Dr Abdulhadi Al ajmi
Before the advent of Islam, at the beginning of the sixth century, Khosrau of Persia (Kasra) was extremely angry with Nu’man bin Al Mundhir, the king of Al Hirah. Therefore, the latter approached bin Masoud Al Shaibani, one of Arab leaders and heroes of the pre-Islamic era.
Nu’man requested Al Shaibani to take care of his family, wealth, and tribe, and then went to Khosrau, who arrested and killed him.
Not content with this, Khosrau sent a message to Al Shaibani asking him to hand over all that belonged to Nu’man. However, Al Shaibani turned down the demand as it was an Arab custom at that time to honour requests, shelter and defend the oppressed, and protect their wealth, family and belongings under any circumstance.
On learning of Al Shaibani’s refusal, Khosrau assembled an army that met the Arab army in one of the most important events of the pre-Islamic period, known as a battle of Dhi Qar, in which Persians suffered defeat for the first time at the hands of Arabs.
Maybe this introduction is symbolic, but it is far from the political, military and ideological issues involved in Yemen. It is naive for a person to wrestle intellectually with those who oppose his views and repeatedly assert that he is right, without presenting proof to support his proposition.
There is no doubt that the various Iranian-supported groups which condemn what is happening in Yemen and shed crocodile tears like Nasrallah did when some Yemeni civilians were killed, forget that they are the cause of suffering of the Syrian people, whose blood is dripping from their teeth.
Furthermore, some Iranian religious leaders who wear cloaks of innocence are the same people who urge fighters to get involved in conflicts in the Arab World, most recently in Yemen.
But in the other camp, which supports Operation Decisive Storm, there are a lot of views, highlighted by our media outlets, that analyse the operation and its causes and justify it. They underline the importance of confronting Iranian expansion in the Gulf. But this is not an acceptable or moral ground for military intervention in Yemen.
We can say that the political and military reasons that necessitated the Gulf intervention in Yemen are not separate from the moral issues involved.
The Gulf has been blamed for its negative stand since the early days of the Yemeni revolution. The Gulf was neither accepted nor welcomed, and is still paying the price for its stance.
Probably the goal of its leaders at the time and after the Gulf initiative — which asked the Yemeni people to sacrifice half of their dreams of getting rid of Saleh and his regime for the sake of gradually changing the ruling system, and gave immunity to Saleh and his sons, who looted Yemen for decades — was to protect the Yemenis’ rights and honour and help them until the political situation had stabilised and the Yemeni ship had reached safe shores.
However, the betrayal by Saleh and the Houthis necessitated this intervention to defend the country and its people.
The Yemeni people and the legitimate government of Yemen asked the Gulf countries for help on the basis of legitimate rights and moral principles. The Gulf must stand by the Yemenis not only to protect their interests but also to protect the Yemeni people, the country’s territorial integrity, rights, and honour against crimes by Saleh and the Houthis.
I do not deny the right of any people to choose their leader and to decide which path they will take, but at the same time I cannot deny that various segments of Yemeni society want to quickly get rid of Saleh, the dictator, and his cohorts, because of their corruption and criminality and the devastation they have caused.
Iran’s attempts to extend its influence and gain control are another reason for the Operation. However, if that is the choice of the Yemeni people, no one has the right to stand against their will.
The right thing now for us is to commit to clear, moral grounds for Operation Decisive Storm and remember that the Arabs were victorious in Dhi Qar not because they were fighting Persians, but because it was a battle to regain rights and the victory of moral values and ethics, and to defend the people of Al Nu’man, who needed protection.
The author is a professor of history at Kuwait University
