Will Washington Pressure Saudi Arabia to Stop Its Aggression Against Yemen?
After 6 years since the Saudi coalition launched its war on Yemen, the new US administration decided to end its military support for the aggression, and appointed the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Middle Eastern Affairs, Timothy Lenderking, as a special envoy to Yemen.
On February 4, US President Joe Biden announced, in a speech at the US State Department, the decision to end the war on Yemen, and asked his Middle East team to “work for a ceasefire to deliver humanitarian aid and open dialogue.” He stressed that “the war on Yemen must stop, and we will stop all our support for offensive operations there.”
The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the appointment of Timothy Lenderking as a special US envoy to Yemen comes in the context of pushing for a diplomatic solution. Lenderking wasted no time and held discussions with leaders of the Gulf states and the British Foreign Office about efforts to end the conflict in Yemen.
The new US declaration may, in part, fulfill activists’ efforts to end this war. But the motives of the Biden administration’s decision, may raise concern about where the work of his team will end. Does he condemn Saudi Arabia and its allies for their aggression on Yemen? Or will he adopt, as usual, double standards, especially since Biden, in the speech itself, considered that “Saudi Arabia faces threats and we will continue to support it to protect its territories from attacks.”
It may be that ending US support for offensive military actions matches Biden’s campaign promises. However, it is an insufficient step to address the US complicity in the Yemeni tragedy, which began with the Barack Obama administration. Officials in “Ansarullah” considered that Biden should have insisted on the immediate and complete withdrawal of Saudi Arabia and the UAE from Yemen, and an end to their support for the warring factions.
Those promises have no weight with officials in Sana’a, no matter how much US officials talk about ending their support for the aggression against Yemen. Ansarullah did not receive this decision with confidence or with much enthusiasm, and considered that it falls within the framework of words and not actions, according to what a member of the Supreme Political Council in Yemen,Mohammad Ali Al-Houthi, said in an interview with Al-Mayadeen. He pointed out that the Americans say, “We will be informed … We decided to end .. We decided to stop .. We decided to do .. I mean, we hear decisions and we do not find actions.”
The Yemeni parliament in Sana’a welcomed the decisions of the Biden administration, and considered it as a “new shift in the course of US policy.” Both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates welcomed Biden’s decision. The UAE said that its forces have ended their military intervention in Yemen since October 2020.
So far, the US-Saudi aggression against Yemen has killed 130,000 people, including 13,000 civilians who have been targeted by the Saudi coalition’s attacks. Save the Children organization, estimates that 85,000 children under the age of 5 have died due to famine and diseases since the beginning of the war.
The Aggression caused “the worst humanitarian crisis in the world,” according to US Senator Bernie Sanders after Biden announced that he would stop supporting the war on Yemen, and indicated that “Yemen needs food, medicine and health care, not bombs and the siege,” considering his country’s decision “an opportunity to provide assistance and reconstruction for Yemen. “
Historically, all attempts to subjugate Yemen have not succeeded, and the mountains of Yemen are still known as the cemetery of invaders and colonialists.
Translated from Al-Mayadeen