I dont want to do the thing where one confuses cynicism with savvy and anti-war activists need to push where they can but it’s important to understand the exact manner Biden will absolutely 100% not end the Yemen war because his team of CNAS and CSIS liberal empire managers (1/6) https://twitter.com/mehdirhasan/status/1325248605947617285

are already whiteboarding how to play this one in the liberal press and it will involve (1) pivoting from immediately cutting off support to backing a vague and unspecified “peace deal” with the Houthis. And like the bogus “peace process” in Israel this deal will never come (2/6)

because it’s a PR fig leaf while the bombing goes on as usual. It will also (2) include, as Obama did on his way out, cosmetic bans on certain weapons deemed indiscriminate to look like the Good Progressive war managers are Super Concerned with human rights. (3/6)

This is a PR gesture long favored by CSIS mercs who will no doubt run much of Biden’s messaging around FP. (3) the occasional dressing down on “human rights” without any real change in the relationship to satisfy the NYT set. All this will be buttressed by (4/6)

(4) the latest vogue argument used in Afghanistan and Syria to justify permawar; if the US isn’t there the Evil Chinese will be. Stories about S. Arabia pivoting to China will mysteriously emerge (as they have in the past year already) and the line will be (5/6)

“if we don’t sell the Saudis arms, China will and they won’t care about human rights at all”.

The only thing that’ll end this war is S. Arabia losing it. KSA is more toxic now than it was in 2016 but the basic outline of fucking w/ Iran by killing poor Yemenis cant change (6/6)

But make no mistake, Biden can end the Yemen war on day one if he wants to https://inthesetimes.com/article/joe-biden-yemen-war-saudi-arabia-presidential-election-foreign-policy

Bruce Riedel, 30-year CIA veteran in 2016:

“If the US and the UK, tonight, told King Salman, ‘This war has to end,’ it would end tomorrow. Because the Royal Saudi Air Force cannot operate without American & British support”