Tuesday, April 21, 2015

STOP THE US BACKED WAR AGAINST YEMEN!

 
US Responds to Escalation of Conflict in Yemen Nikolai BOBKIN | 22.04.2015 | 00:00
 The US expands its involvement into the events in Yemen. It was reported that a U.S. aircraft carrier was dispatched to the waters off Yemen on April 20 to join other American ships prepared to block any Iranian weapons shipments to Shiite Houthi rebels fighting in the country. The USS Theodore Roosevelt – along with her escort ship, the USS Normandy, a guided-missile cruiser – left the Persian Gulf on April 19 route for the Arabian Sea, to help enforce the blockade. The ships will join the naval force including seven warships and three auxiliary vessels deployed in the Arabian Sea, the Aden Gulf and Bab-el-Mandeb Strait. Formally the mission is to ensure the vital shipping lanes in the region remain open and safe. The statement of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs emphasizes that the United States remains committed to its regional partners and to maintaining security in the maritime environment. The real purpose of naval blockade is to deny Iranian ships access to Yemeni ports and deprive the insurgent Houthis of aid coming from Iran.   Saudi Arabia is not up to the task. Once again Americans side with the enemies of Iran. Riyadh feels pretty comfortable under the US umbrella. The development of events may aggravate the situation. The White House has taken another hasty step on the way of rendering its support to Saudi Arabia in its confrontation with Iran. Somehow the US administration is sure that the regional tensions exacerbated as a result of the conflict in Yemen don’t threaten the nuclear deal with Iran. Tehran thinks differently. It is time for the US and its allies to choose between cooperation and confrontation, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in reference to current nuclear negotiations with the West in a April 20 New York Times op-ed he wrote. «We agreed on parameters to remove any doubt about the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program,» Zarif wrote, claiming that the Iranian people had done their part to facilitate an agreement, and now the onus is on the US and its allies to follow suit. «It is time for the United States and its Western allies to make the choice between cooperation and confrontation, between negotiations and grandstanding, and between agreement and coercion,» he said. After the air campaign against Yemen was launched, the intensity of air strikes against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria is visibly on the wane. With the USS Theodore Roosevelt battle group leaving its position, the Pentagon actually stopped fighting the Islamic State militants in favor of joining the operation against the Houthis. The battle group was the main strike force in the anti-Islamic State operation. The White House hopes the tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran will escalate. In Iraq Riyadh adopted the policy of inciting political groups, tribes and clans to violence against each other to make the country plunge in the quagmire of chaos and unrest after the US forces were gone. President Obama says the United States has «renewed our alliances from Europe to Asia». There is no ground to believe it is relevant in case of the Middle East. As before, the United States relies on military alliances with Israel and Saudi Arabia. Nothing makes believe that the progress achieved at the nuclear talks with Iran will lead to reduction of tensions when it comes to other regional problems. There is no normalization of US-Iran relationship in sight. In Yemen the US administration supports the military operation against the Shiites who control the larger part of the country and fight the terrorists of Al Qaeda. True, the United States abstains from having boots on the ground like it did at the start of the century. But the strategy remains the same. Now Washington prefers to let others do the dirty work. The prospect for an overwhelming nuclear deal with Iran is still a purely hypothetical one. New forms of regional cooperation should be created to make the agreement a turning point in the process of bringing peace and security to the Middle East. Americans believe they could make Tehran forget its national interests. The West is reluctant to lift sanctions because in this case it would lose leverage over Tehran. All Iran’s proposals and initiatives on regional security are refused without any serious consideration. On April 14, the United Nations Security Council imposed an arms embargo against the Houthi rebels in Yemen and blacklisted the son of Yemen’s former president and a Houthi leader. The resolution urges the Houthis, who are based in northwestern Yemen, to give up the areas they have seized as well as their weapons, including «missile systems». Arab states said the resolution was a diplomatic victory. The document makes possible to increase pressure on the Houthis. Russia is not satisfied with the resolution. According to Russian deputy foreign minister Gennady Gatilov, the resolution was somewhat one-sided with too much focus on condemning the Houthis. Moscow said the resolution was not fully in line with what was required by the crisis in Yemen. The text failed to take into account proposals his country had made and to call on all sides to halt fire, did not provide for due reflection on consequences and lacked clarity on a humanitarian pause. There were also inappropriate references to sanctions. By and large, this position was echoed by Iran. The Iranian government sent a letter to the UN Secretary General with proposals on managing the Yemeni crisis. Iran’s foreign minister on April 17 submitted a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon outlining a four-point peace plan for Yemen. The plan, which Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif announced earlier this month, calls for an immediate ceasefire and end of all foreign military attacks, humanitarian assistance, a resumption of broad national dialogue and «establishment of an inclusive national unity government.» «It is imperative for the international community to get more effectively involved in ending the senseless aerial attacks and establishing a ceasefire, ensuring delivery of humanitarian and medical assistance to the people of Yemen and restoring peace and stability to this country through dialogue and national reconciliation without pre-conditions», said Zarif’s letter. No way should Yemen become a springboard used by Saudi Arabia for attacking Iran. If Americans had paid at least some attention to the Iranian plan on peaceful settlement in Yemen, they would not have to deal with the situation created by their excessively aggressive Arab partners. America should look into the future, not the past. The United States has done more bad than good for the Middle East. President Obama likes to say that when he came to power there were over 180 thousand US servicemen in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now the number is less than 15 thousand. It would be more important to stress that the both countries have so far failed to stop civil wars. The United States has spent over $800 billion for Operation Enduring Freedom. The situation in the country has not improved. Not normalization is in sight. In Iraq the Islamic State jihadists control a third of the country’s territory, as well as large chunks of land in Syria. The threat of spreading their activities on the whole region is quite real. Having unleashed a war in Yemen, the United States and its allies add fuel to the fire.

Der Kundschafter des Friedens stellt Fragen - Zur Debatte um den friedenspolitischen Kurs der JW

Neuer Beitrag auf libyensoli.wordpress.com


Der Kundschafter des Friedens stellt Fragen

by Hyoksin
Historische Entwicklungen werfen ihre Schatten voraus. Rainer Rupp, der unter dem Decknamen „Topas“  im NATO-Hauptquartier in Brüssel über 10 Jahre konspirativ tätig war und nach der konterrevolutionären „Wende“ über 9 Jahre in der JVA Saarbrücken in Gesinnungshaft saß (ohne einen Antrag auf Begnadigung zu stellen!), hat jetzt nach vielen inneren Kämpfen mit sich einen Brief an die vermeintlich „fortschrittliche“ Zeitung Junge Welt gerichtet, in  dem er gegen seine „Säuberung“ aus dem Autorenkollektiv wegen andersdenkender Auffassung auf das Übelste intrigantenweise gesäubert wurde. Frei nach dem Faschisten Hermann Görig, der einst sagte: „Wer Jude ist, bestimme ich“, glauben heute anscheinend bestimmte Kreise in der Jungen Welt, einen solchen großen Patrioten das Wasser im Auftrag der antideutschen Ulla Jelpke-Fraktion abgraben zu können. Innerhalb des Redaktionskollektivs der Jungen Welt (verkaufte Auflage ca. 20.000 Exemplare täglich) sollte man sich sehr gut überlegen, in welche Richtung man geht. Wir sind keine Kassandra-Rufer, die Menschen gegeneinander ausspielen, sondern Revolutionäre, die heute – wie seit vielen Jahren – die Parole des 2. Weltkongresses der Kommunistischen Internationale (KI) aus dem Jahre 1921 „getrennt marschieren – vereint schlagen“ zur Richtschur Ihres Handelns macht.

Nachtrag zur friedenspolitischen Debatte in der Jungen Welt - Rainer Rupp-Leserbrief -Verunglimpfung von Ken Jebsen durch Monty Schädel

Betreff: Brief von Rainer Rupp an die jw-Redaktion

... der Ansicht von Rainer Rupp kann ich mich nur anschließen und ich habe deshalb schon vor einiger Zeit meine Genossenschaft  und mein Abo gekündigt.  Die Ignoranz gegenüber denen, die in dieser friedenspolitisch existenziellen Frage nicht der Ansicht von Herrn Koschmieder sind, ist offensichtlich und tut - unter GENOSSEN !!! - sehr weh. 

sfg   Helmut Schmidt - Bolanden 

Gesendet: Dienstag, 22. April 2014 um 23:29 Uhr
Von: merian.johe@gmx.de
An: redaktion@jungewelt.de
Betreff: Falsche Freunde
Helmut Schmidt  - Bolanden
 
Hallo Genossinnen und Genossen in der jW-Redaktion !
 Fangt ihr jetzt auch mit der Hetze gegen die Montagsdemos an ?
 "Die Widrigkeiten einer komplexen Welt werden mit einem schlichten Feindbild erklärt"  -    ja, die Sache ist ganz einfach:  Krieg ist Geschäft  -  Brecht in Mutter Courage  :  "Der Krieg ist nix als die Geschäfte und statt mit Käse ist's mit Blei " - 
Imperialismus-Kritik, dachte ich, ist doch euer /unser Ding - das sag ich als jW-Genossenschaftler und online-Abonnent ! 
 Und die allererste Kritik, bevor ich den und den und den (BRD-KapitalismusPutinKapitalismusChinaKapitalismusKuba ...) kritisiere,  ist die Kritik am US-Imperialismus, an dessen Finanzkapital  (FED, Goldman Sachs u.a.m), an den HedgeFonds (BlackRock etc) an der Army/Navy/Airforce , an ihren Söldnern, an ihren 16 Geheimdiensten, an ihren 700 Basen weltweit, an ihren gewesenen und aktuellen, dreckigen, schmutzigen Kriegen ....und dieser US-Imperialismus marschiert voran auf unserem Planeten und exekutiert einen Kapitalismus, der  absolut menschenfeindlich ist und immer höhere  Leichenberge  und  weltweites Elend produziert  - und das klagt  ihr  (die jW)  an und ihr müsst dabei auch die handelnden Akteure benennen, wenn ihr  euch nicht in einer nur pauschalen  Anklage verlieren wollt ... und dann kommt ihr auf  die US-Finanzkonzerne etc.  s.o.  zu sprechen !
 
So, ... und warum wollt ihr jetzt die Leute, die Frieden wollen und soziale Entwicklung und Medien, die sie nicht belügen und in Kriege hineinführen ...  warum wollt ihr diese Leute jetzt anpissen ?
 
Natürlich kann mensch dicke Bücher und Analysen verfassen ...   und mensch kann es auch ganz einfach und schlicht sagen:  MAKE LOVE, NOT WAR !
 
Also ganz ohne Scheiß:  Wenn ihr auch - wie andere ( beim taz-Gesindel nicht anders zu erwarten/ bei attac für mich überraschend und sehr schmerzhaft)  -  die Antisemitismus- und die Verschwörungstheoretiker-Keule rausholt , dann werd ich  zweimal drüber schlafen ....  und dann habt ihr sehr wahrscheinlich  einen Genossen/und einen Abonnenten weniger !    Es täte mir sehr leid !
 
Schaut euch Jebsen an und sagt mir, was daran falsch ist :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uQslC2ToNc#t=1921  
 solidarisch-friedliche Grüße
Helmut
 

01.11.2014 
Hallo (Genossen in der jW)  !
 (...)
Wir wären uns wahrscheinlich in vielen Positionen einig,
wenn wir uns träfen und diskutierten.
 
Ein für mich wesentlicher Satz von dir :
*deshalb aber traue ich denen genausowenig über den Weg *

Wem kann ich trauen ? 

Ich höre die Interviews von K. Jebsen mit
Ganser, Roth, Bartalmai, Wahl, Fleck, Wimmer,
Hecht-Galinski, Rügemer, ... informativ-kritisch-aufklärerisch -
das ist investigativer Journalismus vom Feinsten !
  
Meine Unterstützung für Ken Jebsen - Crowd-Funding -
setze ich fort,  die für die jW nicht.
 
Ich lese (weiterhin)  die jW, es gibt so viele gute Leute bei euch
(auch wenn ein Werner (Pirker) unersetzlich  ist !) ...
(...)
 
Solidarisch-friedliche Grüße
Helmut

--
Diese E-Mail wurde von einem Kontaktformular von AKF-Europe.org - Arbeitskreis für Friendenspolitik (http://akf-europe.org) gesendet

Saudi Arabia praises Russia’s role in settling Yemen crisis - Kremlin (Is something wrong?Blogger)

News | 21.04.2015 | 00:03
 
TASS - The King of Saudi Arabia, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, has praised Russia’s efforts to settle the Yemen crisis in a telephone conversation with President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin press service said.
"The Saudi king gave high appraisal to the Russian side’s efforts to normalize the difficult situation in Yemen and expressed his gratitude to Russia for its stance when the United Nations Security Council voted for resolution No. 2216 on April 14," the Kremlin stressed.
"Both leaders confirmed readiness to deepen coordination between Russia and Saudi Arabia on regional and international agenda. They also expressed their mutual determination to further build up mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation in various spheres," the Kremlin press service reported.
Putin invited the Saudi king to visit Russia.

Bahrain Risks to Follow Yemen

Nikolai BOBKIN | 21.04.2015 | 00:00

Bahrain is an archipelago made up of 33 natural islands and a number of man-made ones. Last weekend thousands of foreigners gathered there to see a Formula One race or Grand Prix. The government used the event as a proof of stability. But how could a state where the government practices bloody crackdowns against opposition be stable? 
«As the world’s eyes fall on Bahrain during the Grand Prix this weekend, few will realize that the international image the authorities have attempted to project of the country as a progressive reformist state committed to human rights masks a far more sinister truth», said Said Boumedouha, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme. «Four years on from the uprising, repression is widespread and rampant abuses by the security forces continue. Bahrain’s authorities must prove that the promises of reform they have made are more than empty rhetoric».
The opposition against the government spread among the Shia majority – 700 thousand out of one million. 300 thousand Bahrainis are Sunni Muslims. King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa relies on the support of Sunnis who make up a predominant majority in military, police and security services ranks. Torn by strife between Sunni and Shia Muslims, Bahrain fell prey to the influence of  «Arab Spring». The Shia 2011 uprising was brutally quelled by Persian Gulf monarchies joint force. Back then the West turned a blind eye on bloodshed and protests put down by the Peninsula Shield Force. Since then the situation has been shaky. The calm won't last for long. The government has not done anything to overcome the schism in society. The repressions against Shiites continue. Last year ten Shia mosques were razed to the ground. Bahrain risks to follow the example of Yemen with religious strife turning into a civil war and then growing into a regional armed conflict. Amnesty International calls on international community, especially the Unites States and the European Union, to step in and exert pressure on Bahrain to prevent an explosion. The government cannot stop pursuing the religious minority. 
To large measure Bahrain relies on Saudi Arabia support. Actually the country has become a springboard for Saudi forces fighting Shiites seen as a force backed by Tehran. Yemen is an example. Since the 1970s, Bahrain and the U.S. have maintained a close military partnership. Following 9/11, the Bush Administration elevated Bahrain to «major non-NATO ally» status. The U.S. Fifth Fleet (headquartered in Bahrain) is responsible for the American naval forces throughout the Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea, Red Sea, and part of the Indian Ocean. Bahrain served as an important base of operations during the 1991 Gulf War, the 2001 war in Afghanistan, and the 2003 war in Iraq. As the U.S. military conducts operations against the «Islamic State» (IS) in Iraq and Syria, the Fifth Fleet continues to play a crucial role in America’s strategic posture in the Middle East. A forward headquarters was established in 2002 at Camp Sayliyah in Doha, Qatar, which in 2009 transitioned to a forward headquarters at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar to serve American strategic interests. 
The naval base at Manama has been greatly expanded recently. The US Navy is planning to expand its Fifth Fleet naval base in Bahrain, with a senior official reiterating the importance of the Gulf island state and dismissing speculation it was looking at potential alternative Gulf sites for the base as a result of the country’s ongoing political unrest. In an interview with Stars and Stripes, the official newspaper of the US armed forces, Admiral Jonathan Greenert, Chief of Naval Operations, emphasized the importance of the Navy’s Middle East presence and said Bahrain remains the best option for operating out of the region. «Bahrain is going to suddenly emerge» in the eyes of the public and the Defence Department, Greenert was quoted as saying, telling personnel the base would continue to be its «centerpiece.» But will the US forces remain neutral in case their presence is threatened? 
The Crown Prince of Bahrain, Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, the First Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain, blasted U.S. foreign policy in an interview and warned that its «schizophrenia» will lead the Arab world to ally with Russia. Using unusually hostile language, al-Khalifa said American policy is «transient and reactive», and «America seems to suffer from schizophrenia when it deals with the Arab world. He said the US foreign policy depends on forthcoming election in two years and there is no long-term policy. He expressed doubts that that Arab states could rely on the West. 
Bahrain does not trust Obama and strives to get US Congress backing. The Bahrain’s embassy in Washington uses the true and tries principle «petrodollars make everything possible». Bahrain hired the lobbying firm DLA Piper to «advise, assist and represent the Kingdom of Bahrain in the United States in connection with obtaining support for anti-terrorism efforts to be undertaken by and in the Kingdom of Bahrain.» In reality Bahrain wants to acquire US weapons. The Manama's embassy in Washington is circulating a letter in the House and Senate that highlights the Gulf island kingdom's role in the international coalition against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The letter, which is addressed to Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, also highlights the need for «unity and cohesiveness» amid nuclear talks with Iran that have put the Arab Gulf countries on edge. «I'm very concerned about Iranian penetration into Bahrain; that's their next target», said Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz. «There are several things I'm not happy about that [Bahrain's] government has done, but they need to be able to defend their country. There's no doubt that Iranian weapons are coming into Bahrain. We should give them weapons and we should continue to pressure them to respect human rights-both.» Senate Foreign Relations Near East panel Chairman Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and shared similar thoughts. «Yes, I'd like the Bahrainis to do some things differently», Risch said. «But how can you have somebody in the coalition and say, 'OK, fight, but we're not going to sell you any weapons?»
Great Britain is the leading Bahrain’s ally in Europe. In the margins of the 10th IISS Manama Dialogue in December, 2014, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond signed a new defence arrangement with His Excellency Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Khalifa, Bahrain’s Foreign Minister and in the presence of HRH Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and first Deputy Prime Minister and UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon. The arrangement will improve onshore facilities at the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) Mina Salman Port in Bahrain, where the UK has four mine-hunter warships permanently based and from where British Destroyers and Frigates in the Gulf are supported. Under the arrangement, the UK is planning to bolster the existing facilities at the Port, providing the Royal Navy with a forward operating base and a place to plan, store equipment for naval operations and accommodate Royal Navy personnel.
As experience shows, not a single Arab country has ever succeeded in managing internal conflicts between Shiites and Sunnis with the help of outside interference
Source:http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2015/04/21/bahrain-risks-to-follow-yemen.html