Saudi war on Yemen to yield no result: Analyst

Press TV has conducted an interview with James Jatras, a former US Senate foreign policy analyst based in Washington, to discuss the outcomes of the first phase of Saudi military aggression against Yemen.

The following is a rough translation of the interview.

Press TV: Despite this report that is coming out, let us not forget that these airstrikes are still continuing on Yemen by Saudi Arabia. When you look at the civilian casualties, the death toll, the infrastructure damage, what has Saudi Arabia achieved?

Jatras: Nothing very good. I think this was all unfortunately quite predictable. A couple of days ago the Saudis declared that the operation was ending, that they had achieved their objectives. It turns out that they hadn’t achieved much of anything except killing a bunch of Yemenis; destroying infrastructure as you say; also strengthening al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. I think if there is any real fallout actually in this country is that more and more people are beginning to look at our relationship with Saudi Arabia, the kind of money they are throwing for example at Hillary Clinton’s foundation, that we were following the Saudi lead in Syria and Libya, and they also are turning into disasters. I think more people are asking with friends like the Saudis, who needs Yemenis.

Press TV: Right, now looking at also Oxfam, whose report just came out blasting the Saudi attack on its warehouse where it kept humanitarian aid for the people of Yemen, saying that the Saudis were aware of this warehouse and its location and yet it was targeted, and let’s not forget it is US that is guiding these airstrikes and providing the targets for the Saudis to bomb anyway, why isn't there more uproar over this because it is of course in direct violation of the laws of war.

Jatras: well when we say uproar, let us keep in mind that most of the western media is very little more than bulletin boards for their respective governments that the critical media examining government policy is almost non-existent in the United States and the European countries today. They just take the bulletins issued by the White House, state department, and the Pentagon and then repeat them as news. So when, if you have an ally that is behaving in a certain way, well then anything that happens must have been mistaken. Was it really important they had it, they deserved it anyway. Whereas if it’s a country the United States doesn’t like, then these are dastardly terrorists and they need to be called to account before the international criminal court and so forth, it’s just the polarization of the news really.

Press TV:  All right, doesn’t this remind you of the rhetoric that was used against Gaza when Israel was attacking it?

Jatras: In some respects it does. And again it is part of whose side are you on, and the specifics of what is being done or not being done are really a secondary question. Facts do not matter, relationships matter.

MTM/MKA

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