Reining in Saudi aggression

From the Chicago Tribune: Saudi Arabia has been using starvation to squeeze Yemen. The Saudi regime stepped up its air, land and sea siege of the war-ravaged Middle East nation in the last two weeks. The global reaction has been harsh. And last Wednesday brought news that the Saudis, who aspire to a greater role in geopolitics, just might be getting the message: Stop punishing Yemeni civilians.

The Saudi regime said it would reopen Yemen’s international airport in the capital, Sanaa, as well as a primary Red Sea port, so that humanitarian aid could flow into the war-wracked nation.

That’s a step in the right direction, though we hope it amounts to a genuine — and not temporary — reprieve for a population struggling to survive.

International relief groups say up to seven million Yemenis are on the brink of famine. Cholera has stricken at least 900,000 people. More than a quarter of those victims are children under five. Nearly 400,000 Yemeni children need treatment for severe malnutrition — treatment they haven’t been getting because of the blockade, according to Save the Children, an international relief group.

That created desperation in a country heavily dependent on imports of food, medicine and fuel. The Saudis had been allowing a trickle of relief through the port of Aden, but UN aid groups say it hasn’t been nearly enough.

That blockade was significantly tightened after the firing of a missile from Yemen toward the Saudi capital, Riyadh, earlier this month. Saudi forces intercepted the missile and blamed Iran for supplying the Houthis with the weapon, though they have yet to muster conclusive evidence. Yet the Saudi blockade has done little more than isolate starving Yemeni civilians, millions of whom are children.

Western leaders should keep this in mind: Alliances, regardless of their importance or usefulness, should never require turning a blind eye to outright cruelty.