The president and C.E.O. of the International Crisis Group, Robert Malley, wrote piece in the New York Times, arguing that America should talk to the Iranian-backed Yemeni militant group Houthis. The piece is so one-sided and biased. I am glad that American-Yemeni policy analyst Fatima Alasrar has wrote a rebuttal twitter thread, which I decided to share it in this blog. It is disappointing to that Rob Malley and his team in Crisis Group fail to respond to all valid points mentioned in Fatima’s Twitter thread. I urge them to reconsider. Independent analysts have a responsibility towards their readers and should not take sides while analysing conflicts and civil wars.
1. While many foreign observers praised @Rob_Malley's op-ed in @nytimes, anyone who KNOWS Yemen will find it one-sided. The op-ed does a gross disservice to #Yemen despite good intentions.
At times I thought the op-ed was either naive or deliberately misleading. Here's why: https://t.co/AoazJDeCl2
— Fatima Alasrar (@YemeniFatima) August 6, 2019
3. For a Conflict group to overlook the root cause of the conflict is to ignore the ABC of policy analysis. #Houthis wanted a monopoly of power in #Yemen and chose violence to do it, committing war crimes during the five past years. Mr.Malley doesn't show opposition against them. pic.twitter.com/mTtGeBzeSX
— Fatima Alasrar (@YemeniFatima) August 6, 2019
4. While @Rob_Malley's assessment of millions deprived of nutrition & vulnerable to death is accurate, there's no mention of Houthis' role in exacerbating the humanitarian conflict, especially in food theft & aid corruption. pic.twitter.com/PDeqWf4CpW
— Fatima Alasrar (@YemeniFatima) August 6, 2019
6 Within the context of Sana's isolation, @Rob_Malley brought forth the discussion about the closure of Sanaa airport. AGAIN, no mention that #Houthis REFUSED to use Sanaa as a domestic airport during the UN-brokered #Stockholm agreement, heightening Sana's isolation; pic.twitter.com/Us6uXet3Kf
— Fatima Alasrar (@YemeniFatima) August 6, 2019
8. Most misleading is @Rob_Malley's attempt to present #Sana residents as a monolithic entity, all of which follow #Houthis. Did you meet with #GPC members or #Islah members? Likely not. Leaderships from GPC escaped already & those of Islah locked in jail in horrid conditions; pic.twitter.com/OnE0mF2FCc
— Fatima Alasrar (@YemeniFatima) August 6, 2019
10. Same residents in #Sana that @Rob_Malley appears to give insights about talked about the rape of women in #Houthi private villas & prisons. The horrific tales were told by brave women affiliated w/ GPC (Saleh's party) who were abducted then released. https://t.co/XYDbiIqR3j
— Fatima Alasrar (@YemeniFatima) August 6, 2019
12. As @Rob_Malley walks in #Sana, #Yemen's former capital, he must have seen children no more than 10 years old manning checkpoints. But it doesn't quite fit his narrative, so he ignores it to present an image of a victimized Sana'a by #KSA & not Houthis; pic.twitter.com/7Fav0KpV6M
— Fatima Alasrar (@YemeniFatima) August 6, 2019
14. But next time #Houthis tell you that they are not an #IRGC proxy, can you kindly ask them why they claimed the pipeline attack on #Saudi, when in fact it originated from #Iraq and not #Yemen?
Bizarre @Rob_Malley didn't think to illuminate us on this point. pic.twitter.com/TWXJsEBmRn
— Fatima Alasrar (@YemeniFatima) August 6, 2019
16. This entire paragraph is unfortunate. In reality, #Houthis are at their weakest point at the moment w/ no domestic allies, but are exploiting anti-Saudi sentiments and misinformed reporting on the war on #Yemen to their advantage. Houthis won the PR war globally; pic.twitter.com/Ht1EU7z2WB
— Fatima Alasrar (@YemeniFatima) August 6, 2019
18. Then @Rob_Malley presents #Houthis' vision for peace:
-Houthis will put down weapons later, not now.
-Houthis will talk to opponents later, not now.
-Houthis want elections later, not now.One thing Malley is right about: Houthi will NOT give up the power they accumulated.
— Fatima Alasrar (@YemeniFatima) August 6, 2019
20. @Rob_Malley made a choice not to describe any events that would put the #Houthi militia in a negative light. That's his prerogative, but it is misleading.
It is horrific that Mr. Malley is influential enough to draw policies on #Yemen & advise the UN Envoy.
— Fatima Alasrar (@YemeniFatima) August 6, 2019
22. If we cannot acknowledge the hurdles facing peace in #Yemen, including #Houthis' intransigence; bad faith negotiations, imprisonment of opposition & Bahais, attacks on #Yemeni cities, there will be nothing but conflict & a theocratic #Iranian state in Yemen's future.
— Fatima Alasrar (@YemeniFatima) August 6, 2019
1. After publishing my views on ICG's piece,@BShtwtr hosted me in a live stream. Many from #Yemen tuned in! A Yemeni asked: "Do you think @Rob_Malley doesn't understand Yemen?" I tried to answer fairly, though if Mr. Malley accepted my invite to talk, he could've answered himself https://t.co/QLpg1dvvZ1 pic.twitter.com/lvYiLQQpYQ
— Fatima Alasrar (@YemeniFatima) August 8, 2019
He’s a pro-Iran partisan whose work in ICG is just as big a disservice to the Middle East as was his being part of Obama’s national security team.
— Taha Bali (@tahabito) August 7, 2019
I would never call @Rob_Malley naive, this is consistent with his positions for at least the last fifteen years.
— Nadim Shehadi نديم شحاده (@Confusezeus) August 6, 2019
@Rob_Malley’s piece on @nytimes is very one sided and it is depressing to see constant neglect of other perspectives
Again most of the Yemenis displaced (CSOs, journalists, activists & politicians) were forced out by the Houthis not a matter of choice— Baraa Shiban براء شيبان (@BShtwtr) August 6, 2019
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