United States treats Yemen as a Saudi possession: U.S. diplomat

 

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW for Yemen Press Agency

BY Naseh Shaker

SANAA, May 8 (YPA) – A former U.S. embassy diplomat in Saudi Arabia told Yemen Press Agency in an exclusive interview that the United States administration does not respect Yemen and Yemenis, but it treats Yemen as a Saudi possession instead.

Michael Springmann said that his government is supposed to seek improving relations with Yemen and its people.

“America is not treating Yemen as an independent state, like Japan or Germany.  Rather, it is treating Yemen as a Saudi possession,” Springmann said in the interview on Monday.

Springmann said that the U.S. should stop its support for Saudi Arabia and respect the Yemeni people who is angry of these U.S. actions.

“The U.S. support of Saudi Arabia’s war on Yemen and that U.S. military action in Yemen or on its borders incurs the wrath of the Yemeni people.  What country likes it population attacked and killed?”, said the U.S. diplomat and author Michael Springmann.

Asked why Trump did not adopt the assassination of Yemeni president Saleh Ali Al Sammad last month, though Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, accused him of doing that and held the United States responsible, Mr. Springmann said: “Trump is silent on the Reaper drone assassinating al-Sammad because it would too clearly show the connection of the U.S. to murder, war crimes, and human rights violations.”

He noted  that  the U.S. government talks only of “support” for the Saudis and their illegal war against Yemen. “The U.S. government talks only of refueling Saudi and other aircrafts, providing targeting information, or other intelligence, and not acting as a murderous country.”

Michael Springmann has also said that “Barbara Bodine, the former U.S. ambassador to Yemen has characterized the Saudis’ actions as “murder, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.”

Asked why the U.S. deployed Green Berets to Saudi borders with Yemen?, he said that it is because the U.S. Patriot Missiles have failed to intercept Yemeni missiles, and this the reason why U.S. stationed its special forces near borders with Yemen.

He concluded that his heart is with “the unfortunate people of Yemen, murdered and starved by my country, the United States of America.”

Naseh Shaker of the Yemeni Press Agency conducted the interview with Michael Springmann, former U.S. diplomat in the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia.

Springmann had published two books:  “Visas for Al Qaeda:  CIA Handouts That Rocked The World” (an account of how the US created Islamic Terrorism ) and “ Goodbye, Europe? Hello, Chaos?  Merkel’s Migrant Bomb” (the story of how the US herded the populations of countries it destroyed in the Arab and Muslim worlds into Europe to create hatred of people from those areas).

The following is the full text of the interview:

First question, do you think that diplomats in the Department of State as well as the White House know that the Yemeni people are angry with Trump’s decision to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem Al Quds? Do they know that this will only result in wide irritation on America and Saudi Arabia alike, which can benefit Sanaa authorities and Ansarullah (Houthis) to get more support from all Muslims across Islamic World as they stand against Saudi Arabia and U.S., both who support the Israeli occupation?

Michael Springmann: U.S. State Department officials and President Donald J. Trump’s White, including his National Security Advisor John Bolton know all about the situation in Yemen.  They know about the starvation of the people there, they know about the grievous lack of medicine desperately needed there.  The American embassy in Sana’a, on Sa’awan St. has a political section that follows events in the country.  It has an economic section that is concerned with financial, monetary, and commercial affairs in Yemen.  It has a CIA Station running a network of agents in the country, to learn about what is going on.  If nothing else, they can read the newspapers in Europe and America for what is happening in Yemen.  They know and they must conclude that U.S. support of Saudi Arabia’s war on Yemen and that U.S. military action in Yemen or on its borders incurs the wrath of the Yemeni people.  What country likes it population attacked and killed?

The Yemen Press Agency: Yemen’s senior air defense official has told local media that it is an American MQ-9 Reaper Drone to be blamed for assassinating the chairman of the Supreme Political Council, president Saleh Al-Sammad, on April 19, 2018, – the council rules Yemen from the Presidency Palace in Sanaa – , so why Trump keeps silent of this?

Michael Springmann:  In my opinion, Trump is silent on the Reaper drone assassinating al-Sammad because it would too clearly show the connection of the U.S. to murder, war crimes, and human rights violations.  The U.S. government talks only of “support” for the Saudis and their illegal war against Yemen.  The American government talks only of refueling Saudi and other aircraft, providing targeting information, or other intelligence.  The past U.S. commando raids and  air strikes in Yemen  have been played down and the American press does not question this.

The Yemen Press Agency: Do you think U.S. should keep itself away from Yemen?

Michael Springmann:  The U.S. should not keep away from Yemen.  It has an embassy there and should seek to improve relations with the host country.  Instead, America is not treating Yemen as an independent state, like Japan or Germany.  Rather, it is treating Yemen as a Saudi possession.

The Yemen Press Agency: The U.S. has just made it clear for its people that their army special forces, Green Berets, are deployed to Saudi Arabia to defend Saudi southern borders from Yemen’s locally-made ballistic missiles.. Does this mean U.S. Patriot Missiles being sold to Saudi Arabia have failed to intercept Yemen’s missiles?

Michael Springmann:  According to the American news magazine “Newsweek” (March 26, 2018), the U.S. Patriot Missiles sold to the Saudis have, on occasion, failed to down Yemeni missiles fired at Riyadh.  The article was unclear as to how many and why.  Certainly, in the past, in other countries during the Gulf Wars, the Patriots were not 100% effective.  Their ability to intercept Scud missiles had been called into question.  That’s probably the reason for U.S. Special Forces, the Green Berets, have been stationed on the Yemeni frontier.

The Yemen Press Agency: In Sanaa and since three years ago, there are  Graffiti campaigns telling “U.S. Kills Yemeni People”, Can we say this has come to be true after U.S. made it clear they deploy forces and help Saudis in surveillance aircrafts, intelligence, and refueling warplanes?

Michael Springmann:  The graffiti campaign about the U.S. killing the Yemeni people is certainly correct.  Deploying soldiers to Saudi Arabia’s border with Yemen, helping the Saudis with surveillance, intelligence, and air to air refueling are directly related to aiding the Saudis, albeit “indirectly” kill Yemenis. If the U.S. did none of these things, the Saudis would have a much harder time prosecuting their war against Yemen.  Barbara Bodine, the former U.S. ambassador to Yemen has characterized the Saudis’ actions as “murder, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.”

The Yemen Press Agency: Do you have any message for the Yemeni people who is angry against the U.S. presence and its negative role in supporting the Saudi aggressors to fight the oppressed Yemeni people?

Michael Springmann:  My message to the Yemeni people is simple.  Characterize the U.S. as aiding a totalitarian police state in conducting an illegal war unsanctioned by the United Nations.  Yemen should bring the matter to the UN’s Security Council.  They should go to international news media and show the starving people of the country, they should show the children who are severely  malnourished, they should show, the bloody bodies of innocent wedding party members.  They should loudly and vehemently denounce the United States and Saudi Arabia whenever and wherever they can.  My heart is with the unfortunate people of Yemen, murdered and starved  by my country, the United States of America.