Saudi Regime Integral Part of Capitalist Global Order: US Peace Activist

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an integral part of the capitalist global order; the British began working with them in the 1800s,” Caleb Maupin said in an interview with the Tasnim News Agency.

“They (the Saudi rulers) have been key in securing western domination of the region,” the anti-war activist added.

Maupin is a senior journalist and political analyst who appears frequently on various news channels across the world. He was a member of the Workers World Party and the Fight Imperialism – Stand Together (FIST). He also worked as a youth organizer for the International Action Center and was involved in the Occupy Wall Street movement from its planning stages. In May 2015, he accompanied a mission of the Red Crescent Society of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Yemen, on the Iran Shahed Rescue Ship.

Tasnim: For more than two years, the Yemeni civilians have been targets of cruel attacks and airstrikes by a coalition led by the Saudi regime. Yemen’s Legal Center for Rights and Development, an independent monitoring group, has recently put the civilian death toll at 12,041, including 2,568 children and 1,870 women. According to the United Nations, nearly 3.3 million people in Yemen, including 2.1 million children, are acutely malnourished because of the war and total siege imposed on them. They include 460,000 children under age of five with the worst form of malnutrition, who risk dying of pneumonia or diarrhea. Why is the international community so indifferent to the heinous crimes committed against humanity by the Al Saud regime in the Arabian Peninsula country?

Maupin: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an integral part of the capitalist global order. The British began working with them in the 1800s. They have been key in securing western domination of the region. Ronald Reagan's administration made clear in the 1980s that they would never allow a revolution in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia purchases weapons from the United States, and it is central in promoting the Wahabbist ideology around the world, essentially creating foot-soldiers that can be used to attack Iran, Syria, and any other country that asserts its independence.

The fear is that the uprising in Yemen and the Revolutionary Committee that includes the Ansarullah Organization, the Southern Movement, the Arab Spring Party, and other forces could introduce a new level of independence on the Arabian Peninsula. Yemen could become another independent country like Iran. Based on that fear, and the integral role of Saudi Arabia in securing Wall Street and London's oil hegemony, the USA is working with the Saudis to put down the Yemeni uprising.

Tasnim: Since the start of its war on Yemen, the Saudi regime has failed to reach its objectives. In 2015, the kingdom had a record budget deficit of almost $100 billion, prompting it to rein in public spending in a bid to save money. Why is the regime continuing its heinous attacks on the Arab country despite its failures and cash-strapped economy?

Maupin: The Saudi onslaught, using the most high-tech weapons has failed because, at this point, the Yemeni publicly is almost universally opposed to Saudi domination. The attack on Yemen has repolarized the country, bringing Yemenis together to oppose Saudi and western domination.

The Saudis continue the onslaught because they are fighting to maintain their power. The Saudis are seeing their state become bankrupt with low oil prices, but they persist. Yemeni independence is a threat not just to Saudi dominance in the region, but to the very international order which Saudi Arabia has been integral in.

Tasnim: The Riyadh regime has also militarily interfered in Bahrain. It has been six years since troops from the kingdom were deployed to the Persian Gulf country to assist in the Manama regime’s crackdown on the peaceful protesters. In your opinion, what is the reason behind the deployment of the Saudi forces? What geopolitical goals is Riyadh pursuing by the military intervention?

Maupin: Saudi Arabia is an enforcer of Wall Street and London's rule in the Middle East. It put down the uprising by the Shia majority in Bahrain demanding human rights, religious freedom, and democracy. Saudi Arabia backs the Wahhabi extremists trying to destroy the Syrian Arab Republic. Riyadh seeks to keep the people of the region poor and under western dominion and targets all forces that seek independence, development, democracy, and liberation.

Tasnim: The situation across the world, the Middle East in particular, is very confusing. What are your predictions regarding the future of the Middle East region and the world?

Maupin: The power of the United States on the international stage has drastically been reduced. The Eurasian bloc of Russia and China, aligned with many anti-imperialist governments around the world, has essentially checked US power. Trump has tried to demonstrate the US might, but each of these demonstrations has been theatrical, not qualitative. Wall Street and London struggle against the countries with centrally planned economies. Hot spots unfold like Syria, Yemen, and Ukraine. Within the western countries, a political crisis is unfolding as well, with populations rallying behind right-wing nationalists as the globalist agenda of their leaders bares more bitter fruits. This situation is gradually escalating, and the contradiction between the two emerging economic and political blocs will be eventually resolved. China hopes this can be done by economic integration and cooperation, not more war and conflict, but it is clear that this is not guaranteed. Some forces see war and violence, and the unleashing of terrorists and extremists, as necessary to maintain western dominance. However, even within the western countries, many have rejected this strategy and perspective. The future is uncertain, and the next ten years will be critical.