Thinking Citizen Blog — What is Happening in Yemen? What Should US Policy Be?

Thinking Citizen Blog — Monday is Foreign Policy Day

Today’s Topic: What is happening in Yemen? What should US policy be?

Which is the greater threat to peace in the Middle East — Saudi Arabia or Iran? If Iran, why did the Biden administration just cut off aid to Saudi Arabia in its proxy war with Iran in Yemen? How is this decision related to US sanctions against Iran and Iranian violations of the 2015 nuclear deal? How severe is the humanitarian crisis in Yemen? Experts — please chime in. Correct, elaborate, elucidate.

BACKGROUND: 2014 Iranian-backed Houthis oust the government in Sanaa

1. The Houthis now control 80% of the population in Yemen.

2. If Yemen falls to the Iranians, Saudi Arabia will have Iranian-backed states to the east, the north, and the south.

3. Yemen is on one side of the strategically vital Bar-el-Mandeb strait at the bottom of the Red Sea. Mecca is relatively nearby.

NB: Memories of the 1990 invasion of Kuwait are fresh in the minds, hearts, and souls of the Saudis and Emiratis. And the Iranian threat is getting greater every day with their technological advances in drones and precision guided missiles.

THE HUMANITARIAN CRISIS — how bad? what is to be done?

1. The Biden administration decision to no longer designate the Houthis as a “terrorist organization” was designed to facilitate the sending of humanitarian relief to Yemeni civilians.

2. “We want to make sure that we are not doing anything to make life worse or even more miserable for the long-suffering people of Yemen,” (Ned Price, State Department spokesman).

3. Is Yemen “in imminent danger of the worst famine the world has seen for decades”? (Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General)?

IRAN VERSUS US: who will blink first?

1. US: we will not lift sanctions until you stop violating the 2015 nuclear deal.

2. Iran: we will not stop violating the 2015 nuclear deal until you lift sanctions.

3. Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, has declared the US to be the “the number one enemy of our nation” and has called for the annihilation of Israel, the “ally of the Great Satan.”

Biden Reverses Trump Terrorist Designation for Houthis in Yemen

Opinion | Biden’s Yemen Gamble

Opinion | In the Mideast, Biden Returns to Abnormal

Biden Ends Military Aid for Saudi War in Yemen. Ending the War Is Harder.

Opinion | Dear Joe, It’s Not About Iran’s Nukes Anymore

Here is a link to the last three years of posts organized by theme:

PDF with headlines — Google Drive

YOUR TURN

Please share the coolest or most important thing you learned in the last week, month, or year related to foreign policy. Or, even better, the coolest or most important thing you learned in our liferelated to foreign policy.

This is your chance to make someone else’s day. And to consolidate in your memory something important you might otherwise forget. Or to think more deeply than otherwise about something dear to your heart. Continuity is the key to depth of thought. The prospect of imminent publication, like hanging and final exams, concentrates the mind. A useful life long habit.