Months of deals intended to see combat forces withdraw from Yemen’s
vital aid city of Hodeidah haven’t accomplished much. The UN was upbeat
on the deal Monday, saying that a new deal was reached between pro-Saudi forces and the Houthis.
The new deal still has no specific timeline, but UN officials say that
it included a detailed plan for troop movements going forward on both
sides. Neither side is willing to unilaterally pull back, given how
often each side has dishonored a deal. The deal, then, hinges on a
series of very small moves on each side.
The plan was meant to have been worked out in December, but some
specifics were never sorted out. The terms of the deal, for instance,
made it unclear if the withdrawal of Houthi fighters from Hodeidah meant
the ports and grain mills would be ceded. The Houthis said these sites
would have local management, which meant their management, even if they
didn’t have their militias in the area.
There is more optimism about the plan after this latest deal, though the
UN is still not providing a lot of specifics about what was actually
agreed to. Recent fighting near the mills has prevented UN access to the
site for fumigation, raising concern about the state of the food there.
The “details” missing consists of US and Uk interpreting the agreement immediatelly the way they wanted the situstikn to evolve. Naturally, was not going to happen. In short, Sweden Agreement was to relresent the “optics” for US interpreting the agreement as Houthis turning things over to UN. Translate US. Neither Houthus nor Hadi (Saudis) want that,
So now, they have reached their own plan that will move in inches, but will probably result in the two of them retaining control. UN wellcome, but not in charge.
The charade of UN efforts ought to sicken us — there are llenty of countries in the world that eould gladly bring fresh supplies, daily. If anything needed. But no — OUR blickade of the Hodeidah port is designed to keep starvation going, until Houthis surrender to UN, that is US. And cut out Hadi — translate Saudis.
It is just a auestion of time before we and Saudis bare the intentions, but for now we are frenemies.
Still not getting that Saudis are no longer interested in attacking Iran? I love Middle Eastern redefinitions of problems. The latest one — Saudis want to “counter” Iran by acquiring nuclear technology and buildjng NPP. And — should Iran acquire nuclear bomb, Saudis will too. So, ideology and sectarian narrative has all but disappeared. No matter what US does to declare Iran the cause of terrorism, it is not gaining traction. Israel is focusing on Iran nuclear capability — so will Saudis. Mirror image.
But the idea of Saudis — our most beloved anti-Iranian tool getting nuclear technology —NPP to be precise — will be stopped in its tracks in US. That is DEFINITELY what Israel does not want! Since US is not even in the running to provide NPP, it will not be too hard for Saudis to find other suppliers. They in fact need it for desalinization.