Saudis can no longer count on US, Israel in Yemen war: Activist

Press TV has conducted an interview with Joe Iosbaker, a member of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression in Chicago, to discuss Saudi Arabia’s ongoing military aggression against Yemen.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: As the negotiators in Geneva have pointed out, Saudi Arabia has used internationally banned weapons against the civilian population of Yemen. How much of that is being paid attention to right now?

Iosbaker: There is finally some attention in the US media. Just this morning, as matter of fact, I heard the first report on national public radio, in certainly over a month on the war in Yemen, the first story in which they talked about civilian casualties, and certainly the anti-war movement here, we are not shocked that the Saudis are using banned weapons, we are not shocked at all.

The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been the main backer of al-Qaeda for reference points since it was created in Iraq. Al-Qaeda acted as a partner with US death squads attacking Shia communities. In Syria, al-Qaeda, with their Saudi backers, has carried out a war that has caused over 200,000 deaths and now ISIS, which is the latest iteration of al-Qaeda, also which has Saudi backing, has been shocking world sensibilities for several years with beheadings and other gruesome acts. These men are funded by the Saudis and I think you can judge a regime by the mercenaries that they deploy.  

Press TV: Even as the United Nations hosts these talks between different Yemeni factions, there has not been an unequivocal call for the Saudi aggression to stop against Yemen. Why do you think that is so?

Iosbaker: I think that these war crimes that are being committed by King Salman and Prince Mohammed and the Riyadh regime, it is the case that the United States government does not care about the lives of Muslim peoples or really any peoples. The only time that they get upset is that if it benefits them.

But I think what is really happening here with the United States’ relationship and the West’s relationship with the Saudis is that the Saudi government is really for the first time displaying, I think, panic, because they are losing the special role that they have had with the US.

Obama is negotiating with Iran. He did not do that because he wants peace. He is doing that because the control of the world is slipping away from the US so the US, the empire lost in Iraq, they are losing in Afghanistan, they cannot score a victory in Syria and they cannot continue to back forever the butchers in Tel Aviv.

So negotiating with Tehran is real politic, but Riyadh interprets that as a threat to their special relationship. They cannot count on the US or the Israelis or al-Qaeda, so they are having to fight their newest resistance in Yemen, having to fight them on their own.

AHK/HDN

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www.presstv.co.uk