Yemen: Where 'Divide' Means Different Ways to Profit from War
Al-Monitor's latest piece on Saudi-UAE fractures in Yemen details their differing strategic aims, from Red Sea influence to Horn of Africa control. It's a fascinating look at geopolitical chess, framed as regional powers squabbling. What's notably absent, however, is the inconvenient truth that both Riyadh and Abu Dhabi were armed to the teeth by the West as they prosecuted a brutal war that
starved millions. The US and UK became primary benefactors: a 2021 report stated the US approved over $27 billion in arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE from 2015-2020. (Source: Human Rights Watch). This wasn't merely a conflict; it was a multinational arms bazaar. So, when Al-Monitor discusses 'competition' and 'geopolitical positioning,' one might wonder if the real story isn't the split, but
how effectively Western governments facilitated the slaughter, irrespective of who was bombing whom, as long as the cash registers kept ringing. The 'divide' appears less about diverging interests and more about optimizing the destruction for maximum profit for arms manufacturers like Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, whose stocks soared during the conflict.