So, let me get this straight… We are bombing one of the poorest countries in the world, a country that has been under a humanitarian blockade. There has been famine; these people have been decimated. We are bombing them because a couple of guys in dinghies, in support of the Palestinians who are having a genocide committed against them, are objecting to that, and we’re bombing them? Come on now. I mean, this is just an insane world for us to even think about. I’m so sorry your Amazon packages are delayed, I really am. I wish mine came on time, but you know, genocide, guys.”
This was the high school-level analysis offered by Myriam Francoise, a former BBC journalist, regarding the issue of Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea.
We say ‘high school level,’ but even that might be too generous for Francoise, as we suspect that the majority of teenagers would be capable of constructing a less rudimentary argument.
The three minutes of breathtaking inanity occurred on Yalda Hakim‘s new foreign affairs show on Sky News this week, just hours after the United States and the United Kingdom carried out new airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.
“There are many who are saying that, frankly, the Biden administration should’ve acted sooner and faster, that hundreds of billions of dollars have been put at risk because the Houthis have held this area in the Red Sea at ransom,” was the opening remark by Hakim that prompted Francoise’s simplistic assessment.
“How dare we have a conversation about trade when there are children right now being treated without anaesthetic?”@MyriamFrancoisC responds to UK and US airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen and calls for a ‘ceasefire’ in Gaza. https://t.co/6N8CvKKmyY
📺 Sky 501 pic.twitter.com/SktD79660X
— Sky News (@SkyNews) January 23, 2024
Of course, it is easy to pick holes in about every aspect of Francoise’s argument. It is straightforward to point out that she has reduced the complexities of international conflict, humanitarian crises and geopolitical dynamics to a single, linear cause-and-effect relationship.
But instead, why not consider those “billions of dollars” in lost trade that Francoise so casually dismissed as trivial compared to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza?
The fact is, those hundreds of billions of dollars also represent lives and livelihoods. That money amounts to lost jobs, income, and, as inflation soars, the very ability of people to put food on the table.
Read More: By Air & By Water: The Houthi War Against Israel
Furthermore, what about the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists who have attacked dozens of vessels since October and launched long-range missiles at Israel that Francoise dismisses as a “couple of guys in dinghies?”
The Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, have wrought misery on Yemen and, ironically, were the group that exposed the country to the very foreign intervention that Francoise scorns through their relentless attacks on the ships and ports of US ally Saudi Arabia.
More importantly, the Houthis are not a few men on an inflatable boat somehow managing to hijack giant commercial vessels, as Francoise seems to think. They are a very well-funded terrorist group that is equipped with all manner of weaponry from surface-to-surface missiles to UAVs capable of traveling thousands of miles to Israel, and they are even using so-called exploding “drone boats” to attempt maximum damage.
And while it may have been a catchy soundbite, Francoise’s sarcastic quip about delayed Amazon packages was actually one of the more embarrassing moments of her appearance.
Again, we could point out the obvious: the reduction of geopolitical and military actions to a cause as trivial as the delay of consumer goods is indicative of a limited comprehension of the complexities involved in international conflicts and counter-terrorism efforts.
We could also point out that Francoise’s simplistic perspective ignores the myriad of factors that influenced the United States and the United Kingdom, including adhering to international law, humanitarian considerations and national security.
Instead, we will simply state that it is profoundly asinine to reduce, sarcastically or not, the reason for taking action against terrorists — who pose a threat to both the Middle East and the entire world — to something as inconsequential as delayed Amazon packages.
Hakim deserves some credit for pressing Francoise on whether she “genuinely believes” the Houthis will stop their attacks on Red Sea ships if there is a ceasefire in Gaza.
“They have literally said that’s why they’re doing what they’re doing,” Francoise condescendingly replied. “They have not previously blocked those routes for any other reason except this one.”
Except that’s literally not true.
The Houthis have been firing missiles at ships in the Red Sea as far back as 2016, such as when they attacked a civilian ship from Eritrea, and experts have been warning of the disruptions on this trade route as a result of the Houthis for years.
Myriam Francoise’s juvenile pronouncements added nothing to the conversation about Israel, Gaza and the Middle East. Why on earth did Sky News think they would?
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