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World News See other World News Articles Title: As Saudi Influence Wanes, UAE Builds Its Regional Value as Tool of US Imperialism Where Riyadh’s imperial ambitions are haphazard, Abu Dhabi’s are smooth and calculated. While Saudi Arabia has spent billions murdering civilians, the UAE has built military bases, forged imperial alliances, and secured its grip on regional hegemony both politically and militarily aligning itself as the next major US ally as a tool of imperialism. ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (Analysis) — Since the beginning of the war against Yemen in March of 2015, Saudi Arabia has received most of the negative press for its war crimes — and rightfully so. Saudi airstrikes have targeted homes, schools, hospitals, markets, and other vital civilian infrastructure, resulting in over 13,000 civilian deaths. Saudi Arabia’s land, sea and air blockade has put nearly 8 million Yemenis on the brink of famine, while triggering devastating cholera and diphtheria outbreaks. Although this humanitarian disaster is widely known as the “Saudi-led” war, another rising regional power sits in the shadows. What is rarely covered by the media is the United Arab Emirates’ involvement in Yemen, but its influence and military might are an equally evil force to be reckoned with. There is indeed a proxy war taking place in Yemen, but it isn’t between Iran and Saudi Arabia as the media would like the public to believe. Throughout Yemen’s southern provinces and beyond, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are battling for political control of the country and crucial Yemeni waterways — and the UAE appears to be winning. While Saudi Arabia has spent billions — $200 million per day — on weapons, murdering civilians and completely failing in its objectives in taking control over Yemen, the UAE has built military bases, forged imperial alliances, and secured its grip on regional hegemony both politically and militarily in the same country. As a result, the UAE has made itself into an ideal tool for long-term U.S. imperialism. UAE occupation of southern Yemen While Riyadh wages its air war, Abu Dhabi has flooded southern Yemen with troops. The Emiratis stationed troops on the Yemeni-controlled island of Socotra — a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which they use for training purposes — in November of 2015. With current UAE assistance (and previous decades of assistance from late Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh), the United States has secured a naval base on the island as well. This strategic island sits about 300 miles from Yemen’s southern coastline and provides an ideal location for monitoring the Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea. These waterways link Asia to Europe through the Suez canal and their importance cannot be overstated. When additional U.S. troops entered Yemen for a so-called offensive against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in July, it was Emirati, not Saudi, forces that greeted them at the airport and assisted in the operation — an operation that ended with a U.S. and UAE joint occupation of oil fields in Yemen’s Shabwah province. Although the additional troops entered Yemen under the guise of fighting AQAP, it is far more likely that Washington was attempting to secure its military dominance in the war-torn nation. The United States asserts that its activity in Yemen remains restricted to fighting AQAP and assisting Saudi-coalition forces, but it isn’t unheard of for special forces to aid Saudi-backed troops on the front lines against Ansarullah (aka “The Houthis”) or other non-AQAP actors. Ansarullah and their local allies makeup Yemen’s grassroots political and military resistance against Saudi aggression and American imperialism. In May, Yemeni media reported that about 30 American and Gulf troops were killed or injured by tribal fighters on the ground in Marib province. Western media, on the other hand, stuck to their story that the fighters who attacked the invading US troops were AQAP militants. As The Hill reported: “Multiple U.S. troops were injured in a firefight during a raid on a compound associated with al Qaeda in Yemen, according to a Pentagon spokesman.” Reuters began its story by stating, “Seven militants were killed during an intelligence-gathering raid by U.S. Special Forces troops against an al-Qaeda compound in Yemen on Tuesday morning.” However the article later states “They [local sources in Marib] said that five members of their al-Moradi clan, a main tribe in Marib, had died in the operation and six others were wounded, adding that they were all civilians.” U.S. airstrikes have also targeted Ansarullah positions in the past. In October, Yemeni forces in Sana’a shot down a Reaper drone conducting reconnaissance. It’s unclear whether or not U.S. forces were actively engaged in operations along Yemen’s western coast against Ansarullah. However, it remains likely that American troops are far more involved in this war than Washington and the Western press lead the public to believe. Emirati security forces control the city of Aden, where the coalition has set up its improvised capital. This capital, however, is without a defined leader. The so-called internationally recognized president, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, currently lives in Riyadh as a consequence of his failure to garner public support. If that weren’t enough, the Emiratis have now reportedly banned Hadi from even entering Aden. In fact, Abu Dhabi has done just about everything possible to remove Saudi influence from southern Yemen altogether. Earlier this year, Yemeni politicians with long-term ties to the UAE formed the Southern Transitional Council behind Riyadh’s back to govern the south on their own terms. The UAE also fully supports south Yemen’s separatist movement, which directly conflicts with Saudi interests in Yemen. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
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