Obama’s criminal war against Yemen ~ Yemen Updates: 12 April 2015
Obama’s criminal war against Yemen ~ By Bill Van Auken
World Socialist Web Site
Sunday, Apr 12, 2015
As the bombing campaign against Yemen extends into its third week, the Obama administration has stepped up direct US involvement in what constitutes an illegal war that threatens to precipitate a massive humanitarian catastrophe.
The nature of this war is indisputably defined by the character of its combatants. Backed by the US, the most powerful and aggressive imperialist country in the world, is a coalition of reactionary tyrants and royal parasites consisting of the monarchical dictatorships in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states together with the savagely repressive regime headed by General al-Sisi in Egypt.
Their target is Yemen, the poorest country of the Middle East. Even before Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states sent warplanes to drop tons of explosives on crowded urban neighborhoods and mobilized warships to block all food and fuel imports from entering its harbors, over half of the population lived in poverty and roughly half the country’s children suffered from malnutrition.
Now, this desperate situation has grown immeasurably worse. Basic infrastructure is being bombed into rubble. Food supplies have grown critically short, while electricity, including power to pump water, has been cut off. Attempts by aid agencies to deliver relief have been thwarted repeatedly by the Saudi-led bombings.
While official UN estimates place the number killed at over 600, this includes only those reported by medical facilities, with the real death toll far higher. Thousands more have been maimed. The overwhelming majority of the casualties are civilians, with the bodies of entire families being pulled from the rubble of their homes.
This death toll may soon skyrocket. UNICEF has warned that if the bombing continues, more than a quarter of a million children are at risk of starving to death.
US officials acknowledged this week that the Pentagon is playing a decisive role in making these war crimes possible. It has accelerated the delivery of bombs, missiles and other weapons to Saudi Arabia for the purpose of killing more Yemenis and boosting the profits of the US arms merchants.
Just between 2010 and 2014, the Obama administration reached $90 billion worth of arms deals with the Saudi monarchy, making it the top US customer.
On a trip to Riyadh, Antony Blinken, the deputy secretary of state, revealed that the US has also stepped up its intelligence sharing and logistical support for the Saudi-led onslaught, establishing a “joint coordination planning cell” in the Saudi capital. McClatchy News cited unnamed Pentagon officials as saying that this operation is being headed by a two-star general from US Central Command.
And on Wednesday, the Pentagon announced that US Air Force KC-135 Stratotankers have begun daily aerial refueling of Saudi warplanes, to allow continuous airstrikes.
Thus, the US military is not only shipping the bombs to drop on Yemen, but providing Saudi pilots with the targets to be struck and the fuel to reach them. The Obama administration’s hands are covered in the blood of the thousands of civilian victims.
US Secretary of State John Kerry delivered a bellicose defense of this intervention Wednesday, blaming Iran for the crisis in Yemen for allegedly providing aid to the Houthi rebel movement that has established control over much of the country.
“Iran needs to recognize that the United States is not going to stand by while the region is destabilized, or while people engage, you know, in overt warfare across … international boundaries,” he said in a PBS News interview. Kerry vowed that Washington “would stand up to interference that is inappropriate or against international law, or contrary to the region’s stability.”
One really has to go back to the 1930s to find such levels of lying to justify imperialist aggression. “Operation Himmler” comes to mind, when Germany’s Nazi regime used propaganda about “Polish aggression” to justify its Blitzkrieg against Warsaw.
The Houthis have not crossed any “international boundaries” to wage war, and neither has Iran. The Houthis are an indigenous movement whose successes stem from the hatred among broad sections of the population for both the old regime of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi—the puppet installed by Riyadh and Washington—and Western intervention in Yemen. As for Iran, for all of the denunciations, neither the US nor anyone else has produced a shred of evidence of its direct or even indirect involvement in the fighting.
Those violating the sovereignty of Yemen are the Saudi and Gulf State potentates backed by Washington.
As for the United States “standing up” for the “region’s stability,” who does Kerry think he’s kidding? The interventions of US imperialism, with the direct collaboration of the Saudi monarchy, have plunged the entire Middle East into chaos and bloodshed—from the destruction of Iraq, to the transformation of Libya into a militia-ravaged “failed state,” to the ongoing carnage inflicted upon Syria in a US, Saudi-orchestrated war for regime change spearheaded by Islamist militias.
In Yemen itself, the US destabilized the country through a protracted campaign of drone warfare that has claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people.
For the last several years, the Obama administration and the US military and intelligence complex have painted Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) as the premier terror threat to the US “homeland” and the US drone campaign as a model “success” in the “war on terror.”
Now, in the face of the Houthi rebellion, the campaign against AQAP is a dead letter. While elements of the Islamist group have overrun entire cities in the past week, no one even suggests that the Saudi warplanes continuously bombing Yemen should take any action against them.
This is no accident. AQAP is the most militantly anti-Houthi force in the country and therefore a de facto ally in the US-Saudi coalition. AQAP, like the Saudi regime itself, is viciously sectarian in its hatred of the Houthi movement, which is based among the Yemeni Zaydi population, a Shia-related religious group comprising up to 40 percent of the population.
Washington has virtually ceased even attempting to invent new lies to justify such head-spinning realignments. The Obama administration has said next to nothing about this latest war being carried out behind the backs of the American people.
The “war on terror,” “human rights,” “democracy” and even “regional stability” are all equally fraudulent pretexts for naked aggression aimed at solidifying US hegemony over the Middle East and its vast energy resources.
This predatory imperialist offensive threatens to ignite a region-wide conflagration, even as Washington deliberately ratchets up military tensions with both Russia and China. The threat of these separate conflicts coalescing into a third world war grows by the day.
Yemen
12 April 2015 20:55
BREAKING- Saudi and Gulf countries, the enemies of Islam, bombed another hospital and Government buildings in Yemen’s Maarib, casualties reported.
12 April 2015 20:32
Kids in Yemen are hiding from Saudi airstrikes in holes.The houses are not safe & they don’t have safety bunkers. Down with U(K)SA, israel!
12 April 2015 19:00
BREAKING- 4000 fighters of Yemeni Tahiyya Tribe faithful to Yemeni Hezbollah entered Munara Military base near Saudi Arabia, seized 15 tanks, 5 jets, 4 helicopters, 45 armored vehicles. Source: İslami Davet (Our Turkish Website)
After Yemeni Hezbollah Fighters captured Saudi Military base Zionist Saudi King taken to hospital
12 April 2015 18:13
After Yemeni Hezbollah Fighters captured Saudi Military based Zionist Saudi King had a heart attack and was taken to hospital. it is reported that his health has stabilised. أكد مصدر مقرب من الديوان الملكي بالعاصمة السعودية الرياض أن العاهل السعودي سلمان بن عبدالعزيز نقل الى أحد مستشفيات الرياض بعد تعرضه لانتكاسه صحية مفاجئة ويخضع حالياً للعلاج تحت العناية الفائقة. وقال أن الحالة…
12 April 2015 18:06
URGENT- Fighter Jets of Saudi Arabia, the enemy of Islam, bombed Taez, killed 24 including 8 children, wounded 24 civilians. U(K)SA and Gulf countries are performing this savageness and Turkey is supporting this atrocity.
Sayyid Ali Fadlallah: Dialogue is roadmap to Yemen crisis
12 April 2015 18:01
“Dialogue among Yemeni groups is the path towards resolution of the crisis in the country,” underlined One of prominent Senior Lebanese cleric Sayyid Ali Fadlallah. Senior Lebanese cleric Sayyid Ali Fadlallah stressed the necessity of opening talks among Yemeni groups and underscored, “foreign intervention and destruction of Yemen’s infrastructures will not end the crisis,” reporeted Taqrib News Agency. Fadlallah also placed accentuation…
Saudi Arabia Asks for Yemeni Tribes’ Mediation for Ceasefire with Ansarullah
12 April 2015 17:40
A high-ranking Yemeni official announced on Sunday that Riyadh has contacted several Yemeni tribes to demand them to start mediation efforts with Ansarullah movement. “Saudi Arabia has asked a number of pro-Saudi tribes to accept the end of war and avoid retaliation against the Saudi aggression against Yemen,” the Yemeni official, speaking on condition of anonymity told FNA on Sunday. He noted…
Yemen war, beginning of end for Saud House: Iran diplomat
12 April 2015 17:39
A senior Iranian diplomat has warned against the fallout of Saudi Arabia’s illegal military campaign against Yemen, saying it is the beginning of the end for the Al Saud monarchy. “The enemies of the region are unfortunately trying to disintegrate and weaken Saudi Arabia, and the aggression against Yemen and its consequences are the start point of this ominous plot,”…
Yemeni Tribe Regains Control of Saudi Military Base
12 April 2015 16:51
The Yemeni tribe of Takhya entered al-Minare Saudi military site on the border area between Yemen and Saudi Arabia, killing many Saudi soldiers. The tribe killed and injured at least 18 Saudi soldiers in a retaliatory attack, the Arabic-language Yemeni press website quoted security sources as saying. The tribe also managed to regain control over the military site in Saudi Arabia near…
Hezbollah Rejects Claims Member Killed in Yemen
12 April 2015 16:50
The Hezbollah resistance movement on Sunday dismissed as sheer lie a recent report by a Saudi paper alleging that a member of the Lebanese group has been killed in Yemen. Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement issued a statement on Sunday and strongly rejected “as rumor and a sheer lie” the report by the London-based daily al-Sharq al-Awsat that one of its members have…
Fresh Enemy of Islam Saudi Regime Attacks Kill over 10 in Yemen’s Ta’izz
12 April 2015 16:42
Enemy of Islam Saudi regime warplanes battered a residential building in Yemen’s Ta’izz province on early Sunday, leaving at least ten people dead. According to Yemeni sources, the zionist Saudi regime-led airstrikes pounded the town of ad-Dahirah in Southwestern Ta’izz province and claimed the lives of several people. There was no report of exact number of the casualties, but rescue teams recovered…
Yemen’s Tribal Fighters Kill over 18 Saudi Soldiers in Retaliatory Attack
12 April 2015 15:57
Tribal forces launched a retaliatory attack on a Saudi military site near the Yemeni border city of Sa’ada on Sunday, and claimed the lives of at least eighteen Saudi soldiers. According to reports, members of Yemen’s Takhya tribe launched an attack on the al-Minare military base in Saudi Arabia near the Yemeni border city of Sa’ada and left over 18 soldiers…
Inhuman Saudi Armored Units Deploy at Border with Yemen
12 April 2015 15:55
Saudi armored units have stationed at the borderline with Yemen, some reports said, while others informed that the Saudi tanks crossed the border and are moving towards the Northern Yemeni city of Sa’ada. According to a report by the Sky News Arabic program, Saudi military vehicles and tanks crossed Yemen’s border on Sunday as border skirmishes flared up between Yemeni…
Yemen Tribal Forces Control Saudi Military Site, Riyadh Fails to Restore It
12 April 2015 15:54
Yemeni tribal forces attacked a Saudi military site near the northern Yemeni border city of Saada, killing several Saudi soldiers, sources said. Forces of Takhya tribe launched a surprise attack on al-Manara military base in the Saudi territories near the Yemeni border, according to the Yemeni sources, who said that tribesmen managed to control the site. The attack took place late on…
France supports zionist Saudi aggression against Yemen
12 April 2015 15:42
France has expressed support for Saudi Arabia’s illegal military campaign against Yemen, as the number of civilians killed in the deadly Saudi onslaught increases. Speaking in the Saudi capital of Riyadh on Sunday, visiting French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said, “Concerning Yemen, we are here to demonstrate our support, especially political, to the Saudi authorities.” The French foreign minister made the remarks…
London protesters slam Saudi aggression against Yemen
12 April 2015 15:31
Anti-war demonstrators have staged a rally outside the Saudi Embassy in London to protest against the kingdom’s deadly airstrikes on Yemen, Press TV reports. The people who took part in the protest called for an end to the ongoing bombardment of Yemen, which has so far claimed hundreds of lives. “We are here in front of the Saudi Embassy to ask them…
Rabid Dog zionist Saudi Regime’s warplanes continue airstrikes in Yemen
12 April 2015 15:28
Saudi warplanes have carried out an airstrike against a military academy in Yemen as Riyadh pushes ahead with its military campaign against Popular Committees, loyal to Houthi Ansarullah fighters, in the Arab country. Local sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Saudi fighter jets struck the military academy in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, on Sunday morning, leaving a number of…
12 April 2015 13:39
“The Saudis will certainly face loss in this issue and won’t emerge victorious at all.” The Leader of Islamic Ummah and Oppressed People Imam Sayyid Ali Khamenei
Riyadh, its allies in disastrous situation in Yemen: Commentator
12 April 2015 8:56
Press TV has conducted an interview with Abayomi Azikiwe, an editor with the Pan-African News Wire in Detroit, to ask for his viewpoint on a US-supported Saudi aggression against Yemen. Azikiwe argues that the Saudis are in a very difficult situation in Yemen and they have not been able to reach their objectives to weaken the Yemeni revolutionaries and restore Abd…
Tens of zionist Saudi regime soldiers killed near Yemen: Reports
12 April 2015 8:52
Tens of zionist Saudi regime soldiers have been killed and a number of others captured during a retaliatory attack by tribal forces on a military site near the Yemeni border, sources say. According to Yemeni reports, members of the Takhya tribe launched a surprise attack on a the al-Minare military base in Saudi Arabia near the northern Yemeni border city of…
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