theatlantic | In Safa al-Ahmad’s new documentary on the pitched battle for Yemen, which aired this week on Frontline,
the Saudi Arabian filmmaker passes by countless posters declaring—and a
number of schoolchildren gleefully chanting—a set of lines that may
sound familiar to Americans who lived through the Iran hostage crisis:
God is great
Death to America
Death to Israel
God curse the Jews
Victory to Islam
Death to America
Death to Israel
God curse the Jews
Victory to Islam
The chilling slogan belongs to the Houthis, the enigmatic rebel group that has taken over the Yemeni capital Sanaa and other parts of the country, and ousted Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and his government. But the echoes of Iran's revolutionary "Death to America" chant don't necessarily mean, as many have suggested,
that the Houthis are a proxy force for Shia-led Iran in its battle with
Sunni-led Saudi Arabia, which borders Yemen and has now launched air strikes against the Houthis.
The multi-front fight for Yemen—which involves numerous other factions
including al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and supporters of former
President Ali Abdullah Saleh—is far more complicated than a
straightforward sectarian proxy war, Ahmad says.
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