WAR IRAN MOVES TO CONTROL SUEZ CANAL AND YEMEN 1-21-2015
- Thread starter Doomer Doug
- Start date
it is going to be truly awful. i only hope we all can stay in contact here, but i have my doubts.
Lilbitsnana
On TB every waking moment
Conflict News @rConflictNews · 1h 1 hour ago
#Yemen government's Saba News has just announced simply that UN Envoy Jamal Bin Omar has left the capital Sanaa - @BaFana3
News_Executive @News_Executive · 14m 14 minutes ago
Breaking: Yemen Houthi militia dissolves parliament, and installs a 'presidential council'. #Yemen
Conflict News @rConflictNews · 21m 21 minutes ago
Yemen's Shiite rebels announce they are taking over the country and dissolve parliament. - @AP
#Yemen government's Saba News has just announced simply that UN Envoy Jamal Bin Omar has left the capital Sanaa - @BaFana3
News_Executive @News_Executive · 14m 14 minutes ago
Breaking: Yemen Houthi militia dissolves parliament, and installs a 'presidential council'. #Yemen
Conflict News @rConflictNews · 21m 21 minutes ago
Yemen's Shiite rebels announce they are taking over the country and dissolve parliament. - @AP
Doomer Doug
TB Fanatic
Oh my! The UN just fled the capital and is no longer a factor. The Iranian/Hezzbollah/Houthi tribesmen coalition now has complete control of Yemen. The farce has ended. The Sunni Al Qaida of the Arabian Peninsula is now out of the loop. The US puppets are now out of the loop. In fact, we are now looking at civil war, assuming the Houthi try to take over Southern Yemen. I don't think they will at all. They do not need to do anything other than consolidate their hold on Northern and Central Yemen. They will continue to have Iran pour in military troops and supplies. The US will be left trying to deal with a resurgent Al Qaida in Yemen. The US may continue to send in drone strikes against the Sunnis. If the US bombs the Houghis Iran will squeeze in Lebanon, Iraq, or the Red Sea entrance to the Suez Canal. Granted, this will trigger a WAR WITH EGYPT.
Iran has, for precious little money, material, or political and diplomatic cost kicked the West out of Yemen, become a direct threat to the global shipping lanes carrying oil from the Persian Gulf, via the Strait of Hormuz. Iran can now directly threaten the Suez Canal. Iran has done all this in less than two weeks. Iran has done this with NO WESTERN OPPOSITION AT ALL. Iran has done this at the cost of "maybe" ten million dollars.
Yep, when the magnitude of Obama's failures, his diplomatic failures, becomes evident once Shia Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia get into it, well, it will be the same thing as when Rome was no longer able to defend itself.
Iran has, for precious little money, material, or political and diplomatic cost kicked the West out of Yemen, become a direct threat to the global shipping lanes carrying oil from the Persian Gulf, via the Strait of Hormuz. Iran can now directly threaten the Suez Canal. Iran has done all this in less than two weeks. Iran has done this with NO WESTERN OPPOSITION AT ALL. Iran has done this at the cost of "maybe" ten million dollars.
Yep, when the magnitude of Obama's failures, his diplomatic failures, becomes evident once Shia Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia get into it, well, it will be the same thing as when Rome was no longer able to defend itself.
Also goes to why the Egyptians made the statement they made to the Houthi (ETA: and Iran), quite possibly unilaterally from conferring with the Obama Admin. Considering past Egyptian involvement in Yemen, they're more likely to be believed than any "noise" that might come from D.C. (heck last time the Egyptians were fighting there they were even using gas on the majority Shia/Zaydi population in what was North Yemen and where the Houthi now hold sway).
Last edited:
Be Well
may all be well
For a while. After that while....
BTW I have NOT forgotten. I am working on an essay, actually.
Doomer Doug
TB Fanatic
HE, I am not sure which is more disturbing to me. I am disturbed that Egypt openly told Iran/Hezzbollah/the Houthi they will directly intervene in Yemen at any potential PERCEPTION OF A THREAT TO THE SUEZ CANAL. I am even more disturbed Egypt took this action directly, independently, and without consultation with either Europe or the USA.
The regional political implications of the first statement are bad. The military and political implications of the second are world shaking in their likely results. Egypt has just said they are willing to start a WAR WITH IRAN any time Egypt feels threatened from Yemen/Iran/Hezzbollah/Houthi for any reason. Oh yeah, we are ramping up to War here for sure.
Iran, unlike North Korea, doesn't make these whining, "lake of fire" type threats, HE. No, Iran just sends in another cargo plane with some Revolutionary Guard trainers on it, or calmly announces their client/proxy, the Houthi just took full and complete operational military and political control of most of Yemen. And if anybody, the US, NATO, the Sunni states, Egypt or anybody doesn't like it THEY CAN GO $$%%% THEMSELVES.
Oh yeah, gang, Doomer Doug is seeing the mobile launchers headed towards the Red Sea coast of Yemen while I write this.
I hope you all have bought a bottle of whiskey, for surely we are going to need it soon enough. <G>
The regional political implications of the first statement are bad. The military and political implications of the second are world shaking in their likely results. Egypt has just said they are willing to start a WAR WITH IRAN any time Egypt feels threatened from Yemen/Iran/Hezzbollah/Houthi for any reason. Oh yeah, we are ramping up to War here for sure.
Iran, unlike North Korea, doesn't make these whining, "lake of fire" type threats, HE. No, Iran just sends in another cargo plane with some Revolutionary Guard trainers on it, or calmly announces their client/proxy, the Houthi just took full and complete operational military and political control of most of Yemen. And if anybody, the US, NATO, the Sunni states, Egypt or anybody doesn't like it THEY CAN GO $$%%% THEMSELVES.
Oh yeah, gang, Doomer Doug is seeing the mobile launchers headed towards the Red Sea coast of Yemen while I write this.
I hope you all have bought a bottle of whiskey, for surely we are going to need it soon enough. <G>
Heck Doug, I can see TELs with Iranian solid fueled Sejjil missiles that can reach both Cairo and Israel from Houthi held Yemen being unloaded along with anti-shipping missiles.
What I'd be interested in knowing is whether the Egyptians are restarting their ballistic missile program (either stretched SCUDs or solid fueled systems). I'd imagine there are IDF and NRO analysts already looking over that part of Yemen as we speak.
Doomer Doug
TB Fanatic
The Russian designed Scud mobile missile series is the AK-47 rifle of missiles. Pretty much EVERYBODY has them, in some form or another, in the mideast. Further, the "only a Scud missile" doesn't factor in the multiple upgrades available. The last one I remember was the Scud C or D, which is a vast improvement over the first models. I have no doubt Egypt has quite a few Scuds in storage if nothing else.
The other thing with Yemen etc is we aren't talking about very far distances at all. Iran and Hezzbollah on the other hand have some very advanced mobile missiles from both China and North Korea. The terrain along Yemen's coastal Red Sea is perfect for the kind of "shoot and scoot" tactics Russia perfected for the Scuds. Saddam was able to launch on Israel with half the US Airforce looking for his launchers in the western desert of Iraq.
yep, iran can put a missile pretty much anywhere it wants to, and anytime it wants to. Egypt's leaders have reason to be very concerned at this point.
The other thing with Yemen etc is we aren't talking about very far distances at all. Iran and Hezzbollah on the other hand have some very advanced mobile missiles from both China and North Korea. The terrain along Yemen's coastal Red Sea is perfect for the kind of "shoot and scoot" tactics Russia perfected for the Scuds. Saddam was able to launch on Israel with half the US Airforce looking for his launchers in the western desert of Iraq.
yep, iran can put a missile pretty much anywhere it wants to, and anytime it wants to. Egypt's leaders have reason to be very concerned at this point.
The Iranian backed Houthi have likely access to anti-shipping missiles from Yemeni government inventory or potentially shipped in by Iran that could effectively close the Red Sea, and thus the Suez Canal to tanker and freighter traffic.
These systems are as "plug and play" as an AK, basically drive the TEL where you have a clear shot, lock onto the target, shoot it and get the hell out of Dodge.
For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-deba...abia-so-concerned-about-iran-for-good-reason/
Analysis & Opinion | The Great Debate
Iran is using Israel to distract from its real aims in the Persian Gulf
By Anthony H. Cordesman
February 5, 2015
Comments 19
It has become conventional wisdom that most sectarian conflicts in the Middle East today are fueled, to some extent, by Iran and Saudi Arabia. The worsening political situation in Yemen — which led to Shi’ite Houthi rebels ousting President Abrabuh Mansour Hadi on Jan. 22 — was described by some military experts as the result of a purported Saudi-Iran “proxy war” in Yemen. That these two countries are enemies has been taken for granted by most, but is rarely examined or questioned.
It is time the West takes a hard look at exactly why Saudi Arabia and other Arab states are so concerned about the Iranian threat. Much of the Western commentary on the strategic threats in the Middle East focuses on violent jihadist threats from non-state actors and the Iranian nuclear threat to Israel. The reality is far more complicated and involves the vital strategic interests of the United States, Europe, and Asia.
To begin with the nuclear issue, it is important to remember that Iran has no nuclear weapons at present and that Israel is a mature nuclear weapons state with thermonuclear armed missiles that can reach any city or key target in Iran. At the same time, Iran has every reason to focus its political rhetoric on Israel as a threat and a target. Like its support of Gaza and the Hezbollah in Lebanon, the nuclear question deflects Arab fears of Iran’s growing ability to threaten Arab states, divide the Arab world, and lever Iran’s ability to threaten the flow of Gulf petroleum exports.
Iran already has large missile and rocket forces that can reach any target in the Gulf and most targets in the Middle East. But these forces lack the accuracy and lethality to do great damage to targets in the Arab Gulf states and other neighboring states with conventional warheads. Iran’s air force is aging, worn, and lacks anything like the capability of Saudi, United Arab Emirates, and other Arab forces — which have far more capable aircraft, surface-to-air missile forces, and missile defenses supplied by the West — as well as support from U.S., British, and French air and naval forces and the forces they can project forward in an emergency.
If Iran can acquire nuclear warheads, however, this would radically shift the balance against Arab states that lack nuclear weapons. It would greatly increase the threat Iran can pose, and help deter its Arab neighbors and their allies from using their advantage in air power. This is why Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states are so concerned about the P5+1 negotiations with Iran. Their governments do not see an Iranian threat to a nuclear armed Israel; they see a nuclear threat to the Arab world.
And, this is only part of the story. The Arab Gulf states see a major Iranian build-up in air, missile, anti-ship missile patrol boats and forces, smart mines, submarines, and other threats like Iran’s Marines and Special Forces to shipping in the Gulf, and their offshore and coastal facilities. Iran’s forces can now reach out into the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean.
This Iranian threat is as real and serious to the Arab Gulf states — and to the flow of petroleum exports to the global economy — as its nuclear threat. It is the reason why Saudi Arabia and the other Arab Gulf states — as well as the United States, Britain, and France — have built up their naval, air, mine warfare, and missile forces in the Gulf.
Saudi Arabia and other key Arab states like the other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Jordan, and Egypt have equal reason to fear Iran’s expanding role in the region and Iran’s efforts to divide the Arab world. The U.S.-led invasion of Iraq destroyed its ability to deter and contain Iran. It brought Shi’ites with strong ties to Iran to power, gave Iran far more influence in Iraq, and allowed Iran’s Quds Force and Revolutionary Guards to gain serious influence over Iraq’s military forces and Shi’ite militias. Iraq is still far from an Iranian satellite, but the struggles between its Sunnis and Shi’ites, the need for Iran’s support in fighting Islamic State, and its deep political divisions give Iran a major opportunity.
Iran has also reached out to Shi’ites in Bahrain, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen, and to the Alawites and Assad regime in Syria – as well as Palestinian Sunnis in Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Like Iraq, none of these groups are “proxies” in the sense that Iran has the ability to dictate or command their actions. Iran can still, however, threaten Arab states by encouraging Shi’ite minorities to oppose the regime and training and arming small factions within them.
Iran has provided massive transfers of weapons like missiles and rockets to Hezbollah in Lebanon and some arms and funds to the Houthis in Yemen. Both are Shi’ite forces that have own leadership and show little interest in supporting Iran’s Supreme Leader or becoming Iranian satellites, but give Iran the ability to play a spoiler function in dividing the Arab world and expanding its influence. The same is true of Iran’s support for the Assad regime, which had forced much of the Arab world to take on both the Assad regime and ISIS as threats. Iran does not have to care about Hamas or the Palestinians, or really care about Israel, to use them to create new Arab-Israel tensions, and serve a major strategic distraction.
These are the reasons why Saudi Arabia and other Arab Gulf states are buying over $50 billion worth of new arms from the Gulf. They are equally critical to Western interests and are the reason why the United States keeps major air, missile defense, naval, and special forces capabilities in the Gulf, and why Britain and France are creating new naval bases there. Iran poses a far more complex mix of threats than simply its nascent nuclear capabilities, and most will remain in place regardless of the outcome of the P5+1 negotiations.
Posted for fair use.....
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-deba...abia-so-concerned-about-iran-for-good-reason/
Analysis & Opinion | The Great Debate
Iran is using Israel to distract from its real aims in the Persian Gulf
By Anthony H. Cordesman
February 5, 2015
Comments 19
It has become conventional wisdom that most sectarian conflicts in the Middle East today are fueled, to some extent, by Iran and Saudi Arabia. The worsening political situation in Yemen — which led to Shi’ite Houthi rebels ousting President Abrabuh Mansour Hadi on Jan. 22 — was described by some military experts as the result of a purported Saudi-Iran “proxy war” in Yemen. That these two countries are enemies has been taken for granted by most, but is rarely examined or questioned.
It is time the West takes a hard look at exactly why Saudi Arabia and other Arab states are so concerned about the Iranian threat. Much of the Western commentary on the strategic threats in the Middle East focuses on violent jihadist threats from non-state actors and the Iranian nuclear threat to Israel. The reality is far more complicated and involves the vital strategic interests of the United States, Europe, and Asia.
To begin with the nuclear issue, it is important to remember that Iran has no nuclear weapons at present and that Israel is a mature nuclear weapons state with thermonuclear armed missiles that can reach any city or key target in Iran. At the same time, Iran has every reason to focus its political rhetoric on Israel as a threat and a target. Like its support of Gaza and the Hezbollah in Lebanon, the nuclear question deflects Arab fears of Iran’s growing ability to threaten Arab states, divide the Arab world, and lever Iran’s ability to threaten the flow of Gulf petroleum exports.
Iran already has large missile and rocket forces that can reach any target in the Gulf and most targets in the Middle East. But these forces lack the accuracy and lethality to do great damage to targets in the Arab Gulf states and other neighboring states with conventional warheads. Iran’s air force is aging, worn, and lacks anything like the capability of Saudi, United Arab Emirates, and other Arab forces — which have far more capable aircraft, surface-to-air missile forces, and missile defenses supplied by the West — as well as support from U.S., British, and French air and naval forces and the forces they can project forward in an emergency.
If Iran can acquire nuclear warheads, however, this would radically shift the balance against Arab states that lack nuclear weapons. It would greatly increase the threat Iran can pose, and help deter its Arab neighbors and their allies from using their advantage in air power. This is why Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states are so concerned about the P5+1 negotiations with Iran. Their governments do not see an Iranian threat to a nuclear armed Israel; they see a nuclear threat to the Arab world.
And, this is only part of the story. The Arab Gulf states see a major Iranian build-up in air, missile, anti-ship missile patrol boats and forces, smart mines, submarines, and other threats like Iran’s Marines and Special Forces to shipping in the Gulf, and their offshore and coastal facilities. Iran’s forces can now reach out into the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean.
This Iranian threat is as real and serious to the Arab Gulf states — and to the flow of petroleum exports to the global economy — as its nuclear threat. It is the reason why Saudi Arabia and the other Arab Gulf states — as well as the United States, Britain, and France — have built up their naval, air, mine warfare, and missile forces in the Gulf.
Saudi Arabia and other key Arab states like the other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Jordan, and Egypt have equal reason to fear Iran’s expanding role in the region and Iran’s efforts to divide the Arab world. The U.S.-led invasion of Iraq destroyed its ability to deter and contain Iran. It brought Shi’ites with strong ties to Iran to power, gave Iran far more influence in Iraq, and allowed Iran’s Quds Force and Revolutionary Guards to gain serious influence over Iraq’s military forces and Shi’ite militias. Iraq is still far from an Iranian satellite, but the struggles between its Sunnis and Shi’ites, the need for Iran’s support in fighting Islamic State, and its deep political divisions give Iran a major opportunity.
Iran has also reached out to Shi’ites in Bahrain, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen, and to the Alawites and Assad regime in Syria – as well as Palestinian Sunnis in Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Like Iraq, none of these groups are “proxies” in the sense that Iran has the ability to dictate or command their actions. Iran can still, however, threaten Arab states by encouraging Shi’ite minorities to oppose the regime and training and arming small factions within them.
Iran has provided massive transfers of weapons like missiles and rockets to Hezbollah in Lebanon and some arms and funds to the Houthis in Yemen. Both are Shi’ite forces that have own leadership and show little interest in supporting Iran’s Supreme Leader or becoming Iranian satellites, but give Iran the ability to play a spoiler function in dividing the Arab world and expanding its influence. The same is true of Iran’s support for the Assad regime, which had forced much of the Arab world to take on both the Assad regime and ISIS as threats. Iran does not have to care about Hamas or the Palestinians, or really care about Israel, to use them to create new Arab-Israel tensions, and serve a major strategic distraction.
These are the reasons why Saudi Arabia and other Arab Gulf states are buying over $50 billion worth of new arms from the Gulf. They are equally critical to Western interests and are the reason why the United States keeps major air, missile defense, naval, and special forces capabilities in the Gulf, and why Britain and France are creating new naval bases there. Iran poses a far more complex mix of threats than simply its nascent nuclear capabilities, and most will remain in place regardless of the outcome of the P5+1 negotiations.
For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/07/us-yemen-security-idUSKBN0LB07220150207
Blast in Yemeni capital as thousands protest militia takeover
By Mohammed Ghobari
SANAA Sat Feb 7, 2015 7:45am EST
(Reuters) - A bomb exploded outside the republican palace in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Saturday and wounded three Shi'ite Muslim militiamen guarding it, eyewitnesses said.
The attack raised tensions a day after the Houthi Shi'ite militant group dissolved parliament and formally took power of the impoverished and strife-torn Arabian Peninsula country.
Once the home of the resigned Yemeni prime minister, the republican palace now houses Mohammed al-Houthi, a top official in the Iranian-backed movement's military wing whose gunmen hold sway over much of Yemen.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, but Sunni Muslim militants in al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have repeatedly clashed with the increasingly powerful Houthis, raising fears of an all-out sectarian war.
Separately, thousands of demonstrators gathered in three cities in central Yemen to protest the Houthis seizing power. Houthi gunmen dispersed dozens of activists near the capital's main university by firing into the air.
Protesters chanted slogans calling the Houthi moves a "coup" and demanded the group withdraw its forces from major cities.
The Houthis entered Sanaa in September and began to fan out into more cities in Yemen's south and west. Armed Houthi personnel were out in force after their Friday announcement, manning checkpoints around key government buildings.
Their spread has destabilized the country's fragile security forces and stoked anger among tribal fighters allied to AQAP.
Four Houthi fighters were killed in a suspected AQAP attack in the southern al-Bayda province on Friday, while army forces clashed with tribesmen and AQAP fighters in a neighboring district on Saturday.
(Writing by Noah Browning; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/07/us-yemen-security-idUSKBN0LB07220150207
Blast in Yemeni capital as thousands protest militia takeover
By Mohammed Ghobari
SANAA Sat Feb 7, 2015 7:45am EST
(Reuters) - A bomb exploded outside the republican palace in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Saturday and wounded three Shi'ite Muslim militiamen guarding it, eyewitnesses said.
The attack raised tensions a day after the Houthi Shi'ite militant group dissolved parliament and formally took power of the impoverished and strife-torn Arabian Peninsula country.
Once the home of the resigned Yemeni prime minister, the republican palace now houses Mohammed al-Houthi, a top official in the Iranian-backed movement's military wing whose gunmen hold sway over much of Yemen.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, but Sunni Muslim militants in al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have repeatedly clashed with the increasingly powerful Houthis, raising fears of an all-out sectarian war.
Separately, thousands of demonstrators gathered in three cities in central Yemen to protest the Houthis seizing power. Houthi gunmen dispersed dozens of activists near the capital's main university by firing into the air.
Protesters chanted slogans calling the Houthi moves a "coup" and demanded the group withdraw its forces from major cities.
The Houthis entered Sanaa in September and began to fan out into more cities in Yemen's south and west. Armed Houthi personnel were out in force after their Friday announcement, manning checkpoints around key government buildings.
Their spread has destabilized the country's fragile security forces and stoked anger among tribal fighters allied to AQAP.
Four Houthi fighters were killed in a suspected AQAP attack in the southern al-Bayda province on Friday, while army forces clashed with tribesmen and AQAP fighters in a neighboring district on Saturday.
(Writing by Noah Browning; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
my prof over at the U is getting actually pretty excited about this. still thinks it won't work, but is more and more believing that it might. . . just might.
Doomer Doug
TB Fanatic
Well now, ain't that special, HE.
The Sunni types are pretty stupid if they think they can detonate a bomb, wound three Shia Houthi militia, and get away with it. Ergo, as soon as darkness falls, He the Shia death squads are going to be roaming Saana looking for Sunni targets. The slide towards open civil war continues unabated. The other thing is the Shia/Houthi can place a call to the local CIA office and put in a request, one likely to be honored, to vaporize a Sunni/Al Qaida target somewhere in Southern Yemen. This has already happened with predictable results.
The issue of the Iranian/Hezzbollah/Houthi missiles/missile crews is a done deal, gang. Right now, as Doomer Doug writes this, fully operational, mobile field launchers, manned by Revolutionary Guard true believers are sitting on both sides of the Red Sea entrance to the Suez Canal. This is a done deal by now.
The key points are as follows:
One is whether Iran/Revolutionary Guard/Houthi militia have had time to access either captured Yemen military missiles, or more likely, had Iran ship some in. The answer is YES!!!
Two is whether Iran/Revolutionary Guard/Houthi militia have moved those mobile missile launchers to Yemen's Red Sea coastline. They have done so. This is a done deal.
Three is whether, under certain conditions, Iran/Revolutionary Guards/Houthi militias will FIRE THOSE MISSILES AT SELECTED TARGETS IN THE SUEZ CANAL SHIPPING ZONES. The answer is YES!
Four is whether Iran/Revolutionary Guard, Houthi Militia WILL DIE IN PLACE AFTER MISSILE LAUNCH. The answer is yes they will engage in MARTYRDOM OPERATIONS with now qualms.
Gang, we now have fully operational, mobile missile launchers covering both sides of the Red Sea entrance to the Suez Canal. Egypt clearly thinks this is the case, gang or Egypt wouldn't have openly threatened to INVADE YEMEN AT WILL. The mobile missile launchers are manned by Revolutionary Guard elite missile troops who ARE WILLING TO DIE UNDER LAUNCH ORDERS AT ANY TIME. Further, any comments like "they will all get killed when "we" blow them up after missile launch show a dismal understanding of the code of the suicide warrior developed in Iran. Iran has a cult of the suicide warrior going back to the first 13 year old kid, yes 13, who leaped on an Iraqi tank, blew both himself and it up, and then was declared a national hero. He has a large tomb in the Tehran graveyard where people pay homage to him on a daily basis.
So yeah, Iran WILL NOT HESITATE TO BLOW UP AN OIL TANKER ENTERING THE RED SEA SUEZ CANAL SHIPPING ZONE. Egypt will then INVADE YEMEN WITH SEVERAL DIVISIONS. SAUDI ARABIA, THE GULF STATES WILL THEN BE TAKEN DOWN BY IRANIAN REVOLUTIONARY GUARD SAPPERS NOW POURING OVER THE WIDE OPEN YEMEN/SAUDI ARABIAN BORDER.
Oh yeah, the tidal wave is just sitting there, primed and ready to go.
The Sunni types are pretty stupid if they think they can detonate a bomb, wound three Shia Houthi militia, and get away with it. Ergo, as soon as darkness falls, He the Shia death squads are going to be roaming Saana looking for Sunni targets. The slide towards open civil war continues unabated. The other thing is the Shia/Houthi can place a call to the local CIA office and put in a request, one likely to be honored, to vaporize a Sunni/Al Qaida target somewhere in Southern Yemen. This has already happened with predictable results.
The issue of the Iranian/Hezzbollah/Houthi missiles/missile crews is a done deal, gang. Right now, as Doomer Doug writes this, fully operational, mobile field launchers, manned by Revolutionary Guard true believers are sitting on both sides of the Red Sea entrance to the Suez Canal. This is a done deal by now.
The key points are as follows:
One is whether Iran/Revolutionary Guard/Houthi militia have had time to access either captured Yemen military missiles, or more likely, had Iran ship some in. The answer is YES!!!
Two is whether Iran/Revolutionary Guard/Houthi militia have moved those mobile missile launchers to Yemen's Red Sea coastline. They have done so. This is a done deal.
Three is whether, under certain conditions, Iran/Revolutionary Guards/Houthi militias will FIRE THOSE MISSILES AT SELECTED TARGETS IN THE SUEZ CANAL SHIPPING ZONES. The answer is YES!
Four is whether Iran/Revolutionary Guard, Houthi Militia WILL DIE IN PLACE AFTER MISSILE LAUNCH. The answer is yes they will engage in MARTYRDOM OPERATIONS with now qualms.
Gang, we now have fully operational, mobile missile launchers covering both sides of the Red Sea entrance to the Suez Canal. Egypt clearly thinks this is the case, gang or Egypt wouldn't have openly threatened to INVADE YEMEN AT WILL. The mobile missile launchers are manned by Revolutionary Guard elite missile troops who ARE WILLING TO DIE UNDER LAUNCH ORDERS AT ANY TIME. Further, any comments like "they will all get killed when "we" blow them up after missile launch show a dismal understanding of the code of the suicide warrior developed in Iran. Iran has a cult of the suicide warrior going back to the first 13 year old kid, yes 13, who leaped on an Iraqi tank, blew both himself and it up, and then was declared a national hero. He has a large tomb in the Tehran graveyard where people pay homage to him on a daily basis.
So yeah, Iran WILL NOT HESITATE TO BLOW UP AN OIL TANKER ENTERING THE RED SEA SUEZ CANAL SHIPPING ZONE. Egypt will then INVADE YEMEN WITH SEVERAL DIVISIONS. SAUDI ARABIA, THE GULF STATES WILL THEN BE TAKEN DOWN BY IRANIAN REVOLUTIONARY GUARD SAPPERS NOW POURING OVER THE WIDE OPEN YEMEN/SAUDI ARABIAN BORDER.
Oh yeah, the tidal wave is just sitting there, primed and ready to go.
Doomer Doug
TB Fanatic
Something tells me this olive branch isn't going to be very effective. The article also claims the US has now ceased all drone strikes in Yemen. If true, this means Al Qaida now has a free hand to plan further attacks like Paris. It is interesting to follow the timeline in the article.
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20150207/1017947099.html
Yemen's new leader forms a transitional government as the country faces challenges from the US and Gulf monarchies while a conflict with al-Qaeda looms.
Houthi Shiite Yemenis raise their fists during clashes near the presidential palace in Sanaa, Yemen
© AP Photo/ Hani Mohammed
Houthi Rebels to Create Revolution Council to Govern Yemen Following President Resignation
Yemen's Shia Houthi militia formed a "security commission" on Saturday, following Friday's takeover of power, AFP reports. Meanwhile, the militia group's leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, announced in a televised speech that all political factions are welcome to partner with the new government, according to Reuters.
"Our hand is extended to every political force in this country. The space is open for partnership, cooperation and brotherhood and now everybody bears their responsibility for building, not destruction," al-Houthi announced in a televised address. "If Al-Qaeda takes control of the country, it will plot against our brothers in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf."
At least 17 people were arrested on Saturday, as protesters demonstrated near the main university in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital. A bomb also exploded near the capital, wounding three militia members.
On Friday, the Houthi militia seized power in the country, forming a two-year transitional government. The move followed President Abd Rabbuh Mansur al-Hadi's abdication on January 22, after Houthi militia seized the country's capital.
The Arabian Peninsula's Sunni Muslim monarchies, united as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), denounced the Houthi takeover of Yemen' government as a "coup," pledging to take all necessary measures to defend their interests, according to AFP.
Ghumdan Palace in Sana'a, Yemen
Yemen: The Saudi Coup That Totally Backfired
"The Houthi coup marks a grave and unacceptable escalation… and endangers the security, stability, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Yemen," the GCC announced in a statement.
A US official told AFP that the United States joins the Gulf monarchies in condemning the new government. Previously, following Hadi's resignation, the US announced that it would suspend it's operations aimed at curbing al-Qaeda influence in the country's south.
Yemen's Houthi Militias
Houthi Shiite Yemenis chant slogans during a rally to show support for their comrades in Sanaa, Yemen, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015
© AP Photo/ Hani Mohammed
Organizer Says Expanded Conference on Yemen Power Transfer 'Positive'
The Houthis, also known by their official name, Ansar Allah (Supporters of God), are an Iran-aligned Shia group which has been operating in northern Yemen since 1994. The group seeks to revive the rule of Zaidi Shias, who ruled the north of the country prior to 1962, when the country was known as the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen. Following a coup, the country plunged into a civil war between the Egypt-supported republic and the Saudi Arabia-supported kingdom, which the republic won in 1970.
In 1990, North Yemen, also known as the Yemen Arab Republic, united with South Yemen, a Soviet-aligned former British colony also known as the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, forming the Republic of Yemen. In 1994, internal differences and political disarray led to a brief civil war, after southern Yemeni leaders seceded, resulting in the south's defeat.
By 2000 it became apparent that Al-Qaeda fomented its influence in the region, when a suicide attack on the US Navy's USS Cole killed 17 personnel.
In 2004, the group began an armed struggle after the government attempted to arrest the movement's then-leader, the late Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, the current leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi's brother.
A Houthi Shiite Yemeni stands guard in front of a building damaged during recent clashes near the presidential palace in Sanaa, Yemen, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015.
© AP Photo/ Hani Mohammed
Officials: U.S. Suspends Counterterrorism Ops in Yemen After Gov't Collapse
In 2009, the government mounted a military offensive against the group. At the same time, a campaign against perceived al-Qaeda influence was assisted by US drone strikes and intelligence support from the CIA. The drone strikes were subject to controversy as they frequently killed innocent civilians rather than al-Qaeda targets.
In early 2011, internal political and economic tensions exploded into a popular uprising known as the Yemeni revolution, which followed similar protests known as the 2011 Arab Spring. As a result, Abd Rabuh Manur Hadi was elected president in an uncontested election, following the resignation of Ali Abdullah Saleh, who ruled the country since the 1990 unification.
By late 2011, Houthi militias controlled two Yemeni provinces, and expanded their influence through both popular protest and armed struggle, reaching the capital in 2012.
By late 2014, Houthis controlled parts of Yemen's capital and a power-sharing agreement was struck, which failed to materialize, leading to the militias' takeover of government and Hadi's resignation in January 2015.
00
Read more: http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20150207/1017947099.html#ixzz3R6FSVHJG
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20150207/1017947099.html
Yemen's new leader forms a transitional government as the country faces challenges from the US and Gulf monarchies while a conflict with al-Qaeda looms.
Houthi Shiite Yemenis raise their fists during clashes near the presidential palace in Sanaa, Yemen
© AP Photo/ Hani Mohammed
Houthi Rebels to Create Revolution Council to Govern Yemen Following President Resignation
Yemen's Shia Houthi militia formed a "security commission" on Saturday, following Friday's takeover of power, AFP reports. Meanwhile, the militia group's leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, announced in a televised speech that all political factions are welcome to partner with the new government, according to Reuters.
"Our hand is extended to every political force in this country. The space is open for partnership, cooperation and brotherhood and now everybody bears their responsibility for building, not destruction," al-Houthi announced in a televised address. "If Al-Qaeda takes control of the country, it will plot against our brothers in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf."
At least 17 people were arrested on Saturday, as protesters demonstrated near the main university in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital. A bomb also exploded near the capital, wounding three militia members.
On Friday, the Houthi militia seized power in the country, forming a two-year transitional government. The move followed President Abd Rabbuh Mansur al-Hadi's abdication on January 22, after Houthi militia seized the country's capital.
The Arabian Peninsula's Sunni Muslim monarchies, united as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), denounced the Houthi takeover of Yemen' government as a "coup," pledging to take all necessary measures to defend their interests, according to AFP.
Ghumdan Palace in Sana'a, Yemen
Yemen: The Saudi Coup That Totally Backfired
"The Houthi coup marks a grave and unacceptable escalation… and endangers the security, stability, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Yemen," the GCC announced in a statement.
A US official told AFP that the United States joins the Gulf monarchies in condemning the new government. Previously, following Hadi's resignation, the US announced that it would suspend it's operations aimed at curbing al-Qaeda influence in the country's south.
Yemen's Houthi Militias
Houthi Shiite Yemenis chant slogans during a rally to show support for their comrades in Sanaa, Yemen, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015
© AP Photo/ Hani Mohammed
Organizer Says Expanded Conference on Yemen Power Transfer 'Positive'
The Houthis, also known by their official name, Ansar Allah (Supporters of God), are an Iran-aligned Shia group which has been operating in northern Yemen since 1994. The group seeks to revive the rule of Zaidi Shias, who ruled the north of the country prior to 1962, when the country was known as the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen. Following a coup, the country plunged into a civil war between the Egypt-supported republic and the Saudi Arabia-supported kingdom, which the republic won in 1970.
In 1990, North Yemen, also known as the Yemen Arab Republic, united with South Yemen, a Soviet-aligned former British colony also known as the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, forming the Republic of Yemen. In 1994, internal differences and political disarray led to a brief civil war, after southern Yemeni leaders seceded, resulting in the south's defeat.
By 2000 it became apparent that Al-Qaeda fomented its influence in the region, when a suicide attack on the US Navy's USS Cole killed 17 personnel.
In 2004, the group began an armed struggle after the government attempted to arrest the movement's then-leader, the late Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, the current leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi's brother.
A Houthi Shiite Yemeni stands guard in front of a building damaged during recent clashes near the presidential palace in Sanaa, Yemen, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015.
© AP Photo/ Hani Mohammed
Officials: U.S. Suspends Counterterrorism Ops in Yemen After Gov't Collapse
In 2009, the government mounted a military offensive against the group. At the same time, a campaign against perceived al-Qaeda influence was assisted by US drone strikes and intelligence support from the CIA. The drone strikes were subject to controversy as they frequently killed innocent civilians rather than al-Qaeda targets.
In early 2011, internal political and economic tensions exploded into a popular uprising known as the Yemeni revolution, which followed similar protests known as the 2011 Arab Spring. As a result, Abd Rabuh Manur Hadi was elected president in an uncontested election, following the resignation of Ali Abdullah Saleh, who ruled the country since the 1990 unification.
By late 2011, Houthi militias controlled two Yemeni provinces, and expanded their influence through both popular protest and armed struggle, reaching the capital in 2012.
By late 2014, Houthis controlled parts of Yemen's capital and a power-sharing agreement was struck, which failed to materialize, leading to the militias' takeover of government and Hadi's resignation in January 2015.
00
Read more: http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20150207/1017947099.html#ixzz3R6FSVHJG
Doomer Doug
TB Fanatic
I am now looking for three things to start to happen in February of 2015.
One is "reports" of increasing chaos, riots, disturbances in Bahrain with its large Shia minority.
Two is "reports" of armed attacks in the predominantly Shia Eastern Saudi Arabian counties.
Three is for Iran and Hezzbollah to ramp up pressure on Israel from Lebanon in particular.
Finally, I have no doubt that multiple "donkey and camel" convoys are pouring over the Yemen border into Saudi Arabia. They are carrying AK-47's, RPG's, C-4, and suicide vests to the hundreds/thousands of potential Islamic Shia warriors/suicide bombers now living in the Gulf States and Bahrain.
Now that the USA has ceased ALL DRONE STRIKES AND INTELLIGENCE GATHERING IN YEMEN THE GATES ARE WIDE OPEN. Iran has created a situation for Saudi Arabia that mirrors our USA wide open southern border.
Yep, we here in the West sneer at Iran for using camels and donkeys to move military logistics over the vast deserts of Southern and Eastern Saudi Arabia. We "know" they have to have trucks and humvees to do this. <G> We "know" we can spot them with our drones and satellites. <G> We "know" we can detect their communications.
They move supplies in the boonies using long established smuggling trails that are hard to spot from the air. They use camels that are impossible to confirm as anything other than Bedouin wandering around. They no longer use their cell phones, or if they do they use one time burners. They adapt to us, outwit us, out play us.
The corrupt and incompetent House of Saud has NO IDEA of the tidal wave of Shia rage is going to do. They have no idea how well armed, well trained and ready to die their Shia subjects are.
The loss of Saudi Arabia will be like the loss of China in 1949 to Mao. Mao's takeover redefined Asian politics. The fall of the House of Saud will do the same for the Middle East. When you add ISIS into the mix with the Shia, you get total chaos.
One is "reports" of increasing chaos, riots, disturbances in Bahrain with its large Shia minority.
Two is "reports" of armed attacks in the predominantly Shia Eastern Saudi Arabian counties.
Three is for Iran and Hezzbollah to ramp up pressure on Israel from Lebanon in particular.
Finally, I have no doubt that multiple "donkey and camel" convoys are pouring over the Yemen border into Saudi Arabia. They are carrying AK-47's, RPG's, C-4, and suicide vests to the hundreds/thousands of potential Islamic Shia warriors/suicide bombers now living in the Gulf States and Bahrain.
Now that the USA has ceased ALL DRONE STRIKES AND INTELLIGENCE GATHERING IN YEMEN THE GATES ARE WIDE OPEN. Iran has created a situation for Saudi Arabia that mirrors our USA wide open southern border.
Yep, we here in the West sneer at Iran for using camels and donkeys to move military logistics over the vast deserts of Southern and Eastern Saudi Arabia. We "know" they have to have trucks and humvees to do this. <G> We "know" we can spot them with our drones and satellites. <G> We "know" we can detect their communications.
They move supplies in the boonies using long established smuggling trails that are hard to spot from the air. They use camels that are impossible to confirm as anything other than Bedouin wandering around. They no longer use their cell phones, or if they do they use one time burners. They adapt to us, outwit us, out play us.
The corrupt and incompetent House of Saud has NO IDEA of the tidal wave of Shia rage is going to do. They have no idea how well armed, well trained and ready to die their Shia subjects are.
The loss of Saudi Arabia will be like the loss of China in 1949 to Mao. Mao's takeover redefined Asian politics. The fall of the House of Saud will do the same for the Middle East. When you add ISIS into the mix with the Shia, you get total chaos.
At a minimum the Saudis are going to loose the Persian Gulf coast and all of the oil facilities there in that Shia majority area with the scenario you're painting. They might hold the capital and most of the Red Sea coast if the leadership can keep their nerve and not start flying out of the country for Cairo or Geneva and the Egyptians and Pakistanis can reinforce them fast enough; might see some Jordanian units move in as a "fire brigade" in either event.
Even if that were the case, the price of a barrel of oil will jump at a minimum to the last high if not surpass it easily. That not only saves the Iranians, but also the Russians and places like Algeria and Nigeria, though in those two last places it gives the IS/Daesh/Muslim Brotherhood/AQ types more incentive to go for the brass ring.
Missed this one......
For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.businessinsider.com/saudi-arabia-and-pakistans-nuclear-weapons-pact-2015-2
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan may have just renewed a secret nuclear weapons pact
The Washington Institute For Near East Policy
Simon Henderson, The Washington Institute For Near East Policy
Feb. 4, 2015, 10:28 AM
Comments 41
The visit by the chairman of Pakistan's Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee will likely prompt concern in Washington and other major capitals that Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have reconfirmed an arrangement whereby Pakistan, if asked, will supply Saudi Arabia with nuclear warheads.
The main meeting on Gen. Rashid Mahmoud's itinerary was with King Salman — the topics discussed were reported as "deep relations between the two countries and ... a number of issues of common interest."
General Rashid also saw separately Defense Minister Prince Muhammad bin Salman — who presented him with the King Abdulaziz medal of excellence — as well as Deputy Crown Prince and Interior Minister Muhammad bin Nayef and Minister of the National Guard Prince Mitab bin Abdullah.
The only senior Saudi absent from the meetings appears to have been Crown Prince Muqrin.
For decades, Riyadh has been judged a supporter of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program, providing financing in return for a widely assumed understanding that, if needed, Islamabad will transfer technology or even warheads.
It has been noticeable that changes in leadership in either country have quickly been followed by top-level meetings, as if to reconfirm such nuclear arrangements. Although Pakistani nuclear technology also helped Iran's program, the relationship between Islamabad and Riyadh has been much more obvious.
In 1999, a year after Pakistan tested two nuclear weapons, then Saudi defense minister Prince Sultan visited the unsafeguarded uranium enrichment plant at Kahuta outside Islamabad — prompting a US diplomatic protest.
Last year, as Riyadh's concern at the prospect of Iranian nuclear hegemony in the Gulf grew, Pakistan's chief of army staff, Gen. Raheel Sharif, was a guest of honor when Saudi Arabia publicly paraded its Chinese CSS-2 missiles for the first time since they were delivered in the 1980s.
Although now nearly obsolete, the CSS-2 missile once formed the core of China's nuclear force. Pakistan's first nuclear devices were based on a Chinese design.
Pakistan's prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, visited the kingdom January 23 for the funeral of King Abdullah and had also been there a couple of weeks earlier to pay his respects to the ailing monarch.
The civilian leader and his military commanders have an awkward relationship — in an earlier term of office, Nawaz Sharif was overthrown in a military coup and sent into exile in Saudi Arabia — but Pakistan's nuclear program seems above any civil-military partisanship.
The visit by General Rashid comes a day after Pakistan announced the successful flight-testing of its Raad air-launched 220-mile-range cruise missile, which reportedly is able to deliver nuclear and conventional warheads with pinpoint accuracy.
While chairing his first cabinet meeting as prime minister yesterday, King Salman announced there would be no change in Saudi foreign policy.
In its own way, today's top-level meetings with the Pakistani military delegation seem to confirm this statement, adding perhaps an extra awkward complication to the Obama administration's effort to secure a diplomatic agreement with Tehran over Iran's nuclear program.
Simon Henderson is the Baker Fellow and director of the Gulf and Energy Policy Program at The Washington Institute.
More from The Washington Institute For Near East Policy:
Nuclear Nuances of Saudi-Pakistan Meeting
Princely Personalities Sidelined in Saudi Arabia
Riyadh Rendezvous: Obama to Meet with New Saudi King
Coup in Yemen: Saudi Arabia's Nightmare
Saudi King in Hospital: Succession Crisis Looms
For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.businessinsider.com/saudi-arabia-and-pakistans-nuclear-weapons-pact-2015-2
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan may have just renewed a secret nuclear weapons pact
The Washington Institute For Near East Policy
Simon Henderson, The Washington Institute For Near East Policy
Feb. 4, 2015, 10:28 AM
Comments 41
The visit by the chairman of Pakistan's Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee will likely prompt concern in Washington and other major capitals that Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have reconfirmed an arrangement whereby Pakistan, if asked, will supply Saudi Arabia with nuclear warheads.
The main meeting on Gen. Rashid Mahmoud's itinerary was with King Salman — the topics discussed were reported as "deep relations between the two countries and ... a number of issues of common interest."
General Rashid also saw separately Defense Minister Prince Muhammad bin Salman — who presented him with the King Abdulaziz medal of excellence — as well as Deputy Crown Prince and Interior Minister Muhammad bin Nayef and Minister of the National Guard Prince Mitab bin Abdullah.
The only senior Saudi absent from the meetings appears to have been Crown Prince Muqrin.
For decades, Riyadh has been judged a supporter of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program, providing financing in return for a widely assumed understanding that, if needed, Islamabad will transfer technology or even warheads.
It has been noticeable that changes in leadership in either country have quickly been followed by top-level meetings, as if to reconfirm such nuclear arrangements. Although Pakistani nuclear technology also helped Iran's program, the relationship between Islamabad and Riyadh has been much more obvious.
In 1999, a year after Pakistan tested two nuclear weapons, then Saudi defense minister Prince Sultan visited the unsafeguarded uranium enrichment plant at Kahuta outside Islamabad — prompting a US diplomatic protest.
Last year, as Riyadh's concern at the prospect of Iranian nuclear hegemony in the Gulf grew, Pakistan's chief of army staff, Gen. Raheel Sharif, was a guest of honor when Saudi Arabia publicly paraded its Chinese CSS-2 missiles for the first time since they were delivered in the 1980s.
Although now nearly obsolete, the CSS-2 missile once formed the core of China's nuclear force. Pakistan's first nuclear devices were based on a Chinese design.
Pakistan's prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, visited the kingdom January 23 for the funeral of King Abdullah and had also been there a couple of weeks earlier to pay his respects to the ailing monarch.
The civilian leader and his military commanders have an awkward relationship — in an earlier term of office, Nawaz Sharif was overthrown in a military coup and sent into exile in Saudi Arabia — but Pakistan's nuclear program seems above any civil-military partisanship.
The visit by General Rashid comes a day after Pakistan announced the successful flight-testing of its Raad air-launched 220-mile-range cruise missile, which reportedly is able to deliver nuclear and conventional warheads with pinpoint accuracy.
While chairing his first cabinet meeting as prime minister yesterday, King Salman announced there would be no change in Saudi foreign policy.
In its own way, today's top-level meetings with the Pakistani military delegation seem to confirm this statement, adding perhaps an extra awkward complication to the Obama administration's effort to secure a diplomatic agreement with Tehran over Iran's nuclear program.
Simon Henderson is the Baker Fellow and director of the Gulf and Energy Policy Program at The Washington Institute.
More from The Washington Institute For Near East Policy:
Nuclear Nuances of Saudi-Pakistan Meeting
Princely Personalities Sidelined in Saudi Arabia
Riyadh Rendezvous: Obama to Meet with New Saudi King
Coup in Yemen: Saudi Arabia's Nightmare
Saudi King in Hospital: Succession Crisis Looms
Doomer Doug
TB Fanatic
HE, the House of Saud has NO DEEP BASED SUPPORT AMONG THE GENERAL POPULATION IN SAUDI ARABIA. They are some 5,000 "Princes" who control everything. The unemployment rate among the young is astounding. The Shia minorities are in full blown revolt mode. The National Guard isn't a reliable military force.
I am saying that when, not if, push comes to shove the Saudi political and military system will collapse totally.
Egypt is the real player here in my opinion. They can have multiple divisions into Saudi Arabia within 72 hours. Iran is kicking butt here.
I am saying that when, not if, push comes to shove the Saudi political and military system will collapse totally.
Egypt is the real player here in my opinion. They can have multiple divisions into Saudi Arabia within 72 hours. Iran is kicking butt here.
Doomer Doug
TB Fanatic
Egypt is one of the big three, in terms of population and military might, Muslim countries. The "Muslim Big Three" are Turkey, Egypt and Pakistan. Egypt gets a large chunk of its foreign reserves from Suez Canal transit fees. Egypt controls most of the Sinai Peninsula that directly borders Saudi Arabia. While Saudi Arabia "may" have nukes, its primary role is as keeper of the two sacred sites in Islam, Mecca and Medina.
My personal opinion is Egypt will deploy first, and with significant military forces into Yemen, if they "think" they see a threat to the Suez Canal.
Iran is Shia. Egypt is Sunni. Saudi Arabia is Sunni. We have a hard core, 1400 year old military and religious conflict between the Shia and the Sunni Muslims.
Egypt will go into Yemen to protect the Suez Canal.
Egypt will go into Yemen in Jihad against the Shia "infidels."
Egypt will go into Yemen in defense of Saudi Arabia and the Holy Sites.
Egypt will go into Yemen to prevent Iranian subversion in the Gulf States and Saudi Arabia.
Finally, Egypt is now under a military government seeking to restore its role as the dominant Islamic military and political power in the Middle East. Egypt has an Imperial history going back over 5,000 years. Egypt and Iran are both thinking in Imperial restoration terms in my opinion.
You have a resurgent Persian Empire in Iran; you have an resurgent Egyptian Empire. Over these several THOUSAND, YES SEVERAL THOUSAND YEAR CULTURAL VALUES, YOU HAVE THE 1400 YEAR OLD ISLAMIC RELIGION AND IDEOLOGY IMPOSED ON IT.
The result of all this is clear. We are, eventually, going to have a DIRECT MILITARY CONFRONTATION BETWEEN A RESTORED EGYPTIAN EMPIRE AGAINST A RESTORED PERSIAN EMPIRE WITH A SUNNI/SHIA WAR ASPECT AS FLAVORING.
Iran can be counted to act like Shia seeking to take over the Holy Sites in Saudi Arabia. Egypt can be counted on to act like Egypt did in the 1500 BC time period. Saudi Arabia will act like a Sunni superstate against the Shia punks.
Yep, we got ourselves a situation here in Yemen.
My personal opinion is Egypt will deploy first, and with significant military forces into Yemen, if they "think" they see a threat to the Suez Canal.
Iran is Shia. Egypt is Sunni. Saudi Arabia is Sunni. We have a hard core, 1400 year old military and religious conflict between the Shia and the Sunni Muslims.
Egypt will go into Yemen to protect the Suez Canal.
Egypt will go into Yemen in Jihad against the Shia "infidels."
Egypt will go into Yemen in defense of Saudi Arabia and the Holy Sites.
Egypt will go into Yemen to prevent Iranian subversion in the Gulf States and Saudi Arabia.
Finally, Egypt is now under a military government seeking to restore its role as the dominant Islamic military and political power in the Middle East. Egypt has an Imperial history going back over 5,000 years. Egypt and Iran are both thinking in Imperial restoration terms in my opinion.
You have a resurgent Persian Empire in Iran; you have an resurgent Egyptian Empire. Over these several THOUSAND, YES SEVERAL THOUSAND YEAR CULTURAL VALUES, YOU HAVE THE 1400 YEAR OLD ISLAMIC RELIGION AND IDEOLOGY IMPOSED ON IT.
The result of all this is clear. We are, eventually, going to have a DIRECT MILITARY CONFRONTATION BETWEEN A RESTORED EGYPTIAN EMPIRE AGAINST A RESTORED PERSIAN EMPIRE WITH A SUNNI/SHIA WAR ASPECT AS FLAVORING.
Iran can be counted to act like Shia seeking to take over the Holy Sites in Saudi Arabia. Egypt can be counted on to act like Egypt did in the 1500 BC time period. Saudi Arabia will act like a Sunni superstate against the Shia punks.
Yep, we got ourselves a situation here in Yemen.
Be Well
may all be well
Thank you, D. Doug. And then there's the Saudi/Pak nuke thingie up there. Maybe if things come to pass as you describe, all the jihadis can kill each other to death, and the few remaining Moslems can decide that jihad is a bad idea. I'm sure some of them think that already, Al Sisi has said so. And since many moslems can't leave (all of them, technically) Islam without threat of execution, we don't know what those ones think.
Possible Impact
TB Fanatic
The Coup Is Complete:
US Embassy In Yemen Shutting Down,
Ambassador To Leave By Wednesday
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 02/10/2015 11:20 -0500
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-...emen-shutting-down-ambassador-leave-wednesday
Another US-friendly regime has folded completely, and after bumbling US foreign
intervention Libya and Egypt made the countries into terrorist breeding grounds where
Americans are kidnapped on site or worse, it is now Yemen's turn: another country in
the Middle East whose president until recently was backed by the US government, and
which is now nothing more than an Al Qaeda/ISIS training ground.
US Embassy In Yemen Shutting Down,
Ambassador To Leave By Wednesday
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 02/10/2015 11:20 -0500
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-...emen-shutting-down-ambassador-leave-wednesday
Another US-friendly regime has folded completely, and after bumbling US foreign
intervention Libya and Egypt made the countries into terrorist breeding grounds where
Americans are kidnapped on site or worse, it is now Yemen's turn: another country in
the Middle East whose president until recently was backed by the US government, and
which is now nothing more than an Al Qaeda/ISIS training ground.
YEMENI EMPLOYEES SAY US AMBASSADOR IN YEMEN INFORMS
STAFF THE EMBASSY IS CLOSING DOWN COMPLETELY,
AMBASSADOR TO LEAVE BY WEDNESDAY
For those Americans who are still on location, fear not: you are in good hands:STAFF THE EMBASSY IS CLOSING DOWN COMPLETELY,
AMBASSADOR TO LEAVE BY WEDNESDAY
US TO ASK TURKEY OR ALGERIA TO LOOK AFTER ITS INTERESTS IN YEMEN
WHILE THE EMBASSY IS CLOSED - YEMENI US EMBASSY EMPLOYEES
And now it's time for Obama to discuss just how "isolated" Putin really is.WHILE THE EMBASSY IS CLOSED - YEMENI US EMBASSY EMPLOYEES
Doomer Doug
TB Fanatic
PI, did that shutdown include any shots of people hanging off the helicopter skids circa Saigon, March of 1975? <G> Yep, Iran JUST KICKED THE USA OUT OF YEMEN. DOOMER DOUG JUST HAS TO LOVE OBAMA!!!
All stops are out now, gang. Incoming cargo flights won't even be bothered to be hidden anymore. Iran will just march the Revolutionary Guard troops out the back ramp and flip off any spy satellites watching!
All stops are out now, gang. Incoming cargo flights won't even be bothered to be hidden anymore. Iran will just march the Revolutionary Guard troops out the back ramp and flip off any spy satellites watching!
For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use....
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150210/ml--yemen-a40a823387.html
Shiite Yemen leader issues threats; US Embassy plans to shut
Feb 10, 2:54 PM (ET)
By AHMED AL-HAJ
(AP) Houthi Shiite Yemenis wearing army uniforms, stand guard outside parliament, during...
Full Image
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — The leader of the Shiite rebels now in control of Yemen warned his enemies not to stand in his hard-line movement's way on Tuesday as the U.S. government announced it was closing its embassy in the country.
Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, who leads the Iran-linked Houthi rebel movement that claimed formal government control of the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country last week, denounced reported plans by foreign governments to remove their diplomats as amounting to unwarranted "pressures."
Al-Houthi didn't specify the planned U.S. Embassy closure as he issued a sweeping warning that anyone seeking to thwart his tribal movement's ambitions would suffer unspecified retaliation in response.
"We will not accept pressures. They are of no use," al-Houthi said in speech broadcast on the rebel group's own al-Masirah TV network.
(AP) In this Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015 file photo, Houthi Shiite Yemenis wearing...
Full Image
"Whoever harms the interest of this country could see that their interests in this country are also harmed," he said. Al-Houthi made a series of similarly threatening but vague remarks, and offered no explanation for what specific retaliatory action he might have in mind.
Al-Houthi defended his group's decision to dissolve Yemen's parliament and declare that the Houthis' own Revolutionary Committee, a panel of top security and intelligence officials, was Yemen's new governing authority.
Against the backdrop of political unrest, the United Nations' envoy to Yemen has reopened multi-party talks seeking a way forward to forge a compromise government acceptable to both the country's Sunni majority and Shiite minority.
The United Nations' stated goal is to try to create a lawful government authority in Yemen that has been missing since January, when President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi resigned after being placed under house arrest by Houthi rebels. The Houthis continue to restrict him to his residence.
The Houthis, who are traditionally based in northern Yemen bordering Saudi Arabia, have continued to expand the Yemeni territory under their control. On Tuesday, Yemeni military officials said the rebels had seized the key central province of Bayda, the gateway to the country's mostly Sunni south.
Houthis have yet to take control of Yemen's oil-rich Maarib province in the east.
In Washington, two U.S. officials said Tuesday that American diplomats were being evacuated from the country and that the embassy in Sanaa would suspend operations until conditions improve. The U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the closure publicly on the record.
Marines providing the security at the embassy will also likely leave, the officials said, but American forces conducting counterterrorism missions against al-Qaida's Yemen affiliate in other parts of the country would not be affected.
---
Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this reports.
Posted for fair use....
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150210/ml--yemen-a40a823387.html
Shiite Yemen leader issues threats; US Embassy plans to shut
Feb 10, 2:54 PM (ET)
By AHMED AL-HAJ
(AP) Houthi Shiite Yemenis wearing army uniforms, stand guard outside parliament, during...
Full Image
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — The leader of the Shiite rebels now in control of Yemen warned his enemies not to stand in his hard-line movement's way on Tuesday as the U.S. government announced it was closing its embassy in the country.
Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, who leads the Iran-linked Houthi rebel movement that claimed formal government control of the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country last week, denounced reported plans by foreign governments to remove their diplomats as amounting to unwarranted "pressures."
Al-Houthi didn't specify the planned U.S. Embassy closure as he issued a sweeping warning that anyone seeking to thwart his tribal movement's ambitions would suffer unspecified retaliation in response.
"We will not accept pressures. They are of no use," al-Houthi said in speech broadcast on the rebel group's own al-Masirah TV network.
(AP) In this Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015 file photo, Houthi Shiite Yemenis wearing...
Full Image
"Whoever harms the interest of this country could see that their interests in this country are also harmed," he said. Al-Houthi made a series of similarly threatening but vague remarks, and offered no explanation for what specific retaliatory action he might have in mind.
Al-Houthi defended his group's decision to dissolve Yemen's parliament and declare that the Houthis' own Revolutionary Committee, a panel of top security and intelligence officials, was Yemen's new governing authority.
Against the backdrop of political unrest, the United Nations' envoy to Yemen has reopened multi-party talks seeking a way forward to forge a compromise government acceptable to both the country's Sunni majority and Shiite minority.
The United Nations' stated goal is to try to create a lawful government authority in Yemen that has been missing since January, when President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi resigned after being placed under house arrest by Houthi rebels. The Houthis continue to restrict him to his residence.
The Houthis, who are traditionally based in northern Yemen bordering Saudi Arabia, have continued to expand the Yemeni territory under their control. On Tuesday, Yemeni military officials said the rebels had seized the key central province of Bayda, the gateway to the country's mostly Sunni south.
Houthis have yet to take control of Yemen's oil-rich Maarib province in the east.
In Washington, two U.S. officials said Tuesday that American diplomats were being evacuated from the country and that the embassy in Sanaa would suspend operations until conditions improve. The U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the closure publicly on the record.
Marines providing the security at the embassy will also likely leave, the officials said, but American forces conducting counterterrorism missions against al-Qaida's Yemen affiliate in other parts of the country would not be affected.
---
Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this reports.
For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use....
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150211/ml--yemen-af1abd9e09.html
British Embassy in Yemen closes, evacuates staff amid chaos
Feb 11, 12:39 AM (ET)
By AHMED AL-HAJ
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — The British Embassy in Yemen's capital closed and evacuated its staff early Wednesday, authorities said, the latest diplomatic post to shut down in the Arab world's poorest country amid turmoil following Shiite rebels seizing power.
In a statement, U.K. Minister for the Middle East Tobias Ellwood also urged British citizens still in Yemen to "leave immediately." This comes as the State Department confirmed it also closed the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa and evacuated its staff because of the political crisis there and security concerns.
"The security situation in Yemen has continued to deteriorate over recent days," Ellwood said. "Regrettably we now judge that our embassy staff and premises are at increased risk."
Yemen has been in crisis for months, with Shiite Houthi rebels besieging the capital and then taking control. Earlier Tuesday, U.S. officials said the embassy closure would not affect counterterrorism operations against al-Qaida's Yemen branch, which America views as the world's most dangerous branch of the terror group.
The United Nations has been trying to broker talks between the Houthis and others in Yemen since the Shiite rebels dissolved parliament after earlier besieging the country's president, who later resigned while armed militants surrounded his home.
Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, who leads the Shiite rebels, warned his enemies Tuesday not to stand in his hard-line movement's way and denounced foreign governments for removing their diplomats.
"We will not accept pressures. They are of no use," al-Houthi said in speech broadcast on the rebel group's own al-Masirah satellite television network. "Whoever harms the interest of this country could see that their interests in this country are also harmed."
Al-Houthi made a series of similarly threatening but vague remarks, and offered no explanation for what specific retaliatory action he might have in mind.
The Houthis, who are traditionally based in northern Yemen bordering Saudi Arabia, swept into Sanaa in September and have seized other territory since. Many link the Houthis to regional Shiite power Iran, though the rebels deny they are backed by the Islamic Republic.
Posted for fair use....
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150211/ml--yemen-af1abd9e09.html
British Embassy in Yemen closes, evacuates staff amid chaos
Feb 11, 12:39 AM (ET)
By AHMED AL-HAJ
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — The British Embassy in Yemen's capital closed and evacuated its staff early Wednesday, authorities said, the latest diplomatic post to shut down in the Arab world's poorest country amid turmoil following Shiite rebels seizing power.
In a statement, U.K. Minister for the Middle East Tobias Ellwood also urged British citizens still in Yemen to "leave immediately." This comes as the State Department confirmed it also closed the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa and evacuated its staff because of the political crisis there and security concerns.
"The security situation in Yemen has continued to deteriorate over recent days," Ellwood said. "Regrettably we now judge that our embassy staff and premises are at increased risk."
Yemen has been in crisis for months, with Shiite Houthi rebels besieging the capital and then taking control. Earlier Tuesday, U.S. officials said the embassy closure would not affect counterterrorism operations against al-Qaida's Yemen branch, which America views as the world's most dangerous branch of the terror group.
The United Nations has been trying to broker talks between the Houthis and others in Yemen since the Shiite rebels dissolved parliament after earlier besieging the country's president, who later resigned while armed militants surrounded his home.
Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, who leads the Shiite rebels, warned his enemies Tuesday not to stand in his hard-line movement's way and denounced foreign governments for removing their diplomats.
"We will not accept pressures. They are of no use," al-Houthi said in speech broadcast on the rebel group's own al-Masirah satellite television network. "Whoever harms the interest of this country could see that their interests in this country are also harmed."
Al-Houthi made a series of similarly threatening but vague remarks, and offered no explanation for what specific retaliatory action he might have in mind.
The Houthis, who are traditionally based in northern Yemen bordering Saudi Arabia, swept into Sanaa in September and have seized other territory since. Many link the Houthis to regional Shiite power Iran, though the rebels deny they are backed by the Islamic Republic.
Possible Impact
TB Fanatic
zerohedge @zerohedge · 15m
Deserted US Embassy In Yemen
Immediately Seized By Armed Rebels
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-02-11/deserted-us-embassy-yemen-immediately-seized-armed-rebels …
^^^ At least no Hostages this time...
zerohedge @zerohedge · 10m
More than 20 US vehicles were seized by Yemen rebels
Deserted US Embassy In Yemen
Immediately Seized By Armed Rebels
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-02-11/deserted-us-embassy-yemen-immediately-seized-armed-rebels …
^^^ At least no Hostages this time...
zerohedge @zerohedge · 10m
More than 20 US vehicles were seized by Yemen rebels
The Congressional on this one is going to make the "Potomac Two Step" on Benghazi look simple......
For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/11/middleeast/yemen-unrest/
Official: Houthis seize U.S. Embassy vehicles, Marines' weapons at airport
By Greg Botelho and Hakim Almasmari, CNN
Updated 1:14 PM ET, Wed February 11, 2015
Video
Sanaa, Yemen (CNN)—Houthi rebels took all U.S. Embassy vehicles parked at the Yemeni capital's airport and wouldn't let departing U.S. Marines take their weapons with them, a top Sanaa airport official said about the latest evidence of unrest in an Arab nation long seen as key in America's fight against terrorists.
The actions come after the United States, along with Britain, suspended operations at their embassies and moved out staffers because of the instability in Yemen.
According to the official, the Houthis seized many U.S. Marines' weapons at the airport, and the American troops also handed over some to random airport officials Wednesday.
The previous night, embassy officials burned tens of thousands of documents and destroyed weapons that were inside the Sanaa embassy's storage warehouses, Yemeni employees of the embassy said.
Yemen has long been an important country to the United States as the home of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, one of the most feared, influential and operational terrorist organizations in the world. U.S. officials have had a long relationship with Yemeni leaders, working with them to target AQAP militants.
But now, Yemen's latest leader, President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, is gone, having resigned after Houthi rebels seized control of key government facilities, dissolved parliament and placed him under house arrest.
All this movement has left the Houthis -- Shiite Muslims who have long felt marginalized in the majority Sunni country -- as the preeminent power in Yemen.
Their takeover hasn't been smooth, however, and it's not clear if it will ever be complete. There has already been resistance to their attempted takeover of national government institutions from different groups in Yemen, particularly in the south, where there's a long-running secessionist movement, and in the oil-rich province of Marib to the east of Sanaa.
Then there's the question of what it means for the United States and its anti-terrorism efforts.
As of last month, U.S. officials hadn't engaged in talks with the Houthis, though there were discussions about whether to talk to them.
Still, even amid the turmoil, the U.S. military remains active in Yemen.
Take, for instance, the killing of senior AQAP cleric Harith bin Ghazi al-Nadhari and three other people in a drone strike on their vehicle on January 31.
"They are still capable of conducting counterterrorism operations in Yemen, and frankly ... there's some counterterrorism training that's still ongoing ... with Yemeni security forces," said Rear Adm. John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman.
"I'd be less than honest if I said that there hadn't been some adjustments already made because of the political uncertainty," he said. "We're just going to have to watch this closely going forward."
Yemen's government has been a key ally in the fight against AQAP, which has been tied to the failed attempt by "underwear bomber" Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab and Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Hasan. More recently, the terror group has been linked to the slaughter at French magazine Charlie Hebdo.
"They are a very dangerous group," said Kirby. "They do want to threaten Western interests, including U.S. interests, and we do consider them a threat to the United States of America. We're watching them very closely."
For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/11/middleeast/yemen-unrest/
Official: Houthis seize U.S. Embassy vehicles, Marines' weapons at airport
By Greg Botelho and Hakim Almasmari, CNN
Updated 1:14 PM ET, Wed February 11, 2015
Video
Sanaa, Yemen (CNN)—Houthi rebels took all U.S. Embassy vehicles parked at the Yemeni capital's airport and wouldn't let departing U.S. Marines take their weapons with them, a top Sanaa airport official said about the latest evidence of unrest in an Arab nation long seen as key in America's fight against terrorists.
The actions come after the United States, along with Britain, suspended operations at their embassies and moved out staffers because of the instability in Yemen.
According to the official, the Houthis seized many U.S. Marines' weapons at the airport, and the American troops also handed over some to random airport officials Wednesday.
The previous night, embassy officials burned tens of thousands of documents and destroyed weapons that were inside the Sanaa embassy's storage warehouses, Yemeni employees of the embassy said.
Yemen has long been an important country to the United States as the home of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, one of the most feared, influential and operational terrorist organizations in the world. U.S. officials have had a long relationship with Yemeni leaders, working with them to target AQAP militants.
But now, Yemen's latest leader, President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, is gone, having resigned after Houthi rebels seized control of key government facilities, dissolved parliament and placed him under house arrest.
All this movement has left the Houthis -- Shiite Muslims who have long felt marginalized in the majority Sunni country -- as the preeminent power in Yemen.
Their takeover hasn't been smooth, however, and it's not clear if it will ever be complete. There has already been resistance to their attempted takeover of national government institutions from different groups in Yemen, particularly in the south, where there's a long-running secessionist movement, and in the oil-rich province of Marib to the east of Sanaa.
Then there's the question of what it means for the United States and its anti-terrorism efforts.
As of last month, U.S. officials hadn't engaged in talks with the Houthis, though there were discussions about whether to talk to them.
Still, even amid the turmoil, the U.S. military remains active in Yemen.
Take, for instance, the killing of senior AQAP cleric Harith bin Ghazi al-Nadhari and three other people in a drone strike on their vehicle on January 31.
"They are still capable of conducting counterterrorism operations in Yemen, and frankly ... there's some counterterrorism training that's still ongoing ... with Yemeni security forces," said Rear Adm. John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman.
"I'd be less than honest if I said that there hadn't been some adjustments already made because of the political uncertainty," he said. "We're just going to have to watch this closely going forward."
Yemen's government has been a key ally in the fight against AQAP, which has been tied to the failed attempt by "underwear bomber" Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab and Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Hasan. More recently, the terror group has been linked to the slaughter at French magazine Charlie Hebdo.
"They are a very dangerous group," said Kirby. "They do want to threaten Western interests, including U.S. interests, and we do consider them a threat to the United States of America. We're watching them very closely."
So how is this supposed to work?......
For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/11/politics/yemen-us-special-forces-embassy/index.html
U.S. special forces stay in Yemen
By Jamie Crawford, CNN National Security Producer
Updated 1:22 PM ET, Wed February 11, 2015
Washington (CNN)—United States Special Forces personnel will continue to operate in Yemen conducting training missions with Yemeni forces, as well as retaining the ability to conduct counter-terrorism operations should they be needed, despite the suspension of U.S. embassy operations within the country a U.S. Defense official tells CNN.
This follows the removal of all remaining U.S. embassy personnel at the embassy in Sanaa after the State Department announced it would suspend its operations in the country amid the continuing deterioration of security in the country.
Yemen has been without a functioning central government since rebel Houthi forces overran the capital of Sanaa and dissolved the country's parliament, after the resignation of President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi.
U.S. officials frequently cite al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the terror group's franchise based in Yemen, one of the most dangerous terror groups in the world based on their previous attempts to attack U.S. interests and their stated goal of striking Western interests.
Defense officials maintain the United States retains the capability to disrupt and strike at threats to U.S. security emanating from within Yemen.
With the country in political turmoil, the Pentagon has acknowledged the counter-terror mission against AQAP through the use of drones and other measures has entered a difficult phase without a reliable partner in country of the government.
"I'd say there's no question as a result of the political instability in Yemen that our counter-terrorism capabilities" have been effected Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby told reporters Tuesday. "We're watching the situation very closely, and we're monitoring it every single day, if not every single hour."
A separate defense official tells CNN the United States military offered intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets to assist in the departure of the remaining US embassy personnel from Yemen. All personnel were able to leave the country via commercial means and did not require an evacuation through military means the official said.
With the suspension of embassy operations in Yemen and no US personnel on the ground, the US Marine contingent guarding the embassy also departed the country, and the security of the embassy is now the responsibility of local security forces.
For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/11/politics/yemen-us-special-forces-embassy/index.html
U.S. special forces stay in Yemen
By Jamie Crawford, CNN National Security Producer
Updated 1:22 PM ET, Wed February 11, 2015
Washington (CNN)—United States Special Forces personnel will continue to operate in Yemen conducting training missions with Yemeni forces, as well as retaining the ability to conduct counter-terrorism operations should they be needed, despite the suspension of U.S. embassy operations within the country a U.S. Defense official tells CNN.
This follows the removal of all remaining U.S. embassy personnel at the embassy in Sanaa after the State Department announced it would suspend its operations in the country amid the continuing deterioration of security in the country.
Yemen has been without a functioning central government since rebel Houthi forces overran the capital of Sanaa and dissolved the country's parliament, after the resignation of President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi.
U.S. officials frequently cite al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the terror group's franchise based in Yemen, one of the most dangerous terror groups in the world based on their previous attempts to attack U.S. interests and their stated goal of striking Western interests.
Defense officials maintain the United States retains the capability to disrupt and strike at threats to U.S. security emanating from within Yemen.
With the country in political turmoil, the Pentagon has acknowledged the counter-terror mission against AQAP through the use of drones and other measures has entered a difficult phase without a reliable partner in country of the government.
"I'd say there's no question as a result of the political instability in Yemen that our counter-terrorism capabilities" have been effected Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby told reporters Tuesday. "We're watching the situation very closely, and we're monitoring it every single day, if not every single hour."
A separate defense official tells CNN the United States military offered intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets to assist in the departure of the remaining US embassy personnel from Yemen. All personnel were able to leave the country via commercial means and did not require an evacuation through military means the official said.
With the suspension of embassy operations in Yemen and no US personnel on the ground, the US Marine contingent guarding the embassy also departed the country, and the security of the embassy is now the responsibility of local security forces.
Sorry I didn't add this earlier, been busy.....
The other "parties" that need to also be considered "involved" in the area are the Turks and Russians; both of whom have either held sway over the area in the past as the imperial power or played "the Great Game" and have the resources now to "jump back in".
On a different note, Egypt is reported to have about 100 SCUD Bs (275 to 500 km range) in stock and about 90 Improved SCUD Bs (with North Korean assistance in manufacturing). They have an ability to build both though they might have to source some components from outside of the country (recall the stink when the Israelis found German made commercial grade electronic parts in the Iraqi SCUDs fired into Israel during Gulf War 1). There have also been reports that the Egyptians have and have manufactured North Korean designed Nodong (1000 to 1500 km range) and SCUD Cs (500 km range).
The Egyptians also have both Chinese HY-2 ASCM (CSSC-3 Seersucker) land-to-ship cruise missiles and US Harpoon Block 2.
Add 288 F-16C/Ds (Block 40 and 52), 8 E-2C Hawkeyes, the only thing missing are tankers for the F-16s.
Last edited:
Doomer Doug
TB Fanatic
I think Egypt also has a factory capable of building the M-1 Arbrams Export version tank. Egypt has been getting advanced NATO level military stuff since the 1979 Camp David Accords.
the looting of the US Marines at the airport is a sign of the contempt Iran now has for us. It is bad in Yemen.
the looting of the US Marines at the airport is a sign of the contempt Iran now has for us. It is bad in Yemen.
Yes the M-1s are co-produced in Egypt by Egypt and the US. They've got over a thousand of them (M1A1) with another 200 on order.
ETA: The Egyptian government owned "military industrial complex" is nothing to be sneezed at in any manner of measurement. They make both military and civilian goods of all types.
Last edited:
For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150211/ml--yemen-8f67070d6b.html
Region feels ripples from Yemen's turmoil as embassies close
Feb 11, 4:29 PM (ET)
By HAMZA HENDAWI and AHMED AL-HAJ
(AP) Yemeni protesters march to protest against Houthi Shiites who have seized power in...
Full Image
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — As Western diplomats and staff fled Yemen on Wednesday, concern widened over the increasing turmoil in the impoverished nation, with Saudi Arabia arming loyal tribesmen across its southern border and Egypt readying a military unit to intervene if needed.
The U.S., British and French moved to close their embassies, signaling a belief that conditions in Yemen would only deteriorate further as the rebels, who have taken over in nearly half the provinces, try to expand their control.
In a show of bravado, the rebels seized about 20 vehicles left by U.S. diplomats and Marines at Sanaa's airport, officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press. The Americans evacuated after destroying documents and heavy weapons at the embassy.
The rebels also seized weapons found in the U.S. vehicles, the officials added, — apparently referring to personal sidearms that the Pentagon said the Marines left behind because they could not take them on their departing commercial flight.
(AP) Policemen stand guard at the entrance of the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa, Yemen,...
Full Image
While Yemen has been in chaos for years, events took a dramatic new turn when the rebels, known as Houthis and suspected of being backed by Iran, took over the capital last fall and have spread over more of the country.
In January, the rebels put U.S.-backed President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and his Cabinet ministers under house arrest, leading to their resignations. Subsequently, the Houthis, who are followers of the Shiite Zaydi sect in Sunni-majority Yemen, dissolved parliament and declared they were taking over the government.
The turmoil is starting to resonate around the Middle East, already shaken by bloody conflicts in Syria, Libya and Iraq.
As Houthi fighters advance to take more ground, Yemeni officials said Saudi Arabia, a staunch U.S. ally, was sending arms and funds to tribesmen in Yemen's Marib province to bolster them against the rebels.
Saudi Arabia has in recent months repeatedly stated its concern over the Houthis' power grab, but the deeply secretive oil-rich kingdom has said nothing about arming or funding tribesmen there to fight the Shiite rebels.
(AP) Supporters of Houthi Shiites shout slogans while marching on a street as they...
Full Image
Marib is an exclusively Sunni, energy-rich desert area on the border with Saudi Arabia where tribes have long been close to the Saudis. It is also home to a sizable number of militants from the local branch of al-Qaida, the Houthis' sworn enemy.
Marib's tribal leaders, like many others in Yemen, have been on the receiving end of Saudi largesse for decades, and some of them hold Saudi nationality.
"Marib is the heart of Sunni tribal power," said Majid al-Modhaj, a Yemeni analyst. "Fighting there will take the Houthis away from their comfort zone in mountainous areas and into plain and flat desert land they are not used to."
Egypt has set up a special rapid deployment force that could intervene if the Houthis threaten shipping lanes in the strategic Red Sea, according to three Egyptian security officials. The force, they said, is drawn from the 3rd Army, which has been running security and intelligence operations in the Red Sea from its headquarters in Suez.
Yemen lies on one side of Bab al-Mandab, the narrow southern entrance of the Red Sea. The corridor leads up the Egyptian and Saudi coasts to Egypt's Suez Canal, a key sea route for oil traffic from the Gulf region.
(AP) Yemeni protesters march to protest against Houthi Shiites who have seized power in...
Full Image
The Egyptians and Saudis were coordinating a joint military response to deal with any eventuality in Yemen, including the disruption of shipping, the officials said.
The officials in both Yemen and Egypt spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
"Yemen is like the moon to Egypt, but it is important because of Cairo's close ties with Saudi Arabia, to whom Yemen is a priority issue," said Michael W. Hanna, a Middle East expert from the New York-based Century Foundation.
Egypt and Saudi Arabia have forged close military ties since Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi took office in June, with frequent joint war games, including naval exercises in the Red Sea. Thousands of Egyptian special forces are embedded with their Saudi counterparts on the kingdom's border with Iraq as a precaution against militants of the extremist Islamic State group, according to the officials.
As the region's two most powerful Sunni nations, Saudi Arabia and Egypt view the rise of the Houthis with alarm, seeing them as a new geopolitical triumph by non-Arab Iran after it consolidated its influence in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.
(AP) Policemen stand guard at the entrance of the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa, Yemen,...
Full Image
The Houthis deny links to Iran, and it has been difficult to determine with any accuracy Tehran's role in the latest events.
Still, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and a senior Foreign Ministry official made it clear in separate comments Wednesday that the Islamic Republic looks approvingly at events in Yemen.
"The power that assisted the people of Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen against terrorist groups was the Islamic Republic of Iran," Rouhani told a large crowd in Tehran. He did not elaborate.
Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said the developments in Yemen "have increased stability in the region and made the situation difficult for terrorists in that country." The chief of staff of Iran's military, Gen. Hassan Firouzabadi, said Sanaa was now "one of the safest places in the region" after the Houthi takeover.
Saudi Arabia and Egypt are not new to military involvement in Yemen.
(AP) Yemeni protesters shout slogans against Houthi Shiites who have seized power in the...
Full Image
Saudi Arabia fought a brief border war against the Houthis in 2010 to halt incursions over the frontier. Egypt in the early 1960s deployed thousands of troops in Yemen to support a republican coup that toppled a monarchy subscribing to Zaydi Shiism, like the Houthis.
Houthi rebels seized the province of Bayda, south of Sanaa, on Tuesday with help from government forces still loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh, the autocratic president who was ousted in the country's 2011 Arab Spring uprising.
Bayda is widely viewed as the gateway to the country's south, but taking over that region is unlikely to be easy.
Hadi — a southerner — commands armed militias that fought al-Qaida militants in the province of Abyan in 2011 and 2012. Moreover, a key political faction in the south, the Nasserists, have close ties with Egypt, whose intelligence and security agencies have stepped up their activities in the south in anticipation of a Houthi attempt to capture the region, according to the Egyptian officials.
The Houthis' advances are also fueling secessionist movements in the south, once a separate nation.
"They won't have a friendly environment in the south," said Baraa Shiban, a Yemeni analyst. "Any attempt by the Houthis to take over the south will lead to secession."
Houthis have captured territory largely because of deals with provincial powers and massive help from army and police units loyal to Saleh. Effective battlefield resistance against their advances might finally come in Marib or in the south.
"The Houthis are spoiling for a fight, thinking that a battlefield victory will grant them a measure of legitimacy," said Sarah Gamal, a Yemeni political activist. "So far, they have just been assaulting peaceful protesters in Sanaa and elsewhere who reject their rule."
---
Hendawi reported from Cairo. Associated Press reporters Sagar Megani in Washington, Ali Akbar Dareini in Tehran, Iran, and Adam Scheck in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.
Posted for fair use.....
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150211/ml--yemen-8f67070d6b.html
Region feels ripples from Yemen's turmoil as embassies close
Feb 11, 4:29 PM (ET)
By HAMZA HENDAWI and AHMED AL-HAJ
(AP) Yemeni protesters march to protest against Houthi Shiites who have seized power in...
Full Image
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — As Western diplomats and staff fled Yemen on Wednesday, concern widened over the increasing turmoil in the impoverished nation, with Saudi Arabia arming loyal tribesmen across its southern border and Egypt readying a military unit to intervene if needed.
The U.S., British and French moved to close their embassies, signaling a belief that conditions in Yemen would only deteriorate further as the rebels, who have taken over in nearly half the provinces, try to expand their control.
In a show of bravado, the rebels seized about 20 vehicles left by U.S. diplomats and Marines at Sanaa's airport, officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press. The Americans evacuated after destroying documents and heavy weapons at the embassy.
The rebels also seized weapons found in the U.S. vehicles, the officials added, — apparently referring to personal sidearms that the Pentagon said the Marines left behind because they could not take them on their departing commercial flight.
(AP) Policemen stand guard at the entrance of the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa, Yemen,...
Full Image
While Yemen has been in chaos for years, events took a dramatic new turn when the rebels, known as Houthis and suspected of being backed by Iran, took over the capital last fall and have spread over more of the country.
In January, the rebels put U.S.-backed President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and his Cabinet ministers under house arrest, leading to their resignations. Subsequently, the Houthis, who are followers of the Shiite Zaydi sect in Sunni-majority Yemen, dissolved parliament and declared they were taking over the government.
The turmoil is starting to resonate around the Middle East, already shaken by bloody conflicts in Syria, Libya and Iraq.
As Houthi fighters advance to take more ground, Yemeni officials said Saudi Arabia, a staunch U.S. ally, was sending arms and funds to tribesmen in Yemen's Marib province to bolster them against the rebels.
Saudi Arabia has in recent months repeatedly stated its concern over the Houthis' power grab, but the deeply secretive oil-rich kingdom has said nothing about arming or funding tribesmen there to fight the Shiite rebels.
(AP) Supporters of Houthi Shiites shout slogans while marching on a street as they...
Full Image
Marib is an exclusively Sunni, energy-rich desert area on the border with Saudi Arabia where tribes have long been close to the Saudis. It is also home to a sizable number of militants from the local branch of al-Qaida, the Houthis' sworn enemy.
Marib's tribal leaders, like many others in Yemen, have been on the receiving end of Saudi largesse for decades, and some of them hold Saudi nationality.
"Marib is the heart of Sunni tribal power," said Majid al-Modhaj, a Yemeni analyst. "Fighting there will take the Houthis away from their comfort zone in mountainous areas and into plain and flat desert land they are not used to."
Egypt has set up a special rapid deployment force that could intervene if the Houthis threaten shipping lanes in the strategic Red Sea, according to three Egyptian security officials. The force, they said, is drawn from the 3rd Army, which has been running security and intelligence operations in the Red Sea from its headquarters in Suez.
Yemen lies on one side of Bab al-Mandab, the narrow southern entrance of the Red Sea. The corridor leads up the Egyptian and Saudi coasts to Egypt's Suez Canal, a key sea route for oil traffic from the Gulf region.
(AP) Yemeni protesters march to protest against Houthi Shiites who have seized power in...
Full Image
The Egyptians and Saudis were coordinating a joint military response to deal with any eventuality in Yemen, including the disruption of shipping, the officials said.
The officials in both Yemen and Egypt spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
"Yemen is like the moon to Egypt, but it is important because of Cairo's close ties with Saudi Arabia, to whom Yemen is a priority issue," said Michael W. Hanna, a Middle East expert from the New York-based Century Foundation.
Egypt and Saudi Arabia have forged close military ties since Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi took office in June, with frequent joint war games, including naval exercises in the Red Sea. Thousands of Egyptian special forces are embedded with their Saudi counterparts on the kingdom's border with Iraq as a precaution against militants of the extremist Islamic State group, according to the officials.
As the region's two most powerful Sunni nations, Saudi Arabia and Egypt view the rise of the Houthis with alarm, seeing them as a new geopolitical triumph by non-Arab Iran after it consolidated its influence in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.
(AP) Policemen stand guard at the entrance of the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa, Yemen,...
Full Image
The Houthis deny links to Iran, and it has been difficult to determine with any accuracy Tehran's role in the latest events.
Still, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and a senior Foreign Ministry official made it clear in separate comments Wednesday that the Islamic Republic looks approvingly at events in Yemen.
"The power that assisted the people of Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen against terrorist groups was the Islamic Republic of Iran," Rouhani told a large crowd in Tehran. He did not elaborate.
Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said the developments in Yemen "have increased stability in the region and made the situation difficult for terrorists in that country." The chief of staff of Iran's military, Gen. Hassan Firouzabadi, said Sanaa was now "one of the safest places in the region" after the Houthi takeover.
Saudi Arabia and Egypt are not new to military involvement in Yemen.
(AP) Yemeni protesters shout slogans against Houthi Shiites who have seized power in the...
Full Image
Saudi Arabia fought a brief border war against the Houthis in 2010 to halt incursions over the frontier. Egypt in the early 1960s deployed thousands of troops in Yemen to support a republican coup that toppled a monarchy subscribing to Zaydi Shiism, like the Houthis.
Houthi rebels seized the province of Bayda, south of Sanaa, on Tuesday with help from government forces still loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh, the autocratic president who was ousted in the country's 2011 Arab Spring uprising.
Bayda is widely viewed as the gateway to the country's south, but taking over that region is unlikely to be easy.
Hadi — a southerner — commands armed militias that fought al-Qaida militants in the province of Abyan in 2011 and 2012. Moreover, a key political faction in the south, the Nasserists, have close ties with Egypt, whose intelligence and security agencies have stepped up their activities in the south in anticipation of a Houthi attempt to capture the region, according to the Egyptian officials.
The Houthis' advances are also fueling secessionist movements in the south, once a separate nation.
"They won't have a friendly environment in the south," said Baraa Shiban, a Yemeni analyst. "Any attempt by the Houthis to take over the south will lead to secession."
Houthis have captured territory largely because of deals with provincial powers and massive help from army and police units loyal to Saleh. Effective battlefield resistance against their advances might finally come in Marib or in the south.
"The Houthis are spoiling for a fight, thinking that a battlefield victory will grant them a measure of legitimacy," said Sarah Gamal, a Yemeni political activist. "So far, they have just been assaulting peaceful protesters in Sanaa and elsewhere who reject their rule."
---
Hendawi reported from Cairo. Associated Press reporters Sagar Megani in Washington, Ali Akbar Dareini in Tehran, Iran, and Adam Scheck in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.
For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150212/ml--yemen-11c8a3cadb.html
Al-Qaida militants seize Yemeni military base in south
Feb 12, 4:10 AM (ET)
By AHMED AL-HAJ
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemeni military officials say al-Qaida militants have seized control of an important army base in the south following clashes with soldiers.
The officials say at least four troops and four militants died in the fighting and that at least 15 soldiers were taken hostage. The base is home to Yemen's 19th Infantry Brigade and is located in the Baihan area in southern Shabwa province.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to reporters.
A Twitter account affiliated with Yemen's al-Qaida branch, considered to be the most dangerous of the terror network, posted images of militants raising their black flag over the base.
The photographs also show militants in armored vehicles. The images' authenticity could not be independently confirmed but corresponded to events depicted.
Posted for fair use.....
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150212/ml--yemen-11c8a3cadb.html
Al-Qaida militants seize Yemeni military base in south
Feb 12, 4:10 AM (ET)
By AHMED AL-HAJ
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemeni military officials say al-Qaida militants have seized control of an important army base in the south following clashes with soldiers.
The officials say at least four troops and four militants died in the fighting and that at least 15 soldiers were taken hostage. The base is home to Yemen's 19th Infantry Brigade and is located in the Baihan area in southern Shabwa province.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to reporters.
A Twitter account affiliated with Yemen's al-Qaida branch, considered to be the most dangerous of the terror network, posted images of militants raising their black flag over the base.
The photographs also show militants in armored vehicles. The images' authenticity could not be independently confirmed but corresponded to events depicted.
For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/12/us-yemen-security-idUSKBN0LG0VE20150212
Al Qaeda fighters seize Yemen army base, U.N. warns of civil war
By Mohammad Mukhashaf
ADEN, Yemen Thu Feb 12, 2015 1:42pm EST
(Reuters) - Al Qaeda-linked fighters seized a large army base in a dawn attack in southern Yemen on Thursday, militants and residents said, hours after the United Nations warned that the country was on the brink of civil war.
The base in the southern province of Shabwa, housing a brigade of up to 2,000 government soldiers, fell after several hours of heavy clashes, residents and local news sites said.
The al Qaeda-affiliated Ansar al-Sharia said on Twitter it had set off a suicide bomb at the gate and imprisoned some of the troops.
Al Qaeda and other Sunni Muslim militants have stepped up attacks since rival Iranian-backed Shi'ite Muslim fighters from the north seized the capital in September and started expanding across the country.
The Houthis have sidelined the central government and have clashed with Sunni tribesmen in Yemen, which borders oil giant Saudi Arabia.
"We believe the situation is very dangerous. Yemen is on the brink of civil war," Jamal Benomar, the U.N. Special Envoy to Yemen, said in an interview with television channels al Arabiya and al-Hadath late on Wednesday.
He accused all sides of contributing to the political and economic turmoil and called for more talks.
An official from the town of Beyhan near the seized army base said residents feared the Houthis would now move in to confront the Ansar al Sharia fighters.
"We are scared this (the capture of the army base) is going to be used as a justification for a Houthi attack and that they will take over Shabwa with the help of the army," the official said, refusing to be identified.
Ansar al-Sharia said after bombing the entrance of the base, it took control of three guard towers and one tank.
"By approximately eight o'clock in the morning, the mujahideen had imprisoned most of the soldiers inside," the group said on Twitter.
Yemen's government was a key ally of Washington in its war on al Qaeda. The United States has been carrying out drone strikes on militant targets for over a decade, many in the south.
But the United States, as well as Britain and France, closed their embassies in the capital Sanaa on Wednesday, citing security concerns since the Houthi takeover.
Yemen is also home to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, one of the global network's most active arms that has carried out attacks abroad.
(Additional reporting by Mohammed Ghobari in Sanaa and Omar Fahmy in Cairo; Writing by Raissa Kasolowsky; Editing by Ralph Boulton and Andrew Heavens)
Related News
U.N. chief says Yemen 'collapsing before our eyes'
U.N. says Yemen collapsing, on brink of civil war
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/12/us-yemen-security-idUSKBN0LG0VE20150212
Al Qaeda fighters seize Yemen army base, U.N. warns of civil war
By Mohammad Mukhashaf
ADEN, Yemen Thu Feb 12, 2015 1:42pm EST
(Reuters) - Al Qaeda-linked fighters seized a large army base in a dawn attack in southern Yemen on Thursday, militants and residents said, hours after the United Nations warned that the country was on the brink of civil war.
The base in the southern province of Shabwa, housing a brigade of up to 2,000 government soldiers, fell after several hours of heavy clashes, residents and local news sites said.
The al Qaeda-affiliated Ansar al-Sharia said on Twitter it had set off a suicide bomb at the gate and imprisoned some of the troops.
Al Qaeda and other Sunni Muslim militants have stepped up attacks since rival Iranian-backed Shi'ite Muslim fighters from the north seized the capital in September and started expanding across the country.
The Houthis have sidelined the central government and have clashed with Sunni tribesmen in Yemen, which borders oil giant Saudi Arabia.
"We believe the situation is very dangerous. Yemen is on the brink of civil war," Jamal Benomar, the U.N. Special Envoy to Yemen, said in an interview with television channels al Arabiya and al-Hadath late on Wednesday.
He accused all sides of contributing to the political and economic turmoil and called for more talks.
An official from the town of Beyhan near the seized army base said residents feared the Houthis would now move in to confront the Ansar al Sharia fighters.
"We are scared this (the capture of the army base) is going to be used as a justification for a Houthi attack and that they will take over Shabwa with the help of the army," the official said, refusing to be identified.
Ansar al-Sharia said after bombing the entrance of the base, it took control of three guard towers and one tank.
"By approximately eight o'clock in the morning, the mujahideen had imprisoned most of the soldiers inside," the group said on Twitter.
Yemen's government was a key ally of Washington in its war on al Qaeda. The United States has been carrying out drone strikes on militant targets for over a decade, many in the south.
But the United States, as well as Britain and France, closed their embassies in the capital Sanaa on Wednesday, citing security concerns since the Houthi takeover.
Yemen is also home to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, one of the global network's most active arms that has carried out attacks abroad.
(Additional reporting by Mohammed Ghobari in Sanaa and Omar Fahmy in Cairo; Writing by Raissa Kasolowsky; Editing by Ralph Boulton and Andrew Heavens)
Related News
U.N. chief says Yemen 'collapsing before our eyes'
U.N. says Yemen collapsing, on brink of civil war
Doomer Doug
TB Fanatic
Sheesh, Doomer Doug's Yemen thread is playing out step by step.
One is the creation of a Sunni Al-Qaida Southern Yemen failed state/terrorist base complex.
Two is the creation of a Shia/Iran/Houthi Based failed state in north/central Yemen.
Three is the Saudi Arabia in free fall. "with Saudi Arabia arming loyal tribesmen across its southern border and Egypt readying a military unit to intervene if needed."
Four is Iran's open deployment of Revolutionary Guard adviser groups, missile crews and suicide bombers.
HE, SAUDI ARABIA IS NOW IN PLAY. THE WEST IS PISSING IN ITS PANTS IN MY OPINION.
One is the creation of a Sunni Al-Qaida Southern Yemen failed state/terrorist base complex.
Two is the creation of a Shia/Iran/Houthi Based failed state in north/central Yemen.
Three is the Saudi Arabia in free fall. "with Saudi Arabia arming loyal tribesmen across its southern border and Egypt readying a military unit to intervene if needed."
Four is Iran's open deployment of Revolutionary Guard adviser groups, missile crews and suicide bombers.
HE, SAUDI ARABIA IS NOW IN PLAY. THE WEST IS PISSING IN ITS PANTS IN MY OPINION.
homecanner1
Veteran Member
The Arab Spring 2.0 will be weather driven. They function best at highest capacity before the heavy heat arrives April to Sept.
So they will push to secure as much as possible before end of March
The embassy evacs are signs its begun.
You guys are champs as always when it comes to newsgathering and analysis.
So they will push to secure as much as possible before end of March
The embassy evacs are signs its begun.
You guys are champs as always when it comes to newsgathering and analysis.
For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...ys-fall-yemen-government-took-us-by-surprise/
Counterterror chief says fall of Yemen's government took US by surprise
Published February 13, 2015
·FoxNews.com
Comments 67
Video
The White House's top counterterrorism official admitted Thursday that the overthrow of Yemen's government by Shiite rebels last month caught U.S. intelligence off guard.
Nick Rasmussen, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, told the Senate Intelligence Committee that the Yemeni army's response to the advancing Houthi rebels resembled the Iraqi military's response to an onslaught by the Islamic State terror group (ISIS) that ended in the capture of Iraq's second-largest city this past summer.
"As the Houthi advances toward Sanaa [Yemen's capital] took place," Rasmussen said, "they weren't opposed in many places. ... The situation deteriorated far more rapidly than we expected."
Rasmussen made the admission under questioning by Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., who noted that President Barack Obama recently touted Yemen as a successful counterterrorism partnership. Now, it's a "total disaster," Blunt said.
The Houthis overran Sanaa last September and placed Yemen's U.S. and Saudi-backed President, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi under house arrest last month along with all the members of his Cabinet, leading to their mass resignations. That was quickly followed by the disbanding of the country's parliament.
Earlier this week, the U.S., the U.K., and France announced that they were closing their embassies in Sanaa and evacuating all personnel. British and French officials advised their citizens still in Yemen to leave the country immediately.
The Washington Post reported Thursday that the U.S. embassy's closure has also forced the CIA to pull out dozens of personnel, including senior operatives who were working with Yemen's government against terrorists.
The success of the Iran-backed Houthis has proven to be a benefit to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the terror group's affiliate in that country. The group claimed responsibility for last month's deadly attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and has recently stepped up attacks in central and southern Yemen.
On Friday, Yemeni security officials said a suicide car bomber struck police headquarters in the central city of Bayda, which had recently been captured by the Houthis. There was no immediate word of any casualties.
The latest attack came one day after the United Nations envoy to Yemen warned that the country was at a crossroads between "civil war and disintegration," while U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that the country was "collapsing before our eyes."
The ambassador, Jamal Benomar told the U.N. Security Council that the instability is creating conditions for al-Qaida, a Sunni extremist terror group, to establish a foothold in more parts of the country. His remarks came just hours after Yemeni military officials said al-Qaida militants seized control of an important army base in the south.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...ys-fall-yemen-government-took-us-by-surprise/
Counterterror chief says fall of Yemen's government took US by surprise
Published February 13, 2015
·FoxNews.com
Comments 67
Video
The White House's top counterterrorism official admitted Thursday that the overthrow of Yemen's government by Shiite rebels last month caught U.S. intelligence off guard.
Nick Rasmussen, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, told the Senate Intelligence Committee that the Yemeni army's response to the advancing Houthi rebels resembled the Iraqi military's response to an onslaught by the Islamic State terror group (ISIS) that ended in the capture of Iraq's second-largest city this past summer.
"As the Houthi advances toward Sanaa [Yemen's capital] took place," Rasmussen said, "they weren't opposed in many places. ... The situation deteriorated far more rapidly than we expected."
Rasmussen made the admission under questioning by Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., who noted that President Barack Obama recently touted Yemen as a successful counterterrorism partnership. Now, it's a "total disaster," Blunt said.
The Houthis overran Sanaa last September and placed Yemen's U.S. and Saudi-backed President, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi under house arrest last month along with all the members of his Cabinet, leading to their mass resignations. That was quickly followed by the disbanding of the country's parliament.
Earlier this week, the U.S., the U.K., and France announced that they were closing their embassies in Sanaa and evacuating all personnel. British and French officials advised their citizens still in Yemen to leave the country immediately.
The Washington Post reported Thursday that the U.S. embassy's closure has also forced the CIA to pull out dozens of personnel, including senior operatives who were working with Yemen's government against terrorists.
The success of the Iran-backed Houthis has proven to be a benefit to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the terror group's affiliate in that country. The group claimed responsibility for last month's deadly attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and has recently stepped up attacks in central and southern Yemen.
On Friday, Yemeni security officials said a suicide car bomber struck police headquarters in the central city of Bayda, which had recently been captured by the Houthis. There was no immediate word of any casualties.
The latest attack came one day after the United Nations envoy to Yemen warned that the country was at a crossroads between "civil war and disintegration," while U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that the country was "collapsing before our eyes."
The ambassador, Jamal Benomar told the U.N. Security Council that the instability is creating conditions for al-Qaida, a Sunni extremist terror group, to establish a foothold in more parts of the country. His remarks came just hours after Yemeni military officials said al-Qaida militants seized control of an important army base in the south.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.