In Hodeidah, I “wasted” time!

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One of the most dangerous and worst mistakes that have surrounded the approach to the Yemeni issue for years is portraying the matter as merely a local Yemeni quarrel, and a problem related to Saudi Arabia, Yemen’s largest neighbor.

The approach in the Western “media” with a deviant liberal spirit, fueled by Iranian-Houthi, is that the Yemeni people, and what is meant are those ruled by the Houthis, are a weak people who want independence, and Saudi Arabia and those with it refuse that, and want to control it... Then the focus is on the humanitarian aspect; Lack of medicine, food and all aspects of life. And all of this is because of the “Arab coalition” led by Saudi Arabia, according to this Western reading flavored with the Houthi-Iranian narrative.

This climate was present when Western intervention prevented the liberation of the port of Hodeidah from the Houthi occupation years ago. About this moment, Professor Ali Al-Shihabi, a Saudi expert on American politics, wrote for years: He wrote on the American Fox News website: “The ongoing battles also reveal the extent of the mistake committed in Hodeidah in 2018. “The Yemeni forces, supported by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, advanced towards the outskirts of the city, putting the Houthis’ main port on the Red Sea under intense pressure.”

Why then did the West, especially Europe, Britain and Germany in particular, hinder the liberation of Hodeidah?! Al-Shihabi answers: “Western governments were concerned that the battles around the port would disrupt the supply of food, fuel and medicine. Despite the legitimacy of those fears, the solution that was imposed was strategically disastrous.”

There are those who believe that Western motives were not only at this level, but rather there are motives with an old colonial flavor related to achieving an old principle: the balance of power and not having one party prevail over another, and investing in managing this balance! But today, with the exposure of the role played by the Houthi tail in favor of the Iranian head, by blackmailing the world through the Bab al-Mandab Strait as is the case in the Strait of Hormuz, the conclusion that the West has ignored is: “The Houthis are not a problem that concerns only other parties.”

There is an important point that Al-Shihabi stressed in his article, which is that America’s involvement in defeating the Houthis is primarily an American interest, and this does not mean that Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government forces are incapable of this task. They are performing well these days on the ground and in the air, but “the use of American air power in a thoughtful and controlled manner would constitute a powerful factor in doubling the effectiveness of this confrontation.”

This also raises an important issue related to the Arab media’s approaches to the Yemeni issue, when the issue is portrayed as merely a Saudi “battle” with Al-Houthi, and Al-Houthi maliciously seeks, and some naively believe him, to claim that he only has a problem with Saudi Arabia, because of its support for anti-Houthi forces and parties. This was demonstrated boldly when Al-Houthi confirmed that he allowed American ships, and some Arab countries, safe maritime passage, except Saudi Arabia! But this naive or clever portrayal by some commentators ignores that Egypt's trade and security, in the short and long term, are also affected by this malicious Iranian swelling on the body of the Red Sea.

The West and some Arabs have failed Yemen and its people, as was evident in the aborted victory of Hodeidah a few years ago. The Arabs say in their proverbs: “Summer wasted milk,” and I say: In Hodeidah, you wasted time!

Quoted from "Al-Sharq Al-Awsat"