The current war in Yemen has created one of the worst capitalist crises the world has seen.  Since 2015, Saudi Arabia has been bombing and blockading Yemen into collapse and misery, using billions of dollars of U.S.-supplied weaponry. The U.S. military is also refueling Saudi bombers in flight, to complete their deadly missions.
According to the UN, in this country of 27 million people, more than 10,000 have been killed, more than 2 million have been displaced, about 7 million are on the brink of starvation and 14 million lack access to clean drinking water and sanitation.  
Over half a million people are infected with cholera, the largest outbreak in the world in 50 years, and 2,000 have died. Malnutrition has increased the threat of the disease, while massive bombings have targeted water and sanitation facilities, bridges, factories and hospitals. Over 30,000 health workers and many civil servants haven’t been paid for over a year.
Yemen, the poorest country in the Middle East, borders Saudi Arabia and the Bab-el-Mandeb—the two-mile strait between Yemen and Africa through which millions of gallons of oil pass each day. In addition, Yemen could have undeveloped oil reserves, perhaps greater than Saudi Arabia.
The Yemeni Houthis of the North, seized power. They are supported by Iran. Saudi Arabia is attempting to prevent the spread of Iran’s influence in the region, especially on its border.  This war between two regional powers is a reflection of the decline of U.S. imperialism and the growing instability that has engulfed the Middle East, which has the potential for leading to another world war.
You could say, that war has already begun. If you pull the camera back for a larger view of the Middle East and Horn of Africa, you see the U.S., Russian and Chinese imperialists jockeying for power and position in the midst of growing war and a string of failed states. The net effect has been the worst refugee crisis since World War II, 65.6 million people, many from these countries.
Syria: More than 400,000 dead in a 6-year civil war, 11.3 million displaced. Recently, as many as 200 Russian soldiers were killed by U.S. forces, the first direct military contact between the two imperialists since the Vietnam War. All of the major imperialist and regional players are colliding here. The U.S. wants to transport oil from Qatar to Europe. Russia and Assad want to build a pipeline from Iran instead. Syria has been destroyed in the process. China is also increasing its involvement on the side of Assad, providing training to the Syrian military, opposing UN sanctions, and increasing investments in the country.
Iraq: As many as one million civilians have died since the U.S. invasion in 2003 to try to keep control of the world’s third largest supply of oil.
Afghanistan: 27,000 civilians dead, 1.3 million displaced. While not rich in oil, it is a prime pipeline route between the oil and gas rich Central Asian republics and Turkey, Europe, and Asia. After the U.S. invasion, Afghanistan was also found to have deposits of rare minerals necessary for cyber technology. Since the U.S. decreased the number of troops here, China has added troops and increased financing.
Somalia: Civil war, famine, a cholera epidemic and a tsunami have killed or displaced at least 3.5 million Somalis. Somalia also lies along the sea lanes that transport oil and may itself contain huge oil and natural gas deposits.
Sudan/South Sudan: 490,000 displaced; murder, sexual violence and repression are rampant. In the Sudanese civil war, China is supplying arms to the government in order to secure joint exploration and pipeline projects.
Libya: Another failed state, in chaos since Qaddafi was toppled by a NATO- led invasion in 2011.  Once the ninth-largest oil producer in the world, exporting mainly to Europe. Russia is now looking to re-open oilfields, build a base on the Mediterranean, or become an international mediator (Foreign Policy 9/14/17).
Gaza: Israel, armed with nuclear weapons and the world’s largest recipient of U.S. military aid, is allowed to continue its 50-year occupation of the West Bank and Gaza with mass terror. More than 3,500 Palestinians were killed in the last two sieges out of a population of 1.5 million. Currently this “outdoor prison” has become unlivable, with only two-four hours of electricity a day and 90 percent of its water undrinkable. Health services are broken down due to infrastructure damage and lack of supplies, over 700 schools are inoperable, and waterborne diseases are increasing due to lack of sewage treatment plants.
China, the world’s fastest-growing economy, is the number one gas and oil importer from Iran while also selling arms for oil to Saudi Arabia. China is also building oil and gas pipelines from Russia (Foreign Policy, 1/26).
The U.S., in a permanent state of war since 2001, has been either directly at war or arming and supporting regional and local players in all of these conflicts. Like a wounded beast, U.S. imperialism grows more desperate and more dangerous, transcending party politics. Trump’s anti-Muslim travel ban, in effect until the case is heard by the Supreme Court, has left Muslim families torn apart by the collapse of the region, with thousands stranded in refugee camps, unable to proceed to the U.S.  This anti-Muslim racism is vital to winning the population and soldiers to sacrifice for this new permanent state of war, while Muslims are targeted for government surveillance and victimized by hate crimes.
It wasn’t so long ago that the capitalists were celebrating the end of communism and the victory of the free market. These are the fruits of their catastrophic victory. Sooner rather than later, we will all be living in Yemen. The slow but steady rebuilding of the international communist Progressive Labor Party is the long-term solution. The building of international solidarity now can ultimately turn the next world war into the last.