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Welcome back to Political Misfits on Radio Sputnik, where we bring you news, politics and culture - without the red and blue treatment. I’m John Kiriakou here with Michelle Witte.
International affairs and security analyst Mark Sleboda
Let’s talk first about Yemen. The Biden administration, we are told, is making plans for a “sustained military campaign” against the Ansarallah or Houthi forces in Yemen, which the administration has started referring to as a militant group again, but which controls the vast majority of populated Yemen and had been negotiating from a position of strength after almost a decade of fighting the US-Saudi-UAE coalition. It’s a war when the Saudis are doing it, I guess. The Biden angle now, I guess, is “the strikes aren’t working but we aren’t going to stop, this won’t last years but we don’t know how long it will last, conflict IS deescalation and inter-governmental conflict isn’t war.” What exactly do you think is coming down the pike here?
When Biden first launched strikes against the Houthis over their Red Sea blockade a little over a week ago, a bunch of members of Congress said, hey, it’s our job to declare war. They’ve been pretty quiet since. Do you expect much resistance to this new “sustained campaign” that is not a war?
Reuters reported over the weekend that both Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps AND Hezbollah commanders are on the ground in Yemen helping direct and oversee the Red Sea shipping blockade. Certainly, reports like this will help sell this conflict to some segments of the American public - hey, our official enemies are helping direct this action that … doesn’t actually really hurt us directly, at least not yet, but inconveniences Europe quite a lot. How much truth do you think there could be to these reports? And what would it mean?
In the meantime, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday rejected what he called terms of surrender to Hamas - as he put it, in exchange for hostages, “Hamas demands the end of the war, the withdrawal of our forces from Gaza, the release of all the murderers and rapists, [a]nd leaving Hamas intact." The murderers and rapists he refers to are 240 Palestinians in prison in Israel, for what crimes, I don’t know. A Hamas spokesperson said, well, then it seems like there’s no chance for these Israeli captives to be released. Protesters from some of the families of those hostages have been protesting and complaining for weeks now, and a group today stormed a parliamentary committee session at Israel’s Knesset to demand more be done to get their relatives back. We were talking this morning about how the Knesset seems … pretty secure, so whether these folks were let in is a question for Israeli domestic politics heads, I guess. But clearly, this is where the big pressure in Israel is coming from - from families who want a deal to get their loved ones back. But of course, Netanyahu has everything to lose from ending this conflict. What is going to give here, do you think? You have a civilian population in absolute misery in Gaza - according to the UN, 95% of the people of the world facing starvation right now are in the tiny enclave. I suppose Hamas could agree to lay down arms in exchange for humanitarian relief, but that would mean walking to their own graves, abandoning the larger fight for a Palestinian state, and putting a lot of faith in an entity that had been forcing Gazans to live in deprivation for nearly two decades before. Is there any hope for peace terms here?
What kind of power are the families of Israeli hostages going to be able to bring to Israeli politics, do you think? They’re very useful for Netanyahu’s opponents. Will they be able to be more than political pawns?
OK, let’s talk about Russia and Ukraine. The story right now is that the fight there is at a standstill - is that exactly true?
Talk about the need for elections in Ukraine has died down - along with funding and talk about Ukraine generally. Has Zelensky really weathered any possible challenges to his leadership?
Ukraine Is Losing the Drone War | Foreign Affairs
‘Patriots,’ About Putin’s Falling Out With an Oligarch, Is Broadway Bound - The New York Times
Iranian and Hezbollah commanders help direct Houthi attacks in Yemen | Reuters
Tiny Gaza Is Home to Most of the World’s Hungriest People - WSJ
Taiwan’s Doubts About America Are Growing. That Could Be Dangerous. - The New York Times
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/01/20/us-military-yemen-houthis/
EU’s top diplomat accuses Israel of funding Hamas – POLITICO
The Ineffective Unsustainable US War on Yemen on Behalf of Israel, Iran's Axis of Resistance Proxy War Against the US/Israel, US Hates Proxy Wars When They Aren't the One Waging It, more...