[Originally Published November 21st, 2017 on Wordpress]
INTRODUCTION:
Often when we speak of human rights violations it tends to evoke images of elementary school-aged children working in a sweatshop in Bangladesh; toiling for pennies an hour to produce an overpriced pair of athletic shoes. However, human rights violations can run the gambit and can veer into even more reprehensible transgressions. For the record let me state that I am an avid listener of the Ron Paul Liberty Report Podcast. On his Podcast, Dr. Paul over the past month has been closely following the relations between Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Dr. Paul has detailed the plethora of aggressive sanctions Saudi Arabia has enacted against Yemen over the course of the past month. To only compound matters, Yemen is currently experiencing historically one of the worst Cholera outbreaks on record. The cases have exceed the amount of one million and are on epidemic portions [3].
Per Dr. Paul what hasn’t been well documented by the American media is how Saudi Arabia has been instrumental in exacerbating this dire public health emergency. Per Dr. Ron Paul, Saudi Arabia has taken efforts to attempt to block foreign aid to help contain and manage this epidemic ravaging the Yemeni people.[4] It should be noted that this isn’t the only atrocity Saudi Arabia has committed against the Yemeni people and it certainly will not be the last, as I would speculate. While we may not be actively be participating in this grotesque conflict by supplying boots on the ground, we are passively through our alliance with the Saudis. Our trade relations have supported this conflict, especially when you consider back in June the Senate passed a bill to “… Sell $500 million in precision-guided munitions…” to Saudi Arabia.[5] When examining our alliance with a warmongering state such as Saudi Arabia it makes me question whether our trade relations with them is ethical.
NEWS STORY:
Per the human rights watchdog group SAM, there are a harrowing 716 documented human rights violations perpetrated by Saudi Arabia against Yemeni civilians. These atrocities a byproduct of an active conflict going on between Saudi Arabia and Yemen since 2015. Saudi Arabia has been attempting to stifle Houthi rebels that have been attempting to regain control of the Yemeni government. The Saudis have created blockades to all major port of entry due to a rebel ballistic missile strike. However, these blockades have engendered horrific famines and have prevented other life essential provisions from entering Yemen. The numbers of people who have died due to active combat are estimated to surpass 10,000. It is also estimated that approximately seven million Yemeni citizens are in serious need of food. [6]
DISCUSSION:
Needless to say, I personally believe very few sane or rational individuals who are a neutral party examining this conflict would approve of these sanctions against Yemeni. While it is noted that the Saudis are trying to target the Houthi rebels, all of these same sanctions are a detriment to the Yemeni people with deadly consequences. Essentially, the Saudis are allowing innocent Yemeni civilians to die needlessly due to starvation and treatable disease. That is why Saudi Arabia’s callously actions against the Yemeni people are so horrific. I am far from a bleeding-heart liberal, however, some acts are just plain unconscionable and board line amoral. While I may not agree with taking brutal measures to stifle the rebels, at least I can see the logic in it. But to make it so that innocent civilians have to slowly perish in such an agonizing manner, makes me consider the potential that this isn’t negligence, but rather these actions are malicious and intentional. I must state that I do not have enough evidence to substantiate this point that Saudi Arabia is intentionally trying to starve Yemeni civilians. So this point is merely pure speculation. Maybe the Saudis could at least inspect provisions coming into the country versus outright prohibiting them.
I feel that it is pertinent to address the United States role in this conflict, even though our participation has been relatively passive. While we have not provided aid to the Saudis by providing soldiers, we have been selling arms to them. I am certainly an advocate free market capitalism, however, in a free market the organization, government, or business can elect who they chose to sell goods to. If the United States government is aware of the parameters of the conflict as well as the human rights violations it would be the duty of our congress to vote against making such arms deals with Saudi Arabia. While I was not pleased with the outcome of the deal that was passed through Congress back in June, the very fact that it only passed by a narrow margin provides some reassurance. At least, some individuals within Congress can see how to sell a large abundance of weapons could be problematic regarding creating some sense of stability in the middle-east. In the wake of the myriad of human rights violations on Saudi Arabia’s part, it should be that much more conspicuous that to a certain extent we are passively contributing to this conflict. The United States is essentially providing the implements that keep this war going. Whether the war was originally justified or not is fruitless to determine at this time. At the present moment, I am much more concerned with the welfare of the Yemeni people and revolted by our government’s lack of acknowledgment of such atrocities. Yes, I am well aware what it comes right down to is the ol’ mighty dollar. I am certainly not naïve enough to be ignorant of the fact that our relationship with the Saudis is essentially transactional. We sell you weapons you sell us oil. Understood and well noted. However, when in the hell are we going to look at the ethical ramifications of this trade partnership? It is one thing to be selling weapons to a country that is engaged in a justified war (which was used as a diplomatic last resort) than to sell it to a warring state that is needless starving civilians. It is also important to evaluate how other countries perceive our actions. There is a potential for us to damage our diplomatic relations with our allies if they find our actions to be so morally abject that it cannot be justified. Just remember even if you could care less about the Yemeni people this could still cause us issues down the road.
My final point here is the hypocrisy of the United States to point out the human rights violations of North Korea, but not even wince at those of Saudi Arabia. I would never diminish the human rights violations of North Korea and I believe that the treatment of their citizens is barbaric and reprehensible. However, would it be refreshing if just once we could have some continuity regarding President Trump’s rhetoric? Call North Korea out under the carpet, but silently allow the Saudis to starve the Yemeni people. It again goes back to our business interests. Oil for guns, oil for guns. The difference between Saudi Arabia and North Korea is that we have a long-standing trade partnership with Saudi Arabia and our relations with North Korea have always been tremulous and at times on the verge of outright conflict. So while I believe in for the most part staying out of the affairs of other countries outside of trade, we already are pointing the finger of judgment in regards to the human rights violations of North Korea. So couldn’t Trump to some extent in a more diplomatic manner speak with the Saudi royal family about these atrocities? Trump typically isn’t timid with is commentary and opinions………. Well that’s right we are making money off the Saudis so naturally, we can look the other way. I am all for being prosperous, however, not with the blood of dead children on my hands. Also, even with our less than scrupulous trade relationship with the Saudis we are still in massive amounts of debt. So does what little money we make ( in proportion to our debt) justify our decision to sell arms to Saudi Arabia. I would say not.
FOOT NOTES:
1.(VIDEO) https://youtu.be/nLRgdFP-s30
2. https://invertedlogicblog.wordpress.com/2017/11/21/political-opinions32-saudi-arabia-and-human-rights-violations
6. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/11/hundreds-rights-violations-documented-yemen-171120075203047.html