The Yemen issue
This is with reference to the report “Yemen govt welcomes US peace plan; Houthis reject it” (Aug. 29). I am not surprised by the Houthis’ response. The reason for their attitude is simple: They are acting at the behest of Iran, which does not want peace in the Middle East. The United States should understand that holding talks with Houthis is not going to yield any result. The main culprit is Iran and we all know that the US is not likely to take any action against Tehran. It is difficult to understand Washington’s approach. First of all, the United States should help the Saudi-led military alliance cut off Houthis’ weapons supply from Iran and its regional proxies. Then Iran should be asked to stop meddling in Yemen or risk imposition of sanctions.
Why does the West dread a nuclear program, which has been scuttled in the early stages? We do remember how the Iraqi nuclear reactor was destroyed and how Libya under Qaddafi gave up its nuclear ambitions. What makes the Iranian case so different? The western attitude toward Iran is beyond comprehension and it only lends credence to the conspiracy theories about the western aspirations of changing the balance of power in the Middle East as envisaged in the so- called Obama doctrine. It seems that the US may be trying to withdraw from the regional politics but it clearly wants to remain the largest weapons’ supplier to the Middle East. It is due to this reason that it is not making any serious efforts to distinguish the fire that is engulfing the region and Iran is helping create chaos in the Middle East, which is beneficial for the US and other weapons producers in the West.
This is not an accusation. This is my reading of the situation. However, I don’t endorse the religious aspect of the conspiracy theories. It is not about religious ideology; it is only about business. The question is: How should the Arab world deal with this situation? The answer is: They need to forge unity among their ranks and work as one body to counter all anti-Arab efforts spearheaded mainly by Iran. Arabs do have the capability to change the equation.
P. K. Jaleel