national interests would have done the same. Congressional representatives have the luxury of critiquing the value of the American mission in Yemen, in part, because the conduct of the war by its Arab allies has been bloody and unsavory. The alternative, however, is direct involvement. Non-intervention is not an option, much as the members on Capitol Hill might like it to be.
It should induce some introspection on the part of reflexive anti-interventionists that the last three consecutive presidents have promised to scale back America’s power projection abroad only to adopt their predecessor’s extroverted foreign policy – by Noah Rothman
My comment: How twisted arguments can be, if you want to lead and continue a war and also want to look like a modest propagator of peace and humanity.
(A P)
HR Minister: Houthis killed, injured 40,000 persons since coup d'état
Minister of Human Rights Mohammed Askar said Houthis have killed and injured 40,000 persons across Yemen since they mounted a coup d'état in the capital Sana'a in September 2014.
Askar made the remarks in a speech in a seminar organized by the Ministry of Human Rights in cooperation with the country's permanent mission in Geneva on the sidelines of the 37th session of the Human Rights Council.
He said that the Iran-backed rebels have killed 13,389 persons and injured 27,452 others.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-16644
My comment: This is simply ascribing all victims of the war (the official figures) to the Houthis – including also all victims of Saudi coalition air raids, which are responsible for ca. 2/3 of all victims alone.
(A P)
You & The Law: How Saudi Arabia is combating domestic abuse
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1271261
(A P)
BERNIE SIDES WITH IRAN'S MULLAHS
The Left's romance with the Islamic Republic ensues.
The surprising support the resolution won from 44 U.S. Senators handed a big win to Iran, which is engaged in a hot war with Saudi Arabia on the Arabian Peninsula. And it was a huge slap in the face to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, who was meeting with President Trump in the White House as the Senate debated the motion on the floor.
Let there be no doubt: the only reason the United States has any interest in the civil war that has been raging in Yemen since 2012 is because of the Iranian regime support for the Houthi rebels.
The Houthis have fired Iranian-supplied missiles at the Saudi capital, Riyadh. They have targeted civilian airports, as well as royal palaces. As I wrote earlier this year, imagine for an instant if a hostile regional power were to stir up a civil war in Mexico or Canada, with the ultimate aim of destabilizing the U.S.?
For that is the unabashed goal of the Iranian regime: destabilize Saudi Arabia, which Tehran sees as the main check on its effort to dominate the Persian Gulf, control the free flow of oil, and establish its land bridge through Iraq, Syria and Lebanon to Israel’s borders.
Sometimes you wonder at the intelligence of members of Congress. Seriously.
What part about a nuclear-armed Iran in control of the Middle East and threatening Israel do the backers of this resolution not get?
https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/269658/bernie-sides-irans-mullahs-kenneth-r-timmerman
Have a look at the author: https://www.frontpagemag.com/author/kenneth-r-timmerman and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_R._Timmerman
My comment: This article follows the WSJ article claiming the same (https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-senates-iran-helpers-1521500264) - might be this one here is even still more primitive. It’a low of inner political „discussion“, a return oft he worst features of MacCarthyism: Those who want to limit the own nation's aggressive foreign and military policy are slandered as agents of a hostile foreign power - a foreign power which had been demonized by the own propaganda for years, which had been described as the Empire of evil.
For the WSJ article, read: http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/the-wsjs-pathetic-case-for-supporting-the-war-on-yemen/ and https://www.conservativereview.com/articles/fact-check-no-sen-mike-lee-not-iran-helper/
(A P)
Film: Saudi foreign minister on US relations, conflict in Yemen
Abdel al-Jubeir on the Saudi crown prince's relationship with President Trump, U.S. support of Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9grQR4cHmL8
(A P)
Film: Will #Saudi Become A Nuclear Power?
https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/976360751882489856
(A P)
These business partners will each drive a hard bargainSaudi Arabia and the United States have been close partners for all of the Kingdom’s history, but for 68 years the Saudi government and Saudi businesses have had the better of nearly every negotiation. This is not a complaint against the Saudi government. On the contrary, it is commendable that Saudi Arabia managed to obtain the best for its country and its people.
However, there is a new philosophy in Washington, and in America. With a new president and new administration, the US is again pursuing its own interests.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1270451
(A P)
The UK is exporting multiculturalism to Saudi Arabia, not just fighter jets
Much of the talk around the recent visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the UK was of British exports to the Kingdom.
This is understandable: the Saudis’ order for 48 British Typhoon fighter jets will guarantee thousands of high-paid British manufacturing jobs at what is an uncertain time in the UK.
But the short-term economic gain for Britain cannot be allowed to overshadow the long-term cultural win for the world, symbolised by the Prince’s meeting first with the Coptic Pope in Egypt and then, only days later, with the Archbishop of the Church of England in Lambeth Palace.
Riyadh under its current leadership is engaged in an excruciatingly difficult task of counter-extremism.
The Saudis have been waging a “jihad against jihadism” and are crucial allies in our anti-terror efforts.
At the same time, we must accept that elements within the Saudi elite have been happy to use Sunni extremism in a kind of ideological arms race against Shia Iran. Iranian-backed Shia radicalism is less of a threat to us in the west but is all too real to the Saudis due to the proximity of Yemeni Houthi Shia rebels.
If London can be the kind of ally Riyadh needs, the UK may be exporting more than fighter jets: the new Saudi Arabia may be buying into British multiculturalism.
http://www.cityam.com/282647/uk-exporting-multiculturalism-saudi-arabia-not-just-fighter
My comment: From Britain. God help us. The author: http://www.cityam.com/profile/kamran.bokhari . The British should not boast with their “multiculturalism“. Britain just seems to hurry into a state of suppressing and smearing opinions which do not fit to the (quickly narrowing) Overton window of mainstream consent: https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2018/03/on-being-a-dissenting-voice-in-2018/. Do not speak of „multiculturalism“ please.
(A P)
MBS, Trump and ‘The Art of the Deal’
It might have been an unusually cold, rainy afternoon in Washington, but inside the White House a very warm meeting took place between President Donald J. Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“A lot of (American) people are at work” because of Saudi Arabia’s business, Trump said during the meeting, adding that the Kingdom has finalized $12.5 billion in purchases of planes, missiles and frigates from US companies.
For his part, Crown Prince Mohammed reemphasized the 80-year alliance, and the “really deep” relationship Riyadh enjoys with the US, as he elaborated that the Saudis are considering $400 billion in US investment opportunities.
Yet, it is not only American jobs that Saudi Arabia is saving, but American lives as well. The other overriding takeaway of the Trump-MBS meeting was the combined commitment to combatting terrorism, be it on the ideological or financial level.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1270481
(A P)
Saudi Arabia Embraces Change - and the United States Can Help
Seldom in human history do countries peacefully and voluntarily embark upon a resolute course correction to re-calibrate a national economy and expand societal norms - without comprising religious sensibilities. Yet that is precisely what the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is attempting to do.
For decades, the Kingdom lived according to social and cultural norms that went unchallenged, thus inhibiting our progress. But our leaders have set a new course that aims to transform our economy and society, and unlock our untapped potential.
Our old course was not sustainable, and change is now under way in virtually every aspect of society.
The United States will have a chance to acquaint itself with these reforms during Prince Mohammed's first official visit as the crown prince beginning Tuesday. His visit is intended to reinforce Saudi Arabia's already strong partnership with the United States.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is reforming, and our dynamism will take the Saudi-US relationship to new heights. Both sides should seize the moment – by Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Saudi Ambassador to the United States.
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1210851/prince-khalid-bin-salman-bin-abdulaziz/saudi-arabia-embraces-change-and-united = https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2018/03/19/saudi-arabia-embraces-change-and-the-united-states-can-help/ = http://gulfnews.com/opinion/thinkers/change-is-coming-to-saudi-arabia-1.2191639
My comment: The Washington Post giving a stage to Saudi propaganda, again.
And
(A P)
Khalid bin Salman: Saudi Arabia’s relationship with US backed regional security
Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Washington, Prince Khalid bin Salman, said Tuesday that the Saudi-US partnership began more than eight decades ago, a historic relationship that has contributed significantly to maintaining security in the region and the world.
(A P)
To our friends: The United States of America and its people
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was established on September 23, 1932 in a far different world than we see today.
Today we are the bridge from Europe into the Middle East and beyond to Asia itself. We express a great deal of gratitude to the United States and the American people who have been invaluable friends to us during our rise.
Currently we have a world of instability, uncertainty, and in some cases submerged in extreme pain, despair, sadism and even death. Saudi Arabia stands directly alongside our friends, the United States, against the belligerent and revisionist powers who offer a future of the most nefarious manner to humanity.
Saudi Arabia is a capable, willing, and serious partner in the most important issue of our lifetimes, the war against terrorism. At this very moment we have the very best our country can offer, our brave soldiers, fighting inside Yemen for our peace, security and well-being of our citizenry.
(A P)
The Saudis Take On Radical Islam
The crown prince charts a course toward moderation, which prevailed before the 1979 attack on Mecca.
The year 1979 was a watershed for the Middle East. Iranian revolutionaries overthrew the shah, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, and Sunni Islamic extremists tried to take over the Grand Mosque of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, Islam’s holiest shrine. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman hadn’t been born, but he is fighting the ghosts of 1979 as he dramatically reforms the kingdom.
The attempted takeover of Mecca was a defining event in my country, mainly because of what happened next. Saudi rulers, fearing Iran’s revolutionary example, decided to give more space to the Salafi clerical establishment in hope of countering the radicals. Traditional Salafi preachers are neither violent nor political, but they hold a rigid view of Islam. Their legal rulings and attempts to police morals made the kingdom increasingly intolerant, setting back the gradual opening up that had occurred in the 1960s and ’70s – by Mr. Al-Toraifi, Saudi minister of culture and information, 2015-17.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-saudis-take-on-radical-islam-1521497387
My comment: And again telling the propaganda story of Prince Salman’s „moderate“ pre-1979 Saudi Islam, adopted 1:1 from Saudi propaganda. Unfortunately, it is wrong. – Looking at the author tells a lot. – The WSJ has become a Saudi mouthpiece; the total low of this propaganda can be seen in YPR 394, cp1b.
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
Siehe / Look at cp1
(* A K PH)
Saudi coalition air raids day by day:
March 20:
(* A K PH)
17 killed or wounded in fresh Saudi strikes on Yemen’s Sa’ada
At least 17 civilians, including women and children, have been killed or wounded when Saudi warplanes targeted residential areas in Yemen’s northern province of Sa’ada as the Riyadh regime presses ahead with its deadly bombardment campaign against
According to Yemen’s al-Masirah television network, the Saudi-led airstrikes hit residential buildings in the Ghamar district of the mountainous province of Sa’ada early on Thursday.
and
(* A K P)
2 #Saudi air strikes killed 17 people including women and children in their house in Ghamer area #Saada #Yemen
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/976709890138927105
(* A K PH)
Massacre in Yemen today! 6 family members were on their way to Sanaa from Nehm east. To hospitalize mother & 2 daughters. Their car was laden with firewood. They planned to sell it & use the money for expenses of treatment. US-Saudi F16 Bombed them killing all!
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/976530746889383937
and
(* A K PH)
Photos: Yesterday, #Saudi air strike targeted a car loaded with wood in #Nehim area #Sanaa #Yemen . It killed 2 people and injured 3.
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/976674334545768448 and https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1686513468068343
(A K PH)
A citizen injured when a bomb exploded in the Maran area of Saada
A local source confirmed the injury of a citizen injured by a cluster bomb from the remnants of aggression in the area of Maran Directorate of Haidan
http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=105199
(A K PH)
Saudi-led criminal airstrikes hit several provinces over Tuesday
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news490878.htm
(A K PS)
Airstrikes kill rebel militants in Saadah
Arab Coalition airstrikes have killed dozens of Houthi rebels in Saadah, local sources said. The air raids struck Houthi military bases in the rebels' stronghold.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-16618
Remark: As claimed by anti-Houthi Islah Party media.
(A K)
Map: #Yemen, first 20 days of March.
Note the volume of airstrikes (blue markers) conducted by the Saudi-led in this period.
https://twitter.com/IF_asia_/status/976147028496527368
(A K PH)
Film: Extraction of the mine team a bomb from the remnants of the Saudi-American aggression in Saada governorate 20-03-18
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKGz_k-Puig
(A K PH)
More Saudi coalition air raids reported on:
March 20:
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news490850.htm Hajjah p.
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
(A K PH)
Yemeni forces target Saudi F-15 fighter jet in Sa’ada
Yemeni air defense forces shot down an F-15 fighter jet belonging to the Saudi-led coalition over the northwestern Yemeni province of Sa’ada on Wednesday, a military official told Saba on Thursday
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news490983.htm
and
#Yemen air defenses announce that an F-15 warplane was hit over the sky of #Saada province.
and
(A K)
Yemen's Houthi Rebels Claim They Hit Saudi Arabian F-15 Jet - Reports (VIDEO)
A Royal Saudi Air Force aircraft has been downed in the Sa'da Province in the northwest of war-torn Yemen, rebels said, cited by local news outlets.
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201803211062773665-houthi-rebels-saudi-arabia-jet/ = https://twitter.com/HussainBukhaiti/status/976551877881057280
and
(A K PS)
#RSAF Col. Turki Al Malki: At 15:48 (GMT+3) today, a coalition aircraft flying in the area of operations over Sa'dah, #Yemen, got hit by a SAM missile launched from Sa'dah Airport. The aircraft completed the assigned mission and returened to its air base safely.#
https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/976524371576737795
(A K PH)
Yemeni forces shoot down Saudi spy drone in Midi
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news490857.htm
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
(A)
Film: One man's mission to revive Yemeni coffee
Christiane Amanpour speaks with author Dave Eggers and the subject of his new book, Mokhtar Alkhanshali, about Alkhanshali's dream to revive Yemeni coffee.
https://us.cnn.com/videos/tv/2018/03/20/dave-eggers-mokhtar-alkhanshali-monk-of-mokha.cnn
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-394-yemen-war-mosaic-394
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-394 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-394:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose oder / or http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm
Der saudische Luftkrieg im Bild / Saudi aerial war images:
(18 +, Nichts für Sensible!) / (18 +; Graphic!)
http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm
http://yemenwarcrimes.blogspot.de/
und alle Liste aller Luftangriffe / and list of all air raids:
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