Sunday, April 8, 2018
Three Years of Saudi Heinous Crimes in Yemen
By
Yemen a miserable isolated Arab country has been devastated by an ongoing Saudi bloody war. Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia and its gulf allies (GCC) have launched a vicious military campaign against Yemen to reinstall its former government. Recently, the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to the UK has refocused attention on this silent conflict.
The collation has imposed a blockade on the port of Hodeida city, the main entry point for food and medicines and has been repeatedly accused of unlawful airstrikes on civilian targets which amount to war crimes. Obviously, the U.K., U.S. and other Western governments back, supply weapons and provides training to the GCC soldiers.
Amid the global silent and the mainstream media hypocrisy, the criminal collation systematically targets residential areas, claiming it would control arms transfer to the Houthi rebels. Saudi Arabia regards the Houthis as Iranian proxies and intervened to check their advance. These heinous massacres have prompted accusations by some Western opposition MPs and human rights groups of significant responsibility for civilian casualties. Thousands of Yemenis have been killed and the infrastructure has been thoroughly pulverized.
The GCC collation has imposed a blockade on Yemen’s air, sea and land borders in November 2017 in response to Huthis firing missiles towards Riyadh airport, closing an aid lifeline to tens of thousands of starving Yemenis. The U.K. government denies that its forces are advising the Saudis on specific targets, though they admit that, after a raid, British officers can give advice on future targeting policy.
A UN panel of experts that reviewed 10 Saudi airstrikes found Saudi denials of involvement in these specific airstrikes were implausible, and individuals responsible for planning, authorising or executing the strikes would meet the standard for the imposition of UN sanctions. The panel reported early in January, “even if the Saudi Arabia-led coalition had targeted legitimate military objectives … it is highly unlikely that the principles of international humanitarian law of proportionality and precautions in attack were respected.”
At the end of February, Russia vetoed a UK draft resolution that included a condemnation of Iran for violating the UN arms embargo in Yemen over claims that it supplied the missiles used by the Houthis that were fired towards Riyadh.The ongoing war has witnessed heinous atrocities, which emphasizes the urgent need of taking all necessary and possible steps to stop the war, bring the perpetrators to justice and ensure impunity.
Since the beginning of the military campaign, the coalition has targeted numerous facilities including schools, hospitals, airports, ports, universities, water and electric utilities, roads, bridges. Although international conventions grant full protection for civilian installations, the Saudi warplanes have systematically targeted civil facilities using several internationally forbidden weapons, during the systemic raids over densely populated areas.
Medics have voiced alarm over the raging spread of the cholera epidemic in the impoverished country, saying that one child is infected every minute. Malnourished children, who number more than two million in Yemen, are greatly susceptible. Yemeni Health Ministry says that the Saudi aerial embargo has prevented patients from travelling abroad for treatment, and the entry of medicine into the country has been blocked. Over the following three years, the war has engulfed the entire country causing unbearable suffering for civilians. Due to the relentless bombardment, many civilians have been killed or injured, and a humanitarian crisis has spiraled, while the world ignores this raging war and hears little about its devastating consequences.
Various hospitals were shut because of the bombarding, and the insufficient medical teams. Further, vaccinations of major infectious diseases have been banned, amid the growth of the indicators of child malnutrition, and the spread of epidemics. In addition, more than 95% of doctors, nurses and consultants have been killed or fled the country. The lack of medicines has caused the deaths of many with Thalassemia and Anemia who need a monthly blood transfusion. Dialysis centres have made an SOS to save the lives of more than 6 thousand patients with Renal failure by providing them with necessary medical supplies, pointing out that the number of deaths of patients with renal failure exceeded 17 deaths in every 8 months.
The blockade imposed by the coalition has left more than 12,000 people killed, 49,000 injured and around 20 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. It has also created the world’s largest food security emergency. Human Rights Watch has accused the Saudi-led coalition of committing war crimes, saying its air raids killed 39 civilians, including 26 children, in two months. Additionally, The International Committee of the Red Cross has said that the number of suspected cholera cases in war-torn Yemen has hit one million. More than eight million Yemenis are on the verge of starvation, making Yemen the scene of, what the United Nations calls, the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.The Saudi regime has launched his war to eliminate the Houthis movement and to reinstall a Riyadh-friendly regime in Yemen.
However, the collation has failed to achieve its geopolitical and ideological objectives regardless of spending billions of dollars and enlisting the cooperation of its vassal states as well as some Western countries. The world’s largest humanitarian crisis caused by Saudi prolonged military onslaught has pushed millions of Yemenis to the brink of starvation. Unfortunately, the UN has not yet taken any effective measures to halt the humanitarian tragedy for the sake of the ultimate objective that Saudi Arabia is pursuing in the country, which is eliminating the threat of the Houthis. Obviously, the Saudis have not achieved their basic goals; hence, they are seeking revenge on the innocent Yemenis through their aimless bombardment.
https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2018/03/17/three-years-of-saudi-heinous-crimes-in-yemen/
US, Saudi CEOs Sign $20B Deals in NYC as Protesters Condemn Catastrophic War on Yemen
Top corporate executives from the United States and Saudi Arabia met in New York City to sign tens of billions of dollars worth of deals. Meanwhile, protesters outside the opulent event called for an end to the joint U.S.-Saudi war on Yemen, which has fueled the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Yemeni civilians and unleashed the largest humanitarian catastrophe on Earth. More than 200 capitalists joined Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for a lavish dinner at the second annual Saudi-US CEO Forum, on Tuesday, March 27.
Officials from some of the world's most powerful corporations, including tech giant Google, military contractor Raytheon, and mega-bank JP Morgan, signed 36 agreements totaling more than $20 billion. And more deals are on their way. Saudi oil giant Aramco alone made deals worth more than $10 billion with 14 U.S. companies. The event featured top Saudi regime officials and the CEOs of Pepsi, National Geographic, and Dow Chemical. The corporate media had a significant presence as well. Panels were moderated by the editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal and prominent journalists from CNBC and Bloomberg.
While the Huffington Post has reported on Saudi Arabia's US-backed war crimes in Yemen, the news outlet's founder Arianna Huffington spoke at the Saudi-US CEO Forum. She praised Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 plan and offered advice as to how the repressive Saudi absolute monarchy can "leapfrog the industrialized world."
ARIANNA HUFFINGTON: I believe that Saudi Arabia has a great opportunity to leapfrog the industrialized world and learn from the mistakes we've made. Why all that Vision 2030 goals are being put into effect, and to see the incredible results that will generate. BEN NORTON: Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman also made an appearance, as part of his trip to New York to meet with American political and economic elites, like Bill Clinton and the CEOs of Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Morgan Stanley. The Saudi-US CEO Forum, and the Saudi embassy in the United States, trumpeted the growing alliance under Donald Trump and the draconian crown prince.
Yet, while these ultra-rich capitalists dined in luxury in Manhattan, the United States and Saudi Arabia were continuing their brutal bombing and blockade of Yemen, the poorest country in the Middle East. Protesters from Action Corps NYC, Democratic Socialists of America, and the Yemeni community stood outside the event in the cold for several hours, highlighting the devastation of the ongoing US-Saudi war on Yemen.
PROTESTER: We're very concerned about the humanitarian disaster in Yemen. We welcome you here today to bear witness to what is happening, to help our fellow New Yorkers and the business leaders of our country understand what is going on. We are in a position where we can see this incredible injustice, and we have an opportunity here tonight.
PROTESTER: We stand for justice. We stand here to say that bombing Yemen is the worst thing that ever happened in this country for decades, for 5000 years. This has been the biggest humanitarian disaster ever. We're standing up until we get results out of these criminals.
PROTESTER: Billions of dollars, billions of dollars from Obama, from Trump, from way past, have been given to the Saudis and to other people in the Middle East. Why? Because the oil, and the natural gas, the oil routes. And it's going to keep going on even worse than it has been before. We have to condemn, those of us born here, we have to condemn the U.S. and Britain and France for the bombs and the bombing of Yemen. We have to call on this government to end it, and I'm with her. We have to condemn all of the capitalists all over the world. And the working class in Yemen are our brothers and sisters. How can we watch these images of children with little legs that are this big. These guys are eating, but the people in Yemen are not eating. And the children are dying of cholera. Are you angry?
PROTESTER: Today we came here to say it exactly to the Congress, more than anyone else, we're saying to the Congress, especially Bernie Sanders, we send a clear message. We heard your voice, and we are with you to the end. Every American. Every American citizen have to push behind the Congress because this is a deal of money. Trump, he don't care. What he cares is about money. He want to take money from the Saudi Arabia. Doesn't matter who's dying. Mr. Trump on one side, Saudi Arabia on one side. That's all they care is about money. It doesn't matter how they get the money. At the expenses of blood.
PROTESTER: He's a murderer; he's a children murder. He kills thousands, thousands of innocent children, and innocent people. He bombs residents, cities.
BEN NORTON: Protesters also stressed that it is the United States that is ultimately calling the shots, and Saudi Arabia can only wage this war because it has U.S. support.
PROTESTER: The tail doesn't wag the dog. The dog is in Washington. The dog is the one who's providing the targets. They say it's precision bombs, but their precision bombs, they're deliberately bombing hospitals, all kinds of civilian sites. This is our government doing this, not we, but the government that controls this country. And the problem is feeling so small. I think we're so small because a lot of people really don't know about this war. It's in the New York Times from time to time, but you don't see it on the media. The wars are not on the media anymore. The ruling class learned from the Vietnam war to keep them off the television. The Saudi regime has helped the United States with its rotten wars in Afghanistan, Syria, against Syria, against Libya, to destroy these countries and turn them into rebels. So this is not a new thing.
This is a continuation of a collaboration that the Gulf states, they are being used. So this is not just about this guy. It's about him being a flunky for some very powerful people who run this country, who run the media, and keep this war from people. But it's our job to kind of agitate people about this so we can stop them.
Opinion: Risks of a US-China trade war
In his inaugural address a little over a year ago, Donald Trump asserted that “… protection will lead to great prosperity and strength.” The Trump Administration has subsequently moved from rhetoric to action in its avowed campaign to defend US workers from what the President calls the “carnage of terrible trade deals.” And, as indicated by a series of tariff actions announced in early 2018, China is clearly the target.
Trump has long believed that China was responsible for pressures squeezing American workers. The evidence: academic research on the so-called “China shock,” in conjunction with China’s outsize portion of a gaping US trade deficit. The 2016 campaign mantra of “Making America Great Again” became a call to action for the 45th President of the United States. China is seen as the means toward that end – as a threat to the renaissance of a once dominant US manufacturing sector.
This argument is seriously flawed. US manufacturing employment has been on a steady downtrend for 65 years — falling from 32 percent of total employment in 1953 to 8.5 percent in 2017. By the time China entered the World Trade Organization in 2001, this portion had already plummeted to 12 percent, reflecting the powerful secular forces of technological change and increasingly globalized supply chains.
In 2017, fully 47 percent of the total US merchandise trade deficit of nearly $800 billion was with China. Significantly, new data from the OECD and the World Trade Organization suggests at least 40 percent of this bilateral imbalance reflects supply chain effects of components and parts that are produced outside of China but assembled inside China. That means based on the value added actually produced in China — the essence of the alleged China threat — the 47 percent share of the US deficit would be reduced to around 28 percent.
This is still a big number. But it is far below the claims of President Trump and the official figures of the US Department of Commerce. While the international specialization of comparative advantage explains this outsize portion, that argument doesn’t matter in the political arena. Politicians, have no patience for statistical analysis — they find it much easier to blame others and point the finger at China.
But there is far more serious flaw to Washington’s fixation on the US-China bilateral trade imbalance. The United States ran merchandise trade deficits with 102 nations in 2017. This reflects America’s profound shortfall of domestic saving – a net national saving rate (depreciation-adjusted saving of businesses, households, and the government sector, combined) of just 1.8 percent in 2017, less than one-third the 6.3 percent average in the final three decades of the 20th century. Lacking in domestic saving and wanting to consume and grow, America must import surplus saving from abroad and run massive current-account and multilateral trade deficits to attract the foreign capital.
That leads to one of the great ironies of an anti-China US trade strategy: Going after China, without addressing the root cause of low saving, is like squeezing one end of a water balloon — the water sloshes to the other end. In effect, the Chinese piece of the US trade deficit would be redistributed to other, higher-cost foreign producers. That is the functional equivalent of a tax hike on the very middle class the Trump Administration is trying to protect.
Moreover, this problem looks to get worse. In the aftermath of a $1.5 trillion ten-year tax cut and follow-up actions by the US Congress to add another $300 billion to the federal deficit in order to prevent a government shutdown, pressures on domestic saving and the trade deficit will only intensify. In this context, protectionist policies will pose an increasingly serious threat to America’s already-daunting external funding requirements — putting pressure on US interest rates, the dollar’s exchange rate, or both.
While China’s response to Trump Administration tariffs has been modest to date, more meaningful retaliation can hardly be ruled out. As America’s third largest and most rapidly growing major export market, and as the biggest foreign holder of US Treasury securities, China has considerable leverage at its disposal.
Yet there are no winners in trade wars. Three initiatives should be considered to avoid such an endgame:
One, the exchange of views between the US and China is far too episodic — annual gatherings of the Strategic and Economic Dialogs, Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade, as well as periodic leader-to-leader summits. A permanent secretariat, staffed by high-level experts from both sides, would be far more effective in tackling the complexity of a challenging relationship on an ongoing basis.
Two, both nations should put a high priority on breaking the 10-year logjam in negotiations of a bilateral investment treaty. For US multinationals, access to China’s rapidly expanding domestic markets is a major growth opportunity. The same is the case for China’s “Going Out” global investment campaign.
Three, the thorny issue of technology transfer — the essence of the battle over intellectual property rights — needs to be resolved. In doing so, an important distinction needs to be made between contractual sharing of operating systems by partners in commercially-negotiated joint ventures and outright theft, coercion, and cyberhacking. In today’s knowledge-based world, there can be no higher priority.
In the 1930s, protectionist tariffs and a global trade war exacerbated the Great Depression and destabilized the international order. Sadly, one of the most painful lessons of modern history is now at risk of being ignored.
NATO vs Syria, Russia, Iran: Damascus Again Accused of What Has Yet to Be Proven
After news of the alleged chemical attack in Syria appeared on April 8, many Western countries were not only quick to slam the incident, but also to accuse Bashar Assad of being behind it, even though the OPCW hasn’t even begun an investigation into the incident. A year after the Khan Sheikhoun incident, the story seems to be repeating itself.
Hours after the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a warning about upcoming provocations with the use of chemical weapons, reports from various NGOs, such us the infamous "White Helmets," who are suspected of ties with terrorist groups, started to surface of the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria's Douma. Some NATO countries were quick to level a barrage of accusations against Damascus before any proper investigation has even been launched.
US & Co.: "Animal Assad" to Blame
US President Trump's reaction has been one of the harshest so far, calling Bashar Assad an "animal" and blaming Russia and Iran for supporting him. Moreover, he was quick to promise a "big price to pay" for the incident. White House Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Adviser Thomas Bossert may have given a hint as to this "price," saying that he wouldn't "take anything off the table" with regard to Syria. Considering the last time such ungrounded accusations were sounded from the White House, air strikes were also not taken off the table.
The UK went along with Washington's sentiment. Although they were grounded enough to suggest that a thorough investigation must be conducted first, it doesn't seem that they really need one, as the British foreign secretary noted that should the attack be confirmed, it will show the Syrian government's "brutality." The EU's stance was considerably harsher and not allowing for any options other than Syrian President Bashar Assad being behind the attack, failing to give any details as to evidence establishing that.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry's statement didn't the same level of confidence in whom to blame, although it did express a "strong suspicion" that Damascus carried out the chemical attack. Still, it urged for an official investigation to be conducted into the incident. Their French colleagues followed suit and suggested gathering the UN Security Council to investigate the matter, but at the same time were not as quick to draw conclusions as its allies were.
Nine members of the Security Council have requested a special meeting to discuss the alleged use of chemical weapons in Douma.
Damascus, Moscow, Tehran: Groundless Accusations as a Pretext for Military Intervention
Damascus met the accusations with harsh criticism, denying all the allegations, calling them an excuse "to prolong the life of terrorists in Douma." It also reminded that Syria is waging a war on terrorism, while certain countries support the terrorists. Iran backed the message from Damascus, with foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi slamming it as an excuse to use military action against the Syrian government.
Moscow is adamant in its position that a provocation involving chemical weapons has taken place in Syria's Douma perpetrated by terrorists against civilians to shift the blame on Damascus. The end goal of these actions, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, is to find an excuse for military intervention against the Syrian government. It also warned against such action, as it might lead to "severe consequences" as Russian servicemen are currently present in the country, deployed at the request of the official government.
It's April 2017 All Over Again: Khan Sheikhoun Chemical Incident
80 people were killed and 200 more injured in the Khan Sheikhoun incident on April 4, 2017, when a Sarin chemical weapon was used in Syria's Idlib province. Before an official OPCW investigation was concluded, the US unilaterally decided to conduct a missile strike on Syria's Shairat airbase on April 7, claiming it was in response to Damascus alleged use of sarin against the civilian population. The Syrian government rejected all allegations and slammed the US for the attack.
Damascus strongly slammed the attack by a country that had been bombing targets inside Syria since 2014 without either a UN mandate or the Syrian government's approval, while Moscow accused Washington of violating the Arab Republic's sovereignty and called for a thorough probe into the incident. However, since then, the UN and OPCW haven't managed to provide any solid proof as to the Syrian government's involvement in the alleged attack, while also failing to send experts directly to the base, which had been suspected of being the source of the chemical weapons. The Russian Foreign Ministry has reminded that all chemical weapons had been removed from Syria in 2014 with US assistance under the Barack Obama
‘Syria gases own people just as Trump mulls withdrawal?’ Journalists question Douma ‘chem attack’
Not everybody is buying into reports of a chemical attack by Syria’s government in Douma, with online critics saying the claims conveniently coincide with Donald Trump's plans to leave Syria and the withdrawal of Ghouta militants.
Anti-government activists, including the notorious White Helmets civil defense group, on Saturday blamed the Syrian authorities of using chemical weapons in the militant-held town of Douma in Eastern Ghouta, saying that dozens of civilians were killed and hundreds affected.
The claims have renewed calls for a Syria intervention by the West, while Damascus said they were a "fabrication" and Russia's Foreign Ministry on Sunday called them "fake news."
While a media storm immediately followed, accusing Syria's Bashar Assad of heinous crimes and predicting a new US strike against Damascus forces in response, journalists with knowledge of events on the ground in Syria wondered aloud if the claims should be treated with a grain of salt.
Independent journalist Vanessa Beeley, who visited the Syrian frontline on numerous occasions, said the chemical attack report, quickly picked up by mainstream media, was "also 100 percent lie,"pointing out that the White Helmets group had been caught producing fakes before.
The timing of the alleged chemical attack claims was questioned by journalist Caitlin Johnstone, who pointed out that reports spread "just as Trump was seeking a withdrawal from Syria and just as [Syrian President Bashar] Assad was approaching victory in Douma."
Also 100% lie - the Syrian government's "use of chemical weapons against its own people" is very much in "dispute. #Syria #Not_A_Revolution
In her article on the Medium website, Johnstone doubted the credibility of the White Helmets as a source, due to their "extremely suspicious western funding and terrorist ties", also reminding readers of the Western governments' "extensive history of using lies, propaganda and false flags to manufacture support for military aggression."
The chemical attack on his own people, certain to "provoke the wrath of the US war machine," would mean that "Assad spontaneously began acting against his own self-interest," the journalist wrote. She decried the influence of the mainstream media, which she said makes such news "easier to believe that Bashar al-Assad and Vladimir Putin are deliberately killing civilians with poisonous gas for no reason whatsoever than to believe that the same empire which deceived us into Iraq is deceiving us into Iraq's next-door neighbor Syria."
US journalist Rania Khalek said that the timing of the alleged attack was "crazy" because it has emerged when the Syrian government was in its strongest position during the whole conflict and Trump said he wanted US troops out of the country.
How incredibly convenient for all those people who lost there shit about trump calling for the US to pullout of Syria twitter.com/ryanstruyk/sta…
"Odd how every time Trump suggests he might leave Syria or back off, Assad (who would love the US out) suddenly inexplicably uses chemical weapons and screws himself. How convenient for the players who are desperate to get the US more deeply involved," freelance journalist Danielle Ryan tweeted.
Other commentators online also argued that the reports of a chemical attack were actually aimed at dragging the US deeper into the Syrian conflict.
Makes “totally sense” that Assad launches a chemical attack days after Trump says he wants to leave Syria thus forcing Trump to be there longer... Right? The attack is obviously from interests who want the US to in Syria where it weakens Assad. How stupid can u be not to see it?
Some pointed out that Russia and Syria have recently warned the international community of possible false flag chemical attacks in the wake of the Syrian Army gains.
Just like the Russian & Syrian UN reps have been warning for the past month, another #ChemicalAttack in #Syria occurs days after Trump says he wants to get out. How convenient for the #DeepState @RandPaul @RepThomasMassie @realDonaldTrump @DanScavino #falseflag #HandsOffSyria twitter.com/VanessaBeeley/…
American journalist and writer Mike Cernovich pointed out that President Assad had absolutely no motivation to use chemical weapons against his own people. "It makes total sense for Assad to gas children right as Trump announces a troop withdrawal. It's the only sane, rational decision to make," he tweeted, sarcastically.
At the same time, Cernovich believes that the escalation of the Syrian conflict and prolonged US stay in the country may even reconcile the Republicans and Democrats.
"War is good for the ruling party facing mid-term elections, which is one reason the war mongering Democrats might not support Trump's leading a ground war in Syria. But their blood lust is strong, and may overcome their desire to sweep the House," he wrote.
Following the chemical attack reports, US President Donald Trump, who said on Tuesday that he wanted to "get out" of Syria, called Assad an "Animal," adding that "President Putin, Russia and Iran" were responsible, as backers of the Syrian authorities.
Syrian state media, meanwhile, reported on Sunday that Jaysh al-Islam militants, who were holed up in Douma, have agreed a deal with the Syrian government, according to which they will be allowed to leave the town in exchange for releasing the prisoners they were holding.
On April 4, 2017, a major chemical attack was similarly reported in Syria, just several days after then US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, and UN envoy, Nikki Haley, said that "getting Assad out" was no longer Washington's priority. Back then, the White Helmets and other activist groups claimed that up to 100 civilians in the town of Khan Shaykhun in the Idlib Governorate were killed by sarin gas, released in an airstrike by Syrian government forces. The US immediately rushed to blame Damascus for the attack and fired 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Shayrat Airbase, claiming it was the very compound from which jets, allegedly armed with the chemical, took off.
Syria, which was confirmed to have destroyed its sarin stockpiles under a deal brokered between Russia and the US in 2013, has denied the accusations. Russia also pointed out that thorough, impartial investigation of the incident never took place, with OPCW experts refusing to visit Khan Shaykhun. Moscow also argued that the whole attack could have been staged.
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