For US, Increasingly Difficult To Reconcile Allies in the Middle East

Of course, the United States bears significant blame for the fact that the southern Arabian Peninsula has turned into the latest flashpoint on the map of the Middle East. If it wanted to, Washington could urge Saudi Arabia, the initiator and organizer of the coalition against the Houthis, toward restraint. The White House, however, has calculated that the benefits of pressure on the Houthis outweigh the possible drawbacks of bombing Yemen.

Time will tell whether the American strategy is correct or not, but already the U.S. is being forced to work miracles of political and diplomatic equilibrium in order to maintain the status quo in the Middle East, which has been deteriorating in recent months.

One of the consequences of Operation Decisive Storm has been the straining of relations between the main American allies in the region, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. The Iraqi leader is currently in Washington on an official visit. The main source of friction, of course, is Yemen. Iraq, where a pro-Shiite majority holds power, condemned the bombing. Sunni Saudi Arabia believes that it was the correct policy.

The spat between Baghdad and Riyadh began after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told journalists in the White House guest residence that the Saudi campaign in Yemen created an enormous humanitarian crisis.

“There is no logic to the operation at all in the first place,” said al-Abadi. “Mainly, the problem of Yemen is within Yemen.”

It is possible that Riyadh would not have deigned to pay attention to the Iraqi leader’s words, but then he claimed that his point of view was shared by … the White House.

“They want to stop this conflict as soon as possible,” Mr. Abadi continued. “What I understand from the administration, the Saudis are not helpful on this. They don’t want a cease-fire now.”

The Iraqi guest evidently wanted to speak for his hosts. The White House was forced to immediately refute al-Abadi’s statement. Alistair Baskey, deputy spokesman for the National Security Council, announced that President Obama did not at any point criticize Saudi actions in Yemen during his meeting with the Iraqi leader.

Haider al-Abadi also expressed his personal views of the situation. He fears that the bombing campaign by the Saudi air force is the first step on the path to the start of military involvement by Riyadh in the internal affairs of neighboring states. He does not conceal his worries that the next country toward which the Saudis might turn their gaze is Iraq. The Iraqi prime minister also compared Saudi interference in Yemen’s internal affairs to similar actions by Saddam Hussein.

Several hours later, the Saudi ambassador to the U.S., Adel al-Jubeir, held a press conference at the Saudi embassy in Washington. Naturally journalists were interested in Riyadh’s reaction to al-Abadi’s criticism. The Saudi ambassador undiplomatically said that the Iraqi leader’s statements had “no logic.” On the contrary, he asserted that the bombing campaign was to Yemen’s advantage, because over its course Houthi military planes, helicopters, rockets, and defensive objects were destroyed, all of which had been used to overthrow the legally elected president. Responding to reports that the bombing raids led to massive casualties among peaceful Yemeni civilians, al-Jubeir called such allegations false.

According to the Saudi diplomat, the U.S. has no doubts whatsoever of the justness and integrity of Operation Decisive Storm. At the very least, nobody expressed such doubts to him.

Americans, in the meantime, are increasing support for the coalition battling the Houthis. Besides weapons, the Pentagon is sharing intelligence information gathered by Predator and Reaper drones flying over Yemen.

In fueling another military conflict, Washington has once again placed itself in a tricky situation. Beyond the conflict in Yemen, according to a majority of political analysts, lies Tehran, which supports the Yemeni Houthis.

The sharp dispute between Saudi Arabia and Iraq reflects the diametrically opposed relations to Iran in the region, and also shows the difficulties facing American diplomats and the Obama administration right now in the Middle East. Washington is trying with all its might not to allow the collapse of the coalition that is fighting the Islamic State group, a coalition consisting of Sunni Arab countries and Shiite Iraq. Accomplishing this, however, as shown by the recent duel of words in Washington, is becoming more difficult with every day.