By Mohammad Mazhari
TEHRAN - Catherine Shakdam, a geopolitical analyst and commentator based on London, tells the Tehran Times that Western powers and the UN have failed to stop Saudi crimes in Yemen and allowed the Saudi regime “to conduct a veritable genocide”.
Shakdam, who consulted for the UN Security Council from 2014 to 2016 on Yemen’s war, says, “The UN is owned by powers such as Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the United States. With this in mind you can understand why violence and bloodshed have become the norm.”
Shakdam, the author of “A Tale of Grand Resistance: Yemen, The Wahhabi and the House of Saud”, also notes “the United Nations is no longer an independent body striving for peace – rather an expression of imperialism, and military interventionism.”
The text of the interview with Shakdam is as follows:
The text of the interview with Shakdam is as follows:
Question: Has the United Nations been successful to promote a peaceful world? How do you assess the role of the great powers in the UN?
“From Syria to Iraq, Bahrain, and of course Yemen, the hand of Western imperialism has darkened the skies.”Answer: I’m afraid the United Nations has become a redundant institution which sits completely empty of political relevance. The UN was created on the principle that the rule of law needs to be upheld by nations under all circumstances. The UN has not lived up to such a principle of fairness.
The UN has become a euphemism for manipulation, elitism, grand criminality, and nepotism. When is the last time the UN stood for the oppressed of this world? The United Nations defends today the mighty against the weak, the liars, and the criminals. Saudi Arabia owns the UN today … how can we then speak of legality and legitimacy? Where was the UN when Yemen burnt under the fire of al-Saud? Where was the UN when a humanitarian blockade was imposed on Yemen? Where was the UN when Bahrain committed atrocious acts of barbarism against civilians in the name of control? Where was the UN when Yazidi women were sold into slavery by Daesh militants? The UN has been incapable of stopping criminality. Worse still I would say that the UN has been an accessory to war crimes by keeping mum.
As for America’s influence at the United Stations, it is its right of veto at the UNSC which has been most damaging to peace and progress. America has become a roadblock to peace in many conflicts.
As for America’s influence at the United Stations, it is its right of veto at the UNSC which has been most damaging to peace and progress. America has become a roadblock to peace in many conflicts.
Q: One of the biggest failures of the UN has occurred in Yemen, where thousands of civilians have been slaughtered by the Saudi-led coalition. What is your take on it?
A: There have been countless instances where the United Nations has utterly failed in its mission. Most blatant of all was the UN decision to withdraw Saudi Arabia from its human rights blacklist earlier in 2015. The UN is supposed to represent a political ideal and ensure countries abide by the rules of international law. So far the Saudis have not played by the rules. Yemen is just holding a mirror to Saudi Arabia and to the kind of violations the Saudis feel they’re entitled to commit because no one will hold them accountable. It’s not so much as the Saudi problem, we have a greater problem where the UN is completely people and countries would feel they have a higher authority.
Terror today is an extension of imperialism – a violent and despicable neocon of a political construct invented by the West and build to Wahhabism’s image. I would say that Western powers have completely revealed their hypocritical hands in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia has been allowed to conduct a veritable genocide. All the international community could master was meek condemnation.
And then of course there has been America’s weapon sales bonanza to Saudi Arabia. The rhetoric used to justify such a position has been similar to that used by Israel against the Palestinians. For the sake of profiteering and geopolitical manipulations, the U.S. and the UN have allowed for war crimes to be brushed as legitimate and crimes against humanity necessary in the pursuit of the greater good.
From Syria to Iraq, Bahrain, and of course Yemen, the hand of Western imperialism has darkened the skies.
Q: Why has the UN failed to stop Saudi crimes in Yemen?
Q: Why has the UN failed to stop Saudi crimes in Yemen?
A: Money! As I mentioned above, the UN is owned by powers such as Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the United States. With this in mind, you can understand why violence and bloodshed have become the norm. The United Nations is no longer an independent body striving for peace – rather an expression of imperialism, and military interventionism.
Q: Could we consider the UN as a tool in hands of the arrogant powers, specifically the U.S.?
A: To an extent, yes, but not limited to. The U.S. has lost a great deal of its power to Saudi Arabia’s money and Israel’s lobby. Today the UN is fast becoming a tool in the hands of the kingdom. America appears to lead from behind once again. That being said we should not dismiss America’s influence at the UN.
“It is Wahhabism which stands an enemy of humanity – Islam here has been a victim.”If I may be brutally honest the United Nations’ power exist only just as long as we give it credence. Its hold on nations can only last as long as it is tolerated.
Q: According to SIPRI report, Arab regimes are major customers of American weapons. Could we say the U.S. contributes to the spread of insecurity and tyranny in the region?
A: It is true that the United States has made a great deal of money by selling weapons to violent regimes across not just West Asia but Africa and Asia. It is interesting how on the one hand the U.S. can claim to righteousness in its political conduct and still draw a profits from war crimes … it is after all war crimes we are really talking about.
The United States today is not empowering nations against tyranny but single-handedly allowing for tyrants to abuse their people in the name of power. If anything the U.S. has worked to deny the very rights it has claimed for itself by claiming itself a nation under God.
“It is not just violent and repressive regimes the U.S. has helped armed, but terror militants as well… Under the pretense of democracy-building Washington has empowered the likes of Daesh and al-Qaeda.”
As far as the security, or rather insecurity is concerned, Washington has of course a great deal to answer to. It is not just violent and repressive regimes the U.S. has helped armed, but terror militants as well. America’s war games in Syria attest to that. Under the pretense of democracy-building Washington has empowered the likes of Daesh, and al-Qaeda. I would personally argue that Terror has been used as an asymmetrical weapon of war. Instability has been engineered by Western powers so that borders could be exploded and redrawn to fit a certain agenda.
Q: Are Western powers serious and honest in fighting terrorism?
A: I don’t think that Western powers have ever been genuine in their so-called fight against Terror. Again, if you look at Washington’s rationale you will notice that America has more often than not allied itself to Terror to pursue its geopolitical agendas. Terror has been used by Western powers … it is a very convenient cover!
Defeating Terror can be achieved quite easily if only we were serious. Terror, after all, sits in Riyadh. It is Wahhabism which stands an enemy of humanity – Islam here has been a victim. But of course, stopping Wahhabism would mean to rise an opposition against Saudi Arabia and the billions of dollars the kingdom has to throw at the world.
Western powers have leaned on Terror since the late 1970s to act on their behalf and manifest the changes they envision. Today Terror is carving an empire at the heart of West Asia, mapping its advances on Israel’s vision: Greater Israel. Back in the 1980s, a very interesting plan was drawn: The Yinon Plan which provisioned for the Balkanization of the Levant by bringing wars to nations.
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