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Saudi Arabia Begins Air Campaign in Yemen

donsutherland1

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From The New York Times:

Saudi Arabia announced on Wednesday night that it had begun military operations in Yemen, launching airstrikes in coordination with a coalition of 10 nations.

The strikes came as Yemen was hurtling closer to civil war after months of turmoil, as fighters and army units allied with the Houthi movement threatened to overrun the southern port of Aden, where the besieged president, Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, has gone into hiding.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/26/world/middleeast/al-anad-air-base-houthis-yemen.html

Just as had been the case with Bahrain, it appears that Saudi Arabia and neighboring states may have drawn a line on preventing Shia movements from toppling governments in adjacent states. The Gulf Cooperation Council's military intervention to quash a Shia uprising in Bahrain very likely deprived Iran from gaining an ability to blockade the Persian Gulf, a development that could have facilitated Iran's drive for regional hegemony. Whether or not Saudi Arabia and its regional alies send ground forces into Yemen to restore order after using air power to degrade the Houthi militants remains to be seen. If they do, not only will such a development hold the possibility of strengthening regional stability, but it could also signal a new more assertive national security doctrine on the part of Saudi Arabia and its regional allies.
 
From The New York Times:



http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/26/world/middleeast/al-anad-air-base-houthis-yemen.html

Just as had been the case with Bahrain, it appears that Saudi Arabia and neighboring states may have drawn a line on preventing Shia movements from toppling governments in adjacent states. The Gulf Cooperation Council's military intervention to quash a Shia uprising in Bahrain very likely deprived Iran from gaining an ability to blockade the Persian Gulf, a development that could have facilitated Iran's drive for regional hegemony. Whether or not Saudi Arabia and its regional alies send ground forces into Yemen to restore order after using air power to degrade the Houthi militants remains to be seen. If they do, not only will such a development hold the possibility of strengthening regional stability, but it could also signal a new more assertive national security doctrine on the part of Saudi Arabia and its regional allies.

Man, this place is such a success, isn't it?

Defense Minister General Subayhi has been seized (again) by the Huthi, and who the hell knows where Hadi has run off to. Now we're headed into a proxy war.

Oh well, it's not like Yemen is, you know, really really really critically located, or would offer ungoverned spaces to any major terror networks, or anything...
 
Man, this place is such a success, isn't it?

Defense Minister General Subayhi has been seized (again) by the Huthi, and who the hell knows where Hadi has run off to. Now we're headed into a proxy war.

Oh well, it's not like Yemen is, you know, really really really critically located, or would offer ungoverned spaces to any major terror networks, or anything...

And some additional bad news from The Los Angeles Times:

Secret intelligence files held by Yemeni security forces and containing details of American intelligence operations in the country have been looted by Iran-backed militia leaders, exposing names of informants and plans for U.S.-backed counter-terrorism operations, U.S. officials say..

U.S. intelligence officials believe additional files were handed directly to Iranian advisors by Yemeni officials who have sided with the Houthi militias that seized control of the capital of Sana last September and later toppled the U.S.-backed president.


Iran-backed rebels in Yemen loot secret files about U.S. spy operations - LA Times

The bad news is:

1. The loss of Intelligence files and the related implications
2. The presence of Iranian advisors

The second issue is one of the reasons that I supported the Gulf Cooperation Council's military operations to put down Bahrain's Shia uprising. Then, even as Iran had denied involvement, it was very likely that Iran was playing a crucial behind-the-scenes role in destabilizing that country, as has now been confirmed in Yemen. Bahrain's geopolitical significance and the strategic nature of the U.S. naval base there were the primary reasons.
 
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Don't forget folks, Yemen is the success model for how we're approaching Syria and our coalition against ISIS.

:popcorn2:
 
From The New York Times:



http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/26/world/middleeast/al-anad-air-base-houthis-yemen.html

Just as had been the case with Bahrain, it appears that Saudi Arabia and neighboring states may have drawn a line on preventing Shia movements from toppling governments in adjacent states. The Gulf Cooperation Council's military intervention to quash a Shia uprising in Bahrain very likely deprived Iran from gaining an ability to blockade the Persian Gulf, a development that could have facilitated Iran's drive for regional hegemony. Whether or not Saudi Arabia and its regional alies send ground forces into Yemen to restore order after using air power to degrade the Houthi militants remains to be seen. If they do, not only will such a development hold the possibility of strengthening regional stability, but it could also signal a new more assertive national security doctrine on the part of Saudi Arabia and its regional allies.

Are we rooting for the Sunni?
 
And some additional bad news from The Los Angeles Times:

Secret intelligence files held by Yemeni security forces and containing details of American intelligence operations in the country have been looted by Iran-backed militia leaders, exposing names of informants and plans for U.S.-backed counter-terrorism operations, U.S. officials say..

U.S. intelligence officials believe additional files were handed directly to Iranian advisors by Yemeni officials who have sided with the Houthi militias that seized control of the capital of Sana last September and later toppled the U.S.-backed president.


Iran-backed rebels in Yemen loot secret files about U.S. spy operations - LA Times

The bad news is:

1. The loss of Intelligence files and the related implications
2. The presence of Iranian advisors

The second issue is one of the reasons that I supported the Gulf Cooperation Council's military operations to put down Bahrain's Shia uprising. Then, even as Iran had denied involvement, it was very likely that Iran was playing a crucial behind-the-scenes role in destabilizing that country, as has now been confirmed in Yemen. Bahrain's geopolitical significance and the strategic nature of the U.S. naval base there were the primary reasons.

Saudi Arabia has been fast at work destabilizing Syria!!
 
Are we rooting for the Sunni?

In Yemen, the embattled government has cooperated in the U.S. fight against terrorism. De facto Iranian control through its Houthi proxies would damage U.S. interests.

At the same time, they would damage Saudi Arabia's interests, and that's the reason Saudi Arabia has launched air strikes. In this case, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have common interests.
 
Saudi Arabia has been fast at work destabilizing Syria!!

On this, we agree to some extent. Syria is an example where the U.S. has limited interests (except for degrading ISIS) and really shouldn't have taken sides in that country's brutal ethnic conflict (sustaining the Kurds, is an exception). Neither the Assad government nor his foes are likely to be very friendly to American interests and strategic allies.

For Saudi Arabia, there are larger interests involved as they relate to that country's struggle with Iran for regional influence. Saudi Arabia sees Iran as posing a potentially mortal long-term threat and is seek to curtail Iran's ability to achieve regional hegemony. Hence, because the Assad government is friendly with Iran, Saudi Arabia has taken the side of the opposing ethnic forces. Needless to say, given Iran's interests and Russia's, too, in preserving the Assad government, that government will not easily be dislodged from power. Still, its ability to exert authority has been weakened. In turn, that decline of central authority has created a vacuum that has been filled by ISIS and, to a lesser extent, Al Qaeda, both of whom are incompatible with U.S. interests.
 
In Yemen, the embattled government has cooperated in the U.S. fight against terrorism. De facto Iranian control through its Houthi proxies would damage U.S. interests.

At the same time, they would damage Saudi Arabia's interests, and that's the reason Saudi Arabia has launched air strikes. In this case, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have common interests.

The US and Iran have common interests with regard to the Islamic State, too!
 
On this, we agree to some extent. Syria is an example where the U.S. has limited interests (except for degrading ISIS) and really shouldn't have taken sides in that country's brutal ethnic conflict (sustaining the Kurds, is an exception). Neither the Assad government nor his foes are likely to be very friendly to American interests and strategic allies.

For Saudi Arabia, there are larger interests involved as they relate to that country's struggle with Iran for regional influence. Saudi Arabia sees Iran as posing a potentially mortal long-term threat and is seek to curtail Iran's ability to achieve regional hegemony. Hence, because the Assad government is friendly with Iran, Saudi Arabia has taken the side of the opposing ethnic forces. Needless to say, given Iran's interests and Russia's, too, in preserving the Assad government, that government will not easily be dislodged from power. Still, its ability to exert authority has been weakened. In turn, that decline of central authority has created a vacuum that has been filled by ISIS and, to a lesser extent, Al Qaeda, both of whom are incompatible with U.S. interests.

US "interests" aren't always my interests. AQ was quite compatible with US interests when it came to using them to help in the violation of UNSCR 1970, and the overthrow of Gaddafi in Libya. The resulting arms confiscated from Gaddafi's army and smuggled out of the Benghazi annex to the MB, AQ, al Nusra infested FSA in Syria also made compatibility of AQ and US interests. Regime change in Syria has also been a long term USFP ambition. It's that abuse of UNSCR 1970 in Libya that prompted Russia and China to deny every US attempt to secure a similar resolution for the use of force in Syria.
 
US "interests" aren't always my interests. AQ was quite compatible with US interests when it came to using them to help in the violation of UNSCR 1970, and the overthrow of Gaddafi in Libya. The resulting arms confiscated from Gaddafi's army and smuggled out of the Benghazi annex to the MB, AQ, al Nusra infested FSA in Syria also made compatibility of AQ and US interests. Regime change in Syria has also been a long term USFP ambition. It's that abuse of UNSCR 1970 in Libya that prompted Russia and China to deny every US attempt to secure a similar resolution for the use of force in Syria.

I didn't support U.S. military intervention and regime change in Libya. As is the case with Syria, I don't believe compelling U.S. interests were at stake to justify such intervention. The end result is that Libya has become a failed state with the presence of numerous terrorist organizations, including but not limited to Al Qaeda. The consequences of that strategic blunder are still evolving.
 
Just heard it on Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC.
He's got a piece coming right now on it.

This after learning Saud was gathering forces on North Yemen earlier in the day.
The right people are fighting this or any other war over there--not US .
 
Call it what it is--a Sunni/Shia civil war that has gone worldwide.
With the two main players being Iran ad Saudi Arabia.

I haven't noticed any "we" yet where your team can trash Obama.
How in the hell is our politics any different from the Sunni/Shia civil war ?

Man, this place is such a success, isn't it?

Defense Minister General Subayhi has been seized (again) by the Huthi, and who the hell knows where Hadi has run off to. Now we're headed into a proxy war.

Oh well, it's not like Yemen is, you know, really really really critically located, or would offer ungoverned spaces to any major terror networks, or anything...
 
All brought to you by the Bushwhacking chicken**** chichenhawks from last decade.
Republicans are for taking responsibility as an election message.
Not so much in real life don't you think ?

Don't forget folks, Yemen is the success model for how we're approaching Syria and our coalition against ISIS.

:popcorn2:
 
From The New York Times:



http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/26/world/middleeast/al-anad-air-base-houthis-yemen.html

Just as had been the case with Bahrain, it appears that Saudi Arabia and neighboring states may have drawn a line on preventing Shia movements from toppling governments in adjacent states. The Gulf Cooperation Council's military intervention to quash a Shia uprising in Bahrain very likely deprived Iran from gaining an ability to blockade the Persian Gulf, a development that could have facilitated Iran's drive for regional hegemony. Whether or not Saudi Arabia and its regional alies send ground forces into Yemen to restore order after using air power to degrade the Houthi militants remains to be seen. If they do, not only will such a development hold the possibility of strengthening regional stability, but it could also signal a new more assertive national security doctrine on the part of Saudi Arabia and its regional allies.
People just don't realize what's going on.

It's been 10 years in the making with Proxy Wars galore: the Sunni/Gulf-State vs Shia/Iran War.

It's a far bigger issue than the I-P obsession.
Some have said there will be a full out war.
 
People just don't realize what's going on.

It's been 10 years in the making with Proxy Wars galore: the Sunni/Gulf-State vs Shia/Iran War.

It's a far bigger issue than the I-P obsession.
Some have said there will be a full out war.

There very well could be a full out war. With Hussein, Mubarak, Gaddafi and Assad firmly in place there never was nor ever would be. Seems someone sees a benefit to it.
 
People just don't realize what's going on.

It's been 10 years in the making with Proxy Wars galore: the Sunni/Gulf-State vs Shia/Iran War.

It's a far bigger issue than the I-P obsession.
Some have said there will be a full out war.

And all we should care about is getting out of there and making oil an energy source of the past. Let them fight over their worthless sand dunes without us.
 
A few moments ago on CNN overnight live with foreign correspondents:
Saudis are attacking all military installations, since they've been taken over by the Houthi.
Houthis are firing back at Saudi jets.
Saudis claim Houthi incursions into SA .
 
A few moments ago on CNN overnight live with foreign correspondents:
Saudis are attacking all military installations, since they've been taken over by the Houthi.
Houthis are firing back at Saudi jets.
Saudis claim Houthi incursions into SA .

Into SA? Interesting.
 
Read reports that the Saudi's have lost 2 jets, and Egypt has committed military support to yemen.

Maybe its better to get a war out of the way before the Iranians get nukes...or a good time for a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.

 
Listening to CNN.
There is a 10-country Sunni coalition, including, Morocco, Egypt, Jordan, (even Pakistan) with 100 Warplanes and 150,000 Troops ready to oust the Houthis and Occupy Yemen.

Saudis are rightly acting to protect their border from Iran-proxies.
I love when people Emptily claim: "Iran hasn't invaded anyone for 200 years"..
yet they control 4 Capitals now.

Of course, it is said the coalition is using Our intelligence, satellites, etc, for targeting, as those countries just don't have it.

EDIT:
Oil has been firm the last few days, and tonight, because of this situation, despite the glut and yesterday's report of such.
WSJ/NYMEX overnight Futures
51.09 +1.88 +3.82%
 
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Listening to CNN.
There is a 10-country Sunni coalition, including, Morocco, Egypt, Jordan, (even Pakistan) with 100 Warplanes and 150,000 Troops ready to oust the Houthis and Occupy Yemen.

Saudis are rightly acting to protect their border from Iran-proxies.
I love when people Emptily claim: "Iran hasn't invaded anyone for 200 years"..
yet they control 4 Capitals now.

Of course, it is said they are using Our intelligence, satellites, etc, for targeting, as those countries just don't have it.

Apparently the US has given intelligence support as well. Operation "Decisive Storm".
https://twitter.com/zaidbenjamin/status/580886362770907136
 
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