The Houthi Train and Yemeni Facts: Saleh's Attempt To Abandon The Train Not Unusual
03 December 2017Ghassan Charbel
It was not strange for former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to sense the
need to abandon the train of his alliance with the Houthis. He knows very well
that it was colliding with the complexities of the internal Yemeni scene and
balances of power that would be impossible to turn against.
His declaration that the Houthi adventure was leading the country from one
abyss to the other clearly represents the conviction of a vast majority of the
Yemeni people. The Houthis meanwhile are in no way likely to become part of
the state because they come from a militant background that completely
disregards the internal complexities in Yemen, as well as its foreign borders.
Saleh realizes that the Houthis have turned into a mobile militia in the
country and they have transformed the border into a bloody frontier.
Saleh's attempt to abandon the train is not unusual. It is unusual that he
stayed there for so long. He does not need anyone to explain to him the agenda
of the current Houthi leadership. No one knows it better than him after the
series of wars that he waged against them and later truces that he was forced
to strike with them. He knows the change in their ideology and the story of
the "consultants", who came to their regions as part of the "Iranian crescent"
agenda.
Saleh became aware that the longer he stayed on the Houthi train, the more
losses he and his National People's Congress will incur. He became aware that
the Houthis were taking advantage of the cover that he and his party were
providing so that they could continue in implementing the Iranian agenda.
Furthermore, he realized that the reactions to the Houthi-Iranian rocket
attack against Saudi Arabia demonstrates that the Houthi project is suicidal
in its nature.
Saleh enjoys the deftness of a manipulator, not the recklessness of an
adventurer. He is a man, who closely monitors the balances of power and their
changes. He does not like to repeatedly run into a brick wall due to
miscalculations. Saleh is a former president, but he is a constant expert in
the complexities of the situation in Yemen and the balances between the state
and tribe and among the tribes themselves. He therefore realized that the
Houthi rule has become a burden on the country and its people.
There is no doubt that the break up of the alliance between Saleh and the
Houthis represents an important turning point on the field and on the
political level in the Yemeni crisis.
One cannot simply come to power after taking advantage of local division and
foreign incitement and not expect to improve the situation in the country.
Slogans are not enough to cover up the lack of a program that befits a state.
There is a major difference between confused gunmen on the streets and the
decisions that should be taken to ease the suffering of the people, not
exacerbate them.
It is not enough to seize the presidential palace, Defense and Information
Ministries and presidential guard. The people are the source of legitimacy,
not buildings. The first condition for legitimacy comes from the people, not
foreign powers who are alien to them. Experience has shown that a minority
cannot impose its authority or ideology over others by force. Those who usurp
power have no right to push the people towards costly internal and foreign
adventures. Such adventures could turn a country into fuel for regional fire
and lead to great losses, especially among those who claim to represent the
people and who claim to be working on easing their suffering.
The current Sana'a developments have revealed that the series of events it has
witnessed since the Houthi takeover in 2014 were alien, scary, fabricated and
without any real roots.
Let us set aside the accusations of those who knew early on of the Hothis'
real intentions. It is enough to now analyze the accusations directed against
them by those who were once their partners and allies, who eventually realized
the danger of continuing with submitting to their hegemony. The problem begins
when the Houthis decide to direct the country towards their language,
methodology and militia ideology that challenges all other components on the
inside and Yemen's natural relations on the outside.
The Houthi leadership had opened the door wide for recklessness from the
moment they turned against the legitimacy. They violated internal balances and
Yemeni norms and laws. On the border, the Houthis opened the door to another
form of recklessness when they did not leave Saudi Arabia with any other
choice but war. The truth is that the first shot of the war was the militias'
seizure of a rocket arsenal that could be used to threaten, extort and
destabilize neighboring countries. Added to the dangerousness of that first
shot was the revelation that the Houthis were completely affiliated with Iran.
The Houthi arsenal consequently became another step, an advanced one at that,
in the agenda that is aimed against Saudi Arabia and keeping its territory
under constant threat.
It was therefore difficult for the Kingdom to leave a reckless neighbor with
the power to harm and intimidate others as part of a series of coups managed
by Iran. War was therefore the solution. In this sense, we can say that the
all the responsibility of what had taken place and is still taking place in
Yemen falls on the Houthi leadership and those that provided it with the fuel
to run its destructive internal and external adventure.
Whether the battle is short or long, the result remains the same. One must
return to the Yemeni facts. The facts of the dialogue, coexistence and
umbrella of the state. The legitimate forces in Yemen and the coalition
backing them have expressed their definite desire to end the wars and return
Yemen back to Yemen.
Yemen cannot be ruled from Saada. It cannot be ruled from Tehran. The Houthi
train is loaded with mines that are gradually exploding in Yemen and the
passengers themselves. There must be a return to Yemen and an abandonment of
regional roles that exceed its capabilities. There must be a return to the
Yemeni map and the implementation of a plan that would amend ties with the
Yemenis themselves and their neighbors.
Ghassan Charbel is the editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper
©
EsinIslam.Com
Add Comments