VIEWPOINT | Weakness provokes bullies

Column by Erick Erickson

North and South Yemen no longer exist. During the Cold War, North Yemen had ties to the West, and South Yemen had Marxist leadership, branding itself as totalitarian regimes often do, the “People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen.” With the collapse of the Soviet Union and communist subsidy, North Yemen finally sought merger with South Yemen in what is now known simply as Yemen.

Yemen is the second-largest country on the Arabian peninsula and also the poorest of the Arab nations. Its unification and ties to its Arab neighbors presented a threat to Iran because North Yemen, not having been a Marxist-run state, was more stable, more prosperous, and had close ties to the United States and Saudi Arabia.

Among the many tribes and peoples in Yemen are the Houthi. Unlike most of the population, which is Sunni, the Houthi are Shiite Muslims, like Iran. Iran embraced the Houthi and have turned them into a terrorist regime at war both with Yemen’s government and its neighbors. Provoked to believe the United States is the “Great Satan” and Saudi Arabia is our helper, the Houthi have waged war with arms and funds supplied by Iran.

The Houthi are not just terrorists. They are also slavers in the real, literal sense. The Houthi practice slavery and trade slaves. They keep captives to tend to Houthi tribal leaders and their families. The captives, as the word implies, are held against their will and treated horribly.