Dies ist die Fortsetzung von Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 815, Teil 1 / This is the sequel of Yemen War Mosaic 815, part 1:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-815-yemen-war-mosaic-815
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
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
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
cp12a Katar / Qatar
cp12b Sudan
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
cp13b Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage
cp13c Wirtschaft / Economy
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp15 Propaganda
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
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
(A P)
Saudische Dissidenten von Biden-Reise „verraten“, als er seinen geplanten Besuch verteidigt
Als Präsident Joe Biden seine Pläne verteidigte, Saudi-Arabien zu besuchen, ein Land, von dem er einst gelobt hatte, es zu einem internationalen „Pariah“ zu machen, bezeichneten Saudis, die für die Reform der absoluten Monarchie gekämpft haben, die Reise als Verrat, der verheerende Folgen haben könnte.
„Wir fühlen uns betrogen“, sagte Abdullah Alaoudh, ein in den USA ansässiger Vorsitzender der National Assembly Party, einer Oppositionsgruppe, am Montag in einem Telefoninterview mit NBC News. „Uns wurde versprochen, vor MBS geschützt zu sein“, sagte er und bezog sich dabei auf den saudischen Kronprinzen Mohammed bin Salman.
Da erwartet wird, dass Biden den Kronprinzen trifft, sagte Alaoudh, er befürchte, dass der Besuch des Präsidenten Saudi-Arabiens De-facto-Führer ermutigen könnte, „brutaler und schurkischer zu sein“. Bin Salman hat ein hartes Durchgreifen gegen Reformer und Frauenrechtsaktivisten angeführt, und die CIA hat gesagt, dass sie wahrscheinlich die brutale Ermordung des Kolumnisten der Washington Post, Jamal Khashoggi, angeordnet hat.
(A P)
Biden should bring home American hostages from Saudi Arabia on his plane
President Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia this week is unlikely to bring any significant diplomatic breakthroughs — whether or not he decides to shake hands with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (who, according to a CIA assessment, ordered the murder of Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi). The Saudi regime almost certainly won’t make any human rights concessions. Nor will it make promises to help stabilize world energy markets, even though Biden cites this as a key reason he’s traveling to Jiddah in the first place.
So what will Biden have to show at the end of the week for abandoning his campaign promise to treat the regime as a “pariah”? Not much. But there is one way for Biden to salvage something positive from this debacle and deliver real relief to American citizens suffering at the hand of the Saudi regime: He can bring some of them home on his plane Saturday.
“Air Force One is large enough for all of them,” reads a letter sent to Biden on Tuesday by Ali Al-Ahmed, president of the Committee for American Hostages in Saudi Arabia, a group that works with families of American citizens and residents who are unjustly imprisoned in Saudi Arabia or barred from leaving the kingdom. “These American citizens need to come home now. There is no better way to come home than riding home with their top elected leader.”
(A P)
Saudi is moving #Hadi to a small house in Riyadh YNP
#Riyadh: Political sources said that the Saudi authorities are preparing to transfer the ousted President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi to a small house in Riyadh. The Saudi authorities had placed Hadi under house arrest in one of the wings of the palaces in Riyadh after his removal and the formation of the Presidential Council. The sources stated that the Saudi side informed Hadi of the readiness to transfer him to a small house in the diplomatic district, which was previously the home of the military attache of the Kenyan embassy.
https://twitter.com/GhalebM0nz1i7/status/1547331817094668288
(A B P)
Former top Saudi spy says MBS is a 'psychopath with no empathy' in interview aired 5 days before Biden visits the country
A former Saudi intelligence chief called Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman a "psychopath" who is a threat to the whole world in a CBS News interview aired five days before President Joe Biden is due to visit the kingdom.
In the interview, which was aired Sunday, Saad al-Jabri warned that Crown Prince Mohammed, also known as MBS, was a "killer" with "infinite resources."
"I am here to sound the alarm about a psychopath, killer, in the Middle East with infinite resources, who poses threat to his people, to the Americans, and to the planet," al-Jabri told CBS News.
"A psychopath with no empathy, doesn't feel emotion, never learned from his experience. And we have witnessed atrocities and crimes committed by this killer," he said.
Al-Jabri worked as a long-time advisor to Mohammed bin Nayef, who was ousted as the Saudi crown prince in June 2017 and replaced with MBS. Al-Jabri fled Saudi Arabia for Canada in 2017.
In 2020, al-Jabri sued MBS in a Washington, DC, court, alleging the prince sent a hit squad to kill him in Toronto in 2018 — two weeks after the assassination of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul.
Al-Jabri told CBS News he expects to be killed by MBS one day because he has access to sensitive information about the government and royal family.
"This guy will not rest off until he sees me dead," al-Jabri said.
(A P)
Saudi opposition party says founding member assassinated in Beirut’s southern suburbs
A Saudi opposition party says one of its founding members has been killed in the suburbs of the Lebanese capital city of Beirut, and two of his brothers were arrested in connection with the incident.
The National Assembly Party (NAAS), composed of dissidents exiled in Britain, the United States and elsewhere, said in a social media post on Sunday that Manea al-Yami was slain in “complicated circumstances.”
“Upon the news of the assassination, the party has been trying to verify its details and motives,” the statement said.
“The party also holds the Saudi authorities responsible for exposing the people of this country to danger, forcing them to live in exile, and reside in unsafe environments because of their political beliefs or their demands for human rights,” it added.
(A P)
Sanaa comments on coalition’s violations of UN truce
Head of the Sanaa negotiating delegation, Mohammed Abdul-Salam, commented on Monday on the Saudi-led coalition forces’ continued violation of the UN-brokered humanitarian and military armistice declared in Yemen.
“Since the armistice has come into effect and the coalition of aggression has prevented the arrival of any plane to Sanaa, and obstructed the entry of fuel ships to the port of Hodeida,” Abdul-Salam said on Twitter.
He added: “The fall of martyrs in Saudi bombing in the border areas is a major violation of the ceasefire.”
https://en.ypagency.net/266230/
and also https://www.ansarollah.com/archives/531224
cp8a Jamal Khashoggi
(* A P)
The AP Interview: Khashoggi fiancee criticizes Biden visit
Hatice Cengiz, the fiancee of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, described Joe Biden’s decision to visit Saudi Arabia as “heartbreaking,” accusing the U.S. president of backing down from his pledge of prioritizing human rights.
In an interview with The Associated Press in Istanbul a day before Biden travels to Saudi Arabia on Friday to meet with the crown prince, Cengiz said Biden should press Saudi Arabia — a country that she described as a “terrible ally” — to embrace a human rights agenda. She also wants Biden to seek more answers from Saudi authorities over what happened to Khashoggi’s remains.
“It’s a very huge backing down actually,” Cengiz said of Biden’s decision now to reset diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia now. “It’s heartbreaking and disappointing. And Biden will lose his moral authority by putting oil and expediency over principles and values.”
Cengiz expressed profound disappointment with Biden’s stance.
“One of Biden’s promises (was) being different. It was a very big hope to me to believe, again, that Biden will do something for me and for Jamal,” she said. “Instead of being different now, he’s doing the same and embracing dictators in the region right now. So it’s a very disappointing for me.”
“He has to ask what happened to his body? Where is his body? Still we do not have any answer,” she added. “And people need to get the truth in this case. And we cannot forget.”
“We cannot forget what happened to Jamal.”
(A P)
The Latest: Khashoggi’s widow cites Biden commitment on MBS
The widow of Jamal Khashoggi, the U.S.-based writer killed by Saudi government agents four years ago, said Wednesday that she received a commitment that President Joe Biden will bring up the murder when he meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
The crown prince, whom Biden will be meeting for the first time in Jeddah on Friday, likely approved of the killing, according to U.S. intelligence.
Hanan Elatr Khashoggi, the slain writer’s widow, told Spectrum News she received assurances during a meeting with administration officials. “They said so,” she said.
My comment: LOL.
cp9 USA
Siehe / Look at cp1
(* B P)
On Biden's visit to Saudi Arabia
Peace, Yemeni Victims’ Files, and Pathways to Accountability and Redress
With many Yemenis, I am monitoring with interest the news of US President Joe Biden's upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia. Just like we monitored with interest his generous promises regarding Yemen in his election campaign, as well as all his steps since assuming the presidency, especially those steps that, directly or indirectly, affect the situation in Yemen. We pay attention to this visit in view of the contents that will be approached during it, and the effects and results that will affect the situation in Yemen.
As Yemenis, we do not concern much with the form of the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia, whether before, during or after the Biden administration. What exclusively concerns us is the impact of such relationship on the lives of Yemenis, which, over the course of eight years of its life, were devoured by the fire of American weapons and other weapons. Not only the impact of the impact of these weapons, we do concern more with the impact of the diplomatic and political cover provided by the successive US administrations to the Saudi and Emirati persecution of Yemen and its destinies, in their joint adventure with the Iran-backed Houthis and other Yemeni groups and actors.
It is important to mention here that the Biden Democratic administration bears a double responsibility, not only for the commitment to the great electoral promises he made to himself, and not only because he is now the president of the United States of America, which is an effective and influential country, but also because the war of Saudi Arabia and the UAE against Yemen began on March 26 2015 in presence of a democratic administration that secured military and political support for them, during which they committed severe atrocities.
It is important for Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the coalition to get out of the war in Yemen. However, it is important that the United States and the international community play a pivotal role to ensure that this exit in accordance with a comprehensive plan that addresses all files of the war within a framework of comprehensive settlement as a way to ensure the security and interests of Yemen, Saudi Arabia and the world, and to restore normal life for Yemenis and their democratic experience that has been undermined.
What frightens us most now, as Yemenis, is that all the efforts made under the banner of stopping the war in Yemen would lead to a catastrophic situation by perpetuating the control of armed groups over the country. That would replicate the situation in Afghanistan or Somalia, which will make these efforts just an additional service for Saudi Arabia to formally remove it from the war without imposing obligations on it with regards to the heavy files opened and aggravated by its reckless military intervention.
https://www.khuyut.com/article/on-bidens-visit
(* B P)
Hope, despair in Yemen as Biden travels to Saudi Arabia
Ahead of the US president's Saudi trip, Yemenis are feeling a mixture of optimism and gloom about its likely benefits for them
US President Joe Biden’s Saudi trip is expected to usher in a new phase of cooperation and partnership between the two countries after a year and a half of tensions between the current US administration and the Saudi leadership.
Yemeni political researcher and author Adel Dashela told Al-Monitor that the presidential visit to Saudi Arabia suggests a new US strategy that seeks to enhance relations between Israel and Arab countries. The other purpose, he reckons, is to prompt an increase in Saudi oil production to address the Russia-Ukraine war’s energy consequences.
However, the Yemen war is not a primary issue for Biden and Saudi Arabia, according to Dashela, who said, “The crisis in Yemen will be discussed in the summit during Biden’s visit, but it will be a secondary matter. The proof is that Yemen’s UN-recognized leadership was not invited to attend this event.”
He added, "Biden’s tour to the kingdom will fall short of bringing about a radical solution to the Yemen conflict. The maximum benefit from Biden’s trip is possibly extending the truce.”
Ceasing Yemen’s disastrous war has been a foreign policy priority for the present US administration. President Biden openly expressed what his purpose of meeting with Saudi leadership is.
“The overall piece here is we’re also going to try to reduce the deaths in the war that’s occurring in Yemen. There’s a whole range of things that go well beyond anything having to do with Saudi in particular,” Biden said during a press conference in Spain on June 30.
Abdulfatah Ali, a university student in Sanaa, told Al-Monitor that he feels Biden has shown empathy and sympathy for Yemeni civilians. He said, “I am hopeful that Biden’s visit will bring good to Yemen, at least a longer cease-fire. This American president has been different from Trump and Obama, and we have seen this first truce in seven years because of the US diplomatic efforts over the last year.”
Sanaa resident Zuhour Saleh is cautiously optimistic about the Yemen-related outcomes of Biden’s Saudi visit. Saleh told Al-Monitor that even if Biden is serious about ending this conflict, he will not stop it.
She explained, “Yemen has multiple armed and political factions who seek to achieve different objectives. There is the Yemeni government supported by Saudi Arabia, the Houthi group backed by Iran, the UAE-allied southern separatists and other armed militias. So Biden’s meeting with Saudis cannot end all disagreements between these many groups.”
While some Yemenis have faith in the American peace efforts in Yemen, others express doubt. Sanaa resident Basheer Mohammed said that the United States prioritizes its interests in the Middle East and Israel’s security.
Mohammed said he knows that Saudi Arabia has used US-made warplanes and ammunition to bombard Yemen over the last seven years. He is skeptical that the current US leadership will welcome the financial losses of its arms industry once peace is established across Yemen.
“The role of the US in creating Yemen’s misery outweighs its role in supporting peace efforts. That is why I am convinced that Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia may mean political and military encouragement to Saudis. And this will cause additional suffering to Yemenis should the war resume,” Mohammed told Al-Monitor.
Ahmed Nagi, a non-resident scholar at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut focusing on Yemen, argues that putting out the flames of war in Yemen is not the purpose of Biden’s Saudi visit. “The main purpose of Biden’s visit is to cement US regional ties in order to pave the way for solutions to the energy crisis,” Nagi stated in a recent analysis.
Nagi is critical of Biden’s Yemen strategy.
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/07/hope-despair-yemen-biden-travels-saudi-arabia
(* B P)
Versöhnung mit dem «aussätzigen» Kronprinzen? – nach Israel besucht US-Präsident Joe Biden Saudi-Arabien
Trotz des 2019 durch den saudischen Kronprinzen Mohammed bin Salman angeordneten Mordes am Journalisten Jamal Khashoggi wollen die USA ihre Beziehungen mit Saudi-Arabien neu ausrichten. Der Besuch des US-Präsidenten soll den Anfang machen.
In Saudi-Arabien bietet sich dem amerikanischen Präsidenten die Gelegenheit, «bei einem seiner repressivsten Verbündeten endlich die Messlatte höher zu legen und dessen schlimmsten Verstösse nicht länger zu ignorieren», kommentierte die US-Zeitung «Boston Globe» den am Freitag beginnenden Besuch von Joe Biden in Dschiddah – und nahm das Ergebnis vorweg: «Es wäre eine Schande, wenn Biden diese Gelegenheit verstreichen lassen würde».
Washington hatte bereits in der letzten Woche die sich abzeichnende 180 Grad-Korrektur im Umgang mit Saudi-Arabien mit «vorrangigen Friedensinteressen» begründet. Deshalb müsse man «die Sache», gemeint war die laut CIA-Erkenntnissen vom saudischen Kronprinzen Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) angeordneten Ermordung des saudischen Regimekritikers Jamal Khashoggi im November 2019, endlich «hinter sich lassen» – und die Beziehungen mit Saudi-Arabien «neu ausrichten».
Eine Chance, den Krieg im Jemen zu beenden?
Im Umgang mit Iran sieht der saudische Akademiker dagegen zahlreiche Berührungspunkte mit den USA. Amerikanische Senatoren hatten sich im Vorfeld von Bidens Nahostreise für die Schaffung eines arabisch-israelischen Verteidigungsbündnisses ausgesprochen – was es sobald nicht geben dürfte. Allerdings will man prüfen, wie man die verschiedenen Luftabwehrsysteme der Region miteinander verbinden kann.
Am Roten Meer, wo am Freitag auch die Staatsoberhäupter des Golfkooperationsrates GCC ihr jährliches Gipfeltreffen abhalten, wird auch der Krieg im Jemen ein Thema sein.
(* B P)
US-Präsident trifft Kronprinz: Krieg und Energiekrise sind wichtiger als ein Mord
Die Menschenrechte ins Zentrum der Präsidentschaft stellen, die Autokraten dieser Welt bekämpfen und Saudi-Arabien ächten: Das waren erklärte Ziele von US-Präsident Biden. Jetzt trifft er den saudischen Kronprinzen bin Salman. Ursache ist der Krieg in der Ukraine.
Explodierende Energiepreise, das iranische Atomprogramm und die ewige Sorge, dass ein pragmatisches China weltweit an Einfluss gewinnt, haben einen Kurswechsel im Nahen Osten verursacht. Den erklärte der US-Präsident vor seiner Reise sogar in einem Beitrag in der "Washington Post". Quintessenz ist, dass Lösungen für die derzeitige, vom Krieg in der Ukraine ausgelöste Krise schlicht wichtiger sind als ein Mord. Die Region sei elementar für den weltweiten Handel und globale Lieferketten.
Ein hochrangiger Regierungsvertreter wischte lapidar zur Seite, dass bereits das Zusammentreffen mit bin Salman den früheren Ankündigungen Bidens widerspricht. "Falls (er) zum Schluss kommt, dass es in seinem Interesse liegt, sich mit einem Anführer zu treffen, und es Ergebnisse bringen könnte, wird er es tun." Um des Friedens und der Stabilität der Region willen müsse man sich mit Saudi-Arabien auseinandersetzen, sagte der Vertreter. Schließlich habe der Kronprinz eingewilligt, den Krieg im Jemen vorerst nicht fortzusetzen und den Waffenstillstand dort zu verlängern. Biden hatte bei seinem Amtsantritt versichert, den Krieg im Jemen beenden zu wollen.
Es wird wohl zuvorderst über Sicherheitsfragen und regionale Konflikte gesprochen, aber auch über das Öl, was von dort kommt.
https://www.n-tv.de/politik/Krieg-und-Energiekrise-sind-wichtiger-als-ein-Mord-article23456682.html
(* B P)
Ein Foto mit dem Prinzen: Biden in Saudi-Arabien
US-Präsident Bidens Besuch in Saudi-Arabien zeigt, dass der Mord am Journalisten Khashoggi nicht auf ewig das Verhältnis zwischen dem Westen und dem Königreich bestimmen wird.
Voraussichtlich am Freitagabend setzt die US-Präsidentenmaschine Air Force One in Dschidda am Roten Meer auf. Um ein Foto mit dem Kronprinzen - auch bekannt unter seinem Kürzel "MBS" - dürfte Biden beim Treffen zusammen mit König Salman dann kaum herumkommen. Erst in größerer Runde am Samstag, wenn Biden am Gipfel des erweiterten Golf-Kooperationsrats (GCC+3) teilnimmt, kann er räumlich etwas mehr Abstand nehmen - so, wie andere Staats- und Regierungschefs das etwa bei G20-Gipfeln seit dem Khashoggi-Mord taten.
US-Präsident Biden verteidigte sich vor und noch während der Reise gegen Kritik. "Ich spreche immer die Menschenrechte an. Aber meine Position zu Khashoggi war so klar. Wenn jemand das nicht versteht, sei es in Saudi-Arabien oder anderswo, hat er nicht zugehört", sagte Biden am Donnerstag. Im Wahlkampf 2019 hatte er noch versprochen, die saudische Führung zum "Außenseiter" zu machen.
(* B P)
Biden: Mit schwerem Gepäck nach Nahost
Ihn begleiten viel Kritik und etliche schwierige Themen.
Bei der Visite geht es aber nicht nur um die vielen Konflikte im Nahen Osten, sondern auch um die durch den Ukraine-Krieg verschärfte Energiekrise - und um einen gemeinsamen Feind. Eine Auswahl wichtiger Punkte:
https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/politik/biden-nahostreise-100.html
(B P)
The global oil crisis and Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen: the challenges that drew Biden to the Mideast
As the raging hostilities between Russia and Ukraine have unleashed an energy crisis worldwide, the Yemeni resistance has gained more sway to either exacerbate or ease the global energy crisis.
This predicament has prompted Biden to work harder than ever to resolve the seven-year-old Yemen impasse, at least temporarily, since increasing oil prices undoubtedly influence every facet of the American economy.
Moreover, due to the unprecedented gasoline price hike in the United States and the subsequent spiralling inflation rates, Biden and his party allies face a formidable challenge in the upcoming midterm congressional elections, as according to a joint “Economist/YouGov” survey conducted last June, 85% of American voters say inflation is a “very serious” or “somewhat serious” problem.
For the first time as the president of the United States, Biden visits the volatile Middle East region, focusing primarily on the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to address the US energy quandary by finding a solution to the protracted conflict in Yemen, hoping to eliminate complications in increasing the Saudi oil output.
Biden is gravely worried that if the conflict in Yemen continues, it would further compound the oil and energy crises in the western hemisphere and that he would lose control of the domestic political situation in the United States.
Like all American imperialists, Biden wishes the Ansarullah Movement to be crushed with all of his heart. Nevertheless, he intended to maintain the fragile ceasefire between Yemeni resistance and Saudi Arabia by exerting additional pressure on the Saudi leadership.
My remark: A pro-Houthi viewpoint.
(A P)
The Latest: US oil industry urges Biden visit sites at home
The U.S. oil and gas industry welcomed President Joe Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia but also urged him on Thursday to visit energy sites at home amid the gas crisis.
https://apnews.com/article/biden-iran-jerusalem-israel-saudi-arabia-e3e33473723626b19c9b35ab1a3ce119
(A P)
With President Biden off to Saudi Arabia, Activist Group Lobbies DC on Behalf of Yemen
The Yemeni Coalition of Independent Women met with State Department officials and legislators to push for US to punish the Houthi rebels
As US President Joe Biden jets off to Jeddah this weekend, a group of Yemen activists is in Washington, pushing for a change in America’s direction.
A delegation of the Yemeni Coalition of Independent Women spent the early part of the week meeting with State Department officials, members of Congress, and think tanks in an effort to get the Biden Administration to redesignate Yemen’s Houthi rebels as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) and bring the Yemeni Civil War back into the consciousness of a Congress focused on Ukraine.
“We had very positive meetings regarding our vision of how to distribute and deliver humanitarian aid without the help of the Houthis. We came away with the impression that many people, especially in Congress, think that it’s a war between the Saudi-led Arab coalition against the Houthis, which is not true,” Manel Msalmi, a delegation member and Brussels-based diplomatic adviser, told The Media Line.
She said the finger needs to be pointed at Iran, which finances and trains the Houthis.
https://themedialine.org/top-stories/with-president-biden-off-to-saudi-arabia-activist-group-lobbies-dc-on-behalf-of-yemen/ = https://www.jpost.com/international/article-712221
(* B P)
Senators introduce resolution aimed at ending the war in Yemen
With the House having already put forth its companion measure, Congress is putting pressure on Biden to end the US role.
Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) introduced a joint resolution on Thursday aimed at ending the unauthorized U.S. military role in the Saudi-led coalition’s war in Yemen.
The House introduced a similar bill last month led by Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.). The senate companion will be considered “privileged,” meaning it can be voted on 10 calendar days after it is introduced.
“We must put an end to the unauthorized and unconstitutional involvement of U.S. Armed Forces in the catastrophic Saudi-led war in Yemen and Congress must take back its authority over war,” Sanders said in a press release. “More than 85,000 children in Yemen have already starved and millions more are facing imminent famine and death.”
Sen. Warren noted that ““The American people, through their elected representatives in Congress, never authorized U.S. involvement in the war,” adding that “Congress abdicated its constitutional powers and failed to prevent our country from involving itself in this crisis.”
“The U.S. must immediately end its support for Saudi-led coalition in Yemen unless explicitly authorized by Congress,” she said.
(* B P)
Human Rights Watch: Biden Should Not Renew Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia
Independent Accountability Mechanism Needed for Abuses in Yemen War
Human Rights Watch has called for the suspension of all sales, both offensive and defensive, to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Renewing US offensive weapons sales to Saudi Arabia would further undermine Biden’s promise to prioritize human rights in US relations with the country. While the Biden administration’s February 2021 announcement of finally ending offensive arms sales to Saudi Arabia was welcome, the US State Department still approved a US$650 million sale of air-to-air missiles in November that year. Opposition to the sale in Congress was dropped at the urging of the Biden administration.
On July 12, the Guardian reported that the Biden administration is also exploring the formation of a new international commission to document human rights abuses in Yemen that would include representatives from the country’s newly established leadership council. The council is supported by the Saudis and its inclusion could seriously undermine the credibility and impartiality of the mechanism.
Rather than helping to establish an investigation that would lack independence or considering resuming offensive arms sales, the US administration should push for a genuine United Nations accountability mechanism that would investigate violations and support possible future prosecutions. That’s the message on Yemen that President Biden should bring to Riyadh.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/07/14/biden-should-not-renew-arms-sales-saudi-arabia
(* B P)
Biden defends visit to Saudi Arabia despite Khashoggi killing
President Biden defended his decision to meet with the Saudi crown prince who orchestrated the killing and dismemberment of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, saying the Saudis must be involved in any effort to stabilize a volatile region.
Biden made the statement during a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid on the second day of a five-day trip to the Middle East.
“My views on Khashoggi have been absolutely, positively clear and I have never been quiet about talking about human rights,” he said in response to a question. “The reason I’m going to Saudi Arabia is to promote U.S. interests in a way that I think we have an opportunity to reassert our influence in the Middle East.”
Biden also said alienating the Saudis would contribute to a leadership vacuum and added “I always bring up human rights,” though he never explicitly said he would bring up Khashoggi’s killing.
“There are so many issues at stake, I want to make sure that we can continue to lead in the region and not create a vacuum — vacuum that is filled by both Russia and China,” he said.
“This is a vital security interest to both Israel and the United States and I would add for the rest of the world as well,” he said.
He said that it would be the principal message in his meeting with the Saudis.
“When I see the Saudi leadership tomorrow, I’ll be carrying a direct message,” Biden said. “A message of peace and of the extraordinary opportunities a more stable integrated region could bring to the region and, quite frankly, to the rest of the world.”
Still, his decision to share space with MBS has been a lightning rod.
My comment: LOL. It’s just US gepolitical interest and nothing else.
(B P)
Biden heads to Saudi Arabia for what could be an ‘embarrassing’ climbdown — or a welcome reset
While campaigning in 2019, Biden vowed to treat the Saudi kingdom as “the pariah that they are,” and as president, he vocally criticized the country’s human rights abuses.
Recently, however, Biden wrote in an op-ed that “from the start, my aim was to reorient — but not rupture — relations with a country that’s been a strategic partner for 80 years.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/13/biden-heads-to-saudi-arabia-for-what-could-be-a-welcome-reset.html
(A P)
Biden’s upcoming trip to Saudi Arabia is a slap in the face for his gay & lesbian spokespersons
President Biden's most prominent gay and lesbian staff members are in the difficult position of promoting a U.S. alliance with a dictatorship that kills LGBTQ people.
(A P)
[Aden gov.] Yemen FM: Biden's Visit Presents Opportunity to Achieve Consensus on Yemen Crisis
Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak considered the upcoming visit of US President Joe Biden to Saudi Arabia an opportunity to achieve regional and international consensus that would be reflected in resolving the Yemeni crisis.
“We look at the visit positively, hoping that the US administration will renew its position in support of the stability and security of the region in general and Yemen in particular,” said bin Mubarak.
“The visit constitutes an opportunity to achieve regional-international consensus on the Yemeni issue, in light of the recent developments and the continuation of the coup militias to obstruct the path of the UN truce,” he added.
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Joe Biden in Saudi-Arabien: Schwierige Partnerschaft in neuer Weltlage
Zuletzt hatten sich die traditionellen Partner USA und Saudi-Arabien teils auseinandergelebt. Im Kontext des Ukraine-Kriegs haben sich zudem die Prioritäten verschoben. Menschenrechte stehen nicht mehr im Fokus.
Mit seiner Entscheidung, im Rahmen seiner Nahostreise auch Station in Saudi-Arabien zu machen, hat US-Präsident Joe Bidendaheim erheblichen Umut ausgelöst - so sehr, dass er sich zu einer Rechtfertigung in der Washington Post genötigt sah. Ihm sei bewusst, dass viele mit seiner Entscheidung nicht einverstanden seien, schrieb der Präsident. Er werde sich aber bemühen, die "strategische Partnerschaft" mit Riad zu stärken und zugleich "den grundlegenden amerikanischen Werten" treu zu bleiben. Bei der Verteidigung von Menschenrechten vertrete er eine klare Haltung - "so auch bei dieser Reise", beteuerte Biden.
Tatsächlich hatte Biden vor noch nicht allzu langer Zeit gegenüber dem saudischen Königreich eine deutliche Sprache gepflegt. Nach der Ermordung des saudischen Journalisten Jamal Khashoggi im Oktober 2018 hatte Biden, damals noch Kandidat für das höchste Staatsamt, die saudische Staatsspitze scharf attackiert. „Wir werden sie dazu bringen, einen Preis zu zahlen und sie zu dem Paria machen, der sie sind", erklärte er 2019. Während seiner Amtszeit veröffentliche seine Regierung einen Geheimdienstbericht, demzufolge Kronprinz Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) die Ermordung Khashoggis in Istanbul genehmigt habe.
"Lippenbekenntnisse bei den Menschenrechten"
Vergleichbare Äußerungen dürfte Biden angesichts einer massiv veränderten politischen Weltlage bei seinem Besuch in Riad nicht mehr von sich geben, sagt Eckart Woertz, Direktor des Hamburger GIGA Instituts für Nahost-Studien. "Natürlich wird es in Sachen Menschenrechte weiterhin Lippenbekenntnisse geben. Aber die werden sicherlich anders formuliert werden als noch vor einiger Zeit."
Eine veränderte Haltung deutet sich derzeit womöglich auch im Hinblick auf einen weiteren Streitpunkt innerhalb der amerikanisch-saudischen Beziehungen an, nämlich den Krieg im Jemen. Der Nachrichtenagentur Reuters zufolge wird innerhalb der US-Regierung zufolge über ein Ende des Exportstopps von Offensivwaffen an Saudi-Arabien diskutiert. Biden hatte im Februar 2021 mit Hinweis auf den Krieg im Jemen ein Ende der Unterstützung seines Landes für Offensiv-Aktionen angekündigt. Dazu gehörten auch entsprechende Rüstungslieferungen. Eine endgültige Entscheidung zur Aufhebung dieser Entscheidung dürfte nun davon abhängen, ob die Regierung in Riad Fortschritte hin zu einem Ende des Krieges in Jemen erziele, berichtet Reuters unter Berufung auf Insider.
Ausdruck der Solidarität in Menschenrechtsfragen zumindest bei lokalen US-Behöden: Die saudische Botschaft in Washington liegt nach einer Namensänderung durch die Stadtverwaltung nun am "Jamal Khashoggi Way"
Engagement für Israel
Verantwortlich für die veränderte Haltung sind gleich mehrere Faktoren. So versucht Biden, Saudi-Arabien für eine weitere Annäherung an Israel zu gewinnen. Zwar gilt es als unwahrscheinlich, dass das Königreich kurzfristig nach dem Vorbild anderer Staaten in der Region die so genannten "Abraham-Vereinbarungen" unterzeichnet, die eine umfassende Normalisierung zwischen ihnen und dem jüdischen Staat anstreben. Aber eine Kooperation hinter den Kulissen sei "durchaus denkbar", so Woertz.
Offenbar läuft sie schon längst. So berichtet das US-Nachrichtenseite Axios, das Weiße Haus arbeite bereits an einem "Fahrplan" für die Normalisierung der Beziehungen. Einem Bericht des Wall Street Journal zufolge laufen bereits geheime Gespräche über weitere israelisch-saudische Zusammenarbeit, etwa in der Wirtschaft und in Sicherheitsfragen. So etwa könnte das Königreich seinen Luftraum grundsätzlich für kommerzielle israelische Maschinen freigeben. Nicht auszuschließen ist, dass die Gespräche mittelfristig - etwa im Falle von bisher nicht absehbaren Fortschritten bei der Lösung des israelisch-palästinensischen Konflikts - mittelfristig auch in die Aufnahme offizieller Beziehungen münden. So wurde verschiedentlich bereits über eine Art nahöstlicher NATO spekuliert.
Ringen um den Ölpreis
Vor allem aber findet der Besuch vor einer grundlegend veränderten weltpolitischen Lage statt, hervorgerufen durch den russischen Angriff auf die Ukraine. Zunehmend wird der Krieg auch zu einer ökonomischen Herausforderung, auch für die USA. So hat die Sorge vor einer Verknappung des russischen Erdöls infolge der Sanktionen den Ölpreis massiv steigen lassen. Das spielt Russland enorme Einnahmen in die Hände. Mit diesen finanziert es auch seinen Angriff auf die Ukraine.
Zudem spielten die Preise derzeit auch für Biden als Wahlkämpfer eine Rolle, sagt Experte Woertz. Im November finden in den USA die Kongresswahlen statt. Die gestiegenen Energiepreise sind ein Geschenk für die Opposition", meint Woertz. "Auch darum hat er ein Interesse, dass Saudi-Arabien seine Fördermengen erhöht."
Zwar haben die Mitgliedstaaten der Organisation Erdöl exportierender Länder (aufgrund ihrer engen Abstimmung mit anderen Förderstaaten, allen voran Russland, auch OPEC + genannt) angekündigt, die Produktion um 648 000 Barrel pro Tag zu erhöhen. Doch diese Erhöhung bleibt unter dem tatsächlichen Bedarf, wie es die Organisation in einem am Dienstag (12.07.)veröffentlichten Papier einräumt.
Doch selbst wenn es wollte, könnte Saudi-Arabien den Wünschen Bidens nur bedingt entgegenkommen. Während der Zeit der niedrigen Erdölpreise habe Saudi-Arabien größere Verluste als Einnahmen verzeichnet, sagt Experte Eckart Woertz. "So sind Preissteigerungen aus Sicht des Königreichs eine ökonomische Notwendigkeit." Sollte es seitens Russlands aufgrund der Sanktionen zu einem Rückgang der Ölproduktion kommen, könnte Saudi-Arabien durchaus einspringen und seine Fördermengen erhöhen. "Aber das ist eine mittelfristige Perspektive."
Energiemacht Saudi-Arabien: Anlage im Ölfeld Khurais, September 2019
Neues Kräfteverhältnis in der Region
Vor allem aber wird Biden bei seinem Besuch auch dem neuen Kräfteverhältnis in der Region insgesamt Rechnung tragen müssen. Seitdem die USA sich weitgehend aus dem Irak zurückgezogen und auch ihr Engagement in Syrien reduziert haben, ist ihr politisch-militärisches Gewicht in Nahost zurückgegangen. Die Folgen zeigten sich im März, als die USA im UN-Sicherheitsrat eine Resolution einbrachten, die den russischen Angriff auf die Ukraine verurteilen sollte.
Zur allgemeinen Überraschung unterstützte die Vereinten Arabischen Emirate (VAE) als derzeit nicht-ständiges Mitglied den Antrag nicht. Stattdessen zogen sie es vor, sich zu enthalten. Die Resolution zur Missbilligung des Angriffs durch die UN-Generalversammlung im März unterstützten die VAE zwar ebenso wie Saudi Arabien. Doch bedeutet dies keineswegs, dass man dort auch die Sanktionen gegen Russland mittragen würde.
Denn das Vakuum, das die USA in der Region hinterlassen haben, versucht Russland bereits seit geraumer Zeit mit wachsendem Erfolg zu füllen. Das zeigt sich vor allem in Syrien, wo es zusammen mit dem Iran weitgehend erfolgreich die Opposition gegen das Assad-Regime bekämpft hat. Und auf andere Weise zeigt es sich auch in technischen Kooperationen - so wird Saudi-Arabien von Russland unter anderem bei der Entwicklung eines eigenen Atomprogramms unterstützt.
Weltweite Auswirkungen: der russische Angriff auf die Ukraine. Szene aus Charkiw, Juli 2022
Kooperation mit Moskau und Peking
Gleichwohl sind die USA weiterhin die wichtigste Schutzmacht des Königreichs. Das gilt insbesondere mit Blick auf dessen mächtigsten Rivalen in der Region, den Iran. Saudi-Arabien ist auch weiterhin der größte Waffenkäufer der USA. Frühere US-Regierungen hatten über Jahrzehnte hinweg entsprechende Systeme geliefert. Doch der von Biden verhängte Exportstopp dürfte das Vertrauen der Saudis in die Verlässlichkeit Washingtons zumindest gemindert haben, sagt Golfregions-Experte Eckart Woertz.
"Zugleich haben die Saudis natürlich gesehen, dass die USA auf iranische Angriffe auf die saudische Erdöl-Infrastruktur sehr zurückhaltend reagiert haben", so Woertz weiter. "Zwar sind China oder Russland aus Sicht Riads natürlich kein vollwertiger Ersatz für die Sicherheitspartnerschaft mit den USA. Allerdings versucht Saudi-Arabien sein Portfolio durchaus zu diversifizieren. Insofern führt das Königreich auch Gespräche mit China und Russland."
Schutzmacht für Saudi-Arabien: US-Flugzeugträger in Nahost, November 2019
Faszination des Autoritären?
Und noch etwas steht den USA bei ihrer Kooperation mit bestehenden Regimen in der Region im Wege: ihr politisches Selbstverständnis als demokratische und entsprechend engagierte Weltmacht. Das zeigte sich schon im arabischen Revolutionsjahr 2011, als die USA damalige Verbündete, etwa den ägyptischen Autokraten Hosni Mubarak, angesichts der Aufstände fallen ließen. Russland hingegen stand weiter an der Seite seiner Verbündeten, allen voran Syriens Diktator Baschar al-Assad, der sich nur dank militärischer Hilfe aus Moskau halten konnte. Solche "Loyalitätsfragen" dürften die autokratisch regierenden Machthaber in Riad und anderswo genau beobachtet und ihre Schlüsse daraus gezogen haben.
Zudem fasziniert der russische Präsident in der Region gerade durch jene Eigenschaft, die die westliche Öffentlichkeit eher auf Distanz zu ihm bringt: seinen autokratischen Stil. "Es sind hauptsächlich zwei Aspekte des Putin-Regimes, die zusammen mit einer stark antiwestlichen Haltung beim arabischen Publikum für Begeisterung sorgen: die Personalisierung der Macht und eine starke Ablehnung des politischen und gesellschaftlichen Liberalismus", schreibt der Jurist Naseef Naeem in einem Essay im deutschen Nahost-Fachmagazin "Zenith". Putins Amtsführung entspreche ihrer eigenen Vorstellung von Herrschaft. Sehr gut vorstellbar, dass dies nicht zuletzt auch für die saudische Staatsführung gilt.
Joe Biden in Saudi-Arabien: Schwierige Partnerschaft in neuer Weltlage
Zuletzt hatten sich die traditionellen Partner USA und Saudi-Arabien teils auseinandergelebt. Im Kontext des Ukraine-Kriegs haben sich zudem die Prioritäten verschoben. Menschenrechte stehen nicht mehr im Fokus.
Mit seiner Entscheidung, im Rahmen seiner Nahostreise auch Station in Saudi-Arabien zu machen, hat US-Präsident Joe Bidendaheim erheblichen Umut ausgelöst - so sehr, dass er sich zu einer Rechtfertigung in der Washington Post genötigt sah. Ihm sei bewusst, dass viele mit seiner Entscheidung nicht einverstanden seien, schrieb der Präsident. Er werde sich aber bemühen, die "strategische Partnerschaft" mit Riad zu stärken und zugleich "den grundlegenden amerikanischen Werten" treu zu bleiben. Bei der Verteidigung von Menschenrechten vertrete er eine klare Haltung - "so auch bei dieser Reise", beteuerte Biden.
Vergleichbare Äußerungen dürfte Biden angesichts einer massiv veränderten politischen Weltlage bei seinem Besuch in Riad nicht mehr von sich geben, sagt Eckart Woertz, Direktor des Hamburger GIGA Instituts für Nahost-Studien. "Natürlich wird es in Sachen Menschenrechte weiterhin Lippenbekenntnisse geben. Aber die werden sicherlich anders formuliert werden als noch vor einiger Zeit."
Eine veränderte Haltung deutet sich derzeit womöglich auch im Hinblick auf einen weiteren Streitpunkt innerhalb der amerikanisch-saudischen Beziehungen an, nämlich den Krieg im Jemen. Der Nachrichtenagentur Reuters zufolge wird innerhalb der US-Regierung zufolge über ein Ende des Exportstopps von Offensivwaffen an Saudi-Arabien diskutiert. Biden hatte im Februar 2021 mit Hinweis auf den Krieg im Jemen ein Ende der Unterstützung seines Landes für Offensiv-Aktionen angekündigt. Dazu gehörten auch entsprechende Rüstungslieferungen. Eine endgültige Entscheidung zur Aufhebung dieser Entscheidung dürfte nun davon abhängen, ob die Regierung in Riad Fortschritte hin zu einem Ende des Krieges in Jemen erziele, berichtet Reuters unter Berufung auf Insider.
Verantwortlich für die veränderte Haltung sind gleich mehrere Faktoren. So versucht Biden, Saudi-Arabien für eine weitere Annäherung an Israel zu gewinnen. Zwar gilt es als unwahrscheinlich, dass das Königreich kurzfristig nach dem Vorbild anderer Staaten in der Region die so genannten "Abraham-Vereinbarungen" unterzeichnet, die eine umfassende Normalisierung zwischen ihnen und dem jüdischen Staat anstreben. Aber eine Kooperation hinter den Kulissen sei "durchaus denkbar", so Woertz.
Vor allem aber findet der Besuch vor einer grundlegend veränderten weltpolitischen Lage statt, hervorgerufen durch den russischen Angriff auf die Ukraine. Zunehmend wird der Krieg auch zu einer ökonomischen Herausforderung, auch für die USA. So hat die Sorge vor einer Verknappung des russischen Erdöls infolge der Sanktionen den Ölpreis massiv steigen lassen.
Vor allem aber wird Biden bei seinem Besuch auch dem neuen Kräfteverhältnis in der Region insgesamt Rechnung tragen müssen. Seitdem die USA sich weitgehend aus dem Irak zurückgezogen und auch ihr Engagement in Syrien reduziert haben, ist ihr politisch-militärisches Gewicht in Nahost zurückgegangen.
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Pressestimme: 'Frankenpost' (Hof) zu Bidens Nahost-Reise
Bidens Treffen mit dem Prinzen - dem mutmaßlichen Mörder Khashoggis - stehe für eine "unbequeme Wahrheit", schrieb die US-Außenpolitikexpertin Carolyn Kissane im Magazin "Barron's": "Die USA brauchen Saudi-Arabien." Deshalb geht Mohammed bin Salman selbstbewusst und mit Wunschzettel in sein Treffen mit Biden. Er verlangt ein Ende des US-Lieferverbots für Angriffswaffen an Riad, das Biden wegen der vielen zivilen Opfer des saudischen Krieges im Jemen verfügt hatte. Und schon vor Bidens Reise machten die Saudis und die Emirate klar, dass es bei der Bitte der USA um mehr Öl wenig Spielraum gibt: Die Ölanlagen pumpen an der Kapazitätsgrenze.
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US-Präsident auf Besuch: Nahost-Nato plus Israel
Biden will sich für „tiefere Sicherheitskooperationen“ zwischen Israel und den arabischen Staaten einsetzen. Konkrete Visionen hat er auch dabei.
Dass eine militärische Allianz unter arabischen Staaten plus Israel als Gegengewicht zum Iran beim Besuch des amtierenden US-Präsidenten Joe Biden besprochen wird, gilt für einige Kommentatoren jedoch als sicher. Auf offizieller Ebene bleiben die US-Behörden jedoch noch zurückhaltend.
Wie heikel die Sache ist, merkt man auch daran, dass kein arabisches Land bislang die Nachricht des Treffens in Scharm El-Scheich bestätigt hatte.
Bahrain, die VAE und Saudi-Arabien hätten eine deutlichere Position gegen den Iran, für Ägypten und Jordanien sei die Lage schon unterschiedlich, die Risiken geringer. Doch selbst wenn der Einfluss des Iran in Ländern wie dem Jemen, Libanon, Irak oder Syrien die Nachbarländer beunruhigt, dürfte das nicht genügen, eine Allianz inklusive Israel zu ermöglichen.
https://taz.de/US-Praesident-auf-Besuch/!5864336/
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It’s Time to Rethink the U.S.-Saudi Relationship
For too long, Washington has sacrificed its principles to appease the kingdom—and gotten almost nothing in return.
has a well-known history of beheadings, and Washington’s foreign-policy establishment brushed off the latest executions as typical roguish Saudi behavior.
Over and over again, the Saudi government acts in ways that are directly contrary to U.S. security interests, and over and over again, the United States just looks the other way, even as U.S. President Joe Biden prepares to travel to the country this week as part of a Middle East tour – by Sen. Chris Murphy [subscribers only]
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Yemen: The Present Absentee in Biden’s KSA Summit
Yemen, KSA's close Southern neighbor which has been hit by a civil war for more than 7 years, will apparently be absent from these meetings whose agenda includes discussing the situation there marginally.
White House officials said that the Biden’s trip aims to help making more Israeli integration in the region, enhance the ceasefire between the KSA and Yemen, make an alignment with the KSA, Israel and other Arab partners about a stumbled nuclear deal with Iran, and confront the influence of China and Russia in the Middle East according to the US newspaper, the Hill.
Biden will likely ask Riyadh to keep supporting the truce.
The absence of Yemen in the Riyadh summit may stem from Washington's hesitant stance towards the Houthis who have links with Iran.
Although Yemen will be the present Absentee in this visit in light of its scheduled agenda, western reports doubted that Yemen will be on top of Biden visit's agenda. This comes amid a background of the increase in oil prices, the ongoing tensions between the US and Saudi Arabia regarding Khashoggi in 2018 and Washington's attempts to confront the influence of Russia and China.
The policy of keeping Yemen on the sidelines in issues that determine the fate of South and North and other regional matters on the long run won't absolutely help in achieving the desired results. This includes Interaction and regional integration sought by its neighbors and western allies in the face of different security and economic challenges in the region.
https://south24.net/news/newse.php?nid=2804
My remark: A pro-Southern separatists viewpoint.
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PRESIDENT BIDEN MUST COMMIT TO ENDING THE WAR IN YEMEN
Biden once said the U.S. should never “check its principles at the door just to buy oil or sell weapons.” He should take his own advice.
It is also a crisis that the United States has not only enabled, but has been instrumental in fueling through military aid to the Saudi coalition. A bipartisan resolution now before Congress offers an opportunity to achieve a permanent ceasefire in Yemen and provide sorely needed oversight of unauthorized U.S. military involvement there.
If the conflict in Yemen is to end, the U.S. must engage in enhanced diplomacy and cut off the flow of weapons and other military support to the Saudi coalition. Congress must also address the constitutional issues raised by U.S. involvement in Yemen. If passed, House Joint Resolution (HJR) 87, introduced on May 31, would accomplish these goals by invoking the 1973 War Powers Resolution.
The resolution, sponsored by Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and over 100 members of Congress, has the support of organizations from across the political spectrum. Its introduction comes in the midst of a fragile, temporary truce between the Saudi-led forces and Houthi-led forces backed by Iran.
Specifically, the resolution would end U.S. intelligence sharing and logistical support for “offensive” Saudi-led coalition strikes, including the maintenance and repair of coalition aircraft engaged in anti-Houthi bombings. It would also prohibit U.S. personnel from assisting Saudi-led coalition forces engaged in hostilities unless they have prior congressional authorization.
Despite the absence of congressional approval, the U.S. has continuously backed the coalition against the Houthis since 2015
Biden recently set out to Saudi Arabia to meet with crown prince Mohammed bin Salman with an eye towards pushing the Saudis to increase oil production. Amidst criticism of the kingdom’s appalling human rights record and brutal conduct in Yemen, the president defended his visit as necessary to “strengthen a strategic partnership” while “also holding true to fundamental American values.”
But after years of war, prioritizing peace in Yemen must not take a back seat to the fossil fuel and arms industries. As Biden himself acknowledged in 2019, whether in Yemen or elsewhere, the U.S. should never “check its principles at the door just to buy oil or sell weapons.”
https://fpif.org/president-biden-must-commit-to-ending-the-war-in-yemen/
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What Biden's Saudi trip could mean for Yemen's war
Stopping this war is a major priority for Biden's administration, and the agenda of his trip to Saudi Arabia will not disregard this seven-year conflict.
For the conflict to come to an absolute end, all these forces should be under one command, and they should neither follow instructions from Saudi Arabia nor Iran. This is what Biden's visit to Saudi Arabia will fail to accomplish.
The genuine challenge lies in persuading the warring parties to offer concessions at the military and political levels. Tackling humanitarian issues in Yemen is similar to treating the symptoms while leaving the cause unaddressed.
Should Biden's visit to Saudi Arabia solely concentrate on the symptoms, it can be safely said that a cessation of the war in Yemen is still a distant possibility.
https://english.alaraby.co.uk/analysis/what-bidens-saudi-trip-could-mean-yemens-war
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Biden schmiedet Anti-Iran-Koalition
Bei seiner Reise in den Nahen Osten will der US-Präsident früher verfeindete Araber und Israelis zusammenbringen
Die Kritik vor der Reise des US-Präsidenten Joe Biden nach Saudi-Arabien ist laut. So laut sogar, dass sich Biden offensichtlich genötigt fühlte, seine Reiseagenda persönlich in Schutz zu nehmen. Am Sonntag erschien im US-amerikanischen Leitmedium »Washington Post« ein Artikel unter dem Titel »Warum ich nach Saudi-Arabien gehe«. Die Reise sei der Auftakt eines neuen Kapitels des US-amerikanischen Engagements im Nahen und Mittleren Osten, so Biden. Die prekäre Menschenrechtslage im wahhabitischen Königreich Saudi-Arabien sei ihm bewusst.
Neben etlichen Passagen, die erklären, warum die Nahostpolitik seines Vorgängers Donald Trump gescheitert sei, begründete der US-Präsident seine Reise vor allem mit einer Gleichung: »Eine Region, die durch Diplomatie und Zusammenarbeit zusammenkommt – anstatt wegen Konflikten auseinanderzugehen –, wird mit geringerer Wahrscheinlichkeit gewaltbereiten Extremismus erleben.« Tatsächlich hat die Regierung Bidens ein paar diplomatische Erfolge zu verzeichnen, die zumindest kurzfristig zu einer Stabilisierung der Region führen könnten.
Doch am Beispiel Jemen lässt sich herauslesen, worum es aller Wahrscheinlichkeit nach bei Bidens Reise vor allem geht, die ihn zuerst nach Israel und dann nach Saudi-Arabien führt: um den Iran, genauer gesagt um den Ausbau einer Anti-Iran-Koalition.
Die Waffenruhe im Jemen ist somit ein Kompromiss, der das eigentliche Kriegsziel der USA und Saudi-Arabiens verfehlt. Sie wollten den Einfluss von Teheran auf der Arabischen Halbinsel zurückdrängen.
Die Verhandlungen über eine Anti-Iran-Koalition befinden sich wohl in einem fortgeschrittenen Stadium.
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The United States Doesn’t Need to Recommit to the Middle East
The Biden administration is reportedly considering a formal defense agreement with the UAE. Here’s why it shouldn’t.
Reports indicate that Washington is presenting the United Arab Emirates with a formal defense agreement containing U.S. security guarantees for Abu Dhabi. If true, it would be the first of its kind for the region—and a step back for U.S. interests.
The Biden administration has reportedly already sent a draft agreement to the UAE, accompanied by a visit from White House Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk, to discuss the subject. Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, an Emirati academic and former advisor to the UAE’s leadership, recently stated that the two countries are close to signing a “comprehensive and binding” partnership that “no country in the region has obtained so far.”
Analysts and experts in Washington have also begun arguing for increased U.S. security guarantees for Saudi Arabia, and the United States is attempting to facilitate a more integrated and formalized regional air defense network with Israel and various Arab states. Far from being an isolated occurrence, the treaty with the UAE appears to be a possible step toward a broader series of U.S. commitments to the Middle East.
The pact with the UAE appears to have been spearheaded unilaterally by U.S. President Joe Biden and his team, leaving not only the American people in the dark but Congress as well. Only Congress has the authority to ratify treaties.
An increase in U.S. security commitments to the Middle East would not only violate existing U.S. laws designed to prevent the country from providing security assistance and guarantees to governments with abysmal human rights records, but it would also be strategically nonsensical in that it would advance the interests of actors that are contrary to Washington’s.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/07/11/us-uae-defense-agreement-saudi-biden-israel-security/
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Biden set to tackle oil, Israel, Yemen, Iran on Saudi trip
President Joe Biden will visit the United State’s most important Arab ally Saudi Arabia on July 16 after two years of strained ties over the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the war in Yemen.
Here are key issues between the United States and Saudi Arabia that could arise in talks involving Biden and King Salman bin Abdul Aziz and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
OIL SUPPLIES: Washington’s desire to improve ties to Gulf states has become more urgent following Russia-Ukraine conflict. The Ukraine war highlighted the relevance of Gulf oil producers as Biden struggles to combat high US gasoline prices and build a united international front to isolate Russia.
Biden is also due to attend a summit of Gulf Arab leaders. Biden has called on the kingdom and other Gulf producers to raise oil output to help stabilise prices, which have surged as a result of a strong rebound in consumption from pandemic-induced lows and now sanctions on Russia.
Biden said last month he would not directly press Saudi Arabia to increase oil output on his visit.
ARAB-ISRAEL BLOC: Biden is likely to encourage Saudi Arabia to establish ties with Israel.
Washington hopes more cooperation would further integrate Israel in the region.
YEMEN WAR: Biden is likely to ask Riyadh to keep up its support for the truce. In June the White House took the rare step of recognising the role played by MbS in extending a ceasefire in Yemen.
IRAN: Saudi Arabia has long been wary of efforts to revive Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world power
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/biden-set-tackle-oil-israel-yemen-iran-saudi-trip-2022-07-12/ = https://gulfnews.com/world/mena/biden-set-to-tackle-oil-israel-yemen-iran-on-saudi-trip-1.89204440
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Biden defends Saudi Arabia trip that aims to reset ties
President says he aims to reorient relations and meet with the crown prince, who he previously denounced as a pariah
Joe Biden on Saturday defended his decision to travel to Saudi Arabia saying human rights would be on his agenda as he gave a preview of a trip on which he aims to reset ties with the crown prince, who he previously denounced as a pariah.
In a commentary published in the Washington Post late Saturday, Biden said his aim was to reorient and not rupture relations with a country that has been a strategic partner of the US for 80 years.
“I know that there are many who disagree with my decision to travel to Saudi Arabia,” Biden wrote. “My views on human rights are clear and longstanding, and fundamental freedoms are always on the agenda when I travel abroad.”
Biden argued that Saudi Arabia had recently helped to restore unity among the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, had fully supported the truce in Yemen and was working to stabilize oil markets with other OPEC producers.
Biden said he will be the first president to fly from Israel to Jiddah
“I will be the first president to visit the Middle East since 9/11 without US troops engaged in a combat mission there,” Biden said. “It’s my aim to keep it that way.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/10/biden-defends-saudi-arabia-trip
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What Biden’s Visit to Saudi Arabia Means for Yemen
When U.S. President Joe Biden visits Saudi Arabia this week, the war in Yemen will be among the issues discussed by the countries’ leaders. But it will be a secondary issue, one whose importance will not exceed its security implications. This enshrines the traditional U.S. policy that looks at Yemen through the lens of what Yemen means to its neighbors and to the United States, not to Yemenis—a policy that brings no genuine stability to either Yemen or the region. Biden must adopt a new Yemen-centered strategy, through which the United States and the Gulf states, mainly Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, work together to reconstruct the war-ravaged Yemen. This is not only their responsibility as partner countries in the war but also the way to achieve lasting stability in Yemen.
But the consequences of Russia’s war are bringing U.S. interests back to the region, and the main purpose of Biden’s visit is to cement U.S. regional ties in order to pave the way for solutions to the energy crisis. One problem with this strategy is that Biden will discuss Yemen with everyone in the region except Yemenis.
According to the White House, Biden will discuss “support to the UN-mediated truce in Yemen” with the GCC+3. But the benefit of the truce lies in its ability to produce positive, subsequent progress at all levels—not just for international security.
For the United States, the local conflict in Yemen has not been a priority, and the administration has no leverage on the Houthis that could help to address it.
What Yemen needs from the Biden administration is U.S. policies that go beyond the security approach.
While Biden’s focus will be on energy prices, he should use the opportunity during his visit to shift U.S. policy, as well as that of the Gulf states, toward helping the country move beyond war. This shift would go a long way to bring stability to the wider region.
https://carnegie-mec.org/2022/07/12/what-biden-s-visit-to-saudi-arabia-means-for-yemen-pub-87483
(* B P)
Bidens Besuch in Saudi-Arabien und die Lügen des Menschenrechtsimperialismus
Präsident Joe Biden wird am Freitag Mohammed bin Salman besuchen, den Kronprinzen der theokratischen Diktatur Saudi-Arabiens.
Bin Salman ist ein Mörder, was die Regierung Biden selbst zugibt.
Und doch umarmt Biden jetzt Khashoggis Mörder in aller Öffentlichkei und ignoriert dabei die Bitten der Verlobten und der Familie des Ermordeten. Ins Weiße Haus zurückgekehrt, wird er Spuren von Khashoggis Blut an seinen Schuhen tragen.
In den amerikanischen Medien hat Bidens Ankündigung keinen öffentlichen Aufschrei hervorgerufen. Zwar bezeichnete der Chefredaktor der Washington Post letzten Monat die Gerüchte über die Reise als „enttäuschend“, doch rief er nicht dazu auf, sie abzusagen. Seither schweigt die Redaktion.
Am Samstag veröffentlichte Biden in der Washington Post (Khashoggis ehemaliger Zeitung) einen Kommentar mit dem Titel „Warum ich nach Saudi-Arabien gehe“. Darin weist Biden jegliche Diskussion über Menschenrechte weit von sich. Er gibt nicht einmal mehr vor, dass die US-Außenpolitik altruistisch sei. Stattdessen definiert er die politischen Ziele Washingtons im Nahen Osten ausschließlich unter dem Gesichtspunkt der „amerikanischen Interessen“.
Die Worte „Menschenrechte“ und „Khashoggi“ kommen in dem Beitrag nur je einmal vor. Stattdessen rechtfertigt Biden die Reise, einschließlich seines persönlichen Treffens mit bin Salman, als für die Förderung von Wirtschaft und Militär – in Bidens Worten: „wichtigen amerikanischen Interessen“ – entscheidend.
Biden erklärt darin gleich zu Beginn, dass er in den Nahen Osten reise, weil „die dortigen Wasserwege für den globalen Handel und die Lieferketten, auf die wir angewiesen sind, unerlässlich sind. Ihre Energieressourcen sind von entscheidender Bedeutung, um die Auswirkungen von Russlands Krieg in der Ukraine auf die weltweite Versorgung abzumildern.“
Er fügt hinzu: „Meine Einstellung zu den Menschenrechten sind zwar klar und seit langem bekannt“, militärische und wirtschaftliche Erfordernisse hätten jedoch Vorrang.
Hatice Cengiz, Khashoggis Verlobte, bat Biden im letzten Monat in einem Kommentar direkt: „Sagen Sie Ihre Reise ab und halten Sie Ihr Versprechen ein, Gerechtigkeit für Jamal zu schaffen!“ Sie schrieb, die Reise werde „unsere Trauer und Hoffnungslosigkeit noch erheblich verstärken“.
Sie schrieb: „Sie verurteilen Russland für die Verfolgung von Dissidenten und die Begehung von Kriegsverbrechen in der Ukraine.“ Warum, fragte sie, werde dann der saudischen Königsfamilie „ein Freibrief erteilt“?
„Ist das der Preis des Öls?“
Offenkundig ja.
Wer leichtgläubig genug ist, zu glauben, dass der Krieg der USA gegen Russland etwas mit „Menschenrechten“ und der Bekämpfung von Kriegsverbrechen zu tun habe, der möge sich Bidens Reise nach Saudi-Arabien ansehen.
Die geostrategische Politik der USA ist durch Washingtons Streben nach globaler Hegemonie bedingt, in deren Mittelpunkt die Zerstörung und Unterwerfung Russlands steht. Diese wiederum ist das Vorspiel für einen militärischen Konflikt mit China.
Warum geht Biden nach Saudi-Arabien, wie er in seiner Stellungnahme schreibt?
Weil er ein schamloser Heuchler ist. Weil er zu jedem Verbrechen fähig ist.
Im Namen des Öls, des Geldes, der Profite für seine Zahlmeister in der amerikanischen Oligarchie und der US-Rüstungsindustrie, damit sie gegen Russland Krieg führen können – für all dies legitimiert Biden den Mord an Jamal Khashoggi und stellt seinen Mördern einen Freibrief aus.
https://www.wsws.org/de/articles/2022/07/11/pers-j11.html = https://linkezeitung.de/2022/07/13/bidens-besuch-in-saudi-arabien-und-die-luegen-des-menschenrechtsimperialismus/
and English version:
(* B P)
Biden’s Saudi trip and the fraud of human rights imperialism
On Friday, President Joe Biden will meet with Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of the theocratic dictatorship of Saudi Arabia.
Bin Salman is, by the Biden administration’s own admission, a murderer. He is a man who would be arrested on sight in any country with the slightest commitment to the rule of law. Even the most intransigent opponents of capital punishment might make an exception for him.
And yet, disregarding the pleas of the murdered man’s fiancée and family, Biden now publicly embraces Khashoggi’s murderer. When he returns to the White House, he will track in on his shoes traces of Khashoggi’s blood.
Biden’s announcement has been met with no public outcry in the US media. Last month, the Washington Post editorial board called rumors of the trip “disappointing,” but did not demand it be called off. It has since kept its mouth shut.
Biden’s meeting with bin Salman and continued backing for the homicidal war in Yemen is of a piece with his repudiation of his campaign pledge to “close this period of relentless war.”
Even as Biden was making his empty statements about Saudi Arabia, far-reaching plans were being mapped out to systematically arm Ukraine in preparation for the current US-led proxy war with Russia.
Biden has invoked this war to justify the abandonment of any pretense of distancing himself from Saudi Arabia’s mass murder in Yemen and its killing of Khashoggi.
On Saturday, Biden published an op-ed in the Washington Post, Khashoggi’s former newspaper, titled, “Why I’m going to Saudi Arabia.” In it, Biden largely dismisses any discussion of human rights and dispenses with the pretense that US foreign policy is altruistic. Instead, he defines Washington’s policy goals in the Middle East entirely from the standpoint of “American interests.”
The words “human rights” and “Khashoggi” appear only once in the piece. Instead, Biden justifies the trip, including the face-to-face with bin Salman, as being critical to the advancement of US mercantile and military interests—in Biden’s words, “important American interests.”
Biden explains, right off the bat, that he is traveling to the Middle East because, “Its waterways are essential to global trade and the supply chains we rely on. Its energy resources are vital for mitigating the impact on global supplies of Russia’s war in Ukraine.”
He adds that while his “views on human rights are clear and long-standing,” military and economic imperatives take precedence.
In an op-ed published last month, Hatice Cengiz, Khashoggi’s fiancée, issued an appeal to Biden to “cancel your trip and uphold your promise to pursue justice for Jamal.” She said the trip “will significantly compound our grief and hopelessness.”
She wrote, “[Y]ou condemn Russia for persecuting dissidents and committing war crimes in Ukraine.” Why then, she asked, was the Saudi royal family “being given a pass?”
“Is that the price of oil?”
Clearly, it is.
US geostrategic policy is motivated by Washington’s drive for global hegemony, central to which is the focus on destroying and subjugating Russia, itself the prelude to a military conflict with China.
Why, to quote his op-ed, is Biden “going to Saudi Arabia?”
Because he is a shameless hypocrite. Because he is capable of any crime.
In the name of oil, of money, of profits for his paymasters in the American oligarchy and the US arms industry, so they can fight a war with Russia, Biden is legitimizing the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and extending a carte blanche to his killers.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2022/07/11/pers-j11.html
(B P)
Der amerikanische Imperialismus trifft seine blutbefleckten Vasallen im Nahen Osten
Es ist Bidens erste Reise als Präsident in die Region, in der der amerikanische Imperialismus in den letzten drei Jahrzehnten seine blutigsten Verbrechen begangen hat. Kriege im Irak, in Syrien und in Libyen hat er dabei geführt, zahllose Militärputsche und brutale Unterdrückung durch Könige und Diktatoren gleichermaßen unterstützt. Millionen von Menschen sind gestorben und Dutzende von Millionen ins Exil getrieben worden.
Biden versucht nicht, die Not derjenigen zu lindern, die die imperialistische Aggression überlebt haben, sondern er will die Zahl der Opfer noch erhöhen. Er widmet sich vier Tage lang intensiven Gesprächen mit den beiden wichtigsten Verbündeten und Klientenstaaten der USA im Nahen Osten.
Die Reise Bidens hat etwas von imperialistischer Heuchelei an sich.
Bei dem Treffen zwischen Biden und bin Salman ist es Biden, der die weitaus längere Liste von Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit vorweisen kann, darunter Massentötungen in einem Ausmaß, das die des saudischen Despoten in den Schatten stellt. Biden ist seit einem halben Jahrhundert eine führende Persönlichkeit im nationalen Sicherheitsapparat der USA.
Bei dem Treffen zwischen Biden und bin Salman ist Biden der Pate, der sich so vieler Verbrechen schuldig gemacht hat, dass er sich kaum noch an alle erinnern kann. Und er steht einem militärischen Geheimdienstapparat vor, der ebenso bestialische Morde wie bin Salman hat verüben lassen, bevor der Halsabschneider von Kronprinz überhaupt geboren wurde.
https://www.wsws.org/de/articles/2022/07/15/pers-j15.html
and English version:
(B P)
American imperialism meets its blood-soaked clients in the Middle East
It is his first trip as president to the region where American imperialism has carried out its bloodiest crimes over the last three decades, waging wars in Iraq, Syria and Libya, supporting countless military coups and brutal repression by kings and dictators alike. Millions have died and tens of millions have been driven into exile. Biden is not seeking to alleviate the plight of those who have survived imperialist aggression, but rather to add to the number of victims. He is devoting four days to intensive talks with the two most important US allies and client states in the Middle East.
There is an overpowering element of imperialist hypocrisy in the Biden trip.
In the meeting between Biden and bin Salman, it is Biden who is the Godfather, guilty of so many crimes that he can barely remember them all. And he heads a military-intelligence apparatus that was carrying out murders just as bestial as those of bin Salman before the cutthroat crown prince was even born.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2022/07/15/joef-j15.html
(B P)
Steps toward Saudi-Israel normalization expected around Biden visit
Steps toward normalizing relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel are expected to be announced over the weekend after President Biden meets in Jeddah with Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, three Israeli officials told Axios.
https://www.axios.com/2022/07/13/saudi-israel-normalization-steps-biden-mbs
(A P)
Film by Dan Kovalik: On the heels of the Supreme Court’s blow to women’s rights, #Biden flies to #SaudiArabia — a retrograde, anti-woman monarchy. While Biden tried to defend this move in an oped, there is no putting a good spin on this.
https://twitter.com/danielmkovalik/status/1546523203740344320
(* B K P)
Insider: USA diskutieren Ende von Waffenembargo gegen Saudi-Arabien
Demnach dürfte die endgültige Entscheidung davon abhängen, ob die Regierung in Riad Fortschritte hin zu einem Ende des Krieges in Jemen erzielt
Innerhalb der US-Regierung wird Insidern zufolge über ein Ende des Exportstopps von Offensiv-Waffen an Saudi-Arabien diskutiert. Eine endgültige Entscheidung dürfte davon abhängen, ob die Regierung in Riad Fortschritte hin zu einem Ende des Krieges in Jemen erziele, erfuhr die Nachrichtenagentur Reuters von vier mit dem Vorgang vertrauten Personen.
Es handle sich um inoffizielle Diskussionen und eine Entscheidung stehe nicht an, hieß es weiter. Einer der Insider sagte Reuters, Diskussionen mit Saudi-Arabien fänden gegenwärtig nicht zu dem Thema statt.
US-Präsident Joe Biden wird in den kommenden Tagen im Königreich erwartet. Er hat signalisiert, dass er an einer Verbesserung in der Beziehungen zwischen den langjährigen Verbündeten interessiert ist.
und auch https://orf.at/stories/3275655/
(* B K P)
Exclusive: U.S. weighs resumption of offensive arms sales to Saudis – sources
The Biden administration is discussing the possible lifting of its ban on U.S. sales of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia, but any final decision is expected to hinge on whether Riyadh makes progress toward ending the war in neighboring Yemen, according to four people familiar with the matter.
Senior Saudi officials pressed their U.S. counterparts to scrap a policy of selling only defensive arms to its top Gulf partner in several meetings in Riyadh and Washington in recent months, three of the sources said ahead of President Joe Biden’s visit to the kingdom this week.
The internal U.S. deliberations are informal and at an early stage, with no decision imminent, two sources said, and a U.S. official told Reuters there were no discussions on offensive weapons under way with the Saudis “at this time.”
But as Biden prepares for a diplomatically sensitive trip, he has signaled that he is looking to reset strained relations with Saudi Arabia at a time when he wants increased Gulf oil supplies along with closer Arab security ties with Israel to counter Iran.
At home, any move to rescind restrictions on offensive weapons is sure to draw opposition in Congress, including from Biden’s fellow Democrats and opposition Republicans who have been vocal critics of Saudi Arabia, congressional aides say.
A person in Washington familiar with the matter said the administration had begun internal discussions about the possibility of removing Saudi weapons restrictions but indicated they had not reached a decision-making stage.
Among the times when Saudi officials raised the request was during Deputy Minister of Defense Khalid bin Salman’s visit to Washington in May, according to a second source.
Asked whether the administration was considering ending the freeze on offensive weapons, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan did not directly address the question but told reporters on Monday: “Right now, there is nothing on the table to lift that ban.”
“Right now, we’re focused on strengthening and sustaining what is a fragile but real ceasefire” in Yemen, he added.
The sources stressed, however, that no announcement was expected around Biden’s July 13-16 trip, which will include stops in Israel and the West Bank.
Any decision, they said, is expected to depend heavily on whether Riyadh is deemed to have done enough to find a political settlement to the Yemen conflict.
Among the biggest-ticket items the Saudis would likely seek are precision-guided munitions (PGM) such as those approved under former President Donald Trump in the face of objections from members of Congress.
But the Biden administration is expected to move cautiously as it discusses which systems might be offered, two sources said.
If Washington eases the ban, it may be easier to push through sales of less-lethal equipment such as armored personnel carriers or replenish stocks of less-sophisticated ground-to-ground and air-to-ground weaponry.
Even under existing restrictions, the United States began stepping up its military support for Saudi Arabia earlier this year following Houthi missile strikes on the kingdom.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/exclusive-us-weighs-possible-resumption-offensive-arms-sales-saudis-sources-2022-07-11/ = https://www.fxempire.com/news/article/exclusive-u-s-weighs-possible-resumption-of-offensive-arms-sales-to-saudis-sources-1059791 = https://www.jpost.com/international/article-711734 = https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220711-us-weighs-possible-resumption-of-offensive-arms-sales-to-saudis-say-sources/
(* B K P)
As Biden Visits Saudi Arabia, GAO Report Spotlights Deadly US Role in Yemen Disaster
The GAO reports the mind-boggling statistic that the United States Department of Defense has administered $54.6 billion in aid to Saudi Arabia and the UAE during the Yemen War.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a new report on the role of US-provided weaponry in civilian deaths in the Yemen War, many of them the result of war crimes.
Since Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and their allies launched a war on Yemen in 2015, some quarter of a million people have been killed (most by disease and hunger caused by the war), and half the population has been made food insecure. Of those killed in air strikes, about 17,000 are known to have been civilian non-combatants, according to the UN.
The GAO reports the mind-boggling statistic that the United States Department of Defense has administered $54.6 billion in aid to Saudi Arabia and the UAE during the Yemen War. Somebody should be fired for that right there.
First of all Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are fabulously wealthy oil states and do not need any aid from the US.
Second of all, the aid was in furtherance of a horrible, illegal war, in which the US should never have been involved.
Any aid that involved the transfer of US weapons to the two countries was actually corporate welfare, intended to throw government money to American arms corporations. The bulk of US aid to the Egyptian military junta takes this form– Egyptians never see it, except in the form of Apache helicopters in Egyptian military warehouses.”
Although the GAO notes that the US military provided targeting and strategic advice to the Saudis during the war, it neglects to say that where the US advised against hitting targets that would cause severe civilian crises
What? State hasn’t even bothered to track the US weapons’ impact! The GAO says that the Department of Defense has undertaken and published such reports on Yemen. They say that the DoD maintains that the Saudis and UAE have made efforts toward reducing the harm of the war to civilians, which is patently untrue. https://www.commondreams.org/views/2022/07/11/biden-visits-saudi-arabia-gao-report-spotlights-deadly-us-role-yemen-disaster
(* B P)
Biden Can Use His Saudi Trip To Push for an End to the War in Yemen
Joe Biden might want to push hard for lasting peace in Yemen during his first official trip as U.S. president to Saudi Arabia this week—but he probably won’t. And that’s a missed opportunity for the beleaguered president, given that Riyadh is increasingly viewing the Saudi-led war—which began in 2015 and has seen hundreds of thousands of people killed and millions more plunged into famine—as a quagmire that it would like to extricate itself from.
Unfortunately, Yemen doesn’t appear to be high on Biden’s agenda amid a backdrop of high oil prices and ongoing U.S.-Saudi tensions over the 2018 killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
Biden can lay the groundwork for a more lasting solution by trying to widen diplomatic and mediation backchannels and decrease the Houthis’ isolation by pushing for some sort of recognition of them as a formal authority in Yemen—in exchange for certain concessions such as easing the Houthis’ siege of Taiz.
Whatever comes next, though, Biden can do more to address the false perception that his administration has not been actively engaged on Yemen.
Biden’s upcoming trip is an opportunity for him to change that narrative, make further headway in negotiations, and come good on his election promises that can produce lasting peace in Yemen.
https://time.com/6195677/biden-saudi-trip-yemen/
cp9a USA-Iran Krise: Spannungen am Golf / US-Iran crisis: Tensions at the Gulf
Siehe / Look at cp9
(A P)
Iran demands ‘strong’ economic guarantees in JCPOA revival talks: FM Amir-Abdollahian
Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian says it is a “necessity” for Iran to gain economic benefits from the 2015 agreement and thus wants “strong” guarantees in talks on a potential revival of the deal, which the US abandoned unilaterally three years after its conclusion.
“We seek strong economic guarantees. If a Western company signs a contract with its Iranian counterpart, it must rest assured that its project will be implemented and it will receive compensation in case new sanctions are imposed,” Amir-Abdollahian, who is on a visit to Rome, said in a Wednesday interview with Italian newspaper la Repubblica.
The top Iranian diplomat added that the issue of guarantees is one of the biggest obstacles in the talks aimed at restoring the 2015 deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
(A P)
South Korea says it will return Iran’s funds once nuclear deal is restored
South Korea has repeated its position on the return of more than $7 billion of Iranian funds blocked in the country because of American sanctions on Tehran as a top diplomat says the funds will be repatriated once Iran and world powers agree to revive a 2015 nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA.
South Korea’s First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong said on Wednesday that Seoul will make efforts to release the Iranian funds when the JCPOA is restored, according to remarks published in the official Yonhap news agency.
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/07/13/685564/Iran-South-Korea-deputy-FMs-phone-call-blocked-funds
(A P)
Iran: US cannot impose views through accusation, sanction
Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has denounced the Biden administration's policy of accusations and sanctions, saying it will not be able to impose its will on the Islamic Republic through such tactics.
"If window of diplomacy is still open, that's because of Iran's dynamic initiatives," Amir-Abdollahian tweeted late Monday.
"@POTUS cannot impose US' one-sided views through accusation & sanction. Diplomacy is not a one-way street," he added.
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/07/12/685462/Iran-US-Vienna-talks-sanctions-JCPOA
(* B P)
Ahead of Biden Mideast trip, Iran nuclear deal looms large
US president to blend diplomacy and deterrence in approach to Iran, region.
Washington builds on regional support for its agenda
US President Joe Biden’s trip to the Middle East next week will set the context for what will likely be the final round, or rounds, of indirect talks with Iran to agree on restarting the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The indirect talks on the Iran nuclear deal in Doha between US and Iranian officials, brokered by EU Iran envoy Enrique Mora, are increasingly complemented by a strengthened US diplomatic and deterrent posture in the Persian Gulf, in process for the last year and formalized by the Biden trip.
The regional strategy is a turnaround from 2015, when US partners in the region felt sidelined by the JCPOA, negotiated between Iran and the US, UK, France, Germany, the EU, Russia and China. This time, US regional partners are actually, well, partners, in the Biden strategy.
First, the Biden Administration has reset its early scratchy ties with Saudi Arabia.
Second, Arab leaders have taken up their own diplomatic initiatives with Iran, in parallel with the JCPOA talks in Doha.
Third, the Biden administration is advancing enhanced security coordination among Israel and Arab states, a significant boost to a US-led deterrent posture and an essential complement to any diplomacy.
Getting to yes with Iran in Doha
While a balanced diplomacy/deterrent strategy offers a better shot at closing the remaining gaps between the US and Iran on the JCPOA, there are still a number of familiar, if difficult, issues that need to be negotiated between the parties themselves, via the EU.
The outstanding issues to close the deal, from what we can tell, seem a mix of both new and old, and maybe not ultimately out of the realm of hard-fought compromise.
Iran seems to have dropped its previous condition that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) be taken off the US Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) list, as Ali Hashem and Elizabeth Hagedorn have reported. Questions remain, however, whether sanctions might apply to certain IRGC-linked businesses in infrastructure and transportation, if there were a deal.
Iran has sought guarantees that the Biden administration will stick to the deal. Burned by US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the agreement in May 2018, Tehran is seeking assurances it won’t happen again.
Arms race undermines economic goals
Conflict and instability are often bad for business, and, in this case, ultimately bad for normalization and regional integration. The prospect of an Iranian nuclear weapon, or a return to a more assertive regional posture by Iran, would keep the Middle East on the edge of conflict, perhaps even a nuclear arms race. This is in addition to longstanding fault lines in Yemen, Lebanon, and Iraq, as well as addressing the global food crisis affecting many Middle Eastern countries — we could go on.
An Iran nuclear deal would, or should, mitigate the risk of conflict, especially when complemented by the regional diplomacy taking place involving Iran, while getting Iranian oil into the market.
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/07/ahead-biden-mideast-trip-iran-nuclear-deal-looms-large
(* A K P)
Tehran will hit nearest targets if ‘threatening plans’ implemented, warns Iran’s Nour News
Iran’s Nour News has slammed a US-led plan to form a so-called joint defense pact with Israel and some regional Arab states, warning that a decisive response will await any threat against the country's security.
In a tweet on Sunday, the news analysis website, which is close to the country’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), said, "Creation of [a] joint defense pact in the region by [the] US with participation & hidden management of Zionists is a threatening act.".
“If the implementation of such plans threatens security of #Iran in any way, it will face initial decisive response to the nearest & most accessible targets,” the news website added.
(* A K P)
USA: Iran will Russland "hunderte" Drohnen für Krieg gegen Ukraine liefern
Der Iran will Russland nach Angaben der USA hunderte Drohnen für den Angriffskrieg gegen die Ukraine liefern. Teheran wolle Moskau "bis zu mehrere hundert" solcher unbemannten Fluggeräte liefern, darunter auch waffenfähige Drohnen, sagte der Nationale Sicherheitsberater von US-Präsident Joe Biden, Jake Sullivan, am Montag zu Journalisten.
"Unsere Informationen deuten des Weiteren darauf hin, dass der Iran sich vorbereitet, russische Einheiten im Einsatz dieser Drohnen auszubilden", sagte Sullivan weiter. "Erste Trainingseinheiten könnten schon Anfang Juli beginnen."
Nach Angaben Sullivans ist unklar, ob der Iran Russland bereits Drohnen geliefert
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
(A P)
UAE: Britons accuse Gulf state of torture before UN committee
Matthew Hedges and Ali Issa Ahmad testified before the Geneva-based committee in a rare public example of allegations of torture against the emirate
Two British men who had been detained in the United Arab Emirates gave evidence before a UN committee on torture on Tuesday, with one saying he had been subjected to solitary confinement and the other to abuse with an electric shock baton.
The UAE rejects the allegations.
Matthew Hedges and Ali Issa Ahmad testified before the Geneva-based committee on Tuesday in a rare public example of allegations of torture against the Gulf state. The committee is also reviewing other countries' records.
https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/britons-accuse-uae-torture-before-un-committee-2022-07-12/ = https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uae-britons-accuse-torture-un-committee
cp12a Katar / Qatar
(B P)
Qatar ‘unlikely’ to jeopardise credibility by normalising with Israel: analysts
US President Joe Biden is expected to use his visit to the Middle East to push Saudi Arabia to normalise diplomatic and economic relations with the Zionist state, but should Qatar follow its GCC neighbours?
Qatar is also adamant to maintain and safeguard its independent foreign policy – a point of contention that led to an illegal air, land and sea blockade on the Gulf state by neighbouring Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt in 2017.
Doha’s more recently elevated and recognised status as a heavyweight mediator, which has arguably served as its most strategic move on the geopolitical stage, has also earned it indispensable credibility on the Arab street and further afield.
A controversial move to normalise with Israel could tarnish such a reputation, throw a spanner in the works and impede Doha’s future endeavours to stand as a mediator in any final status negotiations – or even when trying to bring an end to one of Israel’s regular wars on the Palestinians.
In an op-ed penned by Zaid Al-Hamdan on Doha News, the Qatari political analyst said: “Qatar has cemented its position as a diplomatic powerhouse and will not be forced to make concessions, particularly with the US administration’s current position” on a range of issues expected to arise during Biden’s trip to the Middle East.
https://dohanews.co/qatar-unlikely-to-jeopardise-credibility-by-normalising-with-israel-analysts/
cp12b Sudan
(A P)
Khartoum Democracy Activists Lift Half of Sit-Ins
Organizers of Khartoum's sit-ins, begun 10 days ago to force Sudan's army to return power to civilians, announced Monday that they had dismantled two of their four camps.
The protests began after security force killed nine demonstrators in anti-coup rallies by tens of thousands on June 30, according to pro-democracy medics, in the deadliest violence so far this year.
In response, protesters called for "unlimited" sit-ins the following day, in an attempt to end military rule.
They set up four camps -- two in the center of Khartoum on streets they barricaded with bricks, and one each in the capital's sister cities of Omdurman and Khartoum North.
But on Monday, while Sudan celebrated the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha for a third day, "resistance committees" announced they were breaking up the Omdurman camp.
https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3752656/khartoum-democracy-activists-lift-half-sit-ins
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
Siehe / Look at cp9
(B K P)
Claims to Seize Iranian Weapons, Used by UK to Steal Saudi-UAE Money
Although the play of seizing ships containing Iranian weapons sent to Yemen by the US and British navies is not a new thing. There are many such meager plays that Britain and the US were used previously, for the sake taking money from Saudi Arabia and the Emirates.
Or the latter two regimes use these allegations to justify giving the money for the British-American regimes. Time came a few days before US President Joe Biden's visit to Saudi Arabia, while the incident took place 7 months ago, which confirms that the visit will witness the “milking” operation. This reminds us of Trump's scandalous milking of Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The British and American plays, about seizing Iranian weapons smuggled into Yemen, did not convince even Western public opinion, due to their insignificance. The US and Britain, which monitor everything in the region, why do they not provide documents that prove the seizures of these Iranian boats. They did not publish films and pictures about those operations, or showing Iranian soldiers who were captured during the seizure of those boats?
In the British Navy statement, the document showed nothing but “missile engines” that could have been simply identified, and there is no need to send it to Britain, but it seems that the latter wanted, through this play, to increase the money that Saudi Arabia and the UAE must pay .
It is shameful that Britain is trying to appear as someone trying to put an end to the war in Yemen, while figures published in British government reports indicate that it is considered the second largest exporter of arms in the world
My remark: A Houthi viewpoint.
(* B E K P)
Geld für den Rüstungshandel
Europäische Banken finanzieren Waffenproduzenten, die am Krieg im Jemen verdienen.
Banken sollen keine Rüstungsunternehmen finanzieren, sofern diese Waffen an Staaten verkaufen, die in Menschenrechtsverletzungen oder bewaffnete Konflikte verwickelt sind. Das hat die niederländische Friedensorganisation Pax gefordert.
Am Dienstag stellte Pax eine detaillierte Studie vor, in der sie die Finanzierung dieser Rüstungsfirmen mit Hilfe der 15 größten europäischen Banken darlegt. Daraus geht hervor, dass im vergangenen Jahrzehnt – also von 2010 bis 2020 – insgesamt 87,7 Milliarden Euro an Darlehen und Garantien von den Instituten an Firmen vergeben wurden, die Waffen in Krisengebiete oder an Menschenrechtsverletzer liefern. Berücksichtigt wurden dabei nach Angaben der Organisation nur solche Darlehen, deren Laufzeit noch nicht beendet war.
Die französische Bank BNP Paribas habe die größten Investitionen getätigt, nämlich mehr als 16 Milliarden Euro für elf Waffenhersteller, die in problematische Länder exportieren. Finanziert wurden damit Unternehmen, die in der Regel sowohl zivile als auch militärische Güter herstellen, darunter Boeing und Airbus. Aus der Studie geht nicht hervor, welcher Anteil der Darlehen jeweils in die Waffenproduktion floss.
Airbus habe Kampfjets an Saudi-Arabien und Anti-Schiffs-Raketen an die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate verkauft, berichtet Pax. Die größte Investition der BNP Paribas sei an General Electric gegangen, das Düsentriebwerke für die saudi-arabische Luftwaffe herstelle und warte.
https://www.fr.de/wirtschaft/banken-geben-geld-fuer-den-ruestungshandel-91663169.html
(* B K P)
Schweiz: Ausfuhr von Kriegsmaterial in der ersten Jahreshälfte 2022
Schweizer Unternehmen haben in der ersten Jahreshälfte 2022 gestützt auf die Bewilligungen des SECO für 516,6 Millionen Franken Kriegsmaterial exportiert.
Die Kriegsmaterialausfuhren verzeichneten im Vergleich zur Vorjahresperiode eine Zunahme um 159,8 Millionen Franken auf 516,6 Millionen Franken. Damals wurde Kriegsmaterial für 356,8 Millionen Franken exportiert. Diese Steigerung ist auf grössere Einzelgeschäfte zurückzuführen. Erfahrungsgemäss unterliegen die Ausfuhren von Kriegsmaterial grossen Schwankungen.
Die fünf Hauptabnehmerländer waren Katar mit Lieferungen im Wert von 117,5 Millionen Franken, gefolgt von Dänemark mit 101,7 Millionen Franken, Saudi-Arabien mit 54,4 Millionen Franken, Deutschland mit 47,7 Millionen Franken und Botswana mit 33,1 Millionen Franken.
Seit 2016 werden nach Saudi-Arabien keine Exporte von Kriegsmaterial mehr bewilligt, bei welchen eine Eignung sowie ein erhöhtes Risiko für eine Verwendung im Jemen-Konflikt besteht. Die Ausfuhren nach Saudi-Arabien umfassen seither, wie auch dieses Jahr, ausschliesslich Ersatzteile und Munition für Flugabwehrsysteme.
https://www.wbf.admin.ch/wbf/de/home/dokumentation/nsb-news_list.msg-id-89691.html
cp13b Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage
(* B C P)
Jemens alte Hochhäuser: Wie Konflikte das Erbe auslöschen
Die alte ummauerte Stadt Shibam, die 1982 zum geschützten UNESCO-Weltkulturerbe erklärt wurde, leidet unter dem Gewicht jahrelanger Vernachlässigung, ein alltäglicher Anblick unter anderen Kulturstätten in der reichen architektonischen Landschaft des Jemen. Was dies explizit zeigt, da die etwa 3.000 Einwohner von Shibam weiterhin traditionellen Lebensmustern folgen, ist die Durchlässigkeit von Konflikten und wie Konflikte zur Zerstörung des architektonischen Erbes beitragen – ohne dass ein Ort direkt angegriffen werden muss.
Der Bürgerkrieg im Jemen – der seit 2014 andauert – hat Hunderttausende getötet und die bebaute Umwelt derjenigen, die den Konflikt überlebt haben, dezimiert. Während des Krieges wurden kulturelle Artefakte geplündert und ins Ausland geschmuggelt, während prominente städtische Wahrzeichen wie Miqshamat al-Qasimi gezielt von Luftangriffen angegriffen wurden.
Die Durchlässigkeit des Konflikts hat zum Exodus junger Menschen geführt, die bessere Weiden suchen, wodurch die Gebäude von Shibam gefährdet sind, da ein Teil der Bevölkerung, der für die Herstellung von Lehmziegeln und das erneute Auftragen von Lehmbeschichtungen auf Gebäude unerlässlich ist, die Stadt verlässt. Die 444 Gebäude in Shibam sind anfällig für Wind, Regen und Hitzeerosion, ein Ergebnis, das durch fehlende Finanzierung verursacht wird, die direkt auf den Konflikt zurückzuführen ist. Hinzu kommt, dass Schäden durch extreme Wetterereignisse weiter zunehmen. Der tropische Wirbelsturm, der Shibam im Oktober 2008 überschwemmte, ist eine relativ neue Erinnerung an katastrophale Naturereignisse, die die Notlage der Region weiter verschärfen können.
Nach Ausbruch des Bürgerkriegs fügte die UNESCO die alte ummauerte Stadt Shibam der Liste der gefährdeten Kulturerbestätten hinzu. Eine der schlimmsten humanitären Krisen der Welt hat dazu geführt, dass die Restaurierung der durch Regen und Überschwemmungen beschädigten Gebäude von Shibam nur langsam vorangeht und dass qualifizierte Arbeitskräfte für diese Restaurierung stark reduziert werden, was die Verwundbarkeit einer Siedlung, die sich immer noch weitgehend selbst trägt, verschärft (photos)
https://decor.design/de/jemens-alte-hochhauser-wie-konflikte-das-erbe-ausloschen/
and English version:
(* B C P)
Yemen’s Ancient High-Rises: How Conflict Erases Heritage
Shibam’s architectural heritage has been left vulnerable, while largely escaping the direct conflict of Yemen’s complex civil war. Declared a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982, the Old Walled City of Shibam is straining under the weight of years of neglect, a common sight across other cultural sites in Yemen’s rich architectural landscape. What this explicitly displays, as Shibam’s 3,000 or so residents continue to follow traditional living patterns, is the permeability of conflict, and how conflict contributes to the destruction of architectural heritage – without the necessity of a site being under direct attack.
Yemen’s civil war – which has been going on since 2014 – has killed hundreds of thousands, while decimating the built environment of those who have survived the conflict. The war has seen cultural artifacts looted and smuggled abroad, while prominent urban landmarks such as the Miqshamat al-Qasimi have been deliberately targeted by airstrikes.
The permeability of conflict has resulted in the exodus of young people as they seek better pastures, leaving Shibam’s buildings vulnerable as a segment of the population vital for making mud bricks and the re-application of mud coatings to buildings leave the town. The 444 buildings present in Shibam are vulnerable to wind, rain and heat erosion, an outcome caused by a lack of funding directly attributed to the conflict. An added problem is that damage caused by extreme weather events is further heightened. The tropical cyclone that flooded Shibam in October 2008 is a relatively recent reminder of disastrous natural events that can further add to the plight of the region.
Upon the breakout of the civil war, UNESCO added the Old Walled City of Shibam to the list of endangered heritage sites. One of the world’s worst humanitarian crises has meant that restoration of Shibam’s buildings damaged by rains and flood is slow and that skilled manpower for said restoration is largely reduced, exacerbating the vulnerability of a settlement that is still largely self-sustaining (photos)
https://www.archdaily.com/985073/the-ancient-high-rise-the-permeability-of-conflict
(* A C P)
[Sanaa gov.] Antiquities Authority: Saudi-Backed Militants Destroy 28 Islamic landmarks in Several Governorates
The General Authority of Antiquities announced that the Saudi-backed militants destroyed more than 28 Islamic archaeological landmarks in several Yemeni governorates, the last of which was the Al-Noor Mosque in the Saudi-UAE occupied Khokha District in Hodeidah Governorate.
The authority indicated that it had repeatedly warned of the danger of destroying Islamic cultural capabilities, renewing the call to stop the systematic destruction of ancient Yemeni antiquities under the cover of the US-Saudi aggression and mercenaries.
it stressed at the same time that the aggression is also stealing, smuggling and selling Yemeni antiquities in auctions and global markets.
and also https://www.saba.ye/en/news3194440.htm
(B P)
Film: Liverpool Arab Arts Festival. Yemen in Conflict - 2019 workshops
The cultural heritage of Yemen is at extreme risk due to conflict: displacement has resulted in many children not learning cultural traditions and linguistic practices of their regions. Many native speakers believe the only way to protect their oral heritage is to share the language of their regions. Yemen in Conflict: Popular literary heritage as expression of conflict and tool for conflict resolution is a multidisciplinary project that aims to provide long-term protection to traditional and new popular literature in Yemen in face of ongoing conflict.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5Tir44keg4
(C P)
[Sanaa] Shura condemns demolition of ancient mosques in… (photos)
https://twitter.com/GhalebM0nz1i7/status/1546945843294502913
(C)
Photo: Al-Hatiyb village in Manakha District of Sanaa governorate. There is a mosque at the top of the mountain.
https://twitter.com/Naseh_Shaker/status/1546528121167429632
(C
Photo: Large, old family residence in Alhejra Village, Haraz
https://twitter.com/GhalebM0nz1i7/status/1546938965315444736
(C)
Photos: Agricultural terrasses in Yemen
https://twitter.com/GhalebM0nz1i7/status/1547596005352165380
cp13c Wirtschaft / Economy
(* B E P)
[Aden] Yemen Government Is Looking At Building Solar Power Plants That Can Produce Up To 20 Megawatts
Anwar Kalshat, Yemen’s electricity minister, stated that the government is looking at building solar power plants that can produce up to 20 megawatts.
Kalshat stated that the war-torn nation will receive support from Saudi Arabia in the amount of USD 200 million. This is to ensure the fuel required to run power plants during the higher summer demand.
Kalshat stated that Yemen planned to build solar plants with capacities ranging from 10 MW to 20MW, and even up to 70MW in a previous interview. The Arab country launched a tender in 2020 to find a contractor, but the bids submitted by local firms were too expensive compared to other nations in the region.
New solar projects are being considered after the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Programme for Yemen, Riyadh-based organization The Arab Gulf Programme for Development (AGFUND), and Yemen’s Selah Foundation for Development announced at the start of 2022 a USD 2.1-million joint project that aims to deploy renewable energy in Yemen.
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
(B T)
#IslamicState #Yemen: Looks like Saturday's (alleged) suicide bomber was one of the 9 men who were pictured apparently pledging allegiance to the new #ISIS caliph in March
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/1546516347940732933
The new #IslamicState attack in #Yemen seems fishy. In addition to @saharyafa's comments below, note that #ISIS blurs the suicide bomber's face. This is done to protect identity. Why would you do that for a #suicide bomber, especially when you've already released his name? (image)
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/1546410750381637632
Funny though how there’s no news about the attack not even from locals on Twitter or Facebook, pro Houthi media spinning it as “fake American propaganda” (pic)The dude’s name says he’s not Yemeni, everything about this op is fishy.
https://twitter.com/saharyafa/status/1546397909406699521
cp15 Propaganda
(A P)
Hölle auf Erden – Jemeniten in die größte Krise der Welt gezwungen
Unter den Houthis wurden die Freiheiten stark eingeschränkt. Sie setzen oft Werkzeuge der Tyrannei wie Inhaftierung, Entführung, Folter, Vergewaltigung und falsche Anschuldigungen ein, um Frauen und politische Dissidenten systematisch anzugreifen. Darüber hinaus zielen Houthi-Angriffe wahllos auf Zivilisten ab. Im Januar dieses Jahres bombardierten die Houthis im einzigen Gouvernement Marib zweimal zivile Einrichtungen wie Wohngebiete und ein großes Krankenhaus. Zuvor, im Oktober, brannten die Houthis ein afrikanisches Flüchtlingszentrum nieder und töteten 400 Äthiopier und andere, die im Jemen Schutz suchten.
Neben der politischen Unterwerfung haben die Houthis routinemäßig die Verfügbarkeit von Nahrungsmitteln für die jemenitische Öffentlichkeit pervertiert und bedroht. Die Houthis betten illegale Waffentransfers in humanitäre Hilfslieferungen ein, bedrohen den Fluss dringend benötigter humanitärer Hilfe.
https://nachrichtend.com/hoelle-auf-erden-jemeniten-in-die-groesste-krise-der-welt-gezwungen/
Mein Kommentar: Die Verbrechen der Huthis müssen benannt werden. Sie für alles Furchtbare im Jemen verantwortlich zu machen, ist Propaganda
and English version:
(A P)
Hell on Earth—Yemenis Forced Into the World's Greatest Crisis
Under the Houthis, liberties have been severely curbed. They often employ tools of tyranny such as detention, abduction, torture, rape, and false charges to systemically target women and political dissidents. Moreover, Houthi attacks indiscriminately target civilians.
As a result of the rampant Houthi campaign against civilians, more than 3 million Yemenis have been displaced. Despite being a flagrant violation of international laws which Yemen has subscribed to, the Houthis continue to torture, violate, detain, and bomb civilians indiscriminately.
Along with political subjugation, the Houthis have routinely perverted and threatened the availability of food to the Yemeni public. The Houthis embed illegal weapon transfers with humanitarian aid shipments, threatening the flow of desperately needed humanitarian aid and forcing an overstretched U.N. to levy time-consuming and bureaucratic inspections, significantly delaying aid arrival.
https://www.newsweek.com/hell-earthyemenis-forced-worlds-greatest-crisis-opinion-1724756
My comment: Blaming the Houthis for their crimes is needed. Blaming them for everything terrible which happened in Yemen, is propaganda. This is part of the organisations campaign: https://themedialine.org/top-stories/with-president-biden-off-to-saudi-arabia-activist-group-lobbies-dc-on-behalf-of-yemen/
(A P)
More Saudi coalition „We are benefactors“ propaganda
http://en.adenpress.news/news/35321
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2369896
https://www.spa.gov.sa/2369729?lang=en&newsid=2369729
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2369490
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
Siehe / Look at cp18
Der Waffenstillstand hält überwiegend; beide Seiten werfen sich Verstöße vor.
The truce mostly holds; both sides accuse each other of violations.
(B K pH)
Coalition violates armistice in Yemen with 13,279 violations within 104 days
https://en.ypagency.net/266323/
(A K pH)
Aggression forces commit 257 violations of armistice within 24 hours
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3194688.htm
and also https://en.ypagency.net/266320/
(A K pH)
Citizen injured by mine explosion in Sana'a
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3194736.htm
(A K pH)
175 Recorded Violations of UN-sponsored Truce by US-Saudi Aggression
and also https://www.saba.ye/en/news3194735.htm
(A K pH)
204 Recorded Violations of UN-sponsored Truce by US-Saudi Aggression
and also https://www.saba.ye/en/news3194560.htm
(A K pS)
The Houthi militia commit 146 truce violations within 48 hours
The Houthi militia committed 146 violations of the UN-brokered truce on Monday and Tuesday in Marib, Taiz Hajjah, Dhale'a and other provinces, sources have said/Saba website
Houthi drone attacks a military camp belonging to the STC in Hayfan district of the southern governorate of Lahj/Multiple websites
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-57821
(A K pS)
Abdul-Al-Alim Al-Habashi an internally displaced man has died in a blast of Houthi-laid landmine he stepped on in Mokha district west of Taiz/Multiple websites.
More than 60 Yemenis were killed by landmines in June, the EU Commission has said/24 Post
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-57821
(* A K pH)
Saudi forces commit new crime against civilians in Saada
Saudi forces committed a new crime against Yemeni civilians in Saada province, northern Yemen.
Local sources told the Yemen Press Agency, the Saudi forces bombed a gathering of the people of the village of Bani Moeen on the third day of Eid al-Adha (Tuesday), with artillery shells, which resulted in the death and injury of many civilians.
The sources explained some of the wounded are in critical condition.
The crime comes nearly three days after Saudi forces committed a similar crime
https://en.ypagency.net/266289/
(* B H K)
JEMEN: KINDER STERBEN TROTZ WAFFENSTILLSTAND
Landminen und Blindgänger sind die größten Todesfallen für Kinder im Jemen. Allein zwischen April und Ende Juni 2022 wurden 42 Kinder getötet.
Neue Analysen von Save the Children zeigen, dass Landminen und Blindgänger im Jemen für über 75 Prozent aller kriegsbedingten Todesopfer unter Kindern verantwortlich sind. Explosive Kriegsrückstände sind eine dauerhafte Gefahr für Kinder und ihre Familien. Denn obwohl seit Beginn des Waffenstillstands Anfang April deutlich weniger Menschen starben, blieb die Zahl der Todesopfer durch Landminen und Blindgänger auf einem ähnlich hohen Niveau. Vor allem Kinder sind gefährdet.
Seit dem Waffenstillstand kehren immer mehr Menschen zurück zu Orten, an denen schwere Kämpfe stattfanden. Dort ist die Gefahr durch explosive Kriegsrückstände besonders hoch. Save the Children fordert von den Kriegsparteien, dass Minen und Blindgänger großflächig beseitigt werden und der Schutz der Kinder an erster Stelle stehen muss. Das Land muss mit dem nötigen technischen Equipment ausgestattet werden, um explosive Kriegsrückstände effektiv räumen zu können.
https://www.savethechildren.de/news/jemen-kinder-sterben-trotz-waffenstillstand/
(* B H K)
Yemen – Explosive Remnants of War
While civilian casualties have reduced since the start of the UN-led truce which began on 2 April 2022, the widespread presence of Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) in Yemen continues to present a significant critical risk to civilians, notably to IDPs returning home thanks to the increased freedom of movement. According to the Civilian Impact Monitoring Project (CIMP), in June alone, 68 casualties, of which 21 children, were the result of ERW explosions.
ERW are also one of the barriers to humanitarian access. According to ACAPS, access further deteriorated in the first half of 2022. Yemen is now among the 4 countries with the highest access constraints in the world.
Humanitarian demining is a priority in Yemen.
https://erccportal.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ECHO-Products/Echo-Flash#/daily-flash-archive
(B K pH)
Saudis kill, injure 387 Yemenis during ceasefire period
The official statistics issued by the Ministry of Health of the National Salvation Government of Yemen indicate that the aggressor Saudi-Emirati coalition is not adhering to the ceasefire in this country.
https://en.mehrnews.com/news/189009/Saudis-kill-injure-387-Yemenis-during-ceasefire-period
(A K pH)
336 Recorded Violations of UN-sponsored Truce by US-Saudi Aggression
and also https://www.saba.ye/en/news3194468.htm
(A K pS)
Southern soldier killed, two injured in Houthi attack in al-Dhale
http://en.adenpress.news/news/35318
(A K pS)
KSrelief "Masam" Project Dismantles 838 Mines in Yemen
King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) “Masam” project has managed, in the first week of July 2022, to dismantle 838 mines planted by the Houthi militia in various regions of Yemen, including 6 anti-personnel mines, 349 anti-tank mines, and 483 unexploded ammunition.
Masam's team was able to dismantle these mines from Qataba directorate in Dhalea governorate; Hays in Hodeida governorate; Ma'rib governorate and Taiz governorate.
Thus, the number of mines that were dismantled since the beginning of the “Masam” project has amounted to 349,721, which were randomly planted by the Houthi militia throughout Yemen.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2369556
(B K pS)
Film by MASAM: This week, we spoke to Sheikh Nasser Dhaifullah Nimran, a resident from Ain Dir. (Shabwah Gov) who told us 'thousands' of landmines have been planted in his area. This poses a real danger to both civilians and livestock, who have 'fallen victims to landmines'.
https://twitter.com/Masam_ENG/status/1546424158497767426
(A K pH)
Aggression forces commit 142 violations of armistice within 24 hours
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3194332.htm
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 ongoing and both sides constantly are accusing each other of violating the ceasefire.
(A K pH)
65 Recorded Violations by US-Saudi Aggression in Hodeidah
and also https://www.saba.ye/en/news3194734.htm
(A K pH)
2children injured by bomb explosion in Hodeida
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3194736.htm
(A K pH)
77 Recorded Violations by US-Saudi Aggression in Hodeidah
and also https://www.saba.ye/en/news3194559.htm
(A K pH)
114 Recorded Violations by US-Saudi Aggression in Hodeidah
and also https://www.saba.ye/en/news3194464.htm
(A K pH)
Military source: the armed reconnaissance aircraft of the aggression dropped 4 bombs on Hays in Al-Hodeidah Governorate, 6 bombs on Al-Barah and the fronts in Taiz Governorate, and 4 bombs on Al-Fakher market in Al-Dhalea Governorate.
A military source: thwarting three infiltration operations of the mercenaries of the aggression on the sites of the army and the committees in Hays, #Hodeidah.
https://twitter.com/GhalebM0nz1i7/status/1546568488101232640
https://twitter.com/GhalebM0nz1i7/status/1546568863390863362
cp19 Sonstiges / Other
(* B D)
Film: RIDING ALONG YEMEN BORDER S06 EP.11 | MIDDLE EAST ON MOTORCYCLE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A90ZI-4Ry44 (mit deutschen Untertiteln)
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-815-yemen-war-mosaic-815
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-815 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-815:
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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