For about 3 weeks the story has been the murder and dismemberment of WaPo journalist, Jamal Khashoggi.
So far everyone has an opinion on what truly happened….some say it is despicable, others think it is a made up story and those that justify it by the amount of jobs their deals generate…
It is the Middle East and the story is there for all to report.
There is another story about Saudi Arabia that has been raging for years instead of weeks….the Saudis war on their neighbor Yemen……and after the death and destruction and this is under reported……
Why?
The apparent murder of Saudi Arabian dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi is a shocking crime that merits the international attention it has received, but nonetheless it is impossible not to wonder why the death of a single person receives vastly more coverage than ongoing Saudi atrocities in Yemen.
Is it that a dramatic story involving a single personality is easier to grasp than a war fought over complex political and ethnic issues, or does the differing levels of attention signal that Mr. Khashoggi has achieved the status of an honorary westerner while the tens of thousands dead in Yemen represent a distant “other”? Some combination of both of these are likely at work, and that he is a fellow journalist makes his fate all the more compelling for reporters and editors. Geopolitical considerations are certainly at play here, with the towering hypocrisy of the Trump administration on full display, a hypocrisy that stands out even in the dismal history of U.S. government policies toward Saudi Arabia.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/10/24/why-do-yemens-dead-not-merit-the-attention-of-jamal-khashoggi/
The Yemen which was started by Saudi Arabia is creating the worse famine in the region, the worse health problems, the deaths of more civilians than “terrorists” and the total destruction of a country.
The death of Khashoggi is a barbarous act by the Saudis what they are doing in Yemen is far more barbarous.
As I was typing this post a veggie market in Yemen was attacked by the Saudis (photos included)……
The Saudi coalition bombed a vegetable market near Hodeidah earlier today and killed at least 21 people:
Attacks on food markets like this one are part of the coalition’s systematic campaign to target and destroy Yemen’s food production and distribution. The coalition has made a regular practice of targeting farms, fishing boats, and marketplaces as part of an effort to deprive an already malnourished population of food. There is no possible justification for targeting civilians as they were trying to obtain food from a local market. The slaughter of almost two dozen people is a reminder that Saudi coalition forces continue to hit civilian targets with great frequency, and civilians in and around Hodeidah are at great risk of being killed and wounded while the coalition’s attack on the port and its surroundings continues.
https://www.antiwar.com/blog/2018/10/24/saudi-coalition-massacre-kills-21-at-a-market-in-yemen/
The Saudis need to be held responsible for the the journalist death and should be hauled before the ICC on war crimes charges.
To protect the Saudis because of some defense contract is just turning our backs on the world we helped create after World War Two.
There is so much more from Yemen….like why are elite American mercenaries fighting in country?
A recent Buzzfeed exclusive reveals that veterans of America’s elite military units, working for the United Arab Emirates, are responsible for a string of assassinations in Yemen. They worked for a company called Spear Operations Group, directed and led in the field by an enigmatic Hungarian-Israeli named Abraham Golan. After meeting in Abu Dhabi with former Palestinian Authority security chief Mohammed Dahlan, now a top adviser for the Emirates, Golan was supplied with weapons, legal cover in the form of military ranks for him and his employees, escorts into Aden, and a list of names.
This is an explosive story. Golan constructed his unit out of former (and in at least two cases still serving) U.S. military personnel, and paid them to kill specific individuals at the direction of a foreign country. Even if it were clear that the targets of these operations were combatants — and it is not — this would go far beyond the now-routine employment of former U.S.military personnel as guards, escorts, and trainers by private military and security firms.
https://warontherocks.com/2018/10/what-should-we-make-of-elite-american-mercenaries-in-yemen/
There is so much in Yemen that goes unreported and the American people should ask why…..and keep asking.