Heretofore the editors of the Washington Post have never met a war they didn’t like. Consequently, while I welcome their more tempered reaction to an offer by Yemeni Houthi rebels:
The Houthis have told diplomats and a U.N. mediator that they are willing to settle the war for a share of power in Yemen’s central government, and would break their alliance with Iran, which has supplied them with rockets they have fired at Saudi targets, among other weapons. But while U.N.-sponsored peace talks started in Oslo, the Saudis have been recalcitrant: They say they won’t go forward until a stalled cease-fire in Hodeida is fully implemented.
The latest Houthi offer is conditioned on Saudi steps to de-escalate the war, including an end to bombing and the reopening of the international airport in Sanaa. Those are reasonable requests that would put an end to the mass killing of civilians in airstrikes and help ease the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Yet Monday brought another Saudi air raid that struck a mosque and reportedly killed at least seven people, including two children.
leaves me mystified. What difference would it make? The Saudis started this war and they have shown no signs of the past to take the lead from the United States. Quite the opposite if anything. If we wanted to de-escalate the conflict between the Saudis and the Yemenis the most obvious step we could take is to stop supporting the Saudis, stop furnishing arms and assistance to them.
And what difference would it make to the Iranians? If it was, indeed, the Iranians who attack Saudi oil facilities, why would they pay any attention to American attempts to de-escalate the conflict while continuing to support the Saudis?
My only guess is that this is what the editors mean by the “American leadership”, the lack of which they and their columnists complain about so frequently. The United States does something. The rest of the countries in the conflict ignore it and continue on as before. That is American leadership.
The Saudis started the war? The conflict’s been going on since 2004. The Saudis didn’t start seriously intervening for another five years (despite attacks on Saudi borders in 2006). And only then because Iran has been supporting the mostly Shia Houthis in what is now a proxy war to control the Arabian Peninsula. Take out SA, and the emirates will fall in line, or else.
There are no good guys in this war. Only bad guys we support and bad guys supported by people who want us dead. I would rather stick with the former; at least you’ve got a shot at altering their behavior (not that we’ve tried to much).
I know of no evidence that the Iranians started supporting the Houthis until after the Saudis started bombing. There have been lots of claims but not much evidence other than the something along the lines of “everybody knows all of those Shi’ites are in cahoots”.
“supported by people who want us dead.”
Judging by actions, not rhetoric, wouldn’t that be KSA? That is where most of the terrorists who come here to kill us come from, or at least get training.
Steve