Fehim Tastekin
Now that Saudi Arabia's attack on Yemen has the support of Turkey and a large part of the international community, feel free to be deaf and blind to what will actually happen to this country. Turkish President Tayyip Recep Erdogan claimed that Iran has Yemen under its control and ordered their withdrawal. From this moment, Turkey will not bother with questions such as who are the rebelling Houthis in Yemen, who is fighting whom, what is really driving the Saudis or even the alleged "Iran factor" itself. And do not bother to ask about the civilian losses either. Nobody cares about the 40 people dead and 200 wounded at the al-Mizrak refugee camp on March 30. Who will ponder the numbers offered by Amnesty International either? 14 people, four of them minors, burned to death by the Saudi Attacks in three days 20 civilians, three of them minors, killed in Kitaf on March 27, The March 31 bombing of Sanaa killed 25, including six under the age of 10 This is a war and the list of causalities will increase. It is also meaningless to see these as attacks “against the Houthis.” At the end of the day, it is Yemen being hit, and the people pay the price. Furthermore, the operation does not seem to be pushing back the Houthis and the military groups acting alongside them. The area controlled by the Houthis has expanded since the bombardment began, and they have even reportedly captured a base at the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait which may allow them to threaten the oil tankers which transport 8% of the world's oil. The Saudis plan is to cripple the defense forces of Yemen and force the Houthis to retreat, but they may be forced into a ground operation — which would be a huge gamble for the alliance. The Saudis experienced war with the Houthis in 2004-2010 during six operations led by the dethroned Yemen leader Ali Abdullah Saleh. As a retaliation to the airstrikes of Riyad, Houthis crossed mountain terrain to penetrate 30 kilometers deep inside Saudi Arabia territory and terrorized their army. The resistance front may get even stronger since a ground operation would be observed as an invasion. Yemen may wind up as the Vietnam of the Arab alliance. The trap is calling you So, why are our leaders in Ankara so willing to enter such a game of traps? Three driving factors seem evident: the rage felt against Iran for spoiling Turkey's plans in Syria and Iraq; the need for investment from the Gulf countries; and ultimately the chance of fulfilling the dream of transporting the power of a joint Arab intervention into Syria. However, as Turkey steps up to play the spokesperson of this war, it risks destroying relations with Iran — and failing to see its new place on the Arab map. Rather than listening to the compliments made on the red carpet for the sake of an alliance against Iran, Turkey must understand that many Arab countries today actually believe Turkey is playing a dangerous games. Indeed, it is a troubling reminder of Turkey's strategy with Syria, while the geopolitical game in the Middle East is now firmly in the hands of the new Saudi ruler, King Salman. Barbara Bodine, former US Ambassador to Yemen has said the Saudis are exaggerating Tehran's influence in the Yemen. “The idea that the Houthi are an Iranian creation is ahistorical," she said. Of course, Iran supports the Houthis, but the Saudis are exploiting this situation to suppress the poor and powerless people of an entire country. In fact, the Saudis are the main reason Yemen now has such a strong Salafi presence, with their religious ideology injected to this country after the 1970s under the cover of financing Yemen's Ministry of Education. Sunni Shafi'is and Shia Zaidis were living together in harmony for centuries before the ideological intervention of the Saudis that encouraged radicalism. The Sunnis and Shias of Yemen were as close as being able to pray at the same mosque; Sunnis could pray at mosques where the call to prayer is sung in the Shia way. The people of this country used to take pride in that. This oasis of tolerance is being destroyed step by step. In parallel to the radicalization of the Sunni side, the Shia Zaidis are experiencing an ideological change through the Houthis. The Iranian influence can be traced in the Houthi leaders, many of whom were educated in Iran's holy city of Qom. But to conclude that "Iran is taking control of Yemen" only serves the needs of the Saudis. Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was also a Zaidi, used this tactic to obtain financial support from the Saudis. He also liked to accuse Iran of being behind the Houthis. Today, the Saudis are doing everything they can to prevent a potential ally of Iran to have influence in their backyard. Yemen shifting under the influence of Iran is as worrisome as it is important that the dark shadow of Saudi Arabia (which intervened in Yemen for decades by bribing the tribes) be lifted from hanging over this country. One is a fear about the future while the other has been a fact for decades. It is noteworthy that the Yemen people who refuse both the Iranian influence and the Saudi intervention have started a campaign with the #Kefayawar hashtag. What they say is that Yemen had enough war because they want peace, food, water, education, health institutions and infrastructure. The al-Qaeda militants sent by the Saudis, wars with the Houthis and unending social conflict since 2011 have taken almost everything from Yemen. Now, the Saudi operation is destroying what is left, with the aim of forcing Yemen to kneel. Now, these questions should be asked: Can Turkey be a friend to Yemen by supporting a policy of destruction? Israel is the secret and happy partner of this coalition. Is the Ankara government happy being part of that? This war increases the price of oil. The oil barons are happy. What about Turkey? Playing to "Shia phobia" is the favored tactic to compete for the leadership of the Arab world. But what does Turkey actually hope to gain from this apart from hurting the fragile domestic situation of its own Sunni and Shia sects? Read the full article: Cover Your Eyes, Yemen Is Dying Worldcrunch - top stories from the world's best news sources Follow us: @worldcrunch on Twitter | Worldcrunch on Facebook
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