E. Michael Jones: Saudis would like to get out of Yemen crisis to save face

Press TV has conducted an interview with E. Michael Jones, editor of the Culture Wars Online Magazine from Indiana, about a proposition by the UN Security Council that calls on the secretary general to submit a plan to support peace in Yemen.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: How do you feel about the UN Security Council now getting involved demanding that Ban Ki-moon come up with a plan?

Jones: I think it’s time to make a move here, because I think that the Saudi monarchy is in a very desperate situation now. Last year they revealed that they had a 99-billion-dollar deficit, one of the richest oil-producing countries in the world and it’s largely for two reasons: First reason is the United States is forcing the Saudis to overproduce oil, which is driving the price of oil down. This is part of their strategy against Russia. They want to drive bankrupt Russia in the same way they did that in the 80s during the Afghanistan war.

But the second reason is that they’re funding all these proxy warriors both in Syria and in Yemen. And it’s just proving to be too much. And so, the Saudis would like to get out of this thing. They’re threatening to start cutting back production. The United States doesn’t want that to happen. And so I think the simplest way for everyone involved here is peace negotiations at this point. They can’t win the war under these conditions; so, they’re going to have to negotiate a settlement.

Press TV: And certainly, as you’ve said Mr. Jones, the Saudis have not really achieved much in Yemen so far apart from death and destructions, I’m wondering. Do you think that they will get a save-face resolution?

Jones: I think that could happen, yes. I mean apparently they have turned on al-Qaeda, the al-Qaeda Arabian Peninsula group that they were using as their proxies, they’ve turned on them. I assume this is to consolidate their position, so that they don’t have this wild card proxy warrior interfering in their road to negotiate with the Houthis and the former president of the country. I think they’re trying to consolidate their positions so that they can get out of it save-face and prevent basically the financial collapse of the Saudi monarchy, which I think is staring them in the face right now.

Press TV: What does it say that this war has been going for this long and now the international community decides to get this heavily involved?

Jones: They’re reacting to the facts on the ground. When you don’t have an army of your own, you have to wait and see for the opportune moment when the other armies are at an impasse. I think that’s simply the way it’s going to be. The United Nations can’t impose its own force on the place so they have to wait until there’s an impasse so both parties can come to an agreement. That’s just the reality of the situation.

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