A former US ambassador in Riyadh acknowledges Saudi Arabia’s defeat in Yemen

YemenExtra

The former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Charles Freeman, gave advice to Riyadh, saying that Saudi Arabia should admit defeat and withdraw from Yemen.

In a lengthy interview with the American newspaper “The Cradle”, Freeman said: “Saudi Arabia must admit defeat and withdraw from Yemen, otherwise the Yemenis will not let it retreat without demanding for a greater concession in return.”

“The Houthis do not care about America and will not submit to any American mediation between Saudi Arabia and Iran,” as he puts it, indicating that any American role for reconciliation between Iran and Saudi Arabia will not have an impact on the position of Ansar Allah.

He considered that Washington entered the war in Yemen to prove its support and alliance only with Saudi Arabia, after the relations between the two countries had cooled for years, and Washington wanted to re-strengthen its relations with Saudi Arabia by participating in the war on Yemen.

“The only U.S. interest in Yemen, other than a desire to curb terrorist attacks from its soil, is to demonstrate continued support for Saudi Arabia to offset the deterioration of other aspects of the U.S.-Saudi relationship. But there is no American popular support for participating in the war and there is a lot of opposition in the United States to help the Saudis continue their adventures in Yemen,” he added.

It is noteworthy that Charles Freeman was the US ambassador to Riyadh during the period (1990-1992), and served as the head of the National Intelligence Council during the administration of former US President Barack Obama, during which the US-Saudi aggressive war on Yemen began.