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Saudis using terror techniques in Yemen: Analyst

Smoke billows from the Faj Attan Hill following a reported airstrike by Saudi Arabia in Sana’a, April 20, 2015. (© AFP)

 

Press TV has conducted an interview with David Lindorff, an investigative journalist, in Philadelphia, to get his take on the Saudi military aggression against Yemen.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Where do you think this Saudi invasion has reached at this point? What level has it reached? They have been attacking infrastructures such as hospitals from the get-go.

Lindorff: Well, I am not sure if we can call it an invasion, as much as a bombing campaign at this point. There is not a lot of evidence that the Saudis in any serious way send large numbers of troops, although there are reports that they have put special forces in southern Yemen.

So, it is a sort of invasion but it is a big massive aerial campaign and they are using terror techniques. With reports that they are getting really questionable weapons, including fairly large cluster bomb… weapons provided by the US, which is really an outrage.

Press TV: Indeed, and on that point, when you talkabout human rights violations, which are occurring, why do you think it is that the international community is allowing this to happen essentially?

Lindorff: The international community is a joke. The international community has allowed a lot of terrible stuff to happen; so, I am not surprised that this is happening, too. The international community makes little noises and then does nothing to stop the worst atrocities. Look at the war in Iraq, the invasion of Afghanistan and all the drone campaigns that the US runs. So, nothing should surprise us about the international community.

The UN is a really ineffective operation because of the major powers - permanent members of the Security Council - being able to veto… Any one Security Council member can veto any kind of action by the Security Council and the General Assembly cannot do anything.

So, it has to be public pressure, I guess, not the international community as it were.

Press TV: Many people say even those who are pro-Saudi say the goals of these airstrikes have not yet been achieved and certainly that is kind of embarrassing, isn’t it, for the kingdom?

Lindorff: Well, yeah. Saudi Arabia is in no position to really effectively stop what is now a civil war in Yemen. It is not in any way a first-class military power, so it can create havoc, it can kill a lot of people, especially civilians, but it is not in a position to alter the outcome significantly of the civil war. That is going to have to be done in Yemen. So, it means we are in for, I think, a lot of fighting and bloodshed.

ABN/HJL


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