Yemenis determined to be free from Saudi influence: Analyst

Press TV has conducted an interview with Jim W. Dean, managing editor of the Veterans Today from Atlanta, on the impact of Yemeni fighters’ retaliatory attacks on the relentless Saudi aggression against their country.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: How is the war undermining the Saudis domestically and also on an international level?

Dean: Well, we heard there was some upset princes primarily more concerned with the hemorrhaging of the money due to the oil prices, Saudis’ flooding oil that keep their market share, driving the prices down, and using up their reserves, and the war in Yemen, they’re measured into it.

We don’t really know what the cost figures are around the world. But as in past interviews, I’ve said the Saudi leadership when you have an extremely wealthy leadership, the casualties that they’re incurring really don’t bother them.

Dead Saudi soldiers would just be replaced by new ones. So, the government doesn’t care anything about them.

They care about any loss of prestige and their major allies that they want of course the major allies are working with them on this; although, some are, Pakistan didn’t, Egypt hasn’t contributed any troops.

But I see a war of attrition going on here, I don’t see the Saudis running out of money and I don’t see them incurring any casualties that will deter them.

And really I’m amazed that how Yemen is put up this fight. I have no idea where they’re getting their ammunition from, where gasoline is coming from to run their vehicles, because they have a complete boycott on.

So, they either have some large storage facilities or they are best smugglers in the world and very determined people that are meant to be free.

Press TV: The United Nations has already said that Yemen is on the verge of famine and drought. Let’s get back to this. And what seemed to be an easy war for the Saudis is a conflict which drags on, and these mounting civilian casualties, a worsening humanitarian situation; why is the criticism from international rights organizations as well as the United States, a key arms supplier for the Saudis not producing any results?

Dean: I’m afraid the Saudi budget buying power for weapons is a very big political thing in the countries that sell weapons - the French, the British and the US. So, no one is going to allow some dead Yemenis get in the way of making a lot of money, selling the Saudis more weapons.

And then, you haven’t had very much. It’s really shown the weakness of the UN here. There’s been no talk really of sanctions on Saudi Arabia or any of the other participants.

So, you see there are no international institutions that are really standing up. Unfortunately, because Yemen is such a small unknown country and there are so many conflicts going on. There are just at really kind of the bottom of the barrel in terms of getting attention.

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