by Zafar Bangash (Opinion, Crescent International Vol. 44, No. 8, Dhu al-Hijjah, 1436)
With the Muslim world in turmoil, it is easy to forget the wars on Syria and Yemen. The Bani Saud footprint is writ large in both locales.
The Muslim world is mired in so many crises that sometimes it is difficult to decide where to begin. Should one talk about the decades-long occupation and oppression of the Palestinians and Kashmiris, or the decades-long conflict in Afghanistan? What about the plight of the Iraqis, Bahrainis, Syrians and Yemenis? Add to that the brutal murder of innocent pilgrims in Makkah and Mina last month as a direct result of the gross incompetence of the Najdi Bedouins, the Bani Saud (aka the House of Saud) and the misery index escalates. But the picture is not quite complete. There are the Rohingyas in Burma; Muslims in Sri Lanka, the mayhem in Somalia and the US-UK-Israel-India instigated war in Pakistan.
For this column, however, we will limit our discussion to the wars on Syria and Yemen. Both started in the month of March—2011 and 2015 respectively—and the Bani Saud footprint is writ large in both. In Syria, the takfiri terrorists have been unleashed with the specific aim of overthrowing the government of Bashar al Asad. In Yemen, the opposite scenario is being played out: an ousted dictator, Abdu Rab Mansour Hadi is being re-imposed on the Yemeni people because he happens to be a Saudi puppet.
The so-called Syrian revolution started in March 2011 as an armed uprising in March 2011 in the non-descript town of Dera‘a. This is the first “revolution” that started in a small town that few had ever heard of. The Syrian “revolutionaries” were armed with the latest American weapons. Its other allies were also deeply involved including the illegitimate Zionist regime. The Syrian “revolutionaries” are treated in Israeli hospitals and the “revolutionary leaders” who have not set foot in Syria for decades languish in five-star hotels in Europe and Turkey.
The mayhem in Syria has resulted in the death of some 200,000 people. These include government soldiers and militias, the takfiri terrorists (aka Daesh, ISIS/ISIL) as well as thousands of mercenaries from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, Afghanistan and Chechnya. There are also sprinklings from Europe and North America as well as a considerable number of young women lured as sex workers under the obnoxious notion of Azwaj al-Jihad. This is a prostitution racket given religious sanction by obscurantist Saudi preachers. Only the Saudis can sink so low!
In Yemen, the Saudis launched a full-scale war thinking they would defeat the Ansarallah revolutionaries in a matter of weeks if not sooner. Six months later, despite causing thousands of civilian casualties, the Saudi barbarians are nowhere near achieving their objectives. The US, Britain and Israel as well as the putative allies of Bani Saud—tribal chiefs of the Persian Gulf—are also involved in attacking the poorest country in the Muslim East. The UN has said that 22 million of Yemen’s 24 million people are food deficient.
As the crises in Syria and Yemen drag on, what they show clearly is that the Bani Saud have failed in both.
The Saudis have bombed Yemeni cities and villages; they have bombed historical sites as well as water-bottling plants and electricity grids. They have also bombed wedding parties killing scores of innocent children. And in the manner of the Zionist siege of Gaza, the Saudis have also imposed a siege of Yemen to force the Ansarallah to surrender. What the Saudis fail to realize is that what burns in the hearts of men and women—yearning for freedom—cannot be extinguished by bombs and missiles. The Yemenis may be poor, dirt-poor, but they are a proud people. They are fighting for their honor and dignity, characteristics the Saudis have never known.
The Najdi Bedouins have indulged in plunder throughout their miserable existence. Emerging as British agents they are now American agents. In recent months, they have also been exposed as Zionist agents with whom they share much in common. It is now clear that the Bani Saud and Bani Isra’il are two faces of the same coin. One sits in occupation of the holy land in the Arabian Peninsula, the other in Palestine. Both are alien invaders of the lands they occupy and staunch enemies of Muslims.
As the crises in Syria and Yemen drag on, what they show clearly is that the Bani Saud have failed in both. Apart from causing massive misery to the respective populations, they have achieved little of value. Also, Asad who enjoys considerable support of the Syrian people cannot be overthrown by brute force. Russia, Iran and Hizbullah have also stepped in to defend their ally. Similarly, the Bani Saud cannot impose Hadi by force on the Yemeni people.
Their failure in both will only hasten the demise of Bani Saud. They have dug their own grave. The Muslim world would be far better off without them.