{"title":"The Saudi Savior—Justifying Operation Decisive Storm","authors":"Tom Walsh","doi":"10.1111/dome.12345","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>This paper argues that despite the success of Saudi Arabia's use of discourse to legitimize Operation Decisive Storm, their initial bombing and blockade of Yemen, to the United States, ultimately these discourses were problematic. Via analyzing speeches from Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Adel Al-Jubeir, and articles from Saudi news website Arab News, this paper traces Saudi propaganda, showing the way in which it was used to justify the extraordinary bombing of Yemen and blockade of Yemeni ports. The paper meaningfully assesses the resonance of their narratives with US audiences through informed analysis. US discourse created a nexus of reciprocal positionality, in which Washington's discourse began to merge with Riyadh's, justifying it yet further. The US had its own reasons for lending support to KSA's war efforts, which encouraged them to adopt core Saudi narratives. This served to justify the two actors' involvement in the Saudi-led intervention. These propagandized narratives had profound humanitarian consequences for the people of Yemen.</p>","PeriodicalId":43254,"journal":{"name":"Digest of Middle East Studies","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6000,"publicationDate":"2024-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/dome.12345","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Digest of Middle East Studies","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dome.12345","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"AREA STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This paper argues that despite the success of Saudi Arabia's use of discourse to legitimize Operation Decisive Storm, their initial bombing and blockade of Yemen, to the United States, ultimately these discourses were problematic. Via analyzing speeches from Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Adel Al-Jubeir, and articles from Saudi news website Arab News, this paper traces Saudi propaganda, showing the way in which it was used to justify the extraordinary bombing of Yemen and blockade of Yemeni ports. The paper meaningfully assesses the resonance of their narratives with US audiences through informed analysis. US discourse created a nexus of reciprocal positionality, in which Washington's discourse began to merge with Riyadh's, justifying it yet further. The US had its own reasons for lending support to KSA's war efforts, which encouraged them to adopt core Saudi narratives. This served to justify the two actors' involvement in the Saudi-led intervention. These propagandized narratives had profound humanitarian consequences for the people of Yemen.
期刊介绍:
DOMES (Digest of Middle East Studies) is a biennial refereed journal devoted to articles and reviews of topics concerning the Middle East. This encompasses Islam, the Arab countries, Israel, and those countries traditionally referred to as the Near East, including Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Turkey. DOMES is intended for individuals, libraries, research centers, corporations and government offices with interests in the Middle East. The roster of authors and reviewers represents specialists from different religious, political, and subject backgrounds. The scope of materials published or reviewed covers all subjects originally published in English, European, or non-European languages, ranging from books and journals to databases, films, and other media. DOMES includes informational, creative, and critical literary efforts.