Andy Burnham said "yes" to helping the Saudi regime's war on Yemen's Houthi "rebels". No surprise there. He'll gladly supply weapons. Just like in Ukraine. Fuelling war, means fuelling profits. And especially when it's precisely "fuel" and the price of a barrel of it, which is at stake!
And if Trump isn't giving his direct support to the Saudis this time, it's nothing but the usual division of labour between US and British imperialism, with whichever British government happens to be in Downing Street coming up in Washington's rear - literally!
Of course no force which opposes imperialism's interests - especially not the Houthis, who ally with the Iranians - can be allowed to win ground as far as Trump, Burnham et al, are concerned. Having seized the Red Sea town of Mocha, the Houthis potentially control the Bab al-Mandeb strait - and the ships which go through it. That said, whether they can actually be overcome by the Saudis, Turks and Egyptians in coalition, with Burnham's "help", of course, still remains to be seen.
The problem of isolation
In the meantime, Trump's attacks on the Iranians continue. The message to them and their Houthi allies is that one way or another, they'll pay a very heavy price for their attempts to assert autonomy, or in the case of the Houthis, to fight for minority rights. And above all they are going to be made to pay for their solidarity with the Palestinians!
Of course, imperialism has many ways of containing and beating forces which resist it. And the "lesson" imposed on the Iranian working class goes back to 1979, when it "dared" to overthrow the US/British-imposed puppet regime to create its own republic! They remained isolated, embargoed and sanctioned thereafter - and it was precisely this siege by the West which allowed the ascent of today's authoritarian leadership. Maybe it was an unintended consequence on imperialism's part, or maybe not...
That's been the perverse history of almost all attempts by progressive forces to stand up against imperialist domination. Success is inevitably followed by isolation, which inevitably brings decay.
If the populations of the Middle East were not separated into these tiny - and actually totally absurd - principalities, then they'd have a much better chance of overcoming the dictatorships they confront!
...and artificial intelligence!
So, yes, isolation - the lack of fraternal co-operation, the lack of supporters across a whole region - this is what's to be avoided at all costs by any revolutionary current! Or, indeed, to bring it back to our own context - any section of workers fighting their employers. Even a simple strike for higher wages needs as many reinforcements as possible!
But it's not merely a question of numbers or physical strength. It's also a question of brainpower coming together. The best mathematicians are stunned that "AI" has managed to solve problems which they say they could not solve, up to now. They add that Al has become "smarter" than them and at a much faster rate than they ever expected. And they all talk to us from their various different screens sitting alone in their separate institutions!
So, no wonder Al has beaten them! Because it has been able to use the sum of human mathematical expertise - and they never did! Instead they acted as selfish, rival individual maths "geniuses", sponsored by rival academic establishments in rival countries! This separation is precisely what holds humanity back in every single endeavour - not just science and maths! Just remember the ridiculous space "race"?
So too, for us workers and our fights. If we overcame the (often clever and malicious) splitting of our ranks by the bosses - and the union leaders who collaborate with them - and together put our concerted energy into breaking down the divisions in our ranks, we'll not only win our fights, but we'll soon be able bring down the whole decrepit and senile capitalist system.