Why Do Obama’s Opponents Blame Him for Yemen?

• 03.29.2015, 18:26
•  America,  World

Photo from www.thedailybeast.com

Recent developments in Yemen, strengthened hold of Shiite Houthi rebels and weakened positions of US backed Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, created a new wave of criticism addressed against the US president with the opponents of Obama blaming him for his failed policy in the Middle East. 

On the occasion the US senators John McCain  and Lindsey Graham particularly noted:  "What’s worse, while our Arab partners conduct air strikes to halt the offensive of Iranian proxies in Yemen, the U.S. is conducting air strikes to support the offensive of Iranian proxies in Tikrit."

In addition they also stated: "A country that President Obama recently praised as a model for U.S. counterterrorism has now become a sectarian conflict and a regional proxy war that threatens to engulf the Middle East,"  - the Wall Street Journal reports.

The critics of Obama had previously blamed the US president for his decision to evacuate 125 United States Special Operation Advisors from Yemen; the act which was considered as a "blow  to the Obama administration counterterrorism campaign". The following developments in the country and the present chaos in Yemen further escalated the ongoing debates on the issue among the representatives of the US administration strengthening the hold of Obama critics.

The main argument  derives from  the fact that the line between the US "friends" and "enemies" in the Middle East have been fused  in the face of recent developments and present chaos in the region.  As a result there is a kind of paradox there:  in Syria and Iraq the US led coalition fight against Islamic State terrorist organization:  a common enemy both for Iran and US, while in Yemen the US is supporting the attacks of  Saudi Arabia and its ally Arab states  against  Shiite Houthi rebels, who are claimed to be supported by Iran.

In the presence of this kind of  chaotic situation in the Middle East were the colors are mixed to draw concrete deductions it would be one sided to put the whole blame of the current crises in Yemen on the Obama administration policies in the region. Even if one assumes that the US policies in Yemen failed because of Obama’s administration  failure to properly estimate  the role and strength of Shiite Houthi group in the country, no doubt this taken alone  cannot explain the recent developments in Yemen, which is a result of number of external and internal factors: the reality that even the opposite party to the Obama administration can hardly be aware of.

If there is such kind of realization among the opponents of Obama administration, what does their criticism aim at? The most logical  explanation at hand can be formulated  in the following way:  naturally enough the opposition in the US will continue to use the Yemen crisis and the factor of Iran backed  Shiite Houthi rebels in this crises  to ground their objection  to the  possible agreement on nuclear deal between Iran and  the six  that would presuppose the compromises from  the West in general and from the US in particular.