10/14/16 – Nasser Arrabyee – The Scott Horton Show

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Trying to get these wars ended.
All right, y'all.
Welcome back to the show.
I'm Scott Horton.
Welcome back.
Scott Horton Show website, scotthorton.org, Twitter, at Scott Horton Show.
Okay.
Introducing Nasser Araby.
He is a reporter from Yemen, reporting out of Sanaa, Yemen.
And he runs the online news organization Yemen Now.
That's Yemen Alon.
Means Yemen Now.
And you just Google Nasser Araby.
It's spelled just like it sounds.
In fact, welcome back to the show, sir.
How are you?
Thank you very much, Scott.
Thank you very much.
I really appreciate you joining us here on the show today.
Again, there's some really important news, I guess, to cover from the war before we get to the politics of the thing.
Can you talk about the airstrike on the funeral in Sanaa?
What happened there?
And what's the importance of that airstrike in the context of the American and Saudi war against Yemen now?
Thank you very much.
In fact, what happened here in the funeral is a turning point in the U.S.-backed Saudi war crimes that have been here for 20 months now, for about 20 months.
And this war crime is something that maybe never happened over history.
And maybe that will not also happen, because nobody would expect something like this at all.
You can just imagine about 4,000 mourners, about 4,000 people in a community hall in the heart of Sanaa, at the climax of the gathering, and you see U.S.-backed Saudi war planes coming and bombing the first bomb, the second bomb, the third bomb, and the fourth bomb, killing about 1,000, killing and injuring about 1,000.
But the others also are also like they are killed also, because the whole place, all the place was bombed.
I think you might have seen some of the pictures.
So it's horrible.
It's something that reminded us of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, something also that reminded us of September 11.
It's something like this.
It's very horrible.
It's very incredible.
The people we were talking to outside Yemen would not believe what we were saying at the very beginning.
I was myself in my way to the place.
I was in my way to the place.
It is very near.
It is very close from my office.
And I was in my way to go.
And then I got back to my office to remark about this horrible war crime.
So this war crime was a turning point, of course.
It killed us a little bit.
Yes, it hurt Yemenis.
It killed Yemenis.
As I told you, about 800, 800 people were killed and injured.
Exactly those who were killed, about 200.
Those who were injured, about 600, maybe more.
But the 600 who were injured, about 400 of them are semi-dead, are almost dead, without limbs, without hands, without legs, without feet.
So I can't say that the 600 who are injured, I can't say they are injured, because they are also almost dead.
Maybe the death would have been better for some of them, for most of them.
So it was a horrible thing.
But the other thing I want to tell you, that this war crime refocused the attention to the Yemen, to the U.S.-backed war crimes that have been for 20 months now.
I mean, Saudi Arabia would always, maybe I talked with you in this show many times, and I was always telling you that it's war crimes, always, always.
But, you know, Saudi Arabia had that lobby and had that misinformation and misleading that would cover a lot of things.
But that thing, this thing that happened on October 8th, I mean, discovered everything and revealed the intentions of the Saudi war crimes here in Yemen.
Actually, it was something that would help us now.
It would help us.
We are very sad, yes, for the people who were killed and those who were injured.
But it would help us, because the White House started to understand what they are doing.
Obama, the American people would know now what Obama is doing in Yemen.
Of course, they said some words after this war crime.
They said that our cooperation with Saudi Arabia is not a blank check, as Obama said, from the White House, or the spokesman of the White House.
And also they said they would review the cooperation with Saudi Arabia on the 8th of Saudi Arabia.
Actually, this would not happen.
It would only happen if Obama ordered, if Obama stopped the war crimes.
If Obama stopped, without any condition, then he would kill himself, or he would help himself to reduce the sins and the guilt, and the war crimes he committed, and he helped the Saudis who committed here against Yemen.
Now, Nasser, I think it's really important that you brought up September 11th there as the parallel, because even though it's been 15 years, I think people still remember the shock and the horror of having, in that case, it was 3,000, but still triple, quadruple digits of innocent human beings slaughtered over politics.
This kind of trauma, the way the whole country felt about it.
Even if you were from San Diego, as far away from New York as possible, you still felt like it happened to you.
It's hard sometimes because there's so much literal space between us.
It's hard for people to use their imagination and really put themselves in the shoes, not of the fighter jock dropping the bomb, but of the people of Yemen who were attending a funeral, and then had so many of their friends and family blown to bits, who were blown to bits.
But that must be exactly how you feel, the same way we all felt after the September 11th attack on the United States, huh?
Exactly, exactly.
I was like one of you.
I was watching at the same time on September 11th, like anyone.
I love the Americans.
I love the American values.
I, myself, I am convinced of them.
I was seeing the September 11th here from Sana'a, from my place on TV.
It was very horrible.
It was like the Day of Judgment, you know?
It's something like the end of the world.
But on October 8th here, last week here in my city here in Sana'a, in the same place, I remember that event of September 11th.
Do you know why?
Because from September 11th until now, I've been writing and talking and discussing all the things about the terrorism, all the things about terrorism.
I've been reporting and writing only about Qaeda and terrorism and about these things.
So when this happened here last week here in my city on Sana'a, I remembered September 11th.
Do you know why?
Because I remembered that the same people who killed the 3,000 Americans on September 11th were also the same people, the same people, the same Saudi terrorists who came and killed us here in Sana'a.
But this time, Obama helped them, unfortunately.
This time, Obama helped them to kill us, unfortunately.
On September 11th, they were ordered by Osama bin Laden to go to Washington and New York and to carry out that terrorist attack.
So it was something that repeats history, unfortunately.
But why?
Why Obama is doing this?
Why Saudis are doing this on Yemen?
Why?
I mean, this war crime is not against Yemenis now.
It is not a war.
It is not like any other war, no.
It is just killing people, you know, killing people deliberately, brutally, and in a way that nobody can even believe, because it's, you know, as I told you, community hall, full of people, and the crime hour, the rush hour, and you come by F-15 to kill them.
What is the problem?
Why?
So it is against humanity everywhere.
Now it is the duty of everyone in the United States, in Russia, in the East, in the West, in the North, in the South of the world to say no for this crime, because it's against us all.
It's against every human.
But unfortunately, now the United States, Obama administration, wanted also to help Saudis, Saudis, although they say they would review, they would review the aid and the help and also the logistic things, the intelligence.
But unfortunately, what happened is something else.
Obama came to the Bab al-Mandab straight here in the South-West of Yemen, and they bombed or they launched three missiles to Yemen, unfortunately.
And this means, this means that Obama was not serious when he said, when he said he would review the cooperation with Saudi Arabia, and he would stop the, what he called the blank check of Saudi Arabia.
No, Obama unfortunately was just using a diplomatic language, and he did not mean it to stop Saudi Arabia from the war crimes, unfortunately.
Now listen, Nasser, there's this article in the Christian Science Monitor by Scott Peterson, who I know as a pretty good journalist here, and he talks about how, I mean, anybody in any society, obviously bombing a funeral is, you know, absolutely off-limits.
Yes.
After this horrible massacre of the funeral, now we have been for about five days, I think about six days.
Yes, about six days.
We are still, we are, you know, every time, everywhere you go now in Sana'a, you still see funerals.
You still see funerals in every street.
In every street, you see funerals.
Everyone is mourning everyone.
Everyone is, you know, is helping everyone.
Everyone is asking about everyone in Sana'a, because it's, you know, it's horrible.
About 60 dead bodies still are not identified until now.
Just imagine, about 60.
Because there were people not only, not necessarily from Sana'a, from other cities.
So, I mean, their relatives are not yet here.
Their relatives are not yet, did not yet know about the, they were, their relatives were killed or not now.
So, it's something exactly very, very similar to what happened in September 11, unfortunately.
Yeah.
All right.
Now, there's an article in the Christian Science Monitor by Scott Peterson that I thought is important to bring up here, Nasser.
Missile strike in Yemen, will criticism of Saudis morph into real pressure, is the title of the article for people who want to look it up.
But he talks about how, you know, in any context, obviously bombing a funeral in any country, in any society is a war crime and is off limits.
But he says that in Yemen, there's another special context to a funeral and especially this particular funeral that in Yemeni culture, a funeral is known as neutral ground where enemies can feel okay with attending the same funeral at the same time.
And it's guaranteed to be peaceful because, you know, it's sort of like we don't fight on Sunday in New Jersey or whatever this kind of rules.
And so, because of that custom, the place was chock full of all kinds of dignitaries and mayors and representatives of the military and of the Houthis and of other factions as well.
And all of the very people who would be most able to make peace and to move forward with some kind of ceasefire and some kind of solution for the future beyond all this violence.
And they were the people who were killed.
Exactly.
The funeral is a very holy thing.
As you said, here in this war, if some people were, if some people get killed here while they are fighting with the Saudi-backed forces here in the east of Yemen, in Marib, their funeral are being held here in Sana'a or in any other city with everyone, with everyone who are not with the Saudi forces attending these funerals.
Of course, as you said, when someone is dead, he's dead then.
He's a human regardless of anything, regardless of any loyalties, regardless of any affiliations or something like this.
Of course.
And I think it is not only in Yemen.
I mean, it's a very human common sense.
It's a common principle with the humans.
You know, people were in this community, community home, they were reciting Quran at that time.
And those people, you know, the people were just reciting Quran and shaking hands and, you know, paying tribute and all these things.
You know, it's like a mosque, exactly like a mosque.
It's not, but the difference is that the mosque is not like that because it was very, very, very crowded, crowded.
And it's the biggest, the grand community home in Sana'a.
It is called the Grand Hall.
So imagine, imagine, you just imagine now over 3,000 in one place and you receive bombs from, from over, from a war plane.
I mean, if this is not a war crime, what is war crime then?
It is a war crime without doubt.
What is war crime then?
Who could define war crime if this is not a war crime?
We know, we know, I mean, from the reactions, from the reactions we noticed from all over the world, from all the countries, from all humans everywhere, we knew that this is a big war crime.
This is, you know, why people were talking, talking with us and crying with us and why?
They know that this is something against every one of them, not only Yemen.
Why they did this?
Why they did this?
So it is not now enough from Obama to say, we'll review our cooperation or we will stop the blank check.
No.
If Obama wants to help, if Obama wants to, to help himself to reduce such guilt and such sins, he should stop the war crime, the Saudi war crime, and the war.
This is the only thing that would help Obama and everyone who wants the peace for Yemen.
Otherwise, it's nothing.
I mean, silence.
Why Saudi Arabia committed such crime?
It is very clear to us.
It is very clear to every observer that the silence from UN and from the human, the international community over the war crimes over 20 months now encouraged Saudi Arabia to do such a war crime.
I mean, such a big one.
Otherwise, it would not, it would not have done it at all.
But, you know, they stopped the inquiry.
They stopped the inquiry.
I mean, UK and US stopped the inquiry for the, for about five times, although it was a demand by the UN, by the human rights groups all over the world, by all the neutral countries.
We need a new, we need an international inquiry in Yemen, but Saudi Arabia refused with the help of UK and US, unfortunately.
This time, the last time this month, it was in Geneva, the one who wanted this inquiry was Holland, representing all the European Union, all the European Union, not only Holland by itself, but also they refused it.
They told it, UK told Holland to stop inquiry, to stop talking about the inquiry.
So what does this mean?
What does this mean?
They wanted Saudi Arabia to continue war crimes and Saudi Arabia now continued and they, Saudi Arabia did what Hitler did not do, what any war criminal in the world did not do, unfortunately.
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Well, I don't know about that.
Hitler pretty much set the standard as far as that goes, but yeah, I hear you, man.
I understand how you feel.
So, listen, a big part of the excuse for all this, Nasser, is Iran.
The Houthis aren't just the Houthis.
The Houthis basically amount to Hezbollah.
Let me just finish one thing.
Sure.
The Saudi Arabia on this crime, on this war crime, at the beginning said, we did not come over Sana'a, we did not fly over Sana'a cave.
So, see, what Saudi Arabia said, and it's war blame that were seen by everyone in Yemen, not only in Sana'a, war blame, and they bombed one, two, three, four, bomb.
And then Saudi Arabia said, we did not come to Sana'a, we did not fly today over Sana'a.
And then they said, maybe we'll see.
And then they said, yes, we were there, but we will investigate after the White House said we would review the cooperation with Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia said, yes, we would investigate.
And then they agreed that Saudi Arabia would investigate in the war crime.
This is disregard of every principle in the world.
Why they asked, why Obama asked, why Obama agreed that Saudi Arabia should investigate in their own crime, in their own war crime?
Why?
Why the UN would not investigate?
Why other people would not investigate?
Why Saudi Arabia would investigate in their war crime?
I mean, this is something, it's a war crime by itself to talk that Saudi Arabia would, or to hear Kerry saying to the Saudi officials, don't do it.
Don't do it again.
Don't do it again.
Don't do it again.
Okay, and investigate.
Don't do it again.
This is what Kerry told the Saudi officials to do after this war crime.
I mean, why do they disregard the human life like this?
It is a war crime also against everyone.
Why they are doing this?
I mean, this is how terrorism is made.
This is how terrorism is made.
And this is how the hatred against humans is made.
It's evil.
You see Saudi killing people and you say, then, okay, you can investigate and tell us what is there.
And Saudi Arabia would cover hundreds of war crimes because it has lobbies, it has money, it has...
So why it should investigate?
Others should investigate.
I mean, the UN or any other body from the world.
All right, now, yeah, I mean, obviously it was the Saudis.
If it wasn't them, then it was just Americans.
But nobody else is flying fighter bombers over Sana'a right now, other than them.
So there's pretty much all the investigation you need on that question.
All right, so let me ask you this, Nasser, about Iran's role, because that's the excuse for this whole war is the idea that the Houthi movement, who used to be the rebels, the Shiite, Zaidi rebels up in the north of Yemen, they're now the government.
They sacked Sana'a.
They took over Sana'a and drove the American and Saudi backed government out of power there.
And according to the story, that might have been acceptable, except that they are backed by Iran and they are a front for Iran.
And we are supposedly to equate them with Hezbollah, basically, as another front.
And sometimes they even say, you know, another front in the expansion of the Persian empire in the Middle East.
This is the way they spin it.
But I wonder, hey, maybe it's true.
Obviously, the Iranians and the Houthis have some things in common, if only their antipathy for the Saudis at this point.
So tell me, what do you think is the truth of Iranian support for the Houthi movement?
See, Scott, this is a very, very important thing, and we want the world to understand this.
Iran is exploiting the foolishness of Saudis.
Iran is exploiting the war in Yemen now.
The U.S. is backing Saudi Arabia to kill Yemenis, to do this war in Yemen, right?
Iran is only exploiting it because Iran is a rival of Saudi Arabia.
Everybody knows this.
But Iran does not support us in the meaning that someone might understand.
For example, does not support, does not, Iran has not any prisons, any military prisons at all.
Iran does not support even with one mullet to Yemen, because it couldn't do this at all, unfortunately.
So what Iran is doing is exploiting it in terms of media and politics, of course.
Also, it is supporting Yemen, because it is supporting, but not to the extent that, I mean, it is not what Iran is doing now or before is not a justification for this war at all, at all, at all, because Saudi Arabia still has the biggest share of influence, the biggest part of influence over all Yemen.
And Iran would not ever have this part, this influence that Saudi has at all, because Saudi Arabia is rich, richer and closer and the same language and the same culture and the same, you know.
So Iran would never, ever be able to have the same influence like Saudi Arabia.
But at the same time, even if Iran has the same, and if Iran is supporting Yemen 100 percent, I mean, we are free.
Why?
I mean, Saudi Arabia should only protect itself, protect its security, its national security.
But it should not tell Yemenis what to do and what not to do and who to be friends with and who not.
This is something not acceptable.
But the fact, the fact is Iran is not in Yemen.
Iran is exploiting Yemen.
Iran is exploiting Yemen.
During this war, Iran did not give even water to Yemen, water, let alone weapons, as Kerry said many times.
Kerry said that Yemen now has the missiles from Iran.
Yemen has never received anything from Iran and would never receive at all, because, you know, the missiles that Yemenis are now using are from Russia, from the Soviet Union, from the British Union, very old missiles.
But yes, from the war, Yemenis have the experience to modify them, to develop them, to make them better.
This is something else.
But it is foolish to have Kerry to say, to have Kerry saying that Yemenis have or Houthis have missiles from Iran.
This is not right, because Iran, we, Saudi Arabia knows that Yemen is closed, Yemen is blockaded.
How Iran could give weapons or missiles to Yemen while we are blockaded, while we are in this very tightened B.C. country.
It is not right.
So Iran is exploiting, as I told you, Iran is exploiting the situation in Yemen.
Yes.
And at the beginning, Obama wanted only to abuse Saudi Arabia when they were angry over the nuclear deal.
But unfortunately, Obama abused the Saudis by what?
By the Yemeni blood.
And this is not right.
This is not right.
This is a war crime.
This is not acceptable by anyone.
Obama should have abused Saudis with something not by the Yemeni blood this way, because it is not a solution.
It makes all the problems for the security of the world and the stability of the world and not only the region.
All right, Nasser.
And now tell me, what's your best estimate of the casualties from the total war of the last 20 months at this point?
Now, more than 50,000 killed and injured.
Exactly those who were killed now until the beginning of October, according to local groups here, local human rights groups, 16,000, 16,000, and over 35 injured.
So we have about 50, about more than 50,000 injured, killed and injured.
And the problem now is not only the casualties also.
There is another thing that people don't know, that people outside Yemen don't understand.
There are people dying every day, every day, dying of hunger, dying of illness, illness because there is no medicine, dying of hunger because there is no food because of the blockade, and dying in Greece because hospitals are not functioning well.
So those people are not counted, although they are in thousands now, in thousands, if not tens of thousands.
People who are dying every day, every day, we are seeing them with our own eyes every day, dying of hunger, dying of illness, like cholera, like diabetes, like the other one is the failure of kidney.
These are, you know, because of the stopping of the hospitals, of the no functioning, no working, no medicine.
So people, if we count these people, we would have about 70 or 80,000.
And these are people dying because of this war, of this Jewish-backed Saudi war crime.
The other thing is that those who were displaced from those people, there are about 3 million now, according to the estimates of UN.
Yes, 3 million.
But those people who are, who did not displace from their houses, and at the same time they are like in caves, because there is no kind of life-saving supplies, no kind of life-saving things in their houses.
So they are like those who are also displaced.
So we are in a catastrophic situation because of this war.
And Saudi Arabia, unfortunately, is fighting Yemen by this way, fighting Yemen by starving, and fighting Yemen by, you know, by disabling and by dismantling the central bank, you know.
So they are trying to kill Yemenis in any way.
So these are war crimes, war crimes.
All right, well, I'll let you go, but thank you so much for coming back on the show, Nasser, to tell us about what's going on there.
I sure appreciate it.
Thank you very much, Scott.
Thank you very much for your interest.
Best of luck to you, sir.
Talk to you soon.
All right, y'all, that is Nasser Arabi.
He's at YemenNow, YemenAlan.com, Yemen-Alan, actually, .com there for his group YemenNow.
And you can read him on the Carnegie Endowment website and a couple other places.
Just put Nasser Arabi in Google News there, you find out all about it.
Thanks, y'all.
Oh, and you know what?
He was busy this week and couldn't do the show, but let me mention this very important piece by Jonathan Landay with his old pal Warren Strobel, now at Reuters.
Exclusive, as Saudis bombed Yemen, U.S. worried about legal blowback.
And that is, basically, their lawyers were warning them that they are war criminals for doing what they're doing here.
And it's under legal standards that they have set.
You can read all about that at Reuters, the great Landay and Strobel team there writing now at Reuters.
Again, as Saudis bombed Yemen, U.S. worried about legal blowback.
And anyway, so check out ScottHorton.org, help support at slash donate.
Follow me on Twitter at Scott Horton Show.
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