Why Bahrain's Latest Participation in Aggression on Yemen is Worse

2024-01-15 - 2:11 p

Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): On Thursday (January 11, 2024), the United States launched strikes on targets in a number of Yemeni governorates and Yemen's capital, Sana'a, with the participation of the United Kingdom, and the support of countries including Bahrain, according to what US President Joe Biden announced in a press statement.

Of course, Bahrain's participation in the aggression against Yemen was not the first of its kind. Eight years ago, it entered a war led by Saudi Arabia and participated in the siege imposed on the brotherly people of Yemen, in what became known as the "Decisive Storm" operation.

Nonetheless, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which were the spearheads of that absurd war, learned their lesson well, after Riyadh and Abu Dhabi became within range of the Yemeni army's missiles, and drones, and after missiles started to rain down on their countries nonstop.
In the years that followed that senseless war, the UAE and Saudi Arabia decided to gradually withdraw their forces, and began searching for a political solution to the crisis caused by the war. The Sultanate of Oman was the godfather of the dialogue proposed to reach a political settlement that would end this state of conflict.

The question here is where was Bahrain in all of this? The truth is that no one can give a clear answer to this question, except that Bahrain has recorded casualties multiple times, as a result of its participation in this war, the most recent of which was in last October (about two months ago) when Bahraini army forces were subjected to a drone attack that led to the deaths of at least 5 people, according to official data issued by the Bahrain Defense Force, amid odds of more human losses, as Bahrain relies on non-Bahrainis to form its military to whom it later grants citizenship.
Returning to Bahrain's recent participation in the aggression against Yemen, why does this participation seem worse than its precedents?

It is true that the aggression remains an aggression, regardless of they're titled as, but the former aggression against Yemen came in support of a Yemeni political team affiliated with the Saudi-Emirati axis, in order to keep Yemen as a dependent state, while the main goal of the latest aggression is to defend Israel and its interests in the region at the same time the Zionist war machine is waging a war of extermination against the people of Gaza, who have remained steadfast for more than three months.

Secondly, it is because this aggression comes eight years after a war in which the forces of aggression experienced the toughness of the Yemeni response, which exposed their armies and countries to the danger of missiles and drones that have proven, on more than one occasion, their effectiveness and ability to reach very distant targets.

Thirdly, it is because Bahrain's participation comes in light of the Emirati-Saudi refusal to participate publicly and officially in the American coalition, and Bahrain should have followed the Saudi-Emirati position, which seemed wiser and less reckless.
Certainly, Bahrain's participation in this aggression is the highest level of treason against the Palestinian people, and the clearest level of defense of the Zionist entity from an Arab Muslim country. At the same time, it is a foolish and unwise move that expresses a position completely dependent on the West, without any independence.

Bahrain has transformed from a semi-independent state, which is sometimes affected (due to its size and limited resources) by the pressures of neighboring countries or major powers, into a completely non-sovereign state that submits, without being able to express its opposition or disagreement, to any project that the major powers want, to serve their interests, even if this means disregarding its own interests.

It is the duty of the Bahraini people, as they took to the streets on Friday, and as they expressed on more than one occasion, to continue to express their indignation and complete and categorical rejection of Bahrain's participation in this alliance of shame. It is certain that the Yemeni people in general, and the Ansar Allah group in particular, are aware of the difference between the official and popular position in Bahrain, and the leader of the movement, Sayyed Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi, expressed this in his recent speech, but it is our duty as Bahrainis to raise our voice loudly and continue to express our stance rejecting this aggression, while the ruling family remains isolated in its palaces from the people of Bahrain.

Arabic Version