No Ceasefire/Ceasefire in Yemen

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

Endless US launched and sustained war in Yemen continues. Days of ceasefire talks in Sweden achieved no breakthroughs.

Claims otherwise were and remain rhetorical rubbish, ignoring reality on the ground and US imperial objectives.

Make no mistake. What's going on is Washington's war. The Saudis, UAE, Britain, France and Israel are junior partners in years of conflict.

While negotiations went on in Sweden, war raged in Yemen, continuing after talks ended with no letup. Nor is relief coming after December 18, the meaningless date set by the UN to cease hostilities.

The agreement reached between warring parties isn't worth the paper it's written on. Saudi/UAE terror-bombing escalated after peace talks concluded on December 13.

According to SouthFront on Saturday, their warplanes continue attacking the port city of Hodeidah and surrounding areas.

On the last day of peace talks in Sweden, Houthi-allied Yemeni forces' spokesman General Yahya Sari said their warplanes conducted over 10 airstrikes on Hodeidah province, along with artillery shelling on the ground, adding:

Houthi fighters foiled an attack by Saudi forces and Riyadh's proxies in Hodeidah's southern countryside.

The Houthis and allied Yemeni forces "remain ready for all options and will respond to any violations by the enemy and its mercenaries," Sari stressed.

War without mercy or letup following peace talks show hoped for conflict resolution is pure illusion because Washington rejects it.

Make no mistake. The US calls the shots in Yemen and other active conflict theaters. Other nations involved allied with its imperial agenda.

According to the Wall Street Journal, "(a) UN monitoring unit is expected to arrive in the region within days, led by…retired Dutch…general (Patrick Cammaert) with peacekeeping experience, to see that terms of the (no-deal) deal are carried out."

On Friday, UN special envoy for Syria Martin Griffiths told Security Council members that "(b)eing present in the field soon is an essential part of the confidence that needs to go with the implementation of (an) agreement." 

He failed to explain it was made to be breached straightaway like similar deals in Syria, Iraq, Libya, Ukraine, and elsewhere because the US rejects conflict resolution in all active theaters.

Griffiths saying robust monitoring is "urgently needed" belies reality on the ground and US imperial aims.

UN peacekeeping missions do more harm than good, failing to accomplish their announced purpose most often.

Key world body officials are installed and controlled by Washington to do its bidding, notably the secretary general, functioning as an imperial tool, breaching UN Charter principles he's sworn to uphold.

The UN did nothing to resolve decades of war, slaughter and chaos in Guatemala following the 1954 CIA coup, replacing democratic governance with fascist tyranny.

The world body's first ever peacekeeping mission (UNTSO) - established to monitor things during and after Israel's 1948 war of aggression, stealing 78% of historic Palestine, achieved nothing. 

Yet it's still active today despite 70 years of failure, ignoring Israeli high crimes, doing nothing to protect long-suffering Palestinians.

Similar operations in conflict and post-conflict theaters were and remain ineffective. World body missions are more about serving US imperial interests than helping to restore and maintain peace.

Things in Yemen no doubt will fare no better than most everywhere else. Ceasefire agreed to in Sweden by warring parties was pure illusion.

War continues raging, prospects for ending it any time soon virtually nil.

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