Subtitle: A Second Analysis
Remade due to losing the document that contained one of my analysis posts at some point and not noticing
Yemen is currently enduring a hellish civil war, heavily affected by foreign intervention, influenced by the significant economic and military powers of the region. The current conflict is primarily between the Houthi government – a Shi’ite insurrectionary group commonly understood to be backed indirectly by the Iranian government as a way to wrest control of the Red Sea from Saudi-friendly governments – and the Hadi government – the Sunni state backed by Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States. This civil war has enjoyed significant attention from foreign powers, but almost exclusively from a geopolitical perspective, rather than a humanitarian one. Aden, the Red Sea access point that Yemen overlooks, is an incredibly important trade route, through which vast amounts of resources flow through. A state controlling this critical point will have a very large say in how international trade flows, and could become very wealthy as a result.
From a humanitarian perspective, however, the civil war has taken an immense toll. Thousands die of starvation as Saudi, American, Emirati, and Houthi missiles fly through the skies. And given the Yemeni war’s relative lack of coverage in the press, many remain unaware of the reality on the ground: starvation, poverty, death. Particularly on the frontlines, in cities such as al-Hudaydah, where civilian casualties are a regular occurrence. Many international aid groups have called for an end to foreign intervention in the war for this very reason, such as the UN’s recent call in the international news forum.
But will this war end? The answer is no. While the Yemeni government is in turmoil, it provides a location for the Saudis and Iranians to fight in a drawn-out proxy war, it keeps Aden open, and it provides a convenient place to sell weapons for the military-industrial complex of the Western powers. European powers and the US have profited massively from this civil war, providing Saudi Arabia with arms deal after arms deal, even as the people of Yemen starve beneath those missiles and guns. Though all sides posture as though they seek peace, as with Mattis’s recent proposal for December peace talks, the war will never end because it’s simply too beneficial to those who have the power to end it.