Email Shows UAE’s Ambassador Worried About ‘Targeting of Civilian Sites’ in Yemen War

YemenExtra

In the fall of 2015, the United Arab Emirates’ ambassador to the United States, Youssef Al Otaiba, sent a concerned email to a group of high-level officials in his government, stressing that the war in Yemen was becoming a public-relations nightmare.

The Obama administration, he told leadership back home, remained reluctantly supportive, but the ongoing Saudi-led campaign was harming the US reputation and thus putting his own country, an active and eager participant in the war, in a delicate position.

The September 2015 memo documenting Otaiba’s concerns was sent to a wide set of UAE decision makers. It was originally emailed to Assistant Secretary-General of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Al Shamsi, Crown Prince Court Undersecretary Mohammad Mubarak Al Mazrouei, and Sayyed Basar Shueb, a Pal Technology executive.

Otaiba then forwarded the email to Khaldoon Al Mubarak, a top UAE official close to Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, informing him that he sent the same memo to “TBZ, ABZ, and Dr. Anwar” — referring to Emirates Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan; Tahnoon bin Zayed, a senior banker in the UAE; and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Mohammad Gargash.

In the memo, Otaiba laid out stark concerns about the war and the political situation it was creating.

“In a series of long conversations with WH officials, it has become evident that the human toll and collateral damage occurring in Yemen is putting the administration in a political corner,” he wrote.

He then frankly conceded, “The increased targeting of civilian sites combined with the lack of humanitarian support is translating into a liability for Washington.”

Source: The Intercept