As the devastating military intervention in Yemen prosecuted by Saudi Arabia (SA) and United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the support of the United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK), the Saudi government offered a ceasefire to its enemies, the Houthi rebels. The war has displaced four million Yemenis, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council; 16 million people require food assistance. In addition to targeting civilians, the Saudi-led coalition has been accused of torture, rape, and using child soldiers.

What has become of the U.S. that once was cherished, respected, and admired by so many around the world? Answer: America’s new principle of total self-interest in foreign policy is convincing allies that the old one-for-all, all-for-one approach of the past 70 years is over.

Examples proliferate, but let’s focus on just one: Secretary of State Tony Blinken, in recent conversations with Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, “reiterated our commitment to supporting the defense of the kingdom”. This is another way of approving of continued U.S. support in intelligence and weapons/ammunition sales for the Saudi-Emirati campaign of destruction against Yemeni civilians. This is so outrageous that it raises questions about America’s moral standing in the world.

So, is this what America now amounts to? Greed?
Congress daily reflects heights of hypocrisy given how politicians (not all but clearly a majority) are more concerned about their political careers and what’s in it for them personally than serving constituents and upholding once-sacred, founding principles. While we might hear, from time to time, that certain members of Congress are angry on points of principle and ethics, it’s inevitably nothing but cheap political theatrics. Meanwhile, most Americans have no clue that the legislative branch is now largely controlled by a Saudi lobbyist group.

If that’s not enough reason to comprehend the depth and seriousness of this problem, consider the following: What happened to that lawsuit that family members of 9/11 victims were to file against the Saudi government for its involvement in and support of 9/11 terrorist attacks? Sadly, after using this issue to clobber the Obama administration for political purposes, Congress quietly swept the matter under the rug. The subsequent administrations are unlikely to help out. And out of party loyalty, many Americans don’t speak of it anymore, even for all their supposed patriotism every Sept. 11 and alleged sympathy for the victims.

It’s not enough for Congress to act as if it cares when it doesn’t. It’s not enough to express words without acting in deeds. It’s not enough for the U.S. to claim to be the beacon of democracy and a champion of human rights while pocketing Saudi cash and contributing to the destruction of defenseless Yemeni civilians in an insane war launched by the House of Saud. Turning a blind eye to the horrific atrocities committed in Yemen in return for billions of dollars demonstrates how corrupt our government has become.
As one who spent time in Yemen a few years ago in support of the U.S. government, I can personally attest to Yemen’s poverty on a massive scale. Yemen is the poorest country in the Arab world — and that’s saying something. The amount of destruction and catastrophe Saudi Arabia and its coalition are causing in Yemen — and while using American and British weapons against defenseless civilians — should raise questions about our role and motives. Yet Washington’s silence over the atrocities committed there reflects a failed moral obligation as Washington bows to greed. Saudis are pulling the strings on Capitol Hill and at the White House.

As argued in my book, “Beneath the Veil: Fall of the House of Saud,” the ongoing conflict is proving to be a humanitarian disaster on so many levels: famine at unprecedented levels, deaths of civilians, destruction of hospitals and a blockade that demonstrate the worst that human beings can do to one another, let alone a Muslim to a fellow Muslim. Saudi Arabia’s decisions epitomize hypocrisy and the ugliness of human nature. Yet history has come full circle: Yemen has become to Saudi Arabia what Vietnam was to the U.S. By now, no one benefits except for those manufacturing military arsenal.
Worried about violence in the Mideast that threatens U.S. interests? Remember this: Yemeni kids and those in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and other lands will never forget America’s involvement, particularly if they’ve lost family members in this deadly chaos. And thus, perils for U.S. allies such as Israel may continue for yet another generation.

Sadly, we are today barely a shadow of the nation we once represented to the world. While Washington under both parties has spoken as if it is all-knowing in its moral authority, we have failed to preserve basic human decency and dignity.

When Secretary Blinken or the American president speaks on foreign policy, the world hears only chest-beating bravado, meaningless rhetoric about human rights and hollow claims of global greatness. No wonder former US president’s remarks at the United Nations inspired contemptuous laughter. Our only enduring value these days is power amid endless, self-righteous hectoring that orders all peoples around the globe to abandon their heathen ways and improve themselves according to Washington’s specifically ordained, self-serving, coffer-padding dictates.

David