Yemen: a Difficult War for Peace
Peace cannot be achieved if the advocates of fanaticism and hatred roam freely poisoning the society with obsolete beliefs in the public sphere in Yemen. I have always called for the isolation of the warlords and abortion of the methods which they use to increase their benefits. Everything which fuels the Yemen conflict comes through smuggling under the supervision of forces which are a party to the project of restoration of the state. But at the same time, they challenge it. It is nothing but backstabbing. This is the situation which calls for activation of the security institutions to become an important arm for the efforts of the Coalition to Support Legitimacy to end this war.
The discourse of peace is the discourse of the new era. It is in no way similar to the discourse of the previous stages. It needs to be recognised by all the elements of legitimacy, on the basis of the outcome of “Riyadh 2”, which emphasised the failure of the military option and underlined the importance of searching for more effective ways to reach a transitional phase which will move Yemen and the Yemenis from the state of war to the state of peace. This transitional phase may be of several years, before the Yemenis will be in a sustainable peace. But for this they are required to abandon the idea of immersion in the swamps and horrors of the nihilistic war.
[by Khaled Alyemany in Independent Arabia]
Can Biden Save US-Saudi Partnerships?
It has been nearly a year and a half since Democrat President Joe Biden took office. During this period, he brought about a huge shift in US foreign policy in a short period of time. His administration revitalised the transatlantic alliance after it had weakened significantly during the era of Donald Trump. This approach was admired by many of Washington’s allies around the world. But it was not so in another region which for decades has been of strategic importance to the United States. It is the Middle East.
There were some positive transformations took place in the region after Biden came to power, such as pushing for an end to the Gulf crisis and re-emphasising the commitment of the United States to a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. But on the contrary, the policy which he pursued in the relationship with Saudi Arabia, Washington’s largest Arab ally in the region, has caused an unprecedented tension in the relations.
Saudi Arabia has experienced enough American insults even during the era of Trump, who chose Riyadh for his (first foreign) visit and concluded huge arms deals worth billions of dollars.
Now the main responsibility is on Biden to decide whether Saudi Arabia is still an important strategic ally of the United States. If Biden believes that pressure on Saudi Arabia will push it to change its approach on certain issues, such pressure may be counterproductive. The United States no longer has international influence.
[by Mahmoud Allouch in Aljazeera]
Compiled and Translated by Faizul Haque