Change in global equation

We Saudis have to congratulate ourselves for having a wise leadership that has surprised the world by launching the Operation Decisive Storm in response to the call of Yemen’s legitimate president in order to restore his legitimacy. It was essential to protect Yemen from Iranian hegemony and retrieve the strategic Bab El-Mandab Strait.

The biggest surprise was the formation of a coalition under the leadership of Saudi Arabia with the participation of the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Sudan and Pakistan. This alliance has activated the joint Arab defense agreement signed in 1950. Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Egypt were the first countries to sign that agreement that remained inactive for several decades.

The international support received by the Saudi-led Decisive Storm has changed the global equation toward the Kingdom and other Arab countries. The success of Saudi Arabia in forming the coalition and the success of Decisive Storm in controlling Yemen’s airspace within the first hour of its launch and the Kingdom’s deployment of 100 military aircraft have surprised the whole world and changed global perceptions about its military strength.

The move has strengthened Saudi Arabia’s global reputation, forcing Sweden to apologize for its anti-Saudi tirade and restore its diplomatic relations with the Kingdom. It enabled Saudi Arabia to unite Arab countries after having suffered by division and disintegration in order to confront one of the greatest dangers facing Arab national security.

This unity has also strengthened the resolution adopted at the Arab Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh to establish a joint military force. The Saudi-led coalition was inspired by the Qur’anic verse: “And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided. And remember the favor of Allah upon you — when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together and you became, by His favor, brothers. And you were on the edge of a pit of the Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does Allah make clear to you His verses that you may be guided. (Al-Imran, 103)

We thank God for waking up the Arab Ummah from deep slumber. We are proud of our leadership and army and we have to provide them with all possible support to win this decisive war.

— By Suhaila Zain Al-Abidine Hammad

The Houthis and Saleh

Since the very beginning of the Yemen crisis, Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries tried to resolve it diplomatically so as to avoid a military confrontation. They also made effective proposals to save Yemen from falling into sectarian fighting.

As a result of the GCC initiative, all Yemeni groups sat around the table and signed a peace agreement. But the Houthis did not join the reconciliation talks instead they conspired to overthrow the country’s legitimate president on Tehran’s instructions with the support of Saleh’s forces.

With the occupation of Sanaa, Yemen became a Houthi land receiving orders from Qum. Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries have been watching the events unfolding in Yemen with utmost care and concern. When they learned that the danger was knocking at their doors, the GCC states asked the Houthis to withdraw from Sanaa. The Houthis refused to listen to the voice of reason and continued their atrocities, violating international charters and laws. They also tried to assassinate the country’s legitimate President Abed Rabbo Mansur Hadi after attacking the presidential palace.

The beleaguered Yemeni president requested the assistance of Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries to restore his legitimacy and reinforce the country’s security and stability. Saudi Arabia quickly responded to Hadi’s call by launching Decisive Storm that has befuddled not only the Houthis but also their Iranian supporters as well as Saleh forces.

Saudi Arabia knows the Iranian intention of applying the Shiite ideology to achieve its strategic interests. Tehran has been working to create divisions and infighting between the Shiites and Sunnis in the Arab world. Analyst Subhi Al-Tufaili was correct when he said: “Iran has been using Shiism to realize its geopolitical objectives, thus endangering the future of Shiites.”

The ousted president, Saleh, has been dancing with the Shiites and Al-Qaeda. He has been using these two forces to blackmail the Gulf countries and embezzle their wealth. The GCC countries have given $60 billion for Yemen’s development but Saleh transferred that amount to his personal account. The United Nations has frozen the money and Saleh has been putting pressure on Riyadh to get the amount released in lieu of halting a Houthi revolution in Yemen.

— By Mohammed bin Hamad Al-Basheet

Obama and the Iran deal

President Obama should have kept mum after signing the interim nuclear agreement with Iran, especially after knowing that many countries were unconvinced about the deal. If ever he wanted to make any comment on the deal, it should have been done in an acceptable way without openly defending Tehran. Obama said in a recent interview that the US was serving its greater interests by signing the Iranian nuclear deal and that he wanted to end Iran’s isolation.

Well, there is no problem with the president’s principled stand if he had ensured Tehran’s seriousness and sincerity. We have seen the Iranian leader Khamenei destroying the agreement a few days after signing the deal.

Obama’s move to whitewash Tehran may be acceptable but without ridiculing Iran’s GCC neighbors. The president defended the nuclear deal by saying that the internal problems in GCC countries were more dangerous than Iran. By making this statement Obama has proved that he was not neutral on the issue. And this does not augur well with the president of a big country that seeks global peace and stability and prevents sources of terrorism.

— By Hamoud Abutaleb

US and Muslims

After 9/11 the American people were wondering why the Muslims hate them. They conducted a lot of researches and analyses, which blamed Washington’s policy toward the Muslim world for the situation. Some others unfairly reached the conclusion that it was the Qur’anic teachings of jihad that generated Muslims’ hatred toward them. They called for besieging Muslims from all sides with the aim of “kill them before they kill you.”

On the basis of this harsh policy, a number of resolutions have been adopted to punish Muslims. “Either you are with us or against us” was the slogan raised by the American administration.

One of these hypothetical concepts was that Washington’s enmity toward Tehran did not help win the friendship of Iran’s enemies. Consequently it wanted to strengthen its relations with Tehran to improve its image in the region. Iran, on the other hand, is trying to expand its influence in the region. It considers every Arab who stands in the way of its expansionist policy as an enemy who should be removed. It started from Lebanon by promoting sectarianism and continued in Iraq by killing Arabs. Now they have adopted another strategy in Yemen by triggering an inflight between Arabs and the Houthis.

All these events occurred as a result of Washington’s hypothetical view toward Tehran. This has given Tehran a political weapon, which it threw in the Arab world to hit its hypothetical enemies. It supported Hezbollah to attack Arabs in Syria in order to take revenge. It is high time for Washington to ask itself why the Arabs hate it? Or are they not bothered about asking that question following the new relationship with Tehran?

— By Mutlaq bin Saud Al-Motairy

The role of media

The media plays a big role in clarifying the state’s policies and provides a huge support for its operations inside and outside the country. Being the main source of information, it has a big responsibility in carrying out its mission.

More than two weeks have passed since the launch of Decisive Storm that is aimed at restoring Yemen’s legitimacy and defeating the Houthi militias who have occupied Sanaa by force. The social media has been circulating conflicting reports on Decisive Storm, spreading rumors.

At the beginning of the operation, the Saudi media was weak in explaining the stand of Saudi Arabia being a peaceful country that does not support war and take its decisions after enough consultations and thinking. It also promotes dialogue to settle disputes peacefully.

Everybody, especially the Yemenis, should understand that Riyadh was not waging a war against Yemen or its people. It was fighting the Houthis in order to restore the country’s legitimacy in response to the request of its president and the country’s political forces and tribes. Considering the important role of media, I hope the Ministry of Culture and Information would set up high-level committees of experts to provide right coverage of Decisive Storm. Qualified people of different nationalities should be appointed to appear on channels and other media organizations to highlight the Houthi threat to the region’s security and stability.

— By Mohammed Al-Shuwaier

No excuse

There has been great optimism when many Arab countries joined the Saudi-led coalition to defeat the Houthis in Yemen but some Arab League members opted to stay out calling for a peaceful resolution of the crisis. But these countries should know that as a result of their inaction, the crisis has been prolonged while the Houthis have been emboldened by the military support received from Tehran.

There is no excuse for Arab countries that did not participate in Decisive Storm even by sending a nominal force. They should know that this is primarily an Arab issue. The call by the Yemeni president for help to restore his legitimacy is enough for all Arab countries to come forward to save him from the Houthi attack.

There is no excuse for Oman, which is a GCC country, for not joining the alliance. There is no excuse for Algeria and Tunisia as well. They should have at least backed the operation by giving political and media support. Iraq is already under the control of Iran while Syria has lost its Arab identity.

— By Ahmed Al-Hilali