The Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea is of course a highly strategic waterway, and the Yemeni Armed forces are exercising the leverage they have in order to try and squeeze it.

By Tom FOWDY

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Last week, British and American forces commenced a bombing campaign against the Yemeni Armed forces’ targets in Yemen. The Yemeni Armed forces, who are responding to the Israeli war of annihilation in Gaza and its subsequent plans to illegally occupy the territory, had attacked regional shipping with the view to targeting “Tel Aviv”. The two English-speaking countries subsequently decided to take the lead in retaliating militarily, and the mainstream media quickly began pushing narratives denouncing the uprising in Yemen as inhumane.

There is no logical reason to believe that this campaign will succeed. First of all, the Yemeni Armed forces and this area of Yemen have already endured a 10-year bombing campaign pursued by the Gulf States which was backed by the UK and US, in addition to a crippling naval embargo on the territory. This brutal campaign which was widely condemned by human rights groups, did not change the political situation in Yemen or pummel the Yemeni Armed forces into submission. Why in this case, would UK and US strikes be any different?

Secondly, the political situation in Yemen is a product of the national government lacking popular legitimacy and support amongst its population and is unable to bridge the country’s internal divisions. To the southwestern part of Yemen, the government is subsequently rejected and this is what drives the Yemeni Armed forces’ uprising. The West, as well as the Gulf States, simply desire to control the Gulf of Aden and have hegemony over access to the Red Sea. However, support for the Yemeni Armed forces is organic given the dire situation in Yemen and therefore cannot be stomped out by military force.

Despite this, the British and American governments are ignorant of the ethnic and sectarian realities of the Middle East. For the past few decades, they have developed an approach whereby every single problem or issue they face is viewed as a “nail” and themselves “hammers.” Or in the other hands, confront every challenge in the region with a resort to more military action and interventionism, forming a long list of wars and regime changes of that have devastated the region.

Rarely in any case has such interventions gone to plan, with them almost always unleashing more instability and unrest, leading to new cycles of radicalization and war, which are then met with even more military action. To this end, the Middle East has become a quagmire and playground for Western powers to continually attempt to force their will upon it, even when it is evident their presence is not wanted. Conflicts such as that in Iraq and Syria, or even the 20-year war in Afghanistan in Central Asia, are all examples of these decisions never going to plan, often being more costlier than calculated, and never being able to “subdue” local populations in admission.

It should be no surprise that the mainstream media are now emphasizing the perceived brutality of the Yemeni Armed forces, and predictably as they always do, are omitting information as to why this conflict is occurring. Are the Houthis simply attacking shipping along this route for nothing? Is there context to this? Apparently not. One might be forgiven for forgetting that all of this is a retaliation to the unconditional Western backing for wholesale death and destruction in the Gaza strip by “Israel”, and for that matter, all other problems in the Middle East revolve around this.

Of course, that reminds us that there is much simpler solution to the crisis in the Red Sea: end unconditional support for “Israel” and back a ceasefire now. Benjamin Netanyahu hasn’t even hidden his application of outright extremist language in what “Israel” is doing to Gaza, while also insulting and disregarding those who seek to hold him to justice in the international criminal court. It is quite obvious that in allowing this to continue and to have zero interest in peace, the West bear all the consequences of what is spiraling from this throughout the region, so they are absolutely in the wrong when invoking the victim narrative.

The Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea is of course a highly strategic waterway, and the Yemeni Armed forces are exercising the leverage they have in order to try and squeeze it. At the same time, the UK and US in particular assert what they describe as “freedom of navigation” as a right to naval hegemony, which has also coincided with their historical belief that they have a right to dominate the nation of Yemen. This will certainly set the stage for a longer and protracted conflict, whether they intend to do so or not, and there is no guarantee that they will get the result they want. Again, to conclude, there is a much simpler way to fix this which will comprehensively save lives on all sides, and end the slaughter in Gaza.

Original article: Al Mayadeen English