US seeks to walk away from Yemen war to save face: Analyst

Press TV has conducted an interview with Ali al-Ahmed, director of the IGA in Washington, about a Human Rights Watch report accusing the United States of complicity in Saudi Arabia's ongoing military aggression against Yemen.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Well the Human Rights Watch is accusing Washington of being complicit in Saudi crimes against Yemen. How much is United States responsible for what is taking place in Yemen by the Saudis?

Ahmed: Well it is very clear that the United States has been part of this campaign. We know for sure and for certain that American officers are in the command and control positions and centers of this campaign not only in one place but in [other] places. They are providing guidance and target information. Also American drones and satellites are also providing information for targeting purposes.

So the United States also is helping with the rescue and with fueling and other missions, support missions, logistical missions and providing as well the arms and American contractors are servicing these planes and reloading them with cluster bombs and so on. So the United States is a partner in this war. Maybe it does not want to appear this way but the facts are facts. This is not disputable fact that the United States is part of this and whatever legal proceedings in this war should include the United States.

Press TV: Why would the United States be involved in this situation against Yemen? What does Washington gain by what we have been seeing as enough several thousand Yemeni people being killed by air bombardments by the Saudis? So what does Washington have to gain?

Ahmed: This is really an expression of how the American policy making process is falling apart. There was no need for the United States to get involved in this war. There was nothing. Nobody was holding the gun to the American head to force them to be part of this war.

What the United States had is the wrong information and this is nothing new. The United States again gathering information based on very broken system in terms of estimating for example the influence of the Ansarullah movement and their support on the ground. They had the support of Ansarullah at 9 percent in Yemen and that is one of the reasons that they got involved in this war because they thought this war was an easy war. The Saudis have assured them of that, the CIA analysts also said you are talking only about 9 percent of the population while I guess they were wrong, we found out a hundred days gone.  

So the United States is coming I think to its senses regarding in this war. I think the United States is now trying to walk away from this war and save its face and maybe protect itself from a possible legal proceeding.

AHK/KA

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