Penance, and a UN Solution to the Yemen War

Penance, and a UN Solution to the Yemen War

All of the parties in the Yemen war are in trouble.  The main humanitarian problem is the impending famine of 13 million people there.  In religious countries, it is well understood to do penance for your sins, and to achieve absolution as a result.  The current path is to continue with the aggression  and commit far greater sins of negligence leading to mass starvation.  

If we just scan the countries involved, we see the religious dominance in them.  We have Iran, which is partly a theocracy, and one of the two outside warring parties.  The other outside warring party is Saudi Arabia, which is the guardian of two of the Muslim holy sites, Mecca and Medina.  The United States, armaments backer of Saudi Arabia, is currently run by a President and Vice President indebted to American evangelicals.

The whole world, including the Europeans, are guilty of business dealings with Saudi Arabia and Iran, while ignoring the humanitarian disaster in Yemen.  Iran is being punished by the United States by its withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear disarmament, partly due to Iran’s backing this war.

The eventual resolution of the war without a mass tragedy can only be a cease fire, a takeover by the UN and UN forces, a disarmament, and the eventual UN resolution and governance.

Besides avoiding a damning famine, the Saudi Government and Crown Prince are currently being seen worldwide as an out-of-control dictator and murderer.  This is discouraging investment in their future 2030 account.  If they agree to ending the war, they can have redemption.  And the sooner the better for them.

Iran is being challenged by America’s threat to imposing sanctions on Nov. 5th, and Trump’s threat to hinder trade between other treaty signers and Iran.  Besides avoiding a famine, the peace is a way for Iran to maintain their investors, and get the US back in the treaty.

Trump is in hot water from not reacting to the murder, and prompting and accepting a late and weak explanation.  He is also in hot water for putting Saudi money ahead of morality and the value of a human life, for all of his religious backing.  A peace would also get him off the hook for supplying bombs to Saudi Arabia, and for doing nothing to aid the victims of the war, or any victims, for that matter.  Once Iran withdraws from the war, Trump has his “win” to allow him to go back to the working Iranian nuclear disarmament treaty, and get out of another worldwide confrontation.

That lets Europe off the hook about deciding between Iran and America.

The people of Yemen, whose lives are now saved, can get back to reconstructing their lives without threats, and with international aid and security.

Penance works.

 

About Dennis SILVERMAN

I am a retired Professor of Physics and Astronomy at U C Irvine. For two decades I have been active in learning about energy and the environment, and in reporting on those topics for a decade. For the last four years I have added science policy. Lately, I have been reporting on the Covid-19 pandemic of our times.
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