By Major General Tim Cross
Our ally is using British arms in contradiction to our self-proclaimed role in the world. At some point we need to address that.
There is a real danger that unrest across the Middle East is now generating a genuine existential threat to the West - and to people of all faiths everywhere who seek to live peacefully alongside one another. Though at least some of the suicidal gunmen who wreaked havoc on the vibrant and multicultural streets of the French capital’s 10th and 11th arondissements in Paris were European nationals, all were inspired by a hate-filled ideology incubated in the chaos of Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. And as the UK Parliament decides to extend the reach of our RAF bombers into Syria, the question on many lips is, where do we go from here?
First a bit of realism: "we", the West, are not going to fix the Middle East. We don’t see it the way people in the region see it, and we certainly don’t understand it the way they do. In 2003 I saw for myself the harm that such hubris had, with the almost willful neglect of any serious planning for the aftermath of invading Iraq. The solutions to the region’s problems must come primarily from the regional powers themselves. In particular, rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran must exchange their proxy wars, of which Yemen is but one, for diplomatic engagement. But there are ways we - the West - can and should help. And equally importantly, there are ways in which we can avoid making things worse.
The UK’s close ally, Saudi Arabia, is struggling in a conflict with the Houthi rebels in Yemen which risks becoming a quagmire; it is already breeding extremism and taking a high humanitarian toll. Yemen has not been widely covered in Western media, yet ISIS and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) are taking advantage of the chaos there to strengthen their presence - just as they have done in Syria and Iraq, with such devastating consequences. ISIS has claimed a number of bloody suicide bombings in the Yemeni capital Sana’a over the past few months, and they brag about their armed presence in the city of Aden. Whatever the debate in Parliament may suggest, the challenge of ISIS and extremism goes much further in the region than Syria’s borders, and so should any sensible response.
Since the bombing of Yemen began in March this year, more than 5,700 people have been killed, including women and children. Two thirds of the casualties have been caused by Saudi-led airstrikes, and the vast majority of those killed and injured are civilians. There is clear evidence that all sides have failed to distinguish between civilians and combatants, and the UN has warned that all parties have committed actions that may amount to war crimes. Civilian infrastructure has been destroyed by the coalition, including recently an MSF hospital in Sana’a. The humanitarian situation has also deteriorated breathtakingly fast: Yemen after five months of conflict looked like Syria after 5 years, and much of the country is on the brink of famine; 85% of Yemen’s population of 24.4m are in need of humanitarian assistance.
As an ally, arms supplier, and key counter-terrorism partner, the UK has an important relationship with Saudi Arabia, and therefore a special responsibility to highlight cases when it is acting in a way that is against its own and its allies’ interests - which is certainly the case in Yemen. We should publicly and privately support the Saudi leadership in shifting tack from a purely military strategy that is clearly not working, towards seeking a much broader diplomatic and political solution, built around a ceasefire. Apart from anything else, we need to do this to avoid the risk of complicity in war crimes and accusations of hypocrisy that undermine our status as a champion of the rules-based international order.
The UK is a lead donor in Yemen and has given £75 million in new aid since September 2014, but at the same time, we are Saudi Arabia’s largest arms supplier, having granted 37 export licenses for military goods since March, including going out of our way to divert to 500 lb ’Paveway’ IV guided bombs originally earmarked for the RAF; guided bombs carried on UK-provided planes.
The UK is of course well within its rights to sell arms to Saudi Arabia when in line with international and domestic legal frameworks. But there is a clear risk that the Government is complicit in indiscriminate attacks in civilian areas - breaches of international and UK law. How our ally is using British arms runs counter to our self-proclaimed role in the world, and our aid efforts. Senior Government figures themselves privately recognize this contradiction.
The discussions on Syria highlight the national interest in preventing yet another failed state in the Middle East. We have the same interest in Yemen. We are in a unique position to help our ally secure a ceasefire and reach a political solution; we should act as an enabler, using diplomacy and humanitarian support to get people around the table. Most importantly, we should have confidence in our ability to play a positive role on Yemen, which could be an example of how we might engage more widely on foreign policy to assert British values, promote national and international security and development, and define our role in the world.
