US, Saudi Arabia want escalation of war on Yemen: Analyst

Press TV has conducted an interview with Mark Weber, director of the Institute for Historical Review from California, to get his take on retaliatory attacks by the Yemeni people against Saudi aggressors.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Recently we did have reports of these retaliatory attacks also targeting a Saudi missile base deep within the Riyadh province. What do you make of it? How do you interpret it because up until now we’ve seen attacks basically focusing around the border region?  

Weber: Well, these attacks on Saudi territories by Ansarullah fighters, who by the way are routinely just called Houthis in US media, is a new and further expansion of the war on Yemen and represents an escalation of the fighting, which as you mentioned, has been largely confined in Yemen on the border area into a regional conflict. It’s likely that this new escalation will provoke forceful military countermeasures by Saudi Arabia and even perhaps by the United States thereby further expanding this into a regional conflict.

Press TV: So, you would say that Saudi Arabia’s retaliation to this recent attack will basically be more bombardment and more aggression.

Weber: Yes, it’s unlikely that Saudi Arabia will reconsider its basic policy and its basic strategy, because it’s so tied to the United States militarily, and economically and politically. So, it’s very most likely simply to step up what it’s already doing, and with the United States aid to carry out further attacks.  

Press TV: Mr. Weber, there were many, who did say that looking at the facts on the ground as far as Yemen is concerned, Saudi Arabia hasn’t been able to achieve anything other than death and destruction and it is looking for an exit policy. Wouldn’t more attacks from Yemeni territory give it that pretext to come to the negotiating table?

Weber: There’s going to be a lot of pressure within Saudi Arabia and also within the United Sates to retaliate by escalating the conflict. Now, of course, that would represent a very tragic expansion of this entire thing. But that’s sort of in the illogic of it, because the more that fighters in Yemen are able to bring the war to Saudi Arabia, the more it would be seized upon especially by politicians and media here in the United States, who are already very pro-Israel and anti-Iran and pro-Saudi Arabia government of course to expand this by escalating the conflict with further drone attacks and air attacks by Saudi Arabia and perhaps by the United States in Yemen.

ABN/GHN

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