Saudi aggression of Yemen similar to Israel war on Gaza: Analyst

Press TV has conducted an interview with Daniel Patrick Welch, a political commentator, from Boston, to discuss the ongoing Saudi military aggression against Yemen.

What follows is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: We look at this situation that is taking place in Yemen and we see the exacerbation of hostilities and continued bombardment on the civilian population. What do you think is going to take to actually get more of attention from the so-called international community and also an intervention in order to stop the continued carnage?

Welch: I think it would take moving from Bizarro World back onto this planet, honestly. There is nothing that will convince--because the international community, as you say it like that, the supposed or alleged, in quotation marks, consists of the US Empire, its Brit lackeys, and its vassal states throughout Western Europe, and the [Persian] Gulf monarchies that it can buy and keep loyal. You point out exactly the double-standard in media coverage between this war and ones that the West wants to focus on. But it follows a very similar pattern: you know, you want to steal newly discovered oil resources in Yemen, so the empire teams up with its usual suspects, funds and arms and trains this illegal and horrific war, aims at civilians, blockades the country, so that you can terrorize the population, and hopes for the best. And guess what; it's not going that well, is it?

Press TV: What is the best method to move forward, although we have seen actually Ansarullah fighters along with the Yemeni military being a lot more successful than we are sure the Saudis ever anticipated? However, The Saudis continue with their bombardment from the air and also we saw Emirati troops, Bahraini troops involved in trying to crush the Yemeni people. What would you say if you were someone actually telling some of the Yemeni activists on the ground "What is the best method?" What should they do in order to try to stop the Saudis from attacking their land?

Welch: I mean I hesitate, I hope I have at least some humility left that I will not kind of dictate to the people who are living through this hell on the ground as to what they should do. And I think that all of us on our end should continue to shout from the rooftops even though the Western media won't pick it up. We have good resources like Press TV, RT, and AEETV so that we can get the word out. It's true--I mean I was smug a little bit about it, but the international community in general has to take notice. It is atrocious what is going on. And I also see that the invasion, the ground invasion, inviting Bahrain and the other Arab countries--is a sign of escalation, but also, I'm hoping, a sign of a bit of desperation.

Remember, you know, the Saudis have an army of 225,000 troops or whatever, and Yemen has a population of 25 million. It is virtually impossible to think that they could win this. But they can destroy a very ancient culture, and they can create a lot of havoc and misery on the ground by bombing people who do not really have an air force. It is a sickening and repeating pattern that we see, these wars of conquest and wars of empire repeated over, and over and over. It is sad.

Press TV: Do you see any similarities between what we are looking on the ground in Yemen and Gaza, and the continued wars that we have seen inflicted on the people of Gaza as far as again the so-called international community’s reaction, media reaction and also basically what is happening on the ground?

Welch: Right. Yes, I was thinking specifically of that when I mentioned the barricade. You pen them in and shoot them from the air, like fish in a barrel. It is really disgusting. You also have the same players: the US and Israel are supplying and maintaining a lot of the military hardware that's being used in both campaigns. But I would go beyond Gaza and point out these wars all throughout the Middle East and North Africa, and actually all throughout the world, against the peoples and the governments of the Global South. In Syria, in Iraq, Afghanistan, in Venezuela, the longstanding war against Cuba, in Ukraine, the coup that was fomented by the West. This is a huge global, full frontal attack on any resistance that dares to raise its head against the empire and do something other than what the empire wants, which is to give up all its resources and just be slaves to international capital.

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