Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Klassifizierung / Classification
Am wichtigsten / Most important
Allgemein / General
Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
Houthis
Meinungsfreiheit / Freedom of speech
Südjemen / Southern Yemen
UNO / UN
Friedensgespräche / Peace talks
Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran
Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
USA
Großbritannien / Great Britain
Pakistan
Eritrea
Flüchtlinge / Refugees
Propaganda
Angriff auf MSF-Klinik / Attack at MSF hospital
Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
Klassifizierung / Classification
***
**
*
(Kein Stern / No star)
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
Am wichtigsten / Most important
6.1.2016 – The Intercept (*** P)
The Deceptive Debate Over What Causes Terrorism Against the West
There’s a reason the U.S. and NATO countries are the targets of this type of violence but South Korea, Brazil, and Mexico are not.
In June, Tony Blair’s former deputy prime minister, John Prescott, made this as clear as it can be madewhen he admitted the Iraq War was “wrong”:
When I hear people talking about how people are radicalized, young Muslims. I’ll tell you how they are radicalized. Every time they watch the television where their families are worried, their kids are being killed or murdered and rockets, you know, firing on all these people, that’s what radicalizes them.
Can that be any clearer?
Even in those cases where religious extremism rather than anger over Western violence seems to be the primary cause — such as the Charlie Hebdo murders, done to avenge what the attackers regarded as blasphemous cartoons — the evidence is clear that the attackers were radicalized by indignation over U.S. atrocities in Iraq, including at Abu Ghraib. Pointing out that Western violence is a key causal factor in anti-Western terrorism is not to say it is the only cause.
But whatever one’s views are on that causal question, it’s a total mischaracterization to claim that those who recognize a causal connection are denying that terrorists have autonomy or choice. To the contrary, the argument is that they are engaged in a decision-making process — a very expected and predictable one — whereby they conclude that violence against the West is justified as a result of Western violence against predominantly Muslim countries. To believe that is not to deny that terrorists possess agency; it’s to attribute agency to them.
It’s understandable that self-loving tribalistic Westerners want to completely absolve themselves and their own violent societies of having any role in the terrorist violence they love to denounce. That’s the nature of the tribalistic instinct in humans: My tribe is not at fault; it’s the other tribe to which we’re superior that is to blame. But blatantly distorting the debate this way — by ludicrously depicting recognition of this decision-making process and causal chain as a denial of agency or autonomy — is not an acceptable (or effective) way to achieve that – by Glen Greenwald
7.1.2016 – Japan Times (** C P)
Riyadh makes the world a more dangerous place
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is essentially a totalitarian state.
Freedom House rated the kingdom at the bottom in terms of both civil liberties and political rights. Purported “anti-terrorism” legislation has allowed the “authorities to press terrorism charges against anyone who demands reform, exposes corruption or otherwise engages in dissent.”
The U.S. State Department devoted 57 pages to the Saudi monarchy’s human rights (mal)practices. The State Department noted: “The most important human rights problems reported included citizens’ lack of the ability and legal means to change their government; pervasive restrictions on universal rights such as freedom of expression, including on the Internet, and freedom of assembly, association, movement and religion; and a lack of equal rights for women, children and noncitizen workers.”
The Saudi royals are, if anything, even more repressive when it comes to matters of faith.
Essentially, Saudi Arabia is an early version of the Islamic State that won social acceptance in the West.
Unfortunately, Riyadh doesn’t limit religious repression to home. The licentious royals propagate fundamentalist Wahhabist Islam abroad. The KSA backed the Taliban regime, which shared Riyadh’s enthusiasm for brutal implementation of seventh century Islam. Some wealthy Saudis supported al-Qaida before 9/11.
According to WikiLeaks, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton confirmed that Saudi money flowed to terrorists. And the monarchy has generously supported extremist Syrian rebels.
Instead of being treated as an ally, Saudi Arabia “should be a pariah,” argued Freedom House President Mark Lagon.
At the very least, U.S. officials should drop the faux intimacy. Riyadh is an important power to be engaged, not supported, endorsed, praised, subsidized and reassured. Regime change is needed more in Riyadh than Tehran – by Doug Bandow, senior fellow at the Cato Institute
Comment: A very good overview on what Saudi Arabia really is – written by a fellow of a typical neoliberal thinktank! Miracles still happen…
9.1.2016 – The Independent (** P)
The most dangerous man in the world?
Saudi Arabia’s defence minister is aggressive and ambitious – and his enemies within and without are in his sights
The same zeal with which he is pursuing economic reforms has also led Saudi Arabia into a messy war in neighbouring Yemen. Decades of Saudi caution were thrown to the wind as MbS presided over Operation Decisive Storm.
It is not outside the realm of possibility that this brilliant, brash young man casting himself in his grandfather’s mould as a Sunni warrior may be weighing up the options, may be thinking of a military strike against Shia Iran – a frightening thought in a region already riven by sectarian war.
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/the-most-dangerous-man-in-the-world-a6803191.html
9.1.2016 – The Independent (** P)
Prince Mohammed bin Salman: Naive, arrogant Saudi prince is playing with fire
German intelligence memo shows the threat from the kingdom’s headstrong defence minister
At the end of last year the BND, the German intelligence agency, published a remarkable one-and-a-half-page memo saying that Saudi Arabia had adopted “an impulsive policy of intervention”. It portrayed Saudi defence minister and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – the powerful 29-year-old favourite son of the ageing King Salman, who is suffering from dementia – as a political gambler who is destabilising the Arab world through proxy wars in Yemen and Syria.
The BND lists the areas in which Saudi Arabia is adopting a more aggressive and warlike policy.
The overreaching gets worse by the day. At every stage in the confrontation with Iran over the past week Riyadh has raised the stakes.
The interview was presumably meant to be reassuring to the outside world, but instead it gives an impression of naivety and arrogance. There is also a sense that Prince Mohammed is an inexperienced gambler who is likely to double his stake when his bets fail – by Patrick Cockburn
Comment by Judith Brown: A must read, by the excellent Patrick Cockburn. This really gives an insight into Saudi Arabian policies including the attitudes to the Yemen war.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154023060258641
Allgemein /General
9.1.2016 – Talk Radio Europe (* K P)
Radio interview on #Yemen with @omeisy and Jamina Hanan hosted by @Raywoolford @RadioJonesPippa starts min. 28:30 until min 51:45)
http://www.talkradioeurope.com/ondemand/Talk_Radio_Europe_in_Spain_2016-01-08_13-00-00.mp3 = http://greedforilm.com/hisham-al-omeisy-yemen-crisis/
28.2.2010 – Countercurrents (** C)
Yemen: USA Are Fighting Against Democracy, Not Against Al-Qaeda
Interview With Mohamed Hassan
First of all we must note this phenomenon which is repeating itself: every time that a regime backed by Washington is threatened, then terrorists appear on the scene. In the case of Muslim countries, it's al-Qaeda that gets the blame. This phantom terrorist group always pops up where nationalist or anti-imperialist movements give trouble to puppets supported by the US. That's what's happening now in Yemen. This country is ruled by a corrupt regime that is allied to Washington. But it is threatened by resistance movements.
Why has Yemen become so important for Washington?
Who are the northern resistance fighters? What are their demands?
The fighting close to Saada is raging. It has caused several thousand people to become refugees, and the government is accusing Iran of supporting the rebels...
And the south is demanding to secede! The Yemeni president really seems to be in a bad position.
What about the south?
As we have seen in Somalia, did these political prisoners influence developments in the region?
Why was it necessary to wait until 1990 before the north and south united?
In 1990, Yemen was the only country, apart from Cuba, to oppose the Iraq war. 20 years later, while Castro is still holding out against the 'Yankees', Saleh has for his part lined up alongside the US in their war on terror. How can you explain this change?
And the southern progressives let him [President Saleh] do?
Fifteen years later, the south is again demanding separation. Do you think that president Saleh will be able to get away with it again?
What are the reasons for the anger of the Yemeni people?
After Afghanistan and Iraq, is Yemen going to be the US's third front?
Is the US facing another defeat? – by Gregoire Lalieu & Michel Collon
http://www.countercurrents.org/hassan280210.htm
Comment: Interesting article from six years ago, giving a lot of information to understand the situation from now.
Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
9.1.2016 – Sky News (H)
Scenes of the suffering of the people of the besieged Taiz, Yemen (Film)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26BAlbNBFww
Comment: This is a video in Arabic - but easy to understand without language if you don't speak Arabic. It shows the human chain bringing food and supplies into Taiz. The agreement in the last round of peace talks was that Taiz siege would end. The food and other deliveries could not get into Taiz because of hostilities and have been delivered to a nearby town and are taken in on foot and by donkeys over the mountain passes - a very good initiative by Taiz people. The food is being brought in from the south, because the north of Yemen is still suffering the Saudi led blockade which did not have any agreement in the recent peace negotiations.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1084196741732816
7.1.2016 – BBC (** H K)
A young girl and a city struggling for life (with film)
The BBC's Safa AlAhmad is one of few journalists to have reached the besieged city of Taiz, at the heart of Yemen's civil war. She found a city destroyed by shelling - and a doctor struggling to save the life of a six-year-old girl.
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35253681
Houthis
10.1.2016 – Human Rights Watch (** A P)
Yemen: Arbitrarily Held by the Houthis
Campaign of Arrests to Silence Peaceful Critics in Capital
Houthi authorities in Yemen have arbitrarily detained and forcibly disappeared dozens of people in the capital, Sanaa. The Houthi authorities should safeguard the rights of everyone in detention, immediately release all those held arbitrarily, and grant family members, lawyers, and independent monitors immediate access to detention sites to reduce the risk of abuse.
Human Rights Watch documented the Houthis’ arbitrary or abusive detention of at least 35 people from August 2014 through October 2015, 27 of whom remain in custody.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/01/10/yemen-arbitrarily-held-houthis
Comment: A lot of details about individuals believed to have been detained by the Houthi militias in Sanaa and other parts of Yemen. This tactic has been widely reported throughout this war.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154023067678641
Meinungsfreiheit / Freedom of speech
7.1.2016 – Open Democracy (** B)
Yemen: independent intellectuals under threat
Polarisation is wiping out all independent or dissenting voices. Yemeni intellectuals are constantly at risk of acts of violent intimidation, arrest or assassination
This is an article describing how intellectuals on all are being targeted in Yemen; including Houthis, Taizis, and independent and serious journalists.
Südjemen / Southern Yemen
10.1.2016 – Yemen Post
Hadi partially reshuffles cabinet for third time in months
http://yemenpost.net/Detail123456789.aspx?ID=3&SubID=8365&MainCat=3
UNO / UN
9.1.2016 – Bild von Reuters (A H)
UN bereitet Luftbrücke in Jemen vor (Film)
9.1.2016 – Middle East Eye (A P)
Yemen reverses decision to expel top UN human rights official
The decision comes merely one day after Yemen declared George Abu al-Zulof persona non grata for 'lacking impartiality'
9.1.2016 – Associated Press (A P)
Yemen rescinds expulsion of UN human rights representative
http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/1013910/Yemen-rescinds-expulsion-of-UN-human-rights-representative.html?isap=1&nav=5024 and from Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-un-idUSKBN0UN0AW20160109
Kommentar: Das Ganze ist eine Posse. Die Hadi-Regierung rudert zurück, angeblich wegen einer eindeutigen Stellungnahme von UN-Generalsekretär Ban Ki Moon. Diese Geschichte zeigt, dass die Hadi-„Regierung“ nicht mehr viel mehr ist als eine der vielen Propagandaabteilungen der Saudis. Diese sind bisher vor allem mit der Verbreitung von groteskem Unsinn aufgefallen. So gibt es demnach ja bisher noch keine toten Zivilisten im Jemen als eine Folge der saudischen Luftangriffe – wenn man den saudischen Verlautbarungen glauben sollte.
Comment: Well this was shooting themselves in the foot. But I guess this very quiet man who has had a very low profile in this war will be even more silent now.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1084187261733764
9.1.2015 – Zeit Online (A K P)
Saudi-Arabien setzt Streubomben in Sanaa ein
In dieser Woche soll es erneut einen saudischen Angriff mit Streubomben im Jemen gegeben haben. Laut Ban Ki Moon könne es sich um ein Kriegsverbrechen handeln. UN-Menschenrechtsgesandter wird nicht ausgewiesen.
http://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2016-01/jemen-saudi-arabien-krieg-streubomben siehe auch http://www.taz.de/!5267904/
9.1.2016 – NTV (A K P)
Streubomben in Jemen eingesetzt: Ban spricht von möglichem Kriegsverbrechen
Im Jemen wurden Reste von Streubomben gefunden. Die von Saudi-Arabien angeführte Militärkoalition soll sie auch über einem Wohngebiet in der Hauptstadt abgeworfen haben. Nun schaltet sich UN-Generalsekretär Ban ein
http://www.n-tv.de/politik/Ban-spricht-von-moeglichem-Kriegsverbrechen-article16729236.html siehe auch von AFP: http://www.afp.com/de/nachrichten/ban-streubomben-einsatz-im-jemen-konnte-als-kriegsverbrechen-gelten
Kommentar: Der Einsatz von Streubomben ist ein eindeutiges, kein „mögliches“ Kriegsverbrechen. Was soll eine solche Aussage?? Weiß Ban nicht, was er redet??
Der AFP-Bericht zeigt, wie wenig Ahnung die Korrespondenten von den Dingen haben, über die sie schreiben. Da heißt es: „Derweil machte die Regierung in Sanaa nach Angaben von Diplomaten ihre Entscheidung rückgängig, den UN-Menschenrechtsgesandten für den Jemen auszuweisen. „ Wohl gemerkt, es geht hier um die Regierung von Präsident Hadi. Und der hat Sanaa im Februar 2015 verlassen. Seitdem regieren dort die Huthis und deren Verbündete allein, die Hadi-Regierung sitzt in Aden und Riad.
8.1.2016 – UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon (A P)
Statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on Yemen
The Secretary-General is deeply concerned about the intensification of Coalition airstrikes and ground fighting and shelling in Yemen, despite repeated calls for a renewed cessation of hostilities.
http://www.un.org/sg/statements/index.asp?nid=9372 see also http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=52966#.VpDu2PnhCUl and from AFP: http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/?p=127353 and from Reuters http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-un-idUSKBN0UM23H20160108
Friedensgespräche / Peace talks
10.1.2016 – Watson (A P)
In zwei Wochen wird in Genf wieder über Frieden für Jemen verhandelt
Als mögliches Datum nannte der jemenitische Aussenminister Abdel Malak al-Mekhlafi den 20. oder den 23. Januar.
9.1.2016 – Reuters (A P)
Jemen - Friedengespräche werden vermutlich verschoben
http://de.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idDEKCN0UN0RF20160109 = im Handelsblatt: http://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/international/huthi-rebellion-im-jemen-friedengespraeche-werden-vermutlich-verschoben/12810786.html mit eigener Schlagzeile: Steckt die sunnitische Schutzmacht Saudi-Arabien dahinter?
10.1.2016 – Middle East Eye
Yemen's peace talks postponed until late January
Yemen's foreign minister claims the Houthis rejected the original 14 January date
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/yemens-peace-talks-postponed-until-late-january-1557612407
Comment: I am not surprised. There are two issues here (1) Saleh has announced his unwillingness to talk and (2) the Houthis definitely want and would benefit from a ceasefire that is held by both sides, and they have made it a condition of talks in the past. In the last ceasefire the Saudi-led coalition was prepared and moved in to take control of new areas as soon as the ceasefire was announced. So I guess they need more assurances before they will come to the table.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1084586638360493
9.1.2016 – Reuters (A P)
Yemen government says peace talks may be postponed beyond mid-January
https://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2016/Jan-09/331057-yemen-government-says-peace-talks-may-be-postponed-beyond-mid-january.ashx = http://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/89108-Peace-talks-may-be-postponed-beyond-mid-January-Yemen
9.1.2016 – Reuters (A P)
Former Yemen president say no dialogue with government
Yemen's former president Saleh said on Friday he would not negotiate with the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
http://www.trust.org/item/20160108195731-znuzp/
Comment: Well this seems a slap in the face for peace. Not that my hopes were high anyway. I think Saleh just wants his money freed from its constraints.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1084193945066429
Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran
Siehe auch: Am wichtigsten / See also: Most important
9.1.2016 – Newsweek (** P)
IRAN AND SAUDI ARABIA DOUBLE DOWN ON A COLD WAR NEITHER CAN WIN
The two oil-rich theocracies—one Shiite and one Sunni—are vying for regional dominance. The feud between Iran and Saudi Arabia has fueled sectarianism, resulted in an increase in the flow of weapons and funding to extremists, and spawned numerous militant movements.
But even more of a threat to the region than this Iran vs. Saudi Arabia contest is the likelihood that the two countries are lashing out at each other not from positions of strength but of weakness—and in their efforts to dominate each other they could cause the entire region to fracture and spin out of control. Both sides frame their competition more and more in absolutist, sectarian terms, and both sides have proved less and less able to manage the endless crises in the region. Iran and Saudi Arabia are doubling down on a war neither can win – by Thannasis Cambanis
http://europe.newsweek.com/iran-and-saudi-arabia-double-down-cold-war-neither-can-win-413623
7.1.2016 –On Being (** B)
Ten Ways on How Not To Think About the Iran/Saudi Conflict
One. In order to understand this conflict, do not start with Sunni/Shi‘a seventh century succession disputes to Prophet.
Two. Iran and Saudi Arabia are both modern nation states.
Three. The competition is not merely over Islam. Since the time of the Iranian revolution, Iran has defined itself as adamantly anti-monarchical.
Six. Nationalism, colonialism, and the oppressive apparatus of modern states.
Seven. The role of oil in determining the geopolitical interests of both Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Eight. We in the United States should do some long and hard looking into our own culpability.
Ten. So… Who loses? Syria, Yemen – by Omid Safi
7.1.2016 – University of Toronto News (* A P)
Saudi Arabia and Iran: U of T experts explain the situation
As the U.S. works behind the scenes to calm ruffled egos, and Iraq and Russia offer to mediate between the two regional powers, U of T News spoke with Stephen Toope, director of U of T's Munk School of Global Affairs, and Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi, professor of Near and Middle East Civilizations, about the history of the conflict and why Canadians need to pay attention.
Why did the Saudis choose to execute the cleric?
What’s behind the Iran-Saudi standoff?
Why should the world or Canada care?
Noreen Ahmed-Ullah
http://news.utoronto.ca/saudi-arabia-and-iran-u-t-experts-explain-situation
7.1.2016 – Washington Post (* P)
The United States shouldn’t take sides in the Sunni-Shiite struggle
In general, the United States should support Saudi Arabia in resisting Iran’s encroachments in the region, but it should not take sides in the broader sectarian struggle. This is someone else’s civil war. After all, Washington’s principal ally in the fight against the Islamic State is the Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad. And besides, the single greatest threat to the United States emanating from the Middle East remains radical Sunni jihadists — many of whom have drawn inspiration, funding and doctrine from Saudi Arabia – by Fareed Zakaria
Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
Siehe auch: Am wichtigsten / See also: Most important
8.1.2016 – Aljazeera (A P)
Saudi prince: War with Iran not going to happen
Deputy crown prince tells British magazine an Iran-Saudi war would mean catastrophe for the conflict-wracked region.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/01/saudi-arabian-prince-war-iran-happen-160107160941727.html
Comment: Well, remember he is the one who pushed the Yemen war. See articles at “Most important”.
9.1.2016 – New Statesman (B P)
Behind Saudi Arabia’s bluster is a country that feels under grave threat
The reasons for Saudi – and Iranian – actions are structural – by John Jenkins, former British ambassador to Saudi Arabia
Comment: Quite partisan for the Saudis. Human Rights, Yemen War, support for terrorists, spreading Wahabi Islamism in the whole world: not worth mentioning.
Comment: A look at Saudi Arabia's current state of neurosis. https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1084200611732429
9.1.2016 – Express Tribune from AFP (A P)
Saudi Shia protesters shout 'death' to ruling family
Shia Muslim protesters in eastern Saudi Arabia called Friday for the “death” of the Sunni-majority kingdom’s ruling Al-Saud family at a rally to honour executed Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr, a witness said.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1024522/saudi-shia-protesters-shout-death-to-ruling-family/
9.1.2016 – Spiegel Online (A P)
Rüstungsexport: Saudi-Arabien setzte deutsche Waffen gegen Demonstranten ein
Die Kritik an deutschen Rüstungsexporten nach Saudi-Arabien wächst. Nach SPIEGEL-Informationen zeigen Fotos, wie das Regime offenbar mit Blendgranaten von Rheinmetall gegen die schiitische Protestbewegung vorgegangen ist.
Kommentar: Wundert das irgendjemanden? Bravo, Bundesregierung!!
8.1.2016 – Middle East Eye (* A H P)
REVEALED: Juvenile prisoners and mentally ill killed in Saudi executions
One prisoner arrested at 13 and others apparently suffering mental illness were among 47 executed in Saudi Arabia
7.1.2016 – Bloomberg (** P)
Saudi Arabia Has Bigger Problems Than Iran
The theory here is that the execution of the preacher, Nimr al-Nimr, was less about provoking Shiites than pre-empting domestic outrage over the deaths of so many Sunnis, who make up 85 percent of the country's population. The kingdom has rarely been concerned with domestic opinion in its 90 years of statehood. Does Saudi Arabia now fear unrest among the masses? Should it?
[Nothing] will ease the royal family's existential fears, or its horror over the Arab Spring of 2011. Particularly chilling was fall of Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak, abandoned by his longtime U.S. allies.
The House of Saud has long kept the populace in line by spreading out oil riches, what the scholar Toby Craig Jones calls "the very social contract that informally binds ruler and ruled." Now, a population of which a large majority is under 30 will be the first in memory to face economic privation. It may want a greater say in its future.
The kingdom is taking no chances. It has initiated a new security law that lists "disrupting public order," "risking national unity" and "harming the reputation" of the royal family as terrorist acts.
Domestic worries also provide an explanation for continuing the fruitless campaign in Yemen. The border between the two nations exists more in theory than practice, and the last thing the Saudis want is for the Houthi rebellion to spread among the Sunni tribes that straddle the line. We saw a similar dynamic during the Arab Spring, when unrest among the Shiite majority in neighboring Bahrain during became such a threat that Saudi tanks rolled across the causeway to prop up the island nation's Sunni leaders – by Tobin Harshaw
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2016-01-07/saudi-arabia-has-bigger-problems-than-iran
7.1.2016 – Foreign Policy (** P)
Fear and Loathing in Saudi Arabia
Saudi royals are scared about everything from the rise of Iran to the drop in oil prices. And Washington telling them to calm down only makes them angrier.
It’s impossible to understand the current situation without delving into Saudi politics and foreign policy. But it’s equally important to be honest about the limits of our knowledge.
I think it’s clear that Saudi policy has to be understood as an interweaving of Saudi internal and external interests, and right now those interests are overwhelmingly about fear. The external threats it seems to see are easier for Americans to recognize than the internal ones. But what we often miss is how the Saudis see external issues affecting their internal circumstances and creating domestic threats they find far more frightening than the external threat on its own.
At the broadest level, when the Saudis in Riyadh look at the Middle East around them, they see a region spiraling out of control.
That is another element of fear for them: They can no longer control the oil market the way they once did, and the low price of oil is obviously killing them. It has become so bad that they are now talking about real economic austerity.
Meanwhile, the region’s civil wars have the Saudis so frightened that they have intervened in unprecedented ways.
Iran, at the intersection of all of these problems, from the Saudi perspective. The Saudis think the Iranians are to blame for the civil wars in Syria, Yemen, and (to a lesser extent) Iraq by mobilizing Shiites to destabilize the kingdom and its Sunni Arab allies.
Finally, the Saudis feel frustrated and abandoned by the United States. The depth of Saudi anger and contempt for the current American leadership is important to understand because it is another critical element of their worldview and policies.
The depth of Saudi anger and contempt for the current American leadership is important to understand because it is another critical element of their worldview and policies.
The Saudis are going to keep taking whatever actions they feel necessary to deter or defeat what they see as Iranian efforts to undermine their external power and their internal stability. In the unstable Middle East of the early 21st century, that aggressiveness is going to have very unpredictable effects. But what looks chaotic to Washington will continue to seem entirely logical from the perspective of Saudi Arabia – by Kenneth M. Pollack
http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/01/07/fear-and-loathing-in-saudi-arabia/ = http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/markaz/posts/2016/01/08-fear-and-loathing-saudi-arabia-pollack
7.1.2016 – Huffington Post (** P)
14 Reasons Why Saudi Arabia Is a Failed Mideast Power
What is the end state? Riyadh needs to understand that these real problems need real solutions. Since the Iranian revolution in 1979, Saudi Arabia's top geopolitical goal has been to maximize its power at Iran's expense. To address all of its self-created problems, the House of Saud has pursued one solution: blaming Iran. But the reality is that Saudi Arabia has overstretched itself in Yemen, Bahrain and Syria, supporting terrorist groups and totally breaking down its ties with Iran. Saudi Arabia needs substantial reforms in its domestic and foreign policies. The fact is that Saudi Arabia is a failed regional power, and if it continues with its traditional policies, sooner or later it will collapse – by Seyed Hossein Mousavian, scholar at Princeton University and a former Iranian diplomat.
Comment: Failure is what the Saudis have gotten in return for their pride and brutality.
"Since early 2015, Saudi Arabia has been bombing Yemen, its southern neighbor, hoping to force the retreat of the Houthis. It has killed thousands of innocent civilians in the process and has little to show for it in terms of any actual achievements. "Further evidence #Yemen becoming Saudi Arabia's Vietnam; blowback may well weaken stability of #Saudiarabiaitself," recently tweeted Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations."
https://www.facebook.com/yemen.crisis/posts/550682261764681
7.1.2016 – Mondoweiss (** C)
How Zionism helped create the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
It is very clear that the British Empire’s drive to impose Zionism in Palestine is embedded in the geographical DNA of contemporary Saudi Arabia. There is further irony in the fact that the two holiest sites in Islam are today governed by the Saudi clan and Wahhabi teachings because the Empire was laying the foundations for Zionism in Palestine in the 1920s. Contemporaneously, it is no surprise that both Israel and Saudi Arabia are keen in militarily intervening on the side of “moderate rebels” i.e. jihadis, in the current war on Syria.
http://mondoweiss.net/2016/01/zionism-kingdom-arabia
See also film: https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1085128624972961
Comment by Judith Brown: This is totally fascinating. I have read documents and articles in the past that referred to the involvement of the British in creating Saudi Arabia and encouraging Wahhabism but I have never seen the detail before as clearly as this, with detailed explanations. Well worth a read. And explains the Saudi-Zionist links as well.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10154021423033641
USA
15.9.2015 – Counterpunch (A P)
Bernie Sanders Insists Saudi Arabia Should Kill More People
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/09/15/bernie-sanders-insists-saudi-arabia-should-kill-more-people/
Großbritannien / Great Britain
10.1.2016 - ICTW (A P)
Saudi Arabia executions: Philip Hammond condemned by rights campaigners for ‘excusing’ mass killings
The Foreign Secretary says ‘just to be clear, these people were terrorists’ – despite at least four of the 47 being arrested over political protests. Rights groups say Britain continues to ‘parrot the propaganda’ of its Middle East ally.
9.1.2016 – Global Research (A P)
Britain Aiding Saudi Terror War on Yemenis
http://www.globalresearch.ca/britain-aiding-saudi-terror-war-on-yemenis/5500103
9.1.2016 – The Guardian (* A P)
Saudi arms sales are in breach of international law, Britain is told
Government accused over refusal to suspend export licences in wake of strikes on Yemen
The government has been put on notice that it is in breach of international law for allowing the export of British-made missiles and military equipment to Saudi Arabia that might have been used to kill civilians.
Lawyers acting for the Campaign Against the Arms Trade(CAAT) have stepped up legal proceedings against the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, which approves export licences, accusing it of failing in its legal duty to take steps to prevent and suppress violations of international humanitarian law.
“UK weapons have been central to a bombing campaign that has killed thousands of people, destroyed vital infrastructure and inflamed tensions in the region,” said Andrew Smith of CAAT. “The UK has been complicit in the destruction by continuing to support airstrikes and provide arms, despite strong and increasing evidence that war crimes are being committed.” – by Jamie Doward and Tom Dare
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/09/saudi-arms-sales-lawyers-warn-break-international-law-yemen?CMP=twt_gu and similar: https://storify.com/ACTEDYemen/crisis-on-crisis-water-sanitation-and-hygiene-in-y
9.1.2016 – Middle East News Agency (* A P)
England Formally Bans European Union From Supporting Yemenis
EU foreign affairs spokesman revealed that England formally urged Federica Mogherini, EU foreign policy chief, to refrain from exercising any stance on Saudi aggression against Yemen.
http://middleeastpress.com/english/england-formally-banned-europe-union-from-supporting-yemenis/
Comment: Wow. This shows the British behind the scenes support for Saudi Arabia. Shocked
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1084239678395189
8.1.2016 – BBC (* A P)
UK College of Policing trains hundreds of Saudi police
More than 250 officers from Saudi Arabia have been given specialist training by the College of Policing in recent years, the BBC has learned.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-35261385
8.1.2016 – International Business Times (* A P)
Saudi Arabia buys Britain's silence on Raif Badawi and beheadings with arms deals and favours
As the destruction of Yemen continues, and as thousands like Raif Badawi languish in prison for protesting against their government, the question we need to ask is how many more will be tortured and killed before government's like the UK finally say that enough is enough?
Pakistan
9.1.2016 – Express Times (* C)
Pak-Saudi relations: Friends with benefits
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1024531/pak-saudi-relations-friends-with-benefits/
Comment: This is a very fascinating and detailed account of the historic relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia since the formation of Pakistan - it doesn't seem to be very significant relating to the Yemen war at this moment in time, but none-the-less good background knowledge.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1084188415066982
8.1.2016 – The Iran Project from IRNA (A P)
Pakistan declines to join Saudi Arabia’s anti-Iran alliance
Saudi Arabia’s campaign to build a broad Sunni alliance to contain Iran has apparently suffered at least a setback from Pakistan and was instead invited by Sharif to settle the dispute peacefully.
5.4.2015 – The Nation (** P)
By asking for ‘Sunni soldiers’ Saudi Arabia is trying to divide Pakistan Army
If I were to tell you that Saudi Arabia wants the Pakistan Army, but only the Sunni soldiers and officers, what would your reaction be?
If I were to tell you that the training contingent that is in Saudi right now is only Sunni soldiers and officers, would you still believe that the Yemen war is justified?
I understand that you want to believe that the conflict in Yemen is justified and that our holy sites are threatened by the Houthi rebels, but that is simply not the case. This is not a battle for the integrity of Saudi Arabia, but an expansionist power grab by them to re-instate their chosen leader – by Khalid Muhammad
Eritrea
9.1.2016 – Voice of America (* A P)
Observers See Several Motives for Eritrean Involvement in Yemen
The source said Eritrea — which has seen thousands of young people flee and is in the process of an economic overhaul that includes the collection and reissue of its currency, the nakfa — is in survival mode. Its new alliance with Saudi Arabia and the UAE should be seen in that light.
http://www.voanews.com/content/observers-see-several-motives-eritrean-involvement-yemen/3138689.html
Flüchtlinge / Refugees
10.1.2016 – APA
Zwölf Flüchtlinge sterben auf Seeweg von Somalia nach Jemen
Die Küstenwache habe ihr überfülltes Schiff vor der Küste der halbautonomen Region Somaliland entdeckt, teilte ein somalischer Behördensprecher am Samstag mit. Es sei wegen eines technischen Defekts mehrere Tage umhergetrieben.
http://www.salzburg.com/nachrichten/dossier/fluechtlinge/sn/artikel/zwoelf-fluechtlinge-sterben-auf-seeweg-von-somalia-nach-jemen-179841/ = http://www.wienerzeitung.at/nachrichten/welt/weltpolitik/794675_Zwoelf-Fluechtlinge-starben-auf-Seeweg-von-Somalia-nach-Jemen.html
10.1.2016 – Ayyaantuu News
Over 80 Yemen-bound Ethiopian migrants detained off Somalia
The overcrowded boat was arrested off the coast of Sanag region.
‘’ It was heading to Yemen and our cost guard managed to intercept it. We found 7 dead bodies. Most of them are suffering from dehydration and did not eat for couple of days,’’ said Ahmed Abdi, a governor.
http://www.ayyaantuu.net/over-80-yemen-bound-ethiopian-migrants-detained-off-somalia/
Comment: Incredible, still people fleeing from Africa to Yemen… While others are fleeing from Yemen to Africa. All that shows how miserable life is for people in this region, whether in Africa or in Yemen, and how despaired these people must be just to flee from one trouble spot to another. While we think we can stay unharmed in our European wellness oasis not caring about what happens elsewhere. Well, most of these people sooner or later will come to us.
Propaganda
Saudi-led Coalition's Spokesman on France 24 ( A P)
Here are the main points in an interview with Saudi led coalition's spokesman Asiri on France 24 regarding the war in Yemen (my comments in Italics) – by Hisham Al-Omeisy
http://yemenprism.blogspot.de/2016/01/saudi-led-coalition-spokesman-on-france.html?m=1
Angriff auf MSF-Klinik / Attack at MSF hospital
10.1.2016 - Deutsche Welle
Tote bei Angriff auf Krankenhaus im Jemen
Eine Sprecherin der Hilfsorganisation Ärzte ohne Grenzen (MSF) konnte nicht sagen, ob die Rakete von einem Jet der arabischen Militärallianz oder vom Boden abgefeuert wurde. Unter den Verletzten seien zwei MSF-Mitarbeiter, die in Lebensgefahr schwebten, erklärte die Organisation. Durch den Raketenangriff seien in der Region Razeh mehrere Häuser des medizinischen Zentrums zerstört worden, teilte die Organisation mit. Die Patienten und Mitarbeiter seien in eine andere Klinik der Hilfsorganisation verlegt worden. Alle beteiligten Konfliktparteien seien über den Standort des Shiara Hospitals, das Ärzte ohne Grenzen medizinisch unterstützt, informiert, sagte Raquel Ayora, Leiterin der Einsätze.
http://www.dw.com/de/tote-bei-angriff-auf-krankenhaus-im-jemen/a-18970189
10.1.2016 – Die Presse
Jemen: Drei Tote bei Angriff auf Ärzte ohne Grenzen
Bei einem Angriff auf eine Klinik von Ärzte ohne Grenzen (MSF) im Norden des Jemens sind drei Menschen getötet worden. Wie eine Sprecherin der Hilfsorganisation am Sonntag mitteilte, wurden beim Einschlag einer Rakete in dem Gesundheitszentrum in der Provinz Saada zehn weitere Menschen verletzt. Die Sprecherin konnte nicht sagen, ob die Rakete von einem Flugzeug der arabischen Militärkoalition oder vom Boden abgefeuert wurde.
http://diepresse.com/home/politik/aussenpolitik/4901404/Jemen_Drei-Tote-bei-Angriff-auf-Aerzte-ohne-Grenzen?from=rss und bei Sputnik News (5 Tote): http://de.sputniknews.com/panorama/20160110/306993625/krankenhaus-im-jemen-bombardiert.html
10.1.2016 – RT
4 killed in missile strike on Medicins Sans Frontieres clinic in Yemen
At least four people have been killed in a missile strike on a Medecins Sans Frontieres medical facility in Yemen, a spokesman has confirmed. The organization “strongly condemns this,” while adding that 10 people have been injured in the attack.
The facility, which was hit by a rocket on Sunday, is in Razeh in the north of the country.
According to MSF staff on the ground, one missile hit the Shiara Hospital, where the humanitarian organization has been operating since November, 2015. MSF say they are unable to say who was responsible for the attack, but mentioned planes were seen flying over the facility at the time the attack took place. The organization adds that the death toll could rise as there is the possibility that people are still trapped in the rubble.
https://www.rt.com/news/328425-yemen-msf-clinic-attack/ and Sputnik News http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160110/1032911535/msf-stop-medical-faculties-yemen.html
10.1.2016 – BBC
Yemen crisis: MSF-backed hospital 'hit by missile'
[see article before] The agency said three of those injured in the strike were its staff, two of whom were in a critical condition.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35276253 and at Aljazeera http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2016/1/10/strike-on-doctors-without-borders-clinic-in-yemen-kills-four-aid-group-says.html and The Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/10/three-msf-staff-among-dead-rocket-fired-hospital-yemen
Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air attacks
10.1.2016 - Press TV Iran (A K)
Saudi Arabia targets Yemen’s Sa’ada with cluster bombs
At least eight civilians have been killed as the Saudi regime once again used internationally banned cluster bombs in its raids on the Yemeni province of Sa’ada in defiance of global condemnations.
10.1.1016 – Deutschlandfunk (* A K P)
Arabische Koalition bestreitet Einsatz von Streubomben
Ein Sprecher des Bündnisses sagte der Nachrichtenagentur afp, man verfüge nicht über diese Munition. 90 Prozent der Angriffe richteten sich gegen Raketenabschussrampen. Streubomben seien hier nicht von Nutzen.
Kommentar: Dreist oder lächerlich, je nachdem, was Sie vorziehen. Das ist hier freilich nicht anders wie bei allen solchen leugnenden Erklärungen der Saudis. Demnach gäbe es biesher weder zivile Opfer und Schäden infolge ihrer Luftangriffe. Die Evidenz für Streubomben ist ebenfalls erdrückend. Siehe http://newsofyemen.net/2016/01/damage-caused-by-us-made-cluster-bombs-dropped-by-saudi-uae-jets-on-sanaa-yemen/ und https://www.facebook.com/yemenipress/posts/915181431868403 und https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=576807459136290&id=551288185021551 und https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/685970662167572480 und (nichts für Sensible!!) https://twitter.com/HussainBukhaiti/status/685171032756482049 oder in Film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5rcPOFOXSM
10.1.2016 – AFP (* A K P)
Saudi-led coalition denies using cluster bombs in Yemen
The coalition “denies using cluster bombs in Sanaa”, the Yemeni capital, spokesperson Brigadier General Ahmed al Assiri told AFP.
He was specifically responding to a report issued Thursday by the US-based Human Rights Watch, which quoted residents describing a January 6 attack consistent with airdropped cluster bomb use.
“I think it’s a very weak report,” Assiri said of HRW’s study. “They didn’t show any evidence.”
He said the watchdog mentioned a type of cluster munition “that doesn’t exist in our stock,” adding that 90 per cent of coalition operations in Sanaa are directed against Scud missile launchers.
“You cannot use a cluster bomb against Scud launchers,” Assiri said.
http://www.france24.com/en/20160110-saudi-led-coalition-denies-using-cluster-bombs-yemen = http://tribune.com.pk/story/1025052/saudi-led-coalition-denies-using-cluster-bombs-in-yemen/ and at Al Jazeera: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/01/coalition-denies-cluster-bombs-yemen-160110090459852.html
Comment: Looking at the plenty of evidence, this declaration by Assiri is brazen and ridiculous. As in this case, it is always the same when the Saudis deny they hit anything. For cluster bombs used in the last days (there exists more evidence from before), see http://newsofyemen.net/2016/01/damage-caused-by-us-made-cluster-bombs-dropped-by-saudi-uae-jets-on-sanaa-yemen/ and https://www.facebook.com/yemenipress/posts/915181431868403 and https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=576807459136290&id=551288185021551 and https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/685970662167572480 and (graphic!!) https://twitter.com/HussainBukhaiti/status/685171032756482049 or in film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5rcPOFOXSM
9.1.2016 – Carol Anne Grayson Blog (* A K P)
Yemen: Reports of “cluster bombs”, concerns over alleged “war crimes”… where is the accountability? (with photos)
The images are coming through thick and fast on social media of alleged cluster bombs being used on civilian areas of Yemen… so how difficult can it be to check out and identify what is being used with activists on the ground in Yemen… and who is responsible? There is an urgent need to investigate the Saudi and Coalition bombing of Yemen, the nature of the weapons and who is supplying the munitions.
9.1.2016 – Saba News (A K)
One killed, four injured in Saudi airstrike in Sana’a
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news415377.htm
Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
10.1.2016 – Almasdar News (A K PH)
French mercenary killed in southern Yemen
http://www.almasdarnews.com/article/french-mercenary-killed-in-southern-yemen/
9.1.2016 – The National UAE (A K PS)
Child and two others killed in Saudi Arabia by shelling
Houthi rebels in Yemen have intensified cross-border rocket attacks in recent months.
http://www.thenational.ae/world/middle-east/child-and-two-others-killed-in-saudi-arabia-by-shelling
Comment: The deaths in Saudi are being reported - unlike the deaths in Yemen.
9.1.2016 – Fars News (A K PH)
UAE Top Commander Injured in Yemen's Ta'iz
The chief commander of the UAE forces in Yemen was injured and three Blackwater mercenaries, including a French officer, were killed in an ambush of the Yemeni troops in the coastal province of Ta’iz.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941019000938
Neue Artikel zum Nachlesen 1-83: / Yemen Press reader 1-83:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose oder / or
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