Q: So how soon do you think the war will end? asked a worried Yemeni friend in Aden.
A: I believe it will take a few more weeks to break the Houthis and their allies. It will take this much time for the news to reach the families of dead young men and children who were fighting in faraway war zones. Once they learn the truth that their leaders have hidden from them, there will be a great awakening that will lead to popular revolt against the Houthi leadership.
Q: How can families be unaware of what is happening to their sons in this age of mobile communication?
A: The leaders are taking every precaution you can imagine to isolate soldiers from their families and friends. No mobile phones are allowed. They take young men to fight in areas far from home, and never release any information about their movement or whereabouts.
Q: But how can the soldiers, especially the young, accept such conditions?
A: Part of it is extreme poverty. They come from places where there is no way to make a living except by waging war. This is the only thing they have learned to do in their lives. The other reason is ideology. Those people were trained and taught all their lives to follow certain religious teaching. For them, what their leaders say is like the sayings of Allah and his Prophet (peace be upon him). So they believe that killing and destroying is a guaranteed way to Paradise. And dying for the cause is the fastest way to salvation. They also give these young men necklaces to protect them, and tell them that if they go to heaven, then they can use them as keys to enter.
Q: With a committed, well-trained army like this, how can you win?
A: You can because you are defending your family, country and yourself. And because you have better knowledge of your own environment. And because you know your enemy is wrong and you are right. The young, civilized men of Aden, who are totally inexperienced in the art of war, managed to win against the experienced Houthis and allied army with their tanks and heavy artillery. It was a lesson for the tougher tribes who were reluctant to face the militias. Now all are in for the big, and hopefully, final fight. The Arab Alliance is also there to assist and support.
Q: The Alliance! Why don't they send their land armies? Why have they left us to our destiny alone? They could have ended it long ago if they had landed, at least in friendly cities, like Aden and Mukalla.
A: Yemen is one of the world's most dangerous quagmires. Empires have tried and failed to win against Yemeni mountainous tribes. The last were the Ottomans and Egyptians. We understand their reluctance to go in. The rest of us are reluctant, too. In fact, I believe it's the Houthi plan to drag us in. That is their home field, and that is where they can play best.
Beside, this is supposed to be a Yemeni-Yemeni issue. The good guys should and will win. They need better equipment, training, communications, coordination, leadership, air and naval support, intelligence and other logistics. Later they may get more help to maintain security and provide safe havens. Once this happens, the legitimate government can return and things will go north from there.
Q: It is easy for you to wait, but life is hell here in Aden. There is no electricity, no water and soon no communications. Hospitals are out of supplies. Food is running out. We need faster action. Could you please get our call for urgent help to the civilized world!
A: I will, certainly, even though I know that the Alliance and the world community are working as fast as possible to get help to those who need it. The problem is that the Houthis are either obstructing aid or diverting it to themselves. Hopefully, securing Aden, with its airport and port and strategic location, will provide the Alliance with a hub and a network to distribute help to all areas—starting with those under government control.
Q: So, how soon then?
A: The harder the Houthis are hit and the faster they are defeated, the sooner the endgame will be over. That's why Russia and Iran are talking about peace initiatives to stop the war with the excuse of providing a time-out for a peace dialogue. They know that their agents were given the chance and turned the offer down. When the Alliance stopped the aerial campaign, the Houthis announced their refusal to accept Security Council resolutions and never stopped fighting. We need to force them to accept a ceasefire and a peace dialogue as a political party, not as a militia and insurgents against the country's legitimate, elected government. What has been taken by force in Yemen, can only be taken back by force.
Russia and Iran should use their energy and power to convince the Houthis to respect international law and obey the Security Council resolutions. Any other games and tricks will only prolonged the misery of Yemenis—all Yemenis, the Houthis included.
— Dr. Khaled M. Batarfi is a Saudi writer based in Jeddah. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @kbatarfi
