Airstrikes Take Toll on Civilians in Yemen War
Of the many perils Yemen’s civilians have faced during the last six months of war, with starvation looming and their cities crumbling under heavy weapons, none have been as deadly as the coalition airstrikes. What began as a Saudi-led aerial campaign against the Houthis, the rebel militia movement that forced Yemen’s government from power, has become so broad and vicious that critics accuse the coalition of collectively punishing people living in areas under Houthi control.
Errant coalition strikes have ripped through markets, apartment buildings and refugee camps. Other bombs have fallen so far from any military target — like the one that destroyed Mr. Razoom’s factory — that human rights groups say such airstrikes amount to war crimes. More than a thousand civilians are believed to have died in the strikes, the toll rising steadily with little international notice or outrage.
Rather than turning more Yemenis against the Houthis, though, the strikes are crystallizing anger in parts of the country against Saudi Arabia and its partners, including the United States. The Obama administration has provided military intelligence and logistical assistance to the coalition, and American weapons have been widely used in the air campaign. Human Rights Watch has found American-manufactured cluster munitions in the fields of Yemeni farmers. Near the site of airstrikes that killed 11 people in a mosque, researchers with Amnesty International saw an unexploded, 1,000-pound American bomb. The United States is finalizing a deal to provide more weapons to Saudi Arabia, including missiles for its F-15 fighter jets.
In parts of northern Yemen, which is populated largely by Shiite Muslims, residents told reporters making a rare visit to the area that the bombing campaign by the Sunni coalition often feels like a sectarian purge. Airstrikes nearest the border with Saudi Arabia have been so intense that people have taken shelter in mountain caves or been forced farther south, often on foot, where they set up flimsy camps on the side of the road.
The New York Times
This air campaign is completely ineffective and should be halted to pursue peace negotiations. The target of American diplomacy should be to end the conflict not inflame it. The Gulf States will not bomb Yemen into pacification contrary their belief, the situation will become less controlled. I think it is clear American support is linked to our diplomatic relationship with the Gulf States in terms of both Iranian influence and terrorism. If the Iran nuclear deal goes through there's room for negotiation, otherwise their is no apparent peace plan on any side other than years of war. The Houthis unlike ISIS have popular support, they will fight hard.
No end in sight!
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I honestly don't see any candidate really providing a clear vision for what they plan to do in Yemen much less the Arab world more comprehensively. Out of sight, out of mind.
I was trying to get more of a sense of what Bernie Sanders thought of all of this the other day, his position on Syria seems to be that the Saudis should go fight ISIS. Well this is what a Saudi military campaign looks like, and it's not so pin-point.
Say what you will about Obama, but the Arab Spring and it's fallout has been a big curveball and at least he hasn't done anything stupid. He resisted the pressure to bomb the Assad regime, which is horrible but is also a check against ISIS from taking Damascus or Aleppo fully. Instead he pursued diplomacy and for all the horror of barrel bombs, at least there haven't been more chemical weapons attacks. The goal should be to stabilize these conflicts at this point rather than pursue routes that lead to total war.
You gotta love the New York Times, shades of Indochina. 