Dies ist die Fortsetzung von Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 721, Teil 1 / This is the sequel of Yemen War Mosaic 721, part 1:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-721-yemen-war-mosaic-721
Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Kursiv: Siehe Teil 1 / In Italics: Look in part 1
Klassifizierung / Classification
Für wen das Thema ganz neu ist / Who is new to the subject
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
cp1a Am wichtigsten: Coronavirus und Seuchen / Most important: Coronavirus and epidemics
cp1b Am wichtigsten: Neue Jemen-Politik der USA / Most important: New US Yemen policy
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 Separatisten und Hadi-Regierung im Südjemen / Separatists and Hadi government in Southern Yemen
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
cp8a Jamal Khashoggi
cp9 USA
cp9a USA-Iran Krise: Spannungen am Golf / US-Iran crisis: Tensions at the Gulf
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
cp12b Sudan
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
cp13b Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage
cp13c Wirtschaft / Economy
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp15 Propaganda
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
cp18 Kampf um Hodeidah / Hodeidah battle
cp19 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
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
Siehe / Look at cp14
(A K P)
Calls rise to resume army payment
Deputy Speaker of the Yemeni Parliament has called upon the Yemeni government to resume paying the salaries of the army members which have been mysteriously suspended for eight months now.
In a tweet, Eng. Mohsen Basuraah said, “Back payment for the armed forces members who are performing heroically in the battlefield [against Houthi militants] is a top duty.”
“The real way of boasting their championships is to pay them their dues, not to withhold them,” he said.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-45331
(A P)
Residents of Yemeni province of Mahrah denounce Saudi and British espionage activities against influential sheikh
Dozens of activists from Mahrah province, southern Yemen, have declared that they hold Saudi Arabia and the British intelligence services responsible for any targeting of regional leader Sheikh Ali Salem Al-Harizi.
Mahrah activists denounced the British intelligence’s recruitment of spies to raise coordinates and information about the province tribes in general and Sheikh Al-Harizi in particular.
(A K P)
As it confronted Houthi militia in 2015, Marib will be the gateway to victory, ending the coup, PM says
Yemen’s Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik said Marib, the government stronghold under recurring attacks by Houthi militants, “carries the flag of Yemen’s dignity and identity and protects the republic and democratic system.”
(A P)
In spite of Houthi threat, Marib’s development marches on
On Tuesday, the local authorities inaugurated the city’s first football stadium that had been under construction for more than a year.
The projects of tree planting, road pavements, sidewalk landscaping, lighting and others are seen in progress everywhere.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-45312
Photo: https://twitter.com/Alsakaniali/status/1364720961631776775
(A P)
Armed clashes leave seven killed, injured in Aden
One person was killed and five others wounded on Wednesday when Security Belt (SB) forces engaged in armed clashes with local gunmen in the Yemeni interim capital, Aden.
Medium and light arms were used in the clashes that were sparked by renewed dispute over claims to lands in Boraiqa district, west Aden, local sources said.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-23360.html
My comment: If the separatists would have implemented the Riyadh agreement, no mor STC militia should be in town.
(A P)
STC calls for speeding up implementation of Riyadh Agreement
The Presidency of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) held a meeting in Aden on Wednesday, under the chairmanship of the acting president of the STC and head of the negotiating team, Dr. Nasser Al-Khabji.
The meeting focused on the latest developments in the homeland and pressing issues in the southern arena, in particular the Riyadh Agreement.
The STC Presidency stressed the need to accelerate the implementation of the remaining terms of the Saudi-brokered deal.
http://en.adenpress.news/news/32323
My comment: One main term the STC refuses is that all STC militia must leave Aden.
(A P)
Prominent tribal leader calls for separation of Hadhramaut
A prominent tribal sheikh in Hadhramaut called for the separation of the province from both the Republic of Yemen and the independence movement in Southern Yemen.
Tribal Sheikh Abdullah al-Kathiry, a close associate of Islah party leader Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, said that Hadhramaut’s sons would only accept an autonomous province of Hadhramaut.
He pointed out that Hadhramaut “will not be affiliated with any political party,” explaining that if Yemen were to be split into two territories, Hadhramaut will become a third one.
https://hodhodyemennews.net/2021/02/24/prominent-tribal-leader-calls-for-separation-of-hadhramaut/
(A P)
Yemeni FM visits Emirates in Gulf trip
The Yemeni official foreign minister will visit the United Arab Emirates after Saudi Arabia, high-level sources said Monday, as part of a broader trip to all GCC countries.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-23343.html
and
(A P)
Yemen FM highlights importance of Riyadh deal full application, Houthi failed attack
https://debriefer.net/en/news-23383.html
(A P)
FM confers with US Envoy over peace prospects amid Houthi militia military escalations
(A P)
FreeThemAll: Adel al-Hasani
Die Organisation Reporter ohne Grenzen hat die jemenitischen Behörden dazu aufgerufen, den Journalisten Adel al-Hasani umgehend freizulassen. Al-Hasani, der im Jemen zuletzt vornehmlich als Kontaktperson und Mittelsmann für ausländische Nachrichtensender wie etwa BBC, CNN und France 24 gearbeitet hatte, befindet sich dort seit mittlerweile mehr als fünf Monaten im Gefängnis.
Die Verhaftung des Journalisten ereignete sich am 17. September 2020 in der Stadt Aden.
https://www.reporter-ohne-grenzen.de/pressemitteilungen/meldung/freethemall-adel-al-hasani
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
Siehe / Look at cp1
(A P)
UN sanctions top Houthi police official in Yemen’s capital
The U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions Thursday on a top police security official in Yemen’s capital, which is controlled by Houthi rebels, citing his prominent role in intimidations, systematic arrests, detentions, torture, sexual violence “and rape against politically active women.”
A resolution adopted by a vote of 14-0 with Russia abstaining said Sultan Saleh Aida Aida Zabin, director of the Criminal Investigation Department in the capital Sanaa, is directly or by virtue of his authority responsible for using multiple places of detention including police stations, prisons and detention centers for human rights abuses.
“In these sites, women, including at least one minor, were forcibly disappeared, repeatedly interrogated, raped, tortured, denied timely medical treatment and subjected to forced labor,” the council said. “Zabin himself directly inflicted torture in some cases.”
The council said in imposing a travel ban and arms embargo on Zabin that he “engaged in acts that threaten the peace, security and stability of Yemen, including violations of applicable international humanitarian law and human rights abuses in Yemen.”
The resolution extended the mandate of the panel of experts monitoring the implementation of sanctions in Yemen until March 28, 2022.
and
(A P)
Security Council Resolution on Yemen
This afternoon (25 February), the Security Council is expected to announce the voting results of a resolution to renew the Yemen financial and travel ban sanctions, and the mandate of the Yemen Panel of Experts. (The targeted arms embargo established by resolution 2216 in April 2015 against the Houthi rebel group is open-ended). The UK, as penholder on Yemen, circulated an initial draft resolution following last week’s 18 February videoconference (VTC) briefing and consultations on Yemen.
The draft resolution renews the sanctions measures until 28 February 2022 and the mandate of the Panel of Experts until 28 March 2022. This year’s annual sanctions resolution has been updated to reflect developments on the ground. It strongly condemns “the ongoing escalation in Marib, Yemen, including the Houthi operation on 7 February, and the continuation of Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, including on Abha International airport on 10 February”. The draft resolution calls for “an immediate cessation of attacks without preconditions”. It further stresses the need for de-escalation across Yemen and a nationwide ceasefire.
https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/whatsinblue/2021/02/security-council-resolution-on-yemen.php
and
(A P)
Film: Yemen (2140 Committee). - Announcement of the outcome of the votes - Security Council VTC
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
(* B P)
Egypt and Saudi Arabia use political prisoners as pawns to bargain with Biden
It is true that these regimes have a low tolerance for criticism and do not accept freedom of expression. But this is not a sufficient reason to fill prisons with detainees for long stretches of time.
One explanation is that these regimes use political detainees as an insurance policy for negotiations with the West - the US in particular. It is no coincidence that Hathloul and Hussein were released after a major change in the White House, with the departure of former President Donald Trump, who had provided unconditional support for authoritarian Arab regimes for the past four years.
Their releases might be read as a goodwill gesture from the Saudi and Egyptian regimes towards the new US administration under President Joe Biden - a “token of love”, according to a popular Egyptian saying, in order to clear tensions ahead of the next four years.
We should thus not be surprised if more detainees are released in the coming days. Political prisoners in our countries are used like pawns - bargaining chips with western governments. We, as Arab citizens, are not valued by our rulers; we are merely a tool for negotiations with western governments, a tactic to be pulled out at will.
Authoritarian regimes’ use of the “detainee card” as a bargaining chip is similar to the use of civilians as human shields during wars and conflicts, as war criminals sacrifice their citizens in order to preserve their own power.
The Biden administration must turn its statements on supporting democracy and respecting human rights into action.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/saudi-arabia-egypt-political-prisoners-pawn-west
and
(A P)
Journalist Alaa Brinji has been released after serving a seven-year prison term. He was arrested in 2014 and sentenced to prison, to be followed by an eight-year travel ban, for expressing his opinion. ALQST calls on the #Saudi authorities to lift the travel ban against him.
https://twitter.com/ALQST_En/status/1364971203501424647
(A P)
While @POTUS was in the phone with @KingSalman Saudi Monarchy forces arrests the parents of Ali AlNimer the teen protester who was sentenced to death to have his sentence commuted to 10 years last month.
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/1365071645598232578
(A P)
Saudi F1 race: Activists urge Lewis Hamilton to speak out on human rights
Dozens of rights organisations write letter urging world champion to boycott Saudi Grand Prix or use his platform to promote human rights in the kingdom
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/lewis-hamilton-saudi-formula-one-human-rights
and
(A P)
CEO of Formula E Highlights Strong Partnership with Saudi Arabia
The CEO of Formula E 2021, Jamie Reigle, said that Formula's partnership with Saudi Arabia is very strong and based on common goals.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2194958
(A E P)
National Debt Management Center Issues Sovereign Bonds in Euro with Negative Return
In line with the Kingdom's Vision 2030, the Fiscal Balance Program and the Financial Sector Development Program, the National Debt Management Center closed its second international euro-denominated offering under the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s government bond program. The Center announced the issuance on the morning of yesterday, Wednesday, February 24, 2021 and closed on the same day, in line with the implementation of European sovereign bond issuances and allowing to attract maximum demand from investors.
In an unprecedented historical step, the Center took advantage of the opportunity to enter the Euro market, the second largest after the U.S. Dollar market, by issuing debt instruments with negative returns, making it the largest tranche issued with a negative return outside the European Union.
An estimated 1.5 billion euros were raised from subscriptions
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2194631
My comment: LOL. Without the Yemen War (estimated cost for saudi Arabia: US$ 200 million a day = Ca. 2160 days up to now = US$ 432 billion.
(A E P)
Saudi Wealth Fund Commits $3 Billion to Build Mountain Resort
The Public Investment Fund will provide 11 billion riyals to Soudah Development Co., which will build 2,700 hotel rooms and 1,300 homes in an area that includes Al-Soudah, the tallest peak in Saudi Arabia, according to Husameddin AlMadani, Soudah’s chief executive officer.
The kingdom has been largely shut off to foreign tourists for decades, while citizens preferred to go on holiday abroad. That’s changed with the rise of de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who’s trying to open up the country and diversify the economy from oil.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/saudi-wealth-fund-commits-3-billion-to-build-mountain-resort-1.1568157
(A P)
Saudi FM visits Oman amid reports of mediation in Yemen
Visit comes amid international pressure to end Yemeni conflict
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/saudi-fm-visits-oman-amid-reports-of-mediation-in-yemen/2155773
(* A K P)
Saudi Arabia to allow women to join military for first time
The move is the latest in a series of policy changes designed to change the image of the ultra-conservative kingdom
Saudi Arabia has announced it will allow women to apply for the military for the first time in its history.
A decree issued in the kingdom at the weekend said the army, navy, air force, missile defence and medical corps would be opening up recruitment for women up to non-commissioned officer level.
There will be seperate age and height restrictions imposed - women will have to be a minimum of 1.55m tall compared to 1.6m for men, and will have to be between the ages of 21 and 40, compared with 17 to 40 for men.
The move is the latest in a series of policy changes brought forward by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in a bid to try and change the image of the ultra-conservative kingdom, which included allowing women to drive in 2018.
The policies, lauded by supporters as steps forward for women's rights in the country, have been treated with scepticism by human rights campaigners, however, who say they have whitewashed a widespread crackdown on dissent, including against women's rights activists.
“The decision to allow the recruitment of women into the military is a welcome sign of reform and change but overwhelmingly tailored to serve as a counter to Mohammed bin Salman's disastrous record of oppression in the country," Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Democracy for Arab World Now (DAWN), told Middle East Eye.
"The measures of social liberalisation that MBS has implemented come on the backs of activists who for decades have championed these changes and are continuing to pay the price with oppression, torture and jail time," she added.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arabia-allow-women-join-military-first-time
My comment: Transforming women into killers and cannon fodder should be a “a welcome sign of reform and change”???? LOL.
(A P)
#Saudi govt plans to increase imports tariffs by 60%
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/1364322900736671753
(* B P)
How Biden can strike a blow against Saudi Arabia's human rights violations
Travel bans are not new in Saudi Arabia. But past rulers used them more sparingly. Since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) took power, they have increasingly become a key instrument in his struggle to extinguish any semblance of dissent. MBS has not only gone after activists and dissidents, but also has prevented their families from leaving the country in order to bully and coerce them into keeping silent.
These bans violate Saudi domestic law, its own regional treaty obligations and international law.
Others have been detained or disappeared altogether after being issued with a travel ban
cp8a Jamal Khashoggi
(* B P)
Hold Mohammed Bin Salman Accountable For His Crimes
It was all but certain in the fall of 2018 that Mohammed bin Salman ordered Khashoggi’s death, and subsequent investigations have reached similar conclusions, but between the Trump administration’s obfuscations and the Saudi government’s denials the crown prince has been able to evade accountability for more than two years. With any luck, the crown prince won’t be able to get away with it for much longer. Even if he escapes personal accountability for the foreseeable future, the U.S.-Saudi relationship has to change.
The involvement of so many of the crown prince’s close associates in the murder and the attempted cover-up made it obvious that he was the one giving the orders. The presence of a forensic pathologist as part of the team showed that murder and dismemberment had been the plan from the start. The Saudis staged a farcical trial that let Saud al-Qahtani and many other perpetrators off the hook, and this was done to keep up the pretense that the murder wasn’t authorized at the highest levels.
The decision to release the report is a welcome one, but Biden needs to do more to change the nature of the U.S.-Saudi relationship.
The U.S. cannot control what the Saudi government does or how it treats its own citizens, but it can raise the political costs for the Saudi leadership when they commit crimes and it can reduce U.S. exposure to their wrongdoing. Washington has considerable influence with the Saudi government, and it is time that it began to use it to rein in their abuses both in Yemen and in how they treat their own people.
Mohammed bin Salman is the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, but at the moment he is still not the king and does not enjoy the immunity that would typically go with that position. He should not be granted immunity, and he should have to answer for the crimes that he and his agents have committed. Khashoggi is the most well-known of the crown prince’s victims, but he is hardly the only one. The U.S. should do nothing to shield him from accountability, and it should make him persona non grata in this country.
(B P)
Will Disclosure of Khashoggi's Assassination Report End Bin Salman's Political Life?
It is clear that the news is a clear message to bin Salman, that he must leave power willingly, otherwise there is a lot in the quiver of the Americans, to pressure him to leave it against his will after he pays a heavy price, and his life may be among them.
Biden has dealt with bin Salman, not that he is more humane than Trump, or that he is more respectful of human rights, but rather that Biden is more rational than Trump. Biden sees the presence of a megalomaniac, like bin Salman, on the throne of Saudi Arabia, a threat to America's interests
If the White House declassifies the intelligence report in the next few days, it will create a special legal case for the crown prince. The crown prince will become the main suspect in the Khashoggi assassination, as he is the commanding and mastermind. This will result in the American judiciary opening a criminal investigation against Bin Salman, given that Khashoggi obtained a residence card in the United States, and he is covered by judicial protection.
The mistake made by Bin Salman, which he will pay his political future, a price for it, is a complex mistake, as he usurped his position depending on his father. He does not have any qualifications, and he used cruelty and terribly against his opponents, most of whom are his uncles and cousins, who are older and experienced than him.
above all this and that his unstable and unbalanced personality, which may harm America more than it helps it, so the disclosure of the CIA report will be the first nail in the coffin of the future of the Saudi Crown Prince Bin Salman.
(* B P)
Jamal Khashoggi: Biden faces calls to 'strike a blow' for Saudi human rights
US administration is preparing to release intelligence assessment that reportedly names the Crown Prince as complicit in murder of journalist
Media reports have in the past said that US intelligence agencies had a medium- to high-degree of confidence that the crown prince and de facto ruler was responsible for ordering Khashoggi’s killing in the Saudi consulate.
“The release of the report is a long-awaited step that must be accompanied by accountability to ensure that this barbaric crime doesn’t happen again,” said Khalid Aljabri, a Saudi who is living in exile in Canada and is the son of Saad Aljabri, a former senior official and aide to Mohammed bin Nayef, the former crown prince who is now in jail.
“Toothless sanctions by the Trump administration didn’t deter MBS [as the crown prince is often known] from going after others. The Biden administration must take more effective steps by sanctioning senior officials and political figures, institutions and entities that contributed to the murder,” he said.
“I don’t think they can sanction MBS personally, but you could see steps against state-owned enterprises and perhaps limits on the PIF [Saudi sovereign wealth fund] investments in the US. They could also issue a statement that we will not deal with MBS as head of state, which has already been said,” said Kirsten Fontenrose, director of the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council.
In an opinion piece on CNN this week, Abdullah Alaoudh, the DC-based professor and son of a prominent Saudi cleric and political prisoner who is facing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, and Michael Eisner, a former state department lawyer, called on the administration to implement “targeted sanctions” that would pressure the Saudi government to lift travel bans on dissidents and their families.
The pair also said the Biden administration could take a “small but significant step” by instituting a bar on entry into the US of Saudi leaders, targeting the Saudi royal court and interior ministry.
“The Biden administration should move to apply the exact same Magnitsky Act sanctions – including a travel ban and freeze of his assets – that the US applied to his 17 accomplices for the murder of Khashoggi,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Democracy for the Arab World (Dawn).
While most experts say it is unlikely, a move to sanction Prince Mohammed directly could have profound implications for his future as heir to the throne.
Some analysts point out that even if Biden sought to challenge the prince, it is not clear who might step in Prince Mohammed’s shoes following a campaign in Saudi Arabia to silence or imprison his most likely political rivals.
(* A P)
U.S. report on Khashoggi death expected to single out Saudi crown prince: sources
A declassified version of a U.S. intelligence report expected to be released on Thursday finds that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, four U.S. officials familiar with the matter said.
The officials said the report, for which the CIA was the main contributor, assessed that the crown prince approved and likely ordered the murder of Khashoggi, whose Washington Post column had criticized the crown prince’s policies.
The report’s release is part of Biden’s policy to realign ties with Riyadh after years of giving the Arab ally and major oil producer a pass on its human rights record and its intervention in Yemen’s civil war.
(* B P)
'Top Secret' Saudi documents show Khashoggi assassins used company seized by Saudi crown prince
The two private jets used by a Saudi Arabian assassination squad that killed and allegedly dismembered journalist Jamal Khashoggi were owned by a company that less than a year prior had been seized by the Kingdom's powerful crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, according to recently filed court documents seen by CNN.
The documents, filed as part of a Canadian civil lawsuit earlier this year, are labeled "Top Secret" and signed by a Saudi minister who relayed the orders of the crown prince, the young de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia.
"According to the instruction of His Highness the Crown Prince," the minister wrote according to a translation, "immediately approve the completion of the necessary procedures for this."
The filing lays out how ownership of Sky Prime Aviation was ordered to be transferred into the country's $400 billion sovereign wealth fund in late 2017. The company's planes were later used in the October 2018 killing of Khashoggi.
The Kingdom's sovereign wealth fund, known as the Public Investment Fund, is controlled by the Saudi crown and is chaired by the crown prince, who is known as MBS. The documents establishing the link between the planes and the prince were filed by a group of Saudi-state owned companies as part of an embezzlement suit they opened last month in Canada against a former top Saudi intelligence official, Saad Aljabri.
The embezzlement accusations against Aljabri came after a lawsuit he filed last year in Washington, DC, District Court against MBS. Aljabri has accused the crown prince of sending a hit team to kill him in Canada just days after Khashoggi was murdered. MBS was served a summons via WhatsApp, and in December, a lawyer for the prince asked the court to dismiss the case.
Evidence that ownership of the fleet of private planes had been moved into Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund has not been previously reported and provides another link between Khashoggi's death and MBS. In October 2018, not long after Khashoggi's murder, the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that the Gulfstream jets used by the killers belonged to a company controlled by MBS.
"He would have been tracking [the company] and would've been aware of how it was used," Dan Hoffman, the former director of the CIA's Middle East Division, said of the powerful crown prince. "And it's just more potential evidence that he was in the know on this. Which has always been the contention. This is just more evidence of that."
and also https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2021/03/03/saudi-sovereign-wealth-fund-planes-transported-khashoggi-kill-team/ = https://www.businessinsider.com/saudi-arabia-wealth-fund-owned-planes-jamal-khashoggi-killing-2021-3?r=DE&IR=T = https://sports.yahoo.com/amphtml/court-docs-reveal-saudi-wealth-180101773.html
cp9 USA
Siehe / Look at cp1, cp2, cp9a
(B P)
USA und Saudi-Arabien: Keine Scheidung geplant
So schnell wird der saudische Kronprinz nicht mehr im Oval Office sitzen.
Sein protokollarischer Gegenpart in den USA ist nun Lloyd Austin, der ihn vor einigen Tagen auch schon angerufen hat. US-Präsident Joe Biden hingegen hat klarstellen lassen, dass sein Ansprechpartner König Salman ist und nicht dessen Sohn.
Dennoch ist nicht zu erwarten, dass Biden die USA auf Dauer von Saudi-Arabien distanziert. Einiges deutet im Moment sogar auf eine Vertiefung der militärischen Zusammenarbeit, eine Verstärkung der von Trump wiedereingeführten Präsenz von US-Truppen in Saudi-Arabien hin. Damit agiert Biden ähnlich wie Barack Obama 2015: Der Versuch, mit dem Iran ins Gespräch zu kommen, wird abgefedert durch die Befestigung der strategischen Allianz mit den arabischen Partnern.
https://www.derstandard.at/story/2000124480846/usa-und-saudi-arabien-keine-scheidung-geplant?ref=rss
(* B P)
Jemen: Kehrtwende oder ein Krieg ohne Ende?
Die neue US-Administration hat kurz nach Übernahme der Amtsgeschäfte angekündigt, eine viel bejubelte „Kehrtwende“ in ihrer Jemenpolitik zu vollziehen. In seiner ersten außenpolitischen Grundsatzerklärung kündigte Präsident Joseph Biden an, „jede (US-)amerikanische Unterstützung für Angriffshandlungen im Jemenkrieg ein[zu]stellen, inklusive der relevanten Rüstungsexporte“.
Aber wie ernst kann die angebliche „Kehrtwende“ in der US-amerikanischen Jemenpolitik genommen werden?
Joseph Biden hat nicht gesagt, was genau er mit „relevanten“ Rüstungsexporten gemeint hat. Auch die von ihm nicht unterstützte „Angriffshandlung“ hat er nicht definiert, zugleich aber der saudi-arabischen Regierung versichert, die „Souveränität, territoriale Integrität und Bevölkerung“ des Königreichs „zu verteidigen“. Angesichts zahlreicher Statements der saudischen Regierung, in denen sie den Krieg gegen den Jemen als „Verteidigung“ bezeichnet und damit auch Angriffe auf dicht besiedelte Wohngebiete gerechtfertigt hat, sind hier Fragezeichen durchaus angebracht. Zudem scheint der US-amerikanische Schritt mit Riad, das bereits seit Längerem nach einer Exit-Strategie aus dem als nur wenige Monate dauernder Feldzug angekündigten, militärisch aber ganz offensichtlich nicht zu gewinnenden Krieg sucht, eng abgesprochen gewesen zu sein. Ganz abgesehen davon will Biden den als „Anti-Terror-Einsatz“ getarnten Drohnenkrieg im Jemen weiterführen, um so „amerikanische Interessen“ und die „Sicherheit von Verbündeten“ zu schützen. Und auch der neue US-amerikanische Jemen-Beauftragte Timothy Lenderking unterhält in Jahrzehnten des diplomatischen Dienstes gewachsene, sehr enge Beziehungen zu den Golfstaaten und muss erst noch beweisen, dass ihm jemenitische Rechte und Interessen gleichermaßen am Herzen liegen.
Zur Einordnung lohnt zudem auch ein Blick auf die Geschichte der US-amerikanischen Positionierung im Jemenkrieg: Barack Obama und sein Vize Joseph Biden haben den Krieg der saudi-arabisch angeführten Kriegskoalition seit deren Bildung im Frühjahr 2015 aktiv unterstützt.
Es muss davon ausgegangen werden, dass sich die grundlegende US-amerikanische Position zum Jemenkrieg nicht geändert hat. Letztlich haben die gesamten westlichen Industrienationen in den letzten sechs Jahren eine Politik der „uneingeschränkten Solidarität“ gegenüber Riad und seinen Verbündeten verfolgt – ungeachtet der schweren Menschenrechtsverletzungen und Kriegsverbrechen, über die lediglich ein paar Krokodilstränen vergossen worden sind.
Diese Politik, deren Protagonist in den letzten sechs Jahren die unterschiedlichen US-Administrationen von Obama-Biden bis Trump waren, muss ein Ende finden.
(* B H P)
Donald Trump Froze Badly Needed Aid To Yemen. Joe Biden Can Restore It.
The president has stopped supporting the Saudi-led coalition bombing Yemen, but must also restore U.S. assistance for the struggling country, activists say.
By releasing the assistance, Biden would dramatically boost supplies of medical equipment and other life-saving material for the most populous areas in Yemen
And the U.S. president could send an important message globally ahead of a March 1 international conference to raise donations for the crumbling country.
On Thursday, activists working on Yemen policy at prominent progressive, relief and faith organizations released an open statement urging Biden to lift the pause. The message, shared with HuffPost before its release, praises the president’s “critical Yemen policy resets” but notes that, given the extent of Yemen’s collapse, “millions more are needed [in funds], in particular, for emergency stocks of personal protective equipment, ventilators, ICU beds, and other vital supplies.”
“The United States, through [the U.S. Agency for International Development], is one of the few countries that can mobilize the money and resources to procure and distribute them,” continues the message, which was organized by the Friends Committee on National Legislation and signed by more than 60 advocacy groups.
Members of Congress are also expected to lobby Biden on the matter.
After pulling U.S. military support for the Saudis and their partners and pausing the Houthi terror designation, Biden can complete his turn away from Trump’s disastrous policy with the shift on aid. USAID did not immediately respond to a Wednesday request for comment on the administration’s plans.
“Yemen can’t wait any longer as it teeters on the edge of catastrophe,” Hassan El-Tayyab of the Friends Committee told HuffPost.
(B P)
Film: Told @dwnews that releasing the report showing MBS's role in Khashoggi beheading is important, but we can't stop there. The rot in the US-Saudi relationship didn't start with MBS - it goes much deeper.
https://twitter.com/tparsi/status/1365099361525510148
(A P)
Omani-US talks tackle ending war in Yemen
Omani foreign minister holds talks with US Special Envoy for Yemen in Muscat
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/omani-us-talks-tackle-ending-war-in-yemen/2157528
and also https://twitter.com/USEmbMuscat/status/1364916766267351040
(* A P)
Explanation of Vote on a UN Security Council Resolution Renewing Yemen Sanctions
United States Mission to the United Nations
To end the conflict in Yemen, the international community must seek a lasting political solution and humanitarian relief for the Yemeni people. The resolution adopted today helps us move in that direction.
UN Security Council sanctions for Yemen are a necessary tool to apply pressure on the Houthis to cease all military operations and turn to negotiations. We thank the United Kingdom for leading the effort to these sanctions and the mandate for the Panel of Experts, and we urge all UN Member States to implement their sanctions obligations related to Yemen.
The United States remains clear-eyed about the Houthis’ malign actions, and their aggression, particularly in their current military offensive against Marib. Likewise, we hold them responsible for attacks and threats against civilian and commercial shipping, which must cease.
We are disappointed this Council could not speak with one voice today on the responsibility the Houthis bear, both in actions and intransigence, to prolong this conflict and exact serious humanitarian costs.
If the Houthis are serious about a negotiated political solution, they must cease all military advances and refrain from other destabilizing and potentially lethal actions, including cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia. They must commit to constructively participate in the UN-led political process and engage seriously in the diplomatic effort led by UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths and U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking.
The United States remains committed to helping U.S. partners in the Gulf defend themselves, including against threats arising from Yemen, many of which are carried out with the support of Iran.
(A P)
US President Biden, Saudi King Salman discuss end to Yemen war
Biden affirms US commitment to Saudi defence, calls for diplomacy in Yemen and praises release of rights activists.
United States President Joe Biden spoke for the first time since becoming president with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on Thursday as the US prepares to release a report about the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Biden emphasised the US commitment to assuring Saudi Arabia security from threats from Iran and discussed renewed diplomatic efforts to end the war in Yemen, the White House said in a statement released by the communications office.
Biden and the Saudi monarch addressed “the longstanding partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia” and the “US commitment to help Saudi Arabia defend its territory as it faces attacks from Iranian-aligned groups”, the White House readout of the call said.
“The President noted positively the recent release of several Saudi-American activists and Ms Loujain al-Hathloul from custody, and affirmed the importance the United States places on universal human rights and the rule of law,” the White House said.
In Riyadh, “the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the US President stressed on the depth of the relationship between the two countries, and the importance of strengthening the partnership between them to serve their interests and achieve security and stability in the region and the world,” the Saudi Press Agency said in a statement.
(A P)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan on Thursday as part of a series of calls with his equivalents across the Gulf region.
“Secretary Blinken and the foreign minister discussed the importance of Saudi progress on human rights, including through legal and judicial reforms, and our joint efforts to bolster Saudi defences,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
“The secretary also reiterated his commitment to US-Saudi co-operation on ending the war in Yemen, regional security co-ordination, counter-terrorism and economic development.”
(* B P)
DEMOCRATS PRESSURE BIDEN ON U.S. BACKING FOR SAUDI WAR IN YEMEN
Progressive lawmakers sent Biden a letter seeking details on his plan to halt U.S. aid for offensive military operations in Yemen.
WEEKS AFTER President Joe Biden announced he would end U.S. support for “offensive” military operations in Yemen by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, a group of progressive lawmakers are asking his administration to clarify what forms of U.S. support will continue.
On Thursday, 41 members of Congress sent a letter to Biden expressing support for his decision to limit U.S. backing for the war but asked him to clarify what forms of “military, intelligence, [and] logistical” support it defines as “offensive” activities and what forms of support will continue.
“You have said that the United States will ‘continue to support and help Saudi Arabia defend its sovereignty and its territorial integrity and its people’ from ‘threats from Iranian-supplied forces in multiple countries,’” the letter says. “What activities does this policy entail, and under what legal authority is the administration authorized to engage in such activities?”
The letter was written by Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore.; Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif.; and Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., and signed by 38 others. In a phone interview Wednesday, DeFazio told The Intercept that he wasn’t aware of any formal communication between the Biden administration and Congress about their policy, and said the letter was trying to get answers.
“That raises questions that we would like to have answered,” DeFazio said. “How do you define weapons? What’s the difference between an offensive weapon or a defensive weapon? Congress has acted a number of times to block arms sales to the Saudis. So we just have a number of questions. We think it’s obviously a tremendous improvement over the position of the Trump administration. We would just like more clarification, more detail about what the shift means and also what [legal] authority they’re depending upon to continue to be involved in this conflict in any way.”
Khanna told The Intercept that he had informal conversations with Biden administration officials about how they interpret “offensive” operations, but he wanted the administration to clarify the details with Congress as a “formal statement of administration policy.”
“My understanding is that the ban on any U.S. participation in Saudi military strikes applies very broadly to any Saudi bombing or missile strikes into Yemen,” Khanna said. “There is no wiggle room for the Saudis to claim they’re attacking a place in Yemen out of self-defense. That is my understanding of how the administration intends the directive.”
The letter from members of Congress questions what weapons the administration deems “relevant” to offensive operations and whether the $23 billion sale will go forward.
Max Abrahms, a professor of political science at Northeastern University and a critic of the U.S. intervention, told The Intercept the Democrats who signed the letter are right to question the Biden administration. “The distinction between offensive and defensive weapons is often unclear,” Abrahms said in a phone interview.
https://theintercept.com/2021/02/25/yemen-saudi-war-biden-democrats/
(A P)
As Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., seeks to become a major voice on U.S. foreign policy, she is looking to make sanctions one of her hallmark issues.
Earlier this month, Omar, one of the members of “the Squad,” was named vice chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, providing her with a platform to oversee legislation on foreign military deployments, aid and diplomatic policy.
On Feb. 11, the same day her position on the subcommittee was announced, Omar led a group of Democrats who sent a letter advocating President Biden and his administration to broaden their review of existing sanctions on foreign governments. Biden had previously ordered an assessment of sanctions to determine whether they were impeding the global COVID relief effort.
The letter encouraged the Biden administration “to consider the humanitarian impacts of sanctions more broadly.”
In an interview with Yahoo News, Omar expanded on why she believes the U.S. needs to reconsider how it uses sanctions against other countries.
“In so much of our foreign policy, we rely on muscle memory and a limited tool kit to decide the best course of action as we engage in countries. Too often, sanctioning regimes becomes ill-considered and incoherent, and counterproductive,” Omar said. “It’s important for us to have, I think, a way that we look at to see what the desired goal in our interactions are and think about — in worst-case scenarios — will it hurt the people that we are actually trying to help.” (with film)
https://news.yahoo.com/amphtml/ilhan-omar-foreign-policy-leadership-sanctions-relief-130030385.html
(* B P)
MBS role in murder revealed, but Biden’s Saudi approach is less clear
President Biden has indicated that he will release the unclassified summary of the U.S. intelligence community’s findings on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi by a Saudi hit team in October 2018.
The release of the intelligence report is the latest indication that the days of unquestioned U.S. support for Saudi Arabia in general and MBS in particular are over. Or are they?
For all Biden’s public expressions of censure — including the announcement last week that Biden would communicate with King Salman, who suffers from dementia, rather than his son, the de facto ruler — Biden has not shifted the foundations of the U.S. relationship to Saudi Arabia.
For example, despite Biden’s statement that Washington would end support for “offensive” Saudi military actions in Yemen, and would freeze “relevant” weapons sales, the administration has not clarified how “offensive” and “relevant” will be defined
Biden’s expressions of toughness against Saudi Arabia may be intended to appease the U.S. public without altering the decades of U.S. support for the House of Saud. Americans have not forgotten that 15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers were Saudi.
Why is Biden so reluctant to change the U.S.-Saudi relationship? Despite Congressional efforts to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for the murder of Khashoggi, the U.S. weapons industry remains one of the most powerful forces lobbying on behalf of Saudi Arabia, as well as other Arab despots that enrich American weapons manufacturers.
Biden’s apparent unwillingness to put pressure on Saudi Arabia is ill-advised. Washington’s current stance encourages Saudi Arabia, as well as the UAE and Israel, to act aggressively, pursuing policies that destabilize the region, foment violence, and undermine U.S. interests. The United States is not reliant on these countries, and should demonstrate that they can no longer bully Washington into promoting their preferred policies, namely antagonizing Iran, brutalizing Yemen, and maintaining apartheid in Palestine.
Biden should pursue a fundamentally new approach to America’s partners in the Middle East, one that makes clear that Washington will only work with these countries in their efforts to reduce tensions and foster stability – by Annelle Sheline
(* A P)
Jamal Khashoggi: Biden faces calls to 'strike a blow' for Saudi human rights
US administration is preparing to release intelligence assessment that reportedly names the Crown Prince as complicit in murder of journalist
Joe Biden is expected to call Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, as his administration prepares to release a declassified intelligence assessment that will reportedly name the royal’s son and heir as complicit in the grisly murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
The White House confirmed on Wednesday that Biden’s call to the 85-year-old ruler would take place “soon” and that the declassified report on Khashoggi’s murder was being readied for release. Biden, who said he has read the report, is insisting that he speak only to the king.
(B P)
Before today's hearing, Biden's CIA director nominee Bill Burns had to submit a list of all the gifts he's received over the last 5 years that exceed $100 in value. One of the holiday gifts is not like the others (image)
https://twitter.com/ZcohenCNN/status/1364626495315062788
(B P)
Regardless of Statements, US Held Responsible Until It Stops Its Aggression Against Yemen
The new US administration tried to show its announcement regarding the removal of Ansarullah from the terrorism list, as if it was a blessing Ansarullah and the Yemeni people. However, everyone knows, especially the Yemeni people, that the US is standing directly behind the launching aggression for more than 6 years, and it will not wash its hands from this aggression except by stopping it and lifting the unjust blockade on the Yemeni people.
It is known that classifying Ansarullah as terrorists, by the Trump administration, was a measure of revenge against the Yemeni people who support these patriotic and revolutionary forces, and turn their back on the countries of aggression and their dirty money. The announcement of such classification creates obstacles to the humanitarian organizations in the territories under control of the Sanaa government, and this will increase the suffering of the Yemeni people, who are living the worst human tragedy in the modern era.
This bitter truth, the fact of revenge against the Yemeni people, was revealed by the United Nations agencies days ago
The Biden administration is trying, by removing the Ansarullah from the US list of terrorism, to throw ash in the eyes, in order to cover up its shameful role in starving the children of Yemen. It directly involved in the aggression against Yemen, sold weapons to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and prevented ships carrying humanitarian aid to Yemen, under ridiculous pretexts, in order to put pressure on the popular incubator for the revolutionary and patriotic forces that thwarted the aggression and humiliated the aggressors.
My remark: A Houthi view of the new US administration.
(A P)
US State Dep.: During his meeting with Saudi Finance Minister al-Jadaan, #USEnvoyYemen Lenderking expressed gratitude for Saudi Arabia's generous support over the decades for the people of Yemen, especially at this critical juncture, and encouraged continued assistance and contributions.
https://twitter.com/StateDept_NEA/status/1364582414295662592
Comments: Are you kidding! Maybe you meant the death and destruction support by #Saudi in #Yemen!
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/1364597202241396740
The most important aid provided by Saudi Arabia to Yemen is death and destruction by bombs, planes and American weapons that exterminated and starved the Yemeni people. The American envoy thanked Saudi Arabia for its crimes in Yemen, a crime that proves his lack of credibility.
https://twitter.com/AHSTTEN/status/1364602376368386053
Completely inappropriate tone, @StateDept_NEA. The US has no reason to thank Saudi Arabia for its destruction of Yemen If Saudi Arabia sends massive funds to rebuild Yemen, which is in its own interests to prevent instability & violence, then the US government can thank them.
https://twitter.com/AnnelleSheline/status/1364691394292568071
(A P)
Saudi Arabia sued by families of victims of 2019 Florida base attack
Families of three U.S. service members who were killed and 13 others who were wounded in a shooting by a Saudi gunman at Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida in 2019 have sued Saudi Arabia for damages.
The complaint, which was filed on Monday in a federal court in the city of Pensacola, alleged that Saudi Arabia had known about the gunman being radicalized and that it could have prevented the killings.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-saudi-lawsuit-florida-idUSKBN2AN0WN
(* B P)
Ro Khanna Squares Off With UAE Ambassador
This strange tale illustrates something we don't see often in Washington—the power individual members of Congress can wield.
Why would the ambassador of a country with just 1.5 million citizens feel able to shout at a member of the U.S. Congress? “Because for decades, we have pursued a foreign policy that put their interests ahead of our own,” wrote Trita Parsi, co-founder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, in a tweet. “We created this monster.”
Rep. Ro Khanna’s efforts to end U.S. support for the war in Yemen so infuriated United Arab Emirates Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba that he went to the California Democrat’s office and screamed at the congressman during a meeting, said Khanna.
“I’ve never had an ambassador of another country come to my office and literally yell at me, but that’s what I had with the ambassador to UAE,” Khanna said during an interview for the Intercept’s podcast “Deconstructed.”
A lead sponsor of a resolution to end U.S. involvement in the war in Yemen being waged by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Khanna was shocked by the ambassador’s shouting.
Otaiba is a key figure in the UAE’s Washington influence game. He was often seen wining and dining members of the Obama administration and Congress; the Four Seasons in Georgetown was his favorite power-breakfast spot, reported the Huffington Post.
After Obama left office, Otaiba cozied up to Trump’s son-in-law and Middle East peace deal architect Jared Kushner
Leaders of Saudi Arabia and the UAE later claimed they had worked their back channels and close relationship with Kushner to have Tillerson fired-by-tweet.
These decisions all show Otaiba, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE’s growing regional power and influence during the Obama and Trump years. At one time, it would have been unthinkable for a diplomat from a small country to scream at a congressman from a nuclear powerhouse like the United States.
“But the UAE now considers itself to be part of the management team when it comes to overseeing the U.S.-led Western global project,” reports the Intercept. “Otaiba’s posture toward Khanna reflects the evolving nature of the world’s governing elite.”
The peculiar arc of this story, from the shouting, to the war powers resolution, to the podcast invite, all show something we don’t see very often in Washington anymore: the power that individual members of Congress can wield, should they choose to use it.
(* B P)
US political establishment: -Saying apartheid is apartheid is antisemitic -Saying US quit #Iran deal & should fix it is being an apologist -Saying Americans should get help in pandemic is communism -Saying US empire commits violence is anti-American Basically don’t say anything
https://twitter.com/AssalRad/status/1363928899793555456
Very nice summary of "freedom of speech" allowed on American mass media.
https://twitter.com/mortazavi/status/1364026398541705223
(A P)
U.S. seeking to raise ambition of donors at U.N. Yemen fundraising conference -State Dept
The United States is seeking to raise the ambition of donors at a United Nations fundraising event on Monday for Yemen’s humanitarian crisis, the U.S. State Department spokesman said on Tuesday.
“We are seeking to raise the ambition, not only in this country but on the part of our partners too when it comes to what they are willing to contribute and able to contribute to bring an end to the humanitarian plight of the Yemeni people,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.
My comment: Pay for the mess you have caused.
(A P)
Biden calling Saudi king ahead of damning report
President Biden plans to call Saudi Arabia’s King Salman tomorrow, ahead of the public release of a potentially damning intelligence report about the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a person familiar with the matter tells Axios' Hans Nichols.
Why it matters: The call, if it happens as scheduled, will be Biden’s first conversation as president with the Saudi king. While they are likely to discuss a range of issues, the conversation will be colored by the imminent release of the explosive report expected to involve one of the monarch's sons.
https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-sneak-peek-f2079422-2b78-4c8f-b5f6-df176f6d6cff.html
(* B P)
How Biden can strike a blow against Saudi Arabia's human rights violations
At a minimum, the Biden administration -- which says it wants to "recalibrate" its relationship with Saudi Arabia -- has an obligation to temper the worst excesses of a leader who has a penchant for sadistic abuses and wanton wars that have harmed and destabilized the region. MBS, is, after all, America's liability as long as the US government provides him with billions in military weapons and political cover. Moreover, the US has a fundamental reason, both from a moral and self-interest standpoint, to provide support for the dissident and nascent democratic forces that are locked in an existential struggle with the forces of authoritarianism across the region, from Egypt to Iran, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, UAE and Bahrain, Syria, Iraq and Turkey. Indeed, that struggle is taking place worldwide, and, as President Biden has declared, we are a party to it.
To bolster the forces of democratic reform, the Biden administration should strike a blow against Saudi human rights violations not only in Yemen, but also in Saudi Arabia. The Biden administration has already put a temporary freeze on arms sales to Saudi Arabia; it should use this pause to implement targeted sanctions that would raise the costs of the travel ban to the Saudi government. Such a measure would signal to the Saudis and the world that the US stands firmly on the side of civil society and has turned the page on the Trump administration's policy of embracing despots.
Such a tailored sanction would raise the cost of the travel ban for the Saudis and might just convince MBS to back off and allow Saudis who want to leave to do so.
(* B K P)
The Blob circles the wagons around failing Afghanistan strategy
Nothing alarms hawks in the foreign policy establishment more than the prospect of an end to U.S. involvement in a foreign war.
U.S. wars can drag on for years or decades without any protest from hawkish pundits and former officials, but the moment that U.S. troops might be brought out of a war zone they swing into action to denounce the “retreat.” We saw this in the collective bipartisan panic over the possibility of withdrawal from Syria in 2018 and 2019, and we are seeing it again as part of a concerted effort to delay the withdrawal of the last 2,500 U.S. troops from Afghanistan by May 1.
The opinion editors at The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal may not agree on much, but they are both determined to oppose bringing forces out of Afghanistan as our war there approaches its 20th anniversary, raising the specter of “withdrawing irresponsibly.” Meanwhile conservative establishmentarians like Washington Post columnist Max Boot, and his cohort on the center-left side of the dial, David Ignatius, as well as Madeleine Albright, make common cause for keeping troops in Afghanistan as Biden’s “best option.” Today’s “stay” advocates, which include Republicans like Lindsey Graham making the media rounds, may all be coming from different plot points on the Washington political grid, but keeping the United States committed to a desultory, unwinnable conflict unites them. Their messages are circulated and amplified by social media and establishment friendlies, and among big cable news outlets. Thus, a consensus is born.
There is perhaps no better illustration of the groupthink and reflexive hawkishness of the so-called foreign policy Blob in the U.S. than the intense resistance from political and media elites to the possibility of ending our longest war. But as they are on so many other issues, the Blob is wrong about Afghanistan, and Biden would be wise to ignore their recommendations.
cp9a USA-Iran Krise: Spannungen am Golf / US-Iran crisis: Tensions at the Gulf
Siehe / Look at cp9
(* A P)
Iran Faces U.S. Censure in First Diplomatic Showdown With Biden
The U.S. is asking other countries to support a formal censure of Iran over its accelerating nuclear activities, a signal that the Biden administration wants to turn up the diplomatic heat on Tehran as it looks to restore a crumbling 2015 accord.
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of governors convenes next week in Vienna to discuss the latest reports that Iran has stepped up production of nuclear fuel while stalling inquiries into the presence of uranium particles at undeclared sites.
U.S. diplomats circulated a document on Thursday which lists Washington’s grievances and orders Iran to fully cooperate with inspectors. The proposed resolution would “underscore strong concern at the IAEA’s findings” and “express the board’s deepening concern with respect to Iran’s cooperation,” read the three-page document seen by Bloomberg.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-25/iran-faces-u-s-censure-in-first-diplomatic-showdown-with-biden = https://financialpost.com/pmn/business-pmn/iran-faces-u-s-censure-in-first-diplomatic-showdown-with-biden
Comment by Daniel Larison: This is absurd. They are wrecking their opportunity for a diplomatic success with stunts like this. This practically guarantees that Iran will “accelerate” further
https://twitter.com/DanielLarison/status/1364976358745657344
My comment: The Biden administration simply seems to continue Trump’s policy. – How – in a serious world – the US could ask for this, taking into account that the US has left the Nuclear Deal in 2018? Actually, US is out.
and
(* A P)
This "good cop/bad cop" routine is bound to backfire. The US approach to the Board resolution it seeks will be heavily criticized by Russia, China, and other major players for being hypocritical due to its own breaches of the #JCPOA and #UNSCR2231.
We need to speak coherently. US "withdrawal" vs. Iranian "violations" needs to stop. There is no withdrawal clause in the #JCPOA or the UNSCR that backs it. If one asserts that Iran is in "violation" of the JCPOA, the US definitely is too.
Let's face reality. The US is far further away from full implementation of the #JCPOA than Iran is, so how can it call upon the Board to express "deepening concern" about Iran suspending #JCPOA-based voluntary transparency measures including the #AdditionalProtocol?
There is zero need to add fuel to the fire. To its own peril domestically, the Rouhani administration has helpfully opened up the political space for potential informal talks, and hopefully negotiations, on JCPOA restoration over the next 3 months.
We are in a crucial moment of Iranian decision-making as to whether or not Iran will sit down with the US in an informal setting, as first suggested by @JZarif and offered to be convened by @EU_EEAS @JosepBorrellF. Is pursuing a resolution re: #JCPOA really worth tanking that?
The US reiterates this line that "if Iran returns to full performance of its #JCPOA commitments, the US is prepared to do the same..." which continues a dangerous game of chicken that has gotten us nowhere in the last month. US abrogation is the core issue. Show some humility.
https://twitter.com/SahilV_Shah/status/1365015273003180037
(A P)
Scoop: Iran accuses E3 of 'starting' US action at IAEA
Iran accuses Britain, France and Germany—the E3—of having initiated the US plans to censure Tehran at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Speaking to Amwaj.media on condition of anonymity, Iranian sources allege that France is now leading a charge behind the scenes to single out Tehran at the Agency’s Board of Governors meeting next week. They also warn that such efforts will jeopardize Iran’s cooperation with the IAEA.
https://amwaj.media/article/scoop-e3-started-the-us-move-at-iaea-iran-alleges
(A K P)
Film: Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE are in talks to establish a defense alliance
https://twitter.com/i24NEWS_EN/status/1364946502276288527
(B P)
If the Biden administration screws up rejoining the #JCPOA by insisting Iran "make the first move"--even though it was the US that left the deal in 2018 while Iran was still in full compliance--it will be a sign that they aren't as adept at diplomacy as they claim to be
https://twitter.com/stephenWalt/status/1365048321618903047
(A P)
FM Zarif: US behavior prompted Iran to take steps away from JCPOA
Iran’s foreign minister has reiterated that the United States’ actions were the main reason prompting his country to suspend its commitments under the 2015 nuclear agreement, urging Washington to lift its illegal sanctions to “remove the cause” of the standoff over Tehran’s nuclear program.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/25/646058/Zarif-US-conduct-behind-Iran-nuclear-steps
(B P)
Poll: Iranians support nuke deal but no further concessions
Most Iranians favor resuming full compliance with the 2015 international nuclear deal but only if the United States returns to the agreement and meets its obligations first or at the same time, according to a phone poll of Iranians.
The Center for International and Security Studies at the University of Maryland and the independent Toronto-based agency IranPoll surveyed more than one thousand Iranians by phone conducted between January 26 and February 6.
(* B P)
Did Biden Wait Too Long to Engage Iran?
Held back by infighting and hard-liners on the Hill, the administration may have squandered precious time to save the Iran nuclear deal, critics say.
Following Tehran’s partial curtailment of nuclear inspections this week, the Biden administration finds itself in a desperate race to salvage the 2015 pact that the new president has pledged to rejoin. But some critics say internal debates within U.S. President Joe Biden’s team may led it to wait too long to offer Iran confidence-building and humanitarian relief measures that might have brought Tehran back to the table sooner.
Despite increasingly hard-line statements from Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Tehran’s moderates have been waiting for signs from Washington of some measure of relief for its sanctions-strangled economy since former President Donald Trump pulled out of the pact in 2018—especially when it comes to humanitarian aid.
But none has been in the offing. Some officials and nuclear experts say that, due to factional infighting within the administration and fears of opposition from hard-liners on Capitol Hill, the Biden team has hesitated to offer such measures—even though some of its own leaders, such as National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, were central to negotiating the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in the first place.
“I think the Biden administration missed an opportunity in the first week of its term to send a stronger, more concrete signal of its good faith intentions to return to JCPOA,” said Kelsey Davenport, director for nonproliferation policy at the Arms Control Association. “During the time it took for the Biden team to begin to be more proactive, positions hardened in Iran. I’m not surprised at the delay at this point. I think Iran expected swifter action. After all, because of Trump’s withdrawal, it’s the U.S. that is responsible for the crisis around the JCPOA.”
The question is urgent because there may only be a few months left to save the deal.
If the United States wants to get Iran back to the negotiating table, as Biden previously vowed, it will likely take precisely the sort of gesture that the administration has been so far unwilling to make. That could mean issuing waivers to allow foreign companies to work with Iran’s civil nuclear program.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/02/24/biden-iran-nuclear-deal-trump/
(A P)
Iranian Air Force to roll out Iran's first wide-body combat drone
Iran is in the final stages of manufacturing its first wide-body combat drone that is also the first aircraft in the country’s drone squadron to be capable of flying as far as 3,000 kilometers (1864 miles).
https://parstoday.com/en/news/iran-i135384-air_force_to_roll_out_iran's_first_wide_body_combat_drone
(A P)
China says Iran nuclear issue at ‘critical point’
Developments surrounding Iran’s nuclear program are at a “critical point” and lifting sanctions on the country is key to breaking the deadlock, China’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.
(A P)
Secretive Israeli nuclear facility undergoes major project
A secretive Israeli nuclear facility at the center of the nation’s undeclared atomic weapons program is undergoing what appears to be its biggest construction project in decades, satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press show.
A dig about the size of a soccer field and likely several stories deep now sits just meters (yards) from the aging reactor at the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center near the city of Dimona. The facility is already home to decades-old underground laboratories that reprocess the reactor’s spent rods to obtain weapons-grade plutonium for Israel’s nuclear bomb program.
What the construction is for, however, remains unclear. The Israeli government did not respond to detailed questions from the AP about the work. Under its policy of nuclear ambiguity, Israel neither confirms nor denies having atomic weapons. It is among just four countries that have never joined the Non-Proliferation Treaty, a landmark international accord meant to stop the spread of nuclear arms.
https://apnews.com/article/secret-israel-nuclear-construction-ecd8b6f3ffb329aa1fc566b9f9336038
My comment: Obviously, any reshaped Nuclear Deal must limit this as well.
(* B P)
Political analyst: Reasons for Biden-Macron dispute over Saudi Arabia
An expert on the Middle East Affairs, referring to the recent policies of the French President, Emmanuel Macron to get closer to Saudi Arabia after Joe Biden took office, said France wants to fill the gap caused by the United States to reduce its strong presence in the Middle East.
In an interview with political expert 'Davoud Ahmadzadeh', he referred to Joe Biden coming to power in the United States and the way he looks at the Middle East issues, and said: It should be noted that Biden has repeatedly stated in his recent remarks that he is reviewing Trump’s policies in West Asia, an obvious example of which is suspending the sale of advanced weapons to the UAE and Saudi Arabia and emphasizing peace in Yemen and a ceasefire in the region.
Referring to the US policies of retreating from aggressive policies and a strong presence in regional crises in West Asia, Ahmadzadeh said: Biden’s view has made a country like France feel that there will be a vacuum in the region, and therefore now the French rulers and Emmanuel Macron himself seek to fill this power gap and maintain a strong presence in the Middle East.
Noting that the French have traditionally been considered the major arms supplier to the Persian Gulf states and have long had security and military ties with Persian Gulf sheikhdoms, especially Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the expert said that those issues have made Paris, more than any other European capital, try to play a role in this region.
He added: Another issue that can be mentioned is the way the United States would return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Given that Joe Biden and his security team have previously stated that they are ready to return to the JCPOA in certain circumstances, it seems that this approach and the leadership of the negotiation mechanism by the United States and Joe Biden himself is not much to the liking of the French authorities. They feel that a strong and renewed presence of the US in the talks with Iran may not be in the interest of Europe, especially France, in the long run.
Commenting over the possibility that the West as a whole may pursue a coordinated and uniform policy on political and security issues in the Middle East, he said: However, we have always seen witness to the covert and overt rivalries between the two sides of the Atlantic. Therefore, in the current situation, the French, with particular support for Saudi Arabia’s participation in the JCPOA talks with Iran, intend to reassure the Saudi rulers that, as a traditional ally, they will abide by previous commitments to maintain special relations and arms sales.
The expert continued: The issue of Saudi Arabia’s presence in the JCPOA talks has faced serious opposition from Iran; because Iran’s diplomatic apparatus and the main decision-making bodies in the issue of the JCPOA have stated that there will be no renegotiation in this case and they do not accept that other party plays a role in Iran’s nuclear case.
Saying that Joe Biden, by moving away from Trump’s unilateralist policies, is trying to reach a consensus with his traditional allies, especially the European Union, on security issues, especially in the complex Middle East issues, he said: But this does not mean that in the near future we will not see any difference or divergence between the United States and the European Union.
(A P)
Sen. Ed Markey: I am leading 10 senators in reintroducing the Iran Diplomacy Act to support President Biden’s reinstatement of the Iran Deal. Biden is right to pursue diplomatic steps that verifiably shut the door on an Iranian nuclear weapon (document in image)
https://twitter.com/SenMarkey/status/1364262348358373376
(* B P)
This is going to be a long thread. Two @iaeaorg reports circulated today. One on the #Iran-IAEA agreement and enrichment. One on the safeguards and undeclared nuclear material probe. First time since September two reports issued.
https://twitter.com/laurnorman/status/1364266452950335488
(* B P)
Film: Can Biden cool tensions with Iran? | The Stream
But while the Biden administration has withdrawn Trump’s restoration of UN ‘snapback’ sanctions against Iran, he has so far refused to relax US-authored sanctions until Iran rolls back nuclear activity that it has accelerated in recent months. That has irritated leaders in Tehran who want the US to stop sanctions that have badly hit its economy and its people before Iran comes back into compliance with the nuclear pact. Other issues are clouding the perennially fraught relationship between Washington and Tehran. The US assassination of top military commander Qassem Soleimani in January 2020 sparked anger across Iran, with Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei continuing to vow revenge. Will Biden make a clean break with the Trump era when it comes to Iran – and what lies ahead for the Washington-Tehran relationship?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGKHLgl2iKE
(* A P)
Korea To Unfreeze Iranian Assets After Consulations With US
South Korea will release Iranian assets it has frozen due to sanctions after consultations with the United States.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the move Tuesday, a day after the Iranian government claimed the two sides agreed on the amount of money and destinations for the transfer.
Tehran has been pressuring Seoul to release some 7 billion dollars of its assets locked in two Korean banks due to U.S. sanctions.
Seoul has been in talks with Washington on ways to release the money without violating the sanctions, including expanding humanitarian trade with the Middle Eastern country.
In order to facilitate the trade, the South Korean government has been seeking to use a Swiss channel backed by the U.S. to use the money through Swiss companies' sales of goods to Iran, according to Yonhap News.
Both Seoul and Tehran have denied speculation that the matter is related to Iran's seizure last month of a Korean oil tanker and its crew members in the Persian Gulf.
http://tbs.seoul.kr/eFm/newsView.do?typ_800=N&idx_800=3424447&seq_800=
(* B P)
The Real Regional Problem With the Iran Deal
Some Players Prefer for Washington and Tehran to Remain at Odds
As U.S. President Joe Biden explores returning to the Iran nuclear deal, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)—two of only three countries in the world that opposed the agreement—insist that they must be included in future negotiations over its fate. Their inclusion, representatives of the two countries argue, would rectify the agreement’s supposed flaw: its failure to rein in Tehran’s regional policies.
But in truth, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have less interest in strengthening the nuclear deal than in sustaining the enmity between the United States and Iran. When the original deal was negotiated in 2015, these states acted as spoilers
Today, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Israel argue that the 2015 Iran nuclear deal should have encompassed regional concerns. But back when the deal was being negotiated, Saudi Arabia and the UAE insisted that U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration refrain from bringing regional conflicts into discussions with Iran in their absence.
Given that these three U.S security partners—Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Israel—have an interest in sustaining hostility between the United States and Iran, and given their track records as spoilers, including them in renewed nuclear negotiations would be a devastating mistake that would all but ensure the end of diplomacy. But the Biden administration also envisions follow-on negotiations on Persian Gulf security that will be of little meaning without these powers. Washington must therefore find a constructive way to include them in that later phase.
The United States will have to begin by disabusing the three countries of any notion that they can simply add their concerns about Iranian conduct to the agenda without making their own policies subject to negotiation.
Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have legitimate issues to raise regarding Iran’s support for the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, its transfer of arms to Houthi forces in Yemen, and its support for nonstate actors throughout the region. But Tehran has its own problems with Saudi and Emirati policies—such as the funding and arming of militias, the Saudi propagation of Wahhabism, and the extensive purchases of American weaponry by the Saudis and the Emiratis, as well as the Israelis. If Riyadh and Abu Dhabi show up to follow-on negotiations unprepared to compromise on such matters, they will not only fail to break their region’s deadlock, but they will actively, perhaps purposely, perpetuate it.
Indeed, the Saudis and the Emiratis may have very little incentive to engage in such regional diplomacy in good faith so long as they believe that the United States has the interest and political will to continue to dominate the region militarily. The success of any such talks would likely entail painful compromises and a reduction of arms purchases from the United States.
To reach a real regional peace will require the United States to take—or to acknowledge—a painful and consequential step. The deep U.S. engagement in the Persian Gulf region has come under question in Washington and grown unpopular with the American public.
For the House of Saud and its Emirati allies not to play spoilers in regional diplomacy, the United States must first remove any doubt that the era of American hegemony over the Persian Gulf is coming to an end. Only under those circumstances will Riyadh and Abu Dhabi conclude that successful regional diplomacy is their best option and agree to become the United States’ partners in peace – by Trita Parsi
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/middle-east/2021-02-23/real-regional-problem-iran-deal
(* A P)
Iran is “considering” joining the US for informal nuclear deal talks
It’s a strong signal that US and Iranian negotiators may soon meet face to face to once again discuss curbing Tehran’s nuclear program.
Iran’s leaders are signaling they’re open to participating in informal talks with the United States, brokered by the European Union, to keep the sputtering 2015 nuclear deal alive.
President Joe Biden has said he would be willing to rejoin the deal and lift those economic penalties, but only if Iran comes back into compliance with the accord first. Iran says the US has to go first and lift economic sanctions before the Islamic Republic will return to compliance. That sequencing problem led to a standoff, with neither side wanting to cave to the other.
That scenario changed somewhat last week.
The European Union offered to host a meeting with the US, Iran, and all the other signatories to the 2015 nuclear agreement (China, Russia, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom). The US accepted, with State Department spokesperson Ned Price telling reporters Biden’s team wanted to “discuss a diplomatic way forward on Iran’s nuclear program.”
Iranian officials weren’t quite so eager, saying America had left the deal so it first had to remove the sanctions placed on Tehran. Still, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi said the regime was “studying” the proposal.
But on Tuesday, Iran expressed more willingness, with Foreign Minister Javad Zarif — who negotiated the nuclear deal with the Obama administration — saying “we are considering an informal meeting ... in which the United States is not a member but is invited.”
The dig against America aside, Zarif’s comment is about as strong as diplomatic language gets. It doesn’t mean Tehran will for sure join the proposed informal dialogue, but it does suggest that outcome is likely. Top diplomats usually don’t throw out statements like that carelessly.
https://www.vox.com/2021/2/23/22297066/iran-nuclear-deal-zarif-considering-informal-meeting
(A P)
PGCC levels false accusations against Iran
The Secretary-General of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council Nayef Falah M. Al-Hajraf leveled a number of false accusations against the Islamic Republic of Iran and Yemeni Ansarullah movement in a meeting with ambassadors of EU member states in Riyadh on Tuesday.
Referring to Iran’s Nuclear Deal, The Secretary-General called for the participation of the Council in any negotiations related to the security and stability of the region.
Reiterating false claims against the Islamic Republic, Al-Hajraf urged Iran not to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.
Ignoring Saudi Arabia's actions in the region, he accused Tehran of supporting terrorist groups.
https://en.mehrnews.com/news/170314/PGCC-levels-false-accusations-against-Iran
(A P)
Biden attempt to resurrect Iran nuke deal off to bumpy start
The Biden administration’s early efforts to resurrect the 2015 Iran nuclear deal are getting a chilly early response from Tehran. Though few expected a breakthrough in the first month of the new administration, Iran’s tough line suggests a difficult road ahead.
Having made several significant overtures to Iran in its first weeks in office, the administration’s outreach has been all but shunned by the Iranians. They had already rejected Biden’s opening gambit: a U.S. return to the deal from which President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018 if Iran resumes full compliance with its obligations under the accord.
My comment: This is an odd pro-US view. The US should rejoin the 2015 Nuclear Deal, all partners should affirm their commitment to the deal, and period. The Biden administration actually does not do this, but they continue Trump’s policy and claim there should be a new deal which should obligate Iran (and no one else) more.
(A P)
State TV: Iran imposes curbs on UN nuclear inspections
Iran officially has begun restricting international inspections of its nuclear facilities, state TV reported Tuesday, a bid to pressure European countries and U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration to lift crippling economic sanctions and restore the 2015 nuclear deal.
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
(A P)
Parliament: Yemen: Armed Conflict
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office written question – answered on 25th February 2021.
https://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2021-02-11.HL13316.h&p=10010
(A H P)
'Lemonade stand' boys get Gold Blue Peter badges for Yemen fundraising
Two seven-year-old boys who set up a lemonade stand to raise money for those affected by the Yemen crisis have been awarded Gold Blue Peter badges.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-56202255
(A P)
UN Human Rights Council 46: Interactive Dialogue with the Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen
The UK's International Ambassador for Human Rights, Rita French, delivered this statement during the Interactive Dialogue with the Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen
My comment: Britain finally should stop fueling Yemen War and Period.
(* B P)
Revealed: British royals met tyrannical Middle East monarchies over 200 times since Arab Spring erupted 10 years ago
Britain’s royal family has met members of autocratic Middle Eastern monarchies nearly once a fortnight since the crackdown on ‘Arab Spring’ protests began 10 years ago this month. Their visits have often coincided with human rights abuses in the Gulf, where pro-democracy activists are punished for criticising the Windsor ties to regimes.
Prince Charles, heir to the throne, held 95 meetings with Arab monarchies since 2011 – the largest engagement by a UK royal.
Bahraini royals had most meetings with House of Windsor – 44 over the last decade, followed by House of Saud on 40.
House of Windsor draws on its personal friendships with Middle Eastern monarchs to enhance UK relations, through shared interests such as horse riding and lavish jewellery.
UK public spent at least £1.4-million flying royals to Arab monarchies. One overnight trip by Prince Charles to mourn the Middle East’s longest-serving autocrat cost £210,000.
While the royal family is meant to be apolitical, these visits promote controversial British policy in the Gulf, sometimes helping to secure arms or energy contracts.
The extent of support given by Britain’s royal family to repressive Middle Eastern monarchies in the decade since pro-democracy uprisings rocked the region is revealed this week in a four-part investigation by Declassified UK.
Gulf princes in charge of notorious internal security units, such as Saudi Arabia’s national guard, had repeated meetings with British royals, with visits sometimes coinciding with those countries’ worst abuses of human rights or support to hardline Islamist forces in the wars in Libya and Syria.
and also https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uk-british-royal-family-gulf-rulers-visits-decade
(B K P)
The UK continues controversial arms sales as families in Yemen are on the brink of starvation
Meanwhile, the UK has come under renewed scrutiny for arms sales to Saudi Arabia, which is leading the coalition blockading Yemen.
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
(A K P)
New Zealand: KiwiSaver scheme promoted by Kiwibank won't pull investment with arms company that supplies Saudi military
The KiwiSaver scheme Kiwibank promotes has been investing in a company that provided munitions to the Saudi military while it was involved in the war in Yemen.
However Kiwi Wealth won't put the company - Raytheon Technologies - on its exclusion list.
The Green Party is calling for greater transparency so New Zealanders know where their savings are invested.
(A P)
Tehran in Talks with Moscow to Resolve Yemen Crisis
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Iranian envoy to Moscow Kazem Jalali conferred on regional issues and developments in Yemen.
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13991207000436/Tehran-in-Talks-wih-Mscw-Reslve-Yemen-Crisis
(A P)
Iran Hopes for Establishment of Sustainable Peace in Yemen
Iranian Foreign Minister’s Senior Assistant for Special Political Affairs Ali Asqar Khaji expressed the hope that the Saudi-led coalition and its western backers would change their approach to establish sustainable security in Yemen.
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13991207000462/Iran-Hpes-fr-Esablishmen-f-Ssainable-Peace-in-Yemen
(A P)
Amnesty protests France’s arms sales to Saudi, UAE
Activists hold demonstration in capital Paris, call on France to ban arms export to Saudi Arabia, UAE
Amnesty International on Thursday held a protest demonstration in Paris, calling on France to ban arms export to Saudi Arabia and the UAE over violations of human rights in Yemen.
The demonstration, which will continue every Thursday until March 25, is part of a campaign to mark the 6 years of conflict in Yemen and to highlight France’s complicity in the world's worst humanitarian crisis, Amnesty France said on its website.
Protesters were holding banners with slogans reading “silence we’re arming”, “French hypocrisy” and “Yemen can’t wait.”
The rights group said the objective of the weekly demonstrations is to raise awareness among the general public “about the risks of French arms sales and the impunity that surrounds them.”
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/amnesty-protests-france-s-arms-sales-to-saudi-uae/2156998
(A K P)
Double standards when Sweden betrays Yemen's women's defenders
The government thinks it is important that women participate in the peace work in Yemen. At the same time, they continue to export weapons to the warring parties despite years of appeals from Yemeni women's rights activists. It is a provocative double standard. If Sweden seriously wants to help peace in Yemen, the government must immediately put an end to all arms deals that could ignite the conflic
Women's rights defenders and women peace activists from Yemen have for a long time appealed to Sweden and other countries to stop arming those who are fighting in their country. The fact that the government now has the guts to talk about the importance of women's participation in peace work, after ignoring their appeals for many years to stop arms exports, is provocative.
If Sweden is seriously interested in listening to Yemen's peace builders and women's rights defenders, the government must put an end to all types of arms deals that could continue to ignite the conflict. This must also apply to so-called sequential deliveries made to weapon systems that have been exported previously.
(* A K P)
Groundbreaking decision for victims of Italian weapon airstrikes in Yemen
Today, our organizations announce that the preliminary investigations judge in Rome ruled that the public prosecutor in Rome must continue the criminal investigation into managers of RWM Italia SpA, a German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall AG’s Italian subsidiary, and senior officials of Italy’s National Authority for the Export of Armament (UAMA) for their role in a deadly Saudi/United Arab Emirates-led military coalition airstrike in Deir al-Hajari in northwest Yemen.
In October 2019, the Italian Public Prosecutor’s Office requested the dismissal of the April 2018 criminal complaint filed against RWM Italia and UAMA by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, its Yemen-based partner Mwatana for Human Rights, and the Italian organization Rete Italiana Pace e Disarmo. The three organizations opposed the dismissal.
Today, the judge upheld the grounds of their opposition, and paved the way for a thorough investigation into the responsibility of arms manufacturer and UAMA officials in the deadly airstrike that killed a family of six in October 2016.
“We welcome today’s decision to continue the criminal investigation into RWM Italia and UAMA’s role in the deadly attack on Deir al-Hajari. This decision gives hope to all survivors of deadly airstrikes that had no identifiable military target and killed and injured civilians,” the civil society organizations said in a joint statement. They argue:
The prosecutor confirmed that the RWM Italia suspension lug found at the scene of the Deir al-Hajari attack may have been exported in November 2015, at which point UN bodies, international NGOs and Yemeni organizations had documented repeated Saudi/UAE-led coalition violations.
There is ample evidence of the use of European arms – including the MK 80 series bombs produced by RWM Italia, and the Eurofighter Typhoon and Tornado jets partially manufactured by Leonardo SpA – in alleged war crimes committed by the Saudi/UAE-led military coalition in Yemen.
https://mwatana.org/en/groundbreaking-decision/
My remark: Also look at cp13a.
(A P)
Princess Latifa letter urges UK police to investigate sister's Cambridge abduction
Latifa says in letter passed to police ‘your help and attention on her case could free’ Princess Shamsa
Princess Latifa, a daughter of Dubai’s ruler who claims to have been held in captivity by her father since 2018, has asked UK police to re-investigate the kidnapping more than 20 years ago of her sister, Princess Shamsa, according to a letter reported by the BBC.
The BBC reported that in a letter handwritten in 2019 – but passed to Cambridgeshire police on Wednesday – Latifa says the police may be able to free Shamsa, who was abducted on the orders of her father when she was 19.
“Your help and attention on her case could free her,” Latifa reportedly wrote.
(* B P)
The Middle East’s Progressive Darling Abuses Its Women
What the harrowing saga of a Dubai princess reveals about her country’s international reputation.
The slow drip of information on Princess Latifa—from her thoroughly planned, though ultimately failed, escape to her torturous captivity—has raised questions about Dubai, a tourist destination and business hub that has been known internationally for its culture of easy living and tolerance. This progressive image of the country is drawn from reality, at least relative to many countries in the region. Women have access to health care, education, labor markets, and can drive without issue. Women can travel, live, and go about their lives without needing to provide a male guardian’s permission, particularly if they are foreigners. A recent report by the World Economic Forum noted that the UAE was the second-best country in the Middle East and North Africa region—after Israel—in gender equality.
For years, the UAE has been a draw for many women in the region. In a 2010 study, more than 1 in 8 Arab women had ambitions to migrate to the UAE, a higher rate than men. Safety and ease of movement were often cited by women as factors attracting them to the country. The UAE has empowered women to join policy life and appointed females to its quasi-Parliament and to head ministries. International rankings were important for the country and were celebrated when their women empowerment ambitions were recognized.
But even with these strides, the big picture is the UAE is still lagging behind. It is currently at 120th place out of 153 countries worldwide in gender equality, showing just how much work is still needed both in the country and in the region.
In the UAE, many of the problems go beyond what can be fixed by simply engaging women in public policy. Family life is still largely governed by Islamic law. Just like its Persian Gulf neighbors, the UAE allows men to serve as guardians of their female relatives, giving men the power to make life-changing decisions. Women from traditional households can find their rights usurped. Unlike a man, a woman needs permission (typically from her father) to marry and a court order (from her husband) to be granted a divorce. This has opened the door for routine blackmail, where husbands tell their wives they will grant them a divorce at court only if they forfeit any rights to assets or their dowries. Oftentimes, a woman will consent just to get out of an abusive marriage.
Domestic violence against women was still acceptable as a form of discipline until as recently as 2019, as confirmed by a 2010 Supreme Court ruling. A recent law rectified this by stipulating that physical violence did not need to leave a mark to be considered abuse (while also establishing a path for women to acquire restraining orders against abusers). However, the new law defines domestic abuse as any physical act, verbal abuse, or threat committed by a family member against another family member that exceeds an individual’s guardianship, jurisdiction, authority, or responsibility, leaving plenty of room for individual judges to make their own call on cases. Indeed, the cultures of UAE courts are still notoriously regressive, and judges usually show leniency to those who commit domestic violence.
A U.S. government report noted that the UAE government “did not enforce domestic abuse laws effectively, and domestic abuse against women, including spousal abuse, remained a problem.” At the current rate of progress, a World Economic Forum report said it would take approximately 150 years to close the gender gap in the region. And that’s assuming the country’s leadership is truly committed to its stated goals. For example, it was Sheikh Mohammed who championed and expedited a law to protect children after a 2012 case came to light where a father and stepmother tortured their daughter to death. Now that he has himself been implicated in potentially torturing his own children, it’s fair to question his sincerity.
(* C)
Jemenitische Juden in Israel: Für immer getrennt, spät entschädigt
In seinen ersten Jahren trennte der Staat Israel Eltern und Kinder jemenitischer Herkunft - die meisten sahen einander nie wieder. Nun will die Regierung sie entschädigen. Betroffenen reicht das nicht.
Etwa 1000 Kleinkinder - manche gehen sogar von 5000 aus - wurden von 1948 bis 1954 von ihren Eltern getrennt, ganz offiziell durch den Staat Israel. Die meisten betroffenen Familien stammten aus dem Jemen. In jener Zeit kamen sehr viele Einwanderer und Flüchtlinge aus arabischen Ländern nach Israel. Der junge Staat war überfordert. Viele Einwanderer lebten unter sehr schlechten Bedingungen. In dieser Lage wollte der Staat die Babys schützen, so die offizielle Begründung: Raus aus den Flüchtlingslagern, rein in vernünftige Unterkünfte.
Doch die angebliche Fürsorge kam für die Eltern häufig einer Entführung gleich. Ihre Kinder sahen sie in der Regel nie wieder.
https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/asien/israel-jemenitische-juden-101.html
cp12b Sudan
(A H)
UN: Thousands flee Ethiopia violence, seek asylum in Sudan
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
(* B K P)
A twist in the bid to stop arms sales to Yemen
There is more than human rights behind US and Italian decisions to put a halt to arms sales
Both the Biden administration and Italy have clamped down on arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE ostensibly because of human rights concerns over Yemen.
But the reasons behind the decisions of each country have a possibly different basis: in the US, Biden is anxious to undo anything with former President Trump’s name on it, even if it means risking America’s posture in the Middle East.
In Italy, the decision may be to protect its largest defense company, Leonardo SpA. There is more than meets the eye in these decisions and the reasons are bigger than human rights in Yemen.
Italy cancels licenses
In this context, the Biden decision harks back to a plethora of US decisions that have sold out allies and friends over the years, such as the Shah of Iran.
Meanwhile, less than three weeks later, Italy canceled six different arms export licenses to Saudi Arabia – mainly licenses for 20,000 Mk 82 and Mk 84 bombs manufactured in Domusnovas, Sardinia, by RWM Italia S.p.A, owned by the German Rheinmetall Defence Group.
Those licenses were originally approved by the Italian government in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
Ulterior motive
Not only is the Italian cancellation of these licenses far more definitive than the US “pause,” but it has an ulterior motive. Coursing through the Italian courts is a legal action based on a complaint against the use of the Italian-made bombs in Yemen that killed a Yemeni family in 2016 in a northern Yemeni town called Derial-Hajari.
The proof allegedly is portions of the bomb that have been recovered with markings linked to the German-owned Italian company.
The complaint was brought by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, based in Berlin, a Yemen-based NGO called Mwatana for Human Rights and the Italian Peace and Disarmament Network. These and other groups are also pressing court action in the European Union.
Initially filed in 2018, the case was opposed by the Rome Public Prosecutor and dropped. However, a Rome judge decided on February 22 that the case should go forward because of human rights concerns.
The complaint aims at RWM Italia and its management – including its Rheinmetall owners – and also senior officials of the Italian licensing authority (UAMA), which belongs to Italy’s Foreign Ministry. All are accused of violating the human rights of Yemeni civilians.
It may be that the Italian government, by canceling the arms sales to Saudi Arabia, was seeking to pre-empt the Italian courts from deciding the Derial-Hajari case. Had the court sided with the plaintiffs, much more would be involved than a single case.
A court decision could establish that defense companies and government officials, specifically export licensing officials, are responsible and culpable if the licenses and equipment are used in cases where there are violations of human rights.
https://asiatimes.com/2021/02/a-twist-in-the-bid-to-stop-arms-sales-to-yemen/
My remark: For Italy, also look at cp12; for US, at cp9
(A K P)
IDEX: Low-Key US Presence Opens Doors For Israel, China
While the UAE government was silent on the Biden Administration's pause on arms sales, social media reaction was harsh.
In the midst of all the intense activities at the International Defence Exhibition (IDEX) in Abu Dhabi — including the buzz generated by the first-ever presence of an Israeli pavilion — exhibitors and participants could not help but notice one big thing was missing: the high-level U.S. official delegations.
If anybody had any doubt that the U.S. relations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were going tough times after the Biden Administration suspended major arms sales, the recessive American presence at IDEX drove the point home unmistakably.
https://breakingdefense.com/2021/02/idex-low-key-us-presence-opens-doors-for-israel-china/
Comment: Ignore the fear-mongering headline. The low presence of US defense industry at UAE's IDEX is great news “We are keeping a low profile,” said a marketing exec at a major US defense company “None of us want to appear to contradict State Department policy”
https://twitter.com/AnnelleSheline/status/1365045744638582788
(* A K P)
Saudi GAMI announces at IDEX: 70 Military industries companies are in Saudi Arabia with investment worth SAR 24 billion
The Media Center of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's pavilion, being organized by the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) at IDEX 2021, has revealed an increase in the number of companies operating in the military industries sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. By the end of 2020, the number of local and international military industries companies reached more than 70, with an estimated investment volume of SAR 24 billion .
The GAMI stated that it has issued licenses for 70 local and international companies until the end of 2020. The total number of these companies' licenses reached 114 licenses that would enable them to practice several different activities in the military industries sector. The percentage of manufacturing licenses reached 57% and the military service licenses reached 25%, while the percentage of supply licenses reached 18%. The licensed national companies in this sector represent 81%, while the percentage of foreign and mixed companies reached 19% of the total number of companies.
The authority stated that it aims to support investors and facilitate their entry into the Saudi military and security industries market, making them a part of its strategy that contributes to the Saudi Vision 2030 objective of localizing over 50 percent of the military equipment spending by 2030.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2193993
(* A K P)
UAE Buys 500 Russian Helicopters
Middle East: Russia and the United Arab Emirates struck a deal for the Emirati company, Taawuni, to have a 50 percent stake in the Russian helicopter maker (VR Technology).
VR Technology is affiliated with a Russian aircraft company that was established in 2014 to develop helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles.
According to Russia Today, Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov told reporters that the deal is worth 400 million euros ($ 442 million).
"The State Committee for Foreign Investments recently held a meeting on this issue," Manturov said, adding, "Our colleagues plan to complete the deal before May."
The agreement, signed by the Russian company's general manager, Andrei Boginsky, and the general manager of Tawazun, Tariq Abdul Rahim Al Hosani, gives the UAE company equal representation on the board of VR-Technologies.
It has also been revealed that the UAE is planning to acquire 100 VRT 300 and VRT 500 helicopters for the police force.
https://english.almasirah.net/post/17925/UAE-Buys-500-Russian-Helicopters
(A P)
Do European Parliament Resolution Accelerate End to War on Yemen?
The report identified what it described as elements of strength in the European move. The decision considered that the ongoing arms sales by France, Spain and Belgium are inconsistent with the European Union's common position on the arms trade. This means the decision will lead to individual charges being brought against European officials who continue to authorize arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, especially since the decision is related to the call to refer violations in Yemen to the International Criminal Court.
The resolution noted that at a time when highlighting the role of Saudi Arabia in the war on Yemen, this time the focus was on the UAE in a very detailed way.
Members of the European Parliament also strongly supported the concept of Yemen's territorial integrity, in a clear rebuke to the separatist Southern Transitional Council backed by the UAE.
cp13b Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage
(A C)
Could the Island of Socotra Tell Us How Humans Migrated Out of Africa? “Overheard at National Geographic” Explores How Wars Delay Archeological Findings
This week’s episode of Overheard at National Geographic takes listeners to Yemen to learn about the important archaeological research that could answer questions about how humans left Africa to inhabit the world. Titled “Why War Zones Need Science Too,” the episode explores something that unites all of mankind, an interest in understanding the origins of our heritage and culture. Host Amy Briggs talks with Archeologists Ella Al-Shamashi, Sada Mira and Ahmed Al-Orqbi for a fascinating conversation about what they hope to discover on the island of Socotra.
(* B P)
Film: A French report on the antiquities gangs that have been active since the start of the systematic aggression of Yemeni historical monuments 02-24-2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0PQpoCwDR4
(C)
Photo: An amazing artwork for the Al-Ashrafiya Mosque and School in Taiz, which was decorated by the best engineers by order of Sultan Ismail the Rasulid state's king in #Yemen in 1277 AD
https://twitter.com/MohammedHojily/status/1364973606799880197
and for this mosque: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashrafiya_Mosque and https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2018/02/26/Houthi-shelling-damages-historical-mosque-in-Taiz
cp13c Wirtschaft / Economy
(A E P)
Yemen [Hadi gov.], World Bank agree on USD 127 million support
Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Wa'id Batheeb, along with Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation and Fishery Wealth Salim al-Suqatri, have agreed with the Regional Director of the World Bank Marina Webs on mobilizing additional support of USD 127 million for supporting agricultural and fishery sector.
Held through video conferencing on Wednesday, the meeting came after discussing a proposal for a new food security response project.
The support and the project aimed at improving provision of food to farmers and fishermen and food access in targeted areas for boosting Yemeni society on survivor and alleviating food security needs.
http://en.adenpress.news/news/32326
(* B E)
Yemeni Honeybee Breed: What Makes It Unique
According to a study conducted at the University of Hadhramout, beekeeping and honey production is one of the ancient professions known in Yemen since olden times, for apiculture profession in Yemen goes back to the 10th century BC.
Historically, Yemeni apiculture was associated with the Economic prosperity of Hadhramout State at that time. Sources and statistical data indicate that the honey trade used to rank fourth in Yemen’s economies in the modern age.
Throughout the past centuries until today, Yemenis showed interest in beekeeping. As Yemeni honey is prominently known for its eminent competitive advantage and great commercial reputation, mainly the Sidr honey, produced in Wadi Do’an in Hadramout and Jardan area in Shabwa, where Do’ani and Jardani honey is considered one of the finest and most expensive types of honey in the world.
Yemeni honey is uniquely privileged for it has been categorized as a honey of medicine that has a high therapeutic and nutritional value. It is characterized by its delicious taste, good flavor and dark colors. Besides, it has many other important qualities as it maintains its natural properties of pollen grains and the food of the queen bees and other bees.
Basically, beekeeping profession in Yemen, according to some reports, differs from what it is around the world, as it relies on recurrent movement about 7-8 times all over the year, and zero chemicals are used to combat pests and diseases that afflict bees, which ensures that the honey produced is fully natural.
The Yemeni honeybee breed has been endemic in Yemen for thousands of years, and it is not found anywhere else, however, during recent decades, it has been transferred and bred in several countries, including the Sultanate of Oman and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
https://holmakhdar.org/resources/3740/
(* B E K)
Losses of Investment, Semi-permanent Paralysis During Six Years of US-Saudi Aggression, Blockade
The US-Saudi aggression and blockade imposed on Yemen stormed the investment environment, creating an unattractive climate for both material and human capital. This led to the escape of a large part of it..
Investment faced harsh conditions during six years of targeting, by the aggression and blockade, directly or indirectly. The registration of new investment projects decreased to less than half, and the invested capital also declined below that, and many job opportunities were lost. Losses continue to add up, according to the deputy.
"Aggression and siege offer investment to direct losses represented in the price of the commodity, the assets and the lost market share, and indirectly related to the challenges created by the blockade, such as energy, insurance, currency and inflation constraints,” said the Deputy Chief of the General Investment Khaled Sharaf al-Din.
"The list of repercussions is many," Adel Al-Ashtal Director General of the Investor Department at the General Investment began his speech with this sentence. Al-Ashtal pointed out that "the blockade imposed on production inputs and fuel, with its costs and additional burdens on investors and the general population is more dangerous than the aggression air raids that are directly targeted at investment projects.”
Director General of Strategic Projects at the General Investment Authority, Hani Al-Shatfa, points out that the aggression and siege caused "the disruption of various investment projects and activities that were under completion in Aden, Hodeidah, Sana’a and other governorates."
The Director General of Strategic Projects stops at another impact that resulted from the aggression and the siege on Yemen, which is the loss of the tremendous and promising investment opportunities in Yemen that could have been implemented in a suitable work and investment environment, whether by local or non-local investors. “There is no doubt that the aggression and blockade prevented any foreign capital from flowing to investment in Yemen during the past years,” he added.
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
(A P T)
Al-Qaeda forces take over petroleum stations in occupied eastern Yemen
Militants of al-Qaeda have on Wednesday taken control of a number of fuel stations belonging to the Yemeni Petroleum Company (YPC) branch in Hadhramaut province, eastern Yemen, sources reported.
Al-Qaeda operatives closed the Shibam and Al-Houta stations, which belong to the company, after seizing them by force of arms.
The sources confirmed that al-Qaeda militants threatened the workers of the two stations with blowing the stations up.
The areas of Hadhramaut Valley are witnessing a heavy presence of al-Qaeda militants, without any military action taken against them by the so-called First Military Region, which loyal to the Saudi-led coalition, stationed there.
(A K T)
Al-Qaeda Appoints an Egyptian Leader in Marib's Battle against Yemeni Armed Forces from Sana'a
Activists on social media spoke of a document issued by Al-Qaeda, which includes the appointment of an Egyptian commander (Emir) as the new leader of Al-Qaeda for all fighters in Marab.
According to the letter attributed to the Emir of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Khaled bin Omar Batarfi, the terrorist, Abu Al-Hassan Al-Sulaymani, an Egyptian national, was appointed as the leader of the militants of the terrorist organization in Marib.
and also https://hodhodyemennews.net/2021/02/25/al-qaeda-appoints-new-leader-of-operations-in-marib/
cp15 Propaganda
(A P)
KSrelief: Saudi Support for Yemen Topped 17 Bln Dollars
The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center’s (KSrelief) relief response plan for Yemen in 2020 helped in launching projects aimed at confronting the coronavirus pandemic.
https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2828766/ksrelief-saudi-support-yemen-topped-17-bln-dollars
(A P)
Events in Yemen are an indicator of broader regional dynamics
BEHIND THE LINES: The desire for an end to war in Yemen is understandable. Unfortunately, however, the US has leverage over only one of the sides.
Yemen is of strategic importance because at its southern tip, the Bab el-Mandeb (Gate of Tears) Strait controls access between the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.
Control of access to this gateway by an Iranian client would represent an enormous strategic gain by Tehran. It would give the Iranians the ability to disrupt or shut down a significant volume of oil traffic to the West at a stroke. The Saudi- and Emirates-supported intervention succeeded in preventing the Houthis from capturing the southern tip of Yemen, and thus acquiring control of the strait. They proved unable, however, to defeat Ansar Allah in its entirety.
The desire for an end to war in Yemen is understandable. The humanitarian crisis is acute and urgently in need of attention. Some 250,000 people have lost their lives in a half decade of war.
Unfortunately, however, the US has leverage over only one of the sides. The net result of the removal of support for the Saudi-led side has thus predictably not led to a move toward ending hostilities. Rather, it has resulted in increased aggression by the pro-Iranian side
The sequence of events leading to the Houthi push toward Marib is indicative of a sharp change of perception in Washington, DC, which is producing rapid results in the Middle East.
This contest is fought partly through proxies. It is a battle for strategic space, and the control of resources and key geo-strategic locations. The camp of which Saudi Arabia and Israel are members is one committed to alliance with the West, and to preserving the strategic architecture in place in the region since the end of the Cold War. It is opposed principally by Iran and its allies and proxies. Arguably, Turkey and its allies constitute an additional anti-status quo power axis.
Reading from this map, support for the Saudi cause in Yemen was obvious and axiomatic. The country is of strategic importance. A pro-Western alliance is fighting a pro-Iranian one. Iran must be prevented from reaching Bab el-Mandeb. No further discussion required.
https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/events-in-yemen-are-an-indicator-of-broader-regional-dynamics-660248 = https://www.meforum.org/62079/yemen-pays-the-price-for-biden-iran-policy
(A P)
Iran uses Houthis as pressure card for 2015 nuclear pact: [Hadi gov.] Yemeni information minister
The Iranian regime is using the Houthi militia as a pressure card against the international community and the US administration to extract concessions on the 2015 nuclear agreement, Yemeni Minister of Information Muammar Al-Eryani said on Thursday.
Al-Eryani claimed that Iran is pressuring the Houthis for a military escalation in Yemen through suicide bombing in Marib province, as well as attacks against civilians in Saudi Arabia, state news agency SPA reported.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1815521/middle-east
(A P)
US, UN Efforts Underway to Ease Escalation, Revive Peace in Yemen
The United Nations and United States’ envoys to Yemen have been intensifying their efforts to ease the escalation in the war-torn country and revive peace efforts.
UN envoy Martin Griffiths and newly-appointed US envoy Tim Lenderking are both in Riyadh to pursue these efforts.
The meetings were held as the Houthis continued their offensive in the oil-rich northern Marib province, despite their mounting losses
and
(A P)
Saudi Arabia is a critical partner: US Yemen envoy
Saudi Arabia is a critical partner of the US, the country’s envoy to Yemen said on Thursday in talks about resolving the conflict.
“The US recognizes the conflict in Yemen cannot be resolved without Saudi support,” Timothy Lenderking said after a meeting with the Kingdom’s Deputy Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1815961/saudi-arabia
(A P)
The smart way out of the Middle East
And yet, the United States cannot quite quit the Middle East.
The U.S. maintains its presence there neither out of nostalgia for historic allies and partners nor out of inertia, but because the region remains integral to the global economy. Violence in the region — whether carried out by states or non-state actors — could still shake the world to its core. For that reason, the United States still keeps tens of thousands of troops and an array of bases in the Middle East. Thousands of U.S. diplomats, aid workers, intelligence officials and finance experts, among others, are spread out across the region.
Even so, that leaves the United States with a difficult challenge: How to protect its interests in the region when the world thinks the United States is already halfway out the door?
A couple of approaches seem attractive but aren’t actually viable. One is simply to quit the Middle East cold turkey and let partners learn their own limits. This has a certain logical appeal: It minimizes the direct costs to the United States, and it extricates the United States from a series of conflicts that it has been unable to solve — and in some cases, no country has been able to solve for centuries. But doing that doesn’t make the problems go away — and may make them much worse.
Partners and allies who feel much less secure in the absence of the United States are likely to take steps to enhance their security.
A second approach is to hand off responsibility to some other power or collection of powers. That is essentially how the United Kingdom ceded responsibility for security in the Gulf to the United States in 1970. Yet, no power or collection of friendly powers is either able or willing to take the mantle. Europe’s collective military capacity is far too weak, and the powers of individual European states is weaker still.
So, in the absence of an easy out, the United States is left with making the best of staying in for a while. There are four things the United States should do to maximize its chances of success.
https://thehill.com/opinion/international/539831-the-smart-way-out-of-the-middle-east
My comment: The US should be fixes tot he role of policeman (and ruler) of the world.
(A P)
#Houthis & the International Community #Cartton
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1364251879610478592
(A P)
Optimism mixed with realism about the Biden promises on Yemen
US diplomacy—through Ambassador Lenderking’s efforts in Yemen and US Special Envoy for Iran Rob Malley’s efforts in Iran—would channel international efforts to defuse the regional tensions between the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and Iran. Nevertheless, the two envoys need to streamline their efforts in order to not send wrong signals to the parties on the ground. Recent developments on the delisting of the Houthis rebels from the Foreign Terrorist Organization list were not the best place to start. Furthermore, I’m afraid that focusing on the Yemeni crisis’ regional side can drive Yemen into a low-intensity conflict and forgotten war. The parties involved on the ground are too narrowly focused on a zero-sum game approach to pursue complete victory and are not yet ready to engage in a political settlement—this is especially true for the Houthis.
Optimism mixed with realism about the Biden promises on Yemen
For the last few years, Saudi Arabia has searched for viable alternatives to ensure that the end of the war would establish peace and security in its southern border and neighboring Yemen, keeping Iran out of what it considers its sphere of influence. All Saudi attempts to talk with the Houthis had been aborted because Tehran has the last word. Negotiating with drones and missiles attacks is the most refined negotiation skill of Iran’s proxies – by Ambassador Khaled H. Alyemany, the former [Hadi gov.] Foreign Minister of Yemen.
(A P)
America’s Iran Strategy
President Barack Obama’s administration had a primary goal in the Middle East: It did not want Iran to become a nuclear power. It did not want Israel to be forced to launch a preemptive strike against a nuclear Iran
The inclination of Biden, given the American political process, is to reinstitute Obama’s strategy and repudiate Trump’s. But the problem is that a return to Obama’s strategy, with the withdrawal of sanctions, would reasonably quickly revive the Iranian economy, strengthen the Iranian hardliners who refused to bend in the face of Trump’s policy and would then be vindicated, and create a massive crisis in the Middle East.
There are those who would argue that the Abraham Accords are a house of cards unable to hold together. That may be true. But it is there now, and it is there because of Iran. A shift in U.S. policy on sanctions will be read in this region as the U.S. moving to a pro-Iran position, a view that might not be true but will appear to be the case. Israel will see it as a mistake, and the UAE and the rest of the Sunni world will argue that whatever the subjective intent of the Biden administration, the objective fact is that its policy is strengthening Iran.
Biden obviously doesn’t want this, and his pledge to resurrect Obama’s nuclear deal will pass.
The U.S. had to withdraw major military force from the region as the initial intervention failed to achieve its goals. But the U.S. can’t be indifferent to the region because it is a strategic part of Eurasia, and other great powers can take advantage of it. In the long run, it is easier to manipulate the region to American ends than to dislodge another major power, or face the emergence of a regional power destabilizing the region. And thus we see Israel and the Arab coalition. Speaking of presidents is a useful marker, but their policies are crafted by reality, not the other way around – by George Friedman
https://geopoliticalfutures.com/americas-iran-strategy/
(A P)
More Saudi coalition „We are benefactors“ propaganda
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/winter-clothing-second-phase-enar
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2194148
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
Siehe / Look at cp1
(A K pS)
Arab Coalition Fighters bombs Houthi militia sites, western Marib
http://en.26sepnews.net/2021/02/23/arab-coalition-fighters-bombs-houthi-militia-sites-western-marib/
and
(A K)
Intensified airstrikes curb Houthis' progress toward Yemen's oil-rich Marib
The Saudi Arabia-led coalition continued Tuesday in launching intensified airstrikes on the Houthi fighters attacking Yemen's oil-rich province of Marib, a military official told Xinhua.
According to the local official who asked to remain anonymous, a series of sustained air raids were carried out by the coalition's warplanes and struck Houthi-held areas in different areas of Marib during the past 24 hours.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2021-02/23/c_139761860.htm
(A K pH)
More Saudi coalition air raids
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3130016.htm Marib p.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3129895.htm Marib p., Jawf p.
https://english.almasirah.net/post/17933/US-Saudi-Aggression-s-Daily-Update-for-Tuesday%2C-Feb.-23.2021 Several prov.
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
Marib: Siehe / Look at cp1, cp2
Hodeidah: Siehe / Look at cp18
Im Jemen herrscht ein militärisches Patt. Eine größere Offensive mit größeren Erfolgen und Geländegewinnen für eine Seite bleiben seit der Offensive der saudischen Koalition gegen Hodeidah im Jahr 2018 aus. Kleinere Offensiven, ständige gegenseitige Angriffe und Gefechte mit Toten auf beiden Seiten und Opfern unter der Zivilbevölkerung gibt es aber ständig. Besonders betroffen sind die Provinzen Hodeidah, Taiz, Al Bayda, Al Dhalea, der Bezirk Nehm in der Provinz Sanaa, die Provinzen Al Jawf, Marib, Hajjah und Saada.
There is a military stalemate in Yemen. A larger offensive with greater successes and territorial gains for one side has been absent since the Saudi coalition's offensive against Hodeidah in 2018. Smaller offensives, constant mutual attacks and skirmishes killing fighters of both sides and causing victims among the civilian population are constant. The provinces of Hodeidah, Taiz, Al Bayda, Al Dhalea, the district of Nehm in the province of Sanaa, the provinces of Al Jawf, Marib, Hajjah and Saada are particularly affected.
(A K pS)
Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen: Interception, Destruction of Bomb-Laden UAV Launched by Terrorist, Iran-Backed Houthi Militia Toward Khamis Mushait City
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2195027
My comment: LOL. At Khamis Mushait there is one of Saudi Arabia’s main air force bases.
(A K pH)
At least five civilians wounded by Saudi bombing in Saada
The Munabeh border district was bombed by the Saudi army, which resulted in the wounding of five citizens, the source explained.
https://hodhodyemennews.net/2021/02/24/at-least-five-civilians-wounded-by-saudi-bombing-in-saada/
and also https://www.saba.ye/en/news3130064.htm
(A K pS)
New Houthi ballistic missile hits Marib
The Houthi militia fired a new ballistic missile on a neighborhood in the city of Marib as part of the militia’s continuous attacks on the government-held city. /Multiple websites.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-45332
(* A K pH)
Ma’rib Battle: Yemeni Army Close to Retaking City from Saudi-Led Forces
Victory appears to be on the horizon in the heated battle for Yemen’s strategic Central province of Ma’rib as army troops, backed by allied fighters from Popular Committees, have reportedly taken control of most areas there and dislodged Saudi-led coalition forces and Riyadh-backed militants from those regions.
A Yemeni military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Arabic service of Russia’s Sputnik news agency that Yemeni soldiers and their allies had encircled Ma’rib city, following weeks of fierce clashes with Saudi-led coalition forces and their mercenaries.
The source added that Yemeni forces had cut off the main supply route into the Eastern flank of Ma’rib, which leads to the Arab country’s largest province of Hadhramaut.
“After gaining complete control over all the heights overlooking the city of Ma’rib from all directions, mopping up operations to clear the last remaining pockets of Al-Qaeda elements and mercenaries of the aggressors (Saudi-led coalition) are only a matter of time,” he pointed out.
and also https://debriefer.net/en/news-23342.html
and
(* A K pS)
Yemeni army calls for urgent action to retrieve bodies of Houthi fighters
The Yemeni army has urged the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to help retrieve the bodies of Houthi fighters abandoned on battlefields in the central province of Marib and the northern province of Jouf.
Military spokesman Abdu Abdullah Majili told Arab News on Tuesday that dozens of corpses of Houthi fighters have been left in conflict zones in Jouf and Marib as the Iran-backed militia presses ahead with a major offensive to recapture the oil and gas-rich city of Marib.
“We demand the International Committee of the Red Cross mount pressure on the Houthis to retrieve the bodies of their dead fighters. The bodies are scattered in mountains and deserts of Marib and Jouf,” Majili said.
Army soldiers and tribesmen battling the rebels in two provinces warned of the spread of disease among combatants as dozens of abandoned bodies were left to rot.
“Serwah is the worst front in terms of health. The attacks of mosquitoes and flies are more intense than the attacks of the Houthis because of the corpses of the Houthi militia,” Mohammed, an army soldier in Marib, said on Twitter.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1814536/middle-east
and
(A K pS)
Delegation from Joint Forces arrives in Marib amid Houthi assault
The chief of staff Lt. Gen. Saghir bin Aziz on Monday received a delegation from the Joint Forces which arrived in Marib province amid raging battles between the government and Houthi forces.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-23332.html
cp18 Kampf um Hodeidah / Hodeidah battle
Seit dem Abkommen von Stockholm vom 13. Dezember 2018 gibt es einen Waffenstillstand für Hodeidah. Zwar bleiben größere Offensiven aus, kleinere Gefechte gibt es aber laufend, und beide Seiten werfen sich ständig Verstöße gegen den Waffenstillstand vor.
Since the Stockholm Agreement of December 13, 2018, a ceasefire has been in place for Hodeidah. There are no major offensives, but smaller battles are going on and both sides constantly are accusing each other of violating the ceasefire.
(A K pH)
Daily violations, as claimed by Houthis
cp19 Sonstiges / Other
(B H)
Film: Desert Locust upsurge continues to threaten food security in the Horn of Africa and Yemen.
https://twitter.com/FAO/status/1364978462679793673
and
(B H)
SOMALIA: NEUE HEUSCHRECKENSCHWÄRME & DÜRRE BEDROHEN MILLIONEN
Neue Heuschreckenschwärme formieren sich, Vieh verendet, Weiden vertrocknen, eine Dürre breitet sich aus: In Somalia stehen Millionen von Menschen vor einer katastrophalen Hungerkrise. Die internationale Hilfsorganisation CARE ruft dringend dazu auf, ausreichend finanzielle Mittel bereitzustellen, um verstärkt humanitäre Hilfe leisten zu können. Ansonsten könnten 2021 bis zu 2,7 Millionen Menschen – das sind rund 20 Prozent der somalischen Bevölkerung – unter akuter Nahrungsknappheit leiden.
„Die neuen Heuschreckenschwärme sind extrem besorgniserregend. Gewinne durch Ernten der letzten Jahre könnten komplett zunichtegemacht werden. Millionen Menschen hätten dann zu wenig zu essen“, warnt Elmi Abdi Nur, CARE-Nothilfedirektor in Somalia.
and
(A H P)
Desert locust invasion in northern Kenya could spiral out of control
The swarms of locusts now threaten the livelihoods of millions of people in Kenya as the conflicts in Yemen, Somalia and northern Ethiopia make it difficult for FAO to control the breeding and movement of the pests at the source.
FAO attributes the upsurge of locusts to favourable breeding grounds in these countries.
https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/desert-locust-invasion-kenya-3296074
(A P)
Government poised to announce three new nature reserves
A Yemeni official on Monday said the government plans to announce a number of new nature reserves in the country.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-23331.html
(B D)
Battle to save Yemen's kings of the desert: Sanaa’s Arabian horses abandoned by war
These once cherished, revered and expensive animals are now surviving on a subsistence diet and the dedication of a small band of unpaid carers
In Yemen, six years of war between the Houthi movement and a Saudi-led coalition has left the country in the midst of a humanitarian disaster, and animals are low on the list of priorities. “Most days the horses get no breakfast and have to wait until noon for their only meal of the day,” says Mohamed al-Tawil, who works at the equestrian club in the capital, Sanaa. Tawil and 17 of his colleagues have worked seven months without salaries, choosing not to abandon their horses. They nevertheless face an uphill battle to keep them alive and healthy.
“More than 50 horses have died, including 13 in the past three months,” says Mohammad al-Qumali, the manager of the equestrian club. He blames the deaths on Saudi air strikes, the consequences of poor heating because of fuel shortages, and illness brought on by malnutrition. The club, which was established in 2000, was once a playground for Yemen’s elite, a place where they could indulge in one of the most glamorous traditions in Arab culture: riding the Arabian horse. The ongoing war, however, has forced many of the country’s rich to safer pastures, taking their membership fees with them and thereby leaving the horses to their fate. Qumali’s struggle is further compounded by the economic collapse brought on by the war, which means even those members of the club still in Sanaa cannot afford to pay their dues (photos)
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-720-yemen-war-mosaic-720
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-720 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-720:
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/
Liste aller Luftangriffe / and list of all air raids:
http://yemendataproject.org/data/
Untersuchung ausgewählter Luftangriffe durch Bellingcat / Bellingcat investigations of selected air raids:
Untersuchungen von Angriffen, hunderte von Filmen / Investigations of attacks, hundreds of films:
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