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Yet, Saudi Arabia is an ally of US and purchases billion dollars of American weapons that kills civilians. You know very well that the sanctions has nothing to

Yet, Saudi Arabia is an ally of US and purchases billion dollars of American weapons that kills civilians. You know very well that the sanctions has nothing to do with the democracy index. It is just another tool in the toolbox of the empire to force its hegemony throughout the world.

jariel 7y ago
The Saudis are defending their nation from direct attacks by violent forces just across the border, fully supported and instigated by Iran. Iran recently wiped out 50% of Saudi refining capacity (5% of world output), which is basically shocking. Now - Saudi Arabia is not keen on human rights in general, and does not play very nice with their weapons, but the clear reality is that they would be happy to stay put at home. The Saudi Government is not actively trying to destabilise the region or the world, they play nice with the West, and work closely with the US etc. to hunt down terrorists, and of course they have Oil which they sell freely on world markets, with no strategic dealings with others (i.e. China, Russia) - that's why they are an ally. So yes, democracy is obviously not the entire motivation for US sanctions, but it's part of the equation.
- nootropicat 7y ago
  No, Saudi Arabia is invading Yemen because their puppet politician, Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, lost power in a popular revolution. It's a clear-cut war of aggression - which the Saudis are losing. Among other things, they like to use child soldiers [2] and intentionally caused a famine [3], with over 85k starved children: >Saudi Arabia was reported to be deliberately targeting means of food production and distribution in Yemen[47] by bombing farms,[48][49] fishing boats,[50] ports,[51] food storages, food factories,[52][53] and other businesses[54] in order to exacerbate famine. These actions led to the UN accusing the Saudi-led coalition of committing war crimes and having a "complete disregard for human life" >On August 3, 2019, a United Nations report said the US, UK and France may be complicit in committing war crimes in Yemen by selling weapons and providing support to the Saudi-led coalition which is using the starvation of civilians as a tactic of warfare [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houthi_takeover_in_Yemen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houthi_takeover_in_Yemen [2] https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/mar/27/serious-questions-over-sas-involvement-in-yemen-war https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/mar/27/serious-ques... [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famine_in_Yemen_(2016%E2%80%93present) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famine_in_Yemen_(2016%E2%80%93...
  - jariel 7y ago
    "It's a clear-cut war of aggression" This is not true, and your reference links actual deny your own argument. The Saudis have no real interest in being in Yemen - it's obviously very costly to them, and they would rather the historical status quo. This is not a contentious statement. It's really an impossible argument to make that Saudi Arabia actually wants some kind of military action in Yemen. They have absolutely no reason to want that. I'm not denying they are doing terrible things. They are playing ugly in an ugly war. This is par for the course in most of the world. And the UN's 'Human Rights' council is made up of some of the world's worst offenders (including Saudi) - so I don't believe that the UN has any credibility there. Saudi Arabia is generally a benign state actor: they play nicely with the rest of the world. They do not want war. They are not a belligerent. The fact that Saudi Arabia was attacked by Iran last week and the response was 'not much' illustrates this. (FYI I'm speaking of the state, not the internal individuals who support terrorism financially) Iran is a hostile, belligerent state, bent on gaining nuclear weapons, destabilising the region, they support terrorist etc.. And yes, I recognise that though both are theocratic states, that Iran is actually more tolerant and open than Saudi - but this is not my point. So if you want salvation for the Yemenis - and frankly Palestinians and everyone else - then you want Iran to be cornered and for that regime to be dismantled. Without antagonism from them, there would be no war in Yemen at this scale and so many other important issues would come to the fore. Even in Israel, as long as they are under legitimate threat (and they are, largely due to Iran i.e. Hezbollah, Hamas, bases in Syria, control over Lebanon politics), there will be no real progress on the Palestinian issue.
- peterashford 7y ago
  I'm unsure how bombing schools and hospitals defends them from "violent forces"?

jariel 7y ago

The Saudis are defending their nation from direct attacks by violent forces just across the border, fully supported and instigated by Iran. Iran recently wiped out 50% of Saudi refining capacity (5% of world output), which is basically shocking. Now - Saudi Arabia is not keen on human rights in general, and does not play very nice with their weapons, but the clear reality is that they would be happy to stay put at home. The Saudi Government is not actively trying to destabilise the region or the world, they play nice with the West, and work closely with the US etc. to hunt down terrorists, and of course they have Oil which they sell freely on world markets, with no strategic dealings with others (i.e. China, Russia) - that's why they are an ally. So yes, democracy is obviously not the entire motivation for US sanctions, but it's part of the equation.

nootropicat 7y ago
No, Saudi Arabia is invading Yemen because their puppet politician, Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, lost power in a popular revolution. It's a clear-cut war of aggression - which the Saudis are losing. Among other things, they like to use child soldiers [2] and intentionally caused a famine [3], with over 85k starved children: >Saudi Arabia was reported to be deliberately targeting means of food production and distribution in Yemen[47] by bombing farms,[48][49] fishing boats,[50] ports,[51] food storages, food factories,[52][53] and other businesses[54] in order to exacerbate famine. These actions led to the UN accusing the Saudi-led coalition of committing war crimes and having a "complete disregard for human life" >On August 3, 2019, a United Nations report said the US, UK and France may be complicit in committing war crimes in Yemen by selling weapons and providing support to the Saudi-led coalition which is using the starvation of civilians as a tactic of warfare [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houthi_takeover_in_Yemen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houthi_takeover_in_Yemen [2] https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/mar/27/serious-questions-over-sas-involvement-in-yemen-war https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/mar/27/serious-ques... [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famine_in_Yemen_(2016%E2%80%93present) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famine_in_Yemen_(2016%E2%80%93...
- jariel 7y ago
  "It's a clear-cut war of aggression" This is not true, and your reference links actual deny your own argument. The Saudis have no real interest in being in Yemen - it's obviously very costly to them, and they would rather the historical status quo. This is not a contentious statement. It's really an impossible argument to make that Saudi Arabia actually wants some kind of military action in Yemen. They have absolutely no reason to want that. I'm not denying they are doing terrible things. They are playing ugly in an ugly war. This is par for the course in most of the world. And the UN's 'Human Rights' council is made up of some of the world's worst offenders (including Saudi) - so I don't believe that the UN has any credibility there. Saudi Arabia is generally a benign state actor: they play nicely with the rest of the world. They do not want war. They are not a belligerent. The fact that Saudi Arabia was attacked by Iran last week and the response was 'not much' illustrates this. (FYI I'm speaking of the state, not the internal individuals who support terrorism financially) Iran is a hostile, belligerent state, bent on gaining nuclear weapons, destabilising the region, they support terrorist etc.. And yes, I recognise that though both are theocratic states, that Iran is actually more tolerant and open than Saudi - but this is not my point. So if you want salvation for the Yemenis - and frankly Palestinians and everyone else - then you want Iran to be cornered and for that regime to be dismantled. Without antagonism from them, there would be no war in Yemen at this scale and so many other important issues would come to the fore. Even in Israel, as long as they are under legitimate threat (and they are, largely due to Iran i.e. Hezbollah, Hamas, bases in Syria, control over Lebanon politics), there will be no real progress on the Palestinian issue.
peterashford 7y ago
I'm unsure how bombing schools and hospitals defends them from "violent forces"?