February 11th.. A comprehensive path to confront the Houthis

The popular resistance against the Houthi coup erupted from the womb of the February 11 Revolution, because the situation does not tolerate tolerance for the project of suppressing the republic, just as the revolution tolerated the previous regime before when it gave it the opportunity to participate again in the political process and reform state institutions.

When former President Ali Abdullah Saleh changed his position from supporting the Houthis to confronting them at the end of 2017, it was his third position in line with the revolution’s direction (after participating in the Basindawa government and in the Comprehensive National Dialogue Conference). Saleh was killed while confronting the Houthis, and his nephew, Brigadier General Tariq Saleh, was able to reach Mokha and form an anti-Houthi military force.

Regardless of not fighting the battle on the ground, Tariq is now at the top of the legitimate authority pyramid, and his non-participation in the war against the Houthis can be justified by the fact that the battle is still halted due to the political decision, although he previously stated his rejection of the unfair Stockholm Agreement, considering that he was not a party to it. His statements are positive because the Houthis alone benefited from the agreement, while the legitimate government made concessions without compensation. The most important thing now is that all the forces opposing the Houthis confirm their military readiness for the decisive battle.

In all previous stages, the forces supporting the revolution were the ones who made concessions to the symbols of Saleh’s regime, starting with immunity, then participating in the government and the dialogue conference, and reaching the acceptance of Tariq Saleh as a military force in the liberated areas and his presence in the Presidential Leadership Council. In return for all of this, Saleh’s supporters have not made any concessions since he stepped down from the presidency. On every anniversary of the February 11 Revolution since 2018, calls by some Saleh supporters not to celebrate the anniversary of the revolution appear to confirm the unity of the national ranks against the Houthis, meaning that their demand has become the complete exclusion of the revolutionary forces in exchange for them remaining only in the national ranks!

If all previous experiences over 14 years did not reveal to them that the path of the February Revolution is the correct path towards restoring the homeland and rebuilding its institutions, then how can they be convinced to abandon the idea of taking revenge on the revolution and stop the campaigns to distort it?!

It was supposed that jumping from supporting the Houthis to confronting them, which carries a radical contradiction and a positive shift in the political position, would be enough to stop the campaigns to distort the revolution and the desire to take revenge on it, and to accept it as a corrective revolution to address the mistakes of the previous regime - and this includes the mistakes of the authorities and the opposition at the same time - especially since they accepted after the revolution to participate in the political process that raised the slogan of addressing those mistakes.

Any party that cannot adapt to reality and make concessions for the sake of the greater good is heading towards extinction, because its lack of flexibility will put it in a zero-sum confrontation every time with another party. All the anti-Houthi forces now have no choice but to accept each other as they are and focus on the common points instead of entrenching themselves behind desires that even if they are achieved now will only be an image of a false victory, especially since the situation cannot tolerate further disintegration. Unification with conviction and seriousness to end the Houthi coup is better and more effective than unification under the whip of the Houthi who is hostile to everyone.

(From the author's page)