United Arab Emirates Archives -

Ep237 Realignments in the Middle East & Africa feat Isa Blumi

ALSO ON ROKFIN, PATREON

Guest: Dr. Isa Blumi. This is a wide-ranging discussion about the political realignments in the Gulf states, new partnerships in the Middle East and Africa, Qatar’s involvement in the withdrawal from Afghanistan, developments in Yemen, quiet military repurposing of strategic island of Socotra, the long and complicated exploitation of East Africa, the Red Sea region and Horn of Africa, the mass of military bases in Djbouti, the Turkey-Russia relationship and more.

For those listening to the audio version of this podcast, we have added many maps and other visual enhancements to the video version that you might find helpful during some of this discussion so if you are interested you can find those versions on Youtube and Rokfin right now and other video platforms in the not too distant future.

Dr. Isa Blumi is an historian, an author and Professor of Global History, Islamic World, Ottoman Empire, Yemen, Albania. His most recent Destroying Yemen: What Chaos in Arabia Tells Us about the World tells the story of the wars in Yemen but also “ultimately tells an even larger story of today’s political economy of global capitalism, development, and the war on terror as disparate actors intersect in Arabia.” He also authored the book Ottoman Refugees, 1878-1939: Migration in a Post-Imperial World

FOLLOW Isa Blumi @IsaBlumi and find his work at Google Scholar and his latest book at UCPress.edu.

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Recorded on October 6, 2021. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

Book: Destroying Yemen: What Chaos in Arabia Tells Us about the World

Ep 155 5 Years of War on Yemen & Coronavirus Crisis (Swapcast)

Ep 155 Swapcast 5 Years of War in Yemen and Coronavirus Crisis

On this Foreign Policy Focus and Around the Empire swapcast, Kyle and Joanne discuss the five year anniversary of the US/Saudi/UAE war on Yemen. The anniversary has received almost no media coverage in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak. It’s the world’s worst humanitarian crisis and makes Yemen extremely vulnerable to the coronavirus crisis. The US/Saudi/UAE/UK bombing campaign has intentionally targeted the civilian infrastructure of Yemen. 24 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance and millions of children are at risk of starvation. Yemen must be remembered and the war must end.

Ep 132 Ending the War in Yemen feat Shireen Al-Adeimi

Guest: Shireen Al-Adeimi. We discussed the recent attacks on Saudi oil facilities and the battle in Najran, near the Saudi-Yemen border. Shireen then lays out some history on the wars in recent decades in Yemen, both civil wars and foreign interventions, and offers important insights on how the Saudi-United Arab Emirates coalition backed by the US and other western powers, does not even have a coherent objective anymore. Further, the Saudis and Emiratis are fighting against each other in a proxy war. Lastly we talk about Samantha Power’s new memoir in which she omits any mention of the war in Yemen or her role in the Obama administration’s decision to support and sustain it.

Ep 105 War With Iran? feat Elijah Magnier

Guest: Elijah Magnier. According to Elijah’s analysis, the recent sabotage attacks in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia were a warning from Iran to the US and allies in the region about what kinds of retaliation would occur if escalation continues and an attack on Iran is carried out. We also talk about his recent reporting about the prospects for a summer war in Lebanon and the wider region.

Ep 66 The Mission in Yemen feat Nasser Arrabyee

Yemeni journalist and filmmaker Nasser Arrabyee speaks to us from Sanaa about the war in Yemen. In 2015, a CENTCOM commander told a US Senator that he did not know Saudi Arabia’s goals and objectives in its war on Yemen and therefore could not assess the chances of success. More than three years later, Nasser Arrabyee helps us explore the answers to those questions. We talk about the US-backed Saudi and UAE coalition’s mission in Yemen, the Yemeni Resistance and Iran’s involvement. Arrabyee updates us on the situation in Hodeidah and we discuss the recent AP report on the Saudi/UAE cooperation with al Qaeda.

Arrabyee has produced four documentaries about the war in Yemen and has been published by numerous media outlets including the New York Times, Bloomberg and Foreign Policy. FOLLOW @narrabyee on Twitter and find his work at his website yemen-now.com.

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Recorded on August 16, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing (3/26/15) exchange between Sen. Gillibrand and Gen. Lloyd Austin (at 2:16:46)
America Is Committing War Crimes and Doesn’t Even Know Why, Micah Zenko, Foreign Policy
The toll of wars in the Middle East, WHYY Radio Times, Marty Moss-Coane
Why is Saudi halting oil shipments through the Red Sea?, Stephen Kalin, Rania El Gamal, Reuters
Yemen: US allies don’t defeat al-Qaida but pay it to go away, AP
Inside the UAE’s war on al-Qaeda in Yemen, Bel Trew, The Independent
After dozens of children die, Trump administration faces mounting pressure over Yemen war, Missy Ryan, Washington Post

Ep 55 Imperial War, Gulf State Rivalry, Resources and Resistance in Yemen feat Isa Blumi

Joanne interviews Dr. Isa Blumi, an historian, an author and an Associate Professor at Stockholm University. His recent book Destroying Yemen: What Chaos in Arabia Tells Us about the World tells the story of the wars in Yemen but also “ultimately tells an even larger story of today’s political economy of global capitalism, development, and the war on terror as disparate actors intersect in Arabia.”

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