The Saudi butchery in Yemen and the world’s apathy

Fourth, ending the war in Yemen and mending relations with Iran will have major positive implications on the entire region. The prospect of an Israeli-Palestinian peace will dramatically improve, as the Saudis will continue to bring Israel ever close to the Arab states; it will dramatically change the nature of the Iran-Israel conflict should a modified nuclear deal be struck between the US and Tehran; and it could also accelerate the ending of the civil war in Syria.

Some may think that what I am suggesting here amounts to nothing but a pipedream. I beg to differ. Iran and Saudi Arabia are permanent fixtures in the Middle East and must sooner or later learn to share a region that has not been dominated by either country. Sunnis and Shiites have coexisted for millennia, and have no choice but to continue to coexist.

Neither Iran nor Saudi Arabia can become the region's hegemon. They can fight in proxy wars in Syria and Yemen for a hundred years, but in the end neither can gain the upper hand-not now and perhaps not ever.

It is time for Muslims to stop killing each other. The lesson from Yemen should leave an indelible mark on the psyche of every Saudi and Iranian that the way out of their morass in Yemen is reconciliation and peaceful coexistence. Trump, who can turn on a dime, may well be in a unique position to make it happen.