Hodeida declared war zone by Saudis – Al Qaida expanding – Iran falsely accused and threatened – US attack at Al Qaida again – Trump, Flynn and Iran – AQAP takes 3 cities – and more
Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Klassifizierung / Classification
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
cp1a Am wichtigsten: US-Angriff / Most important: US-attack
cp2 Allgemein / General
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche/ UN and peace talks
cp7a Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
cp9 USA
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
cp13b Flüchtlinge / Refugees
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp15 Propaganda
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
cp17a Kriegsereignisse: Mokha / Theater of War: Mokha
cp17b Kriegsereignisse: Rotes Meer / Theater of War: Read Sea
cp17c Kriegsereignisse: Sonstige / Theater of War: Other
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
Klassifizierung / Classification
***
**
*
(Kein Stern / No star)
A = Aktuell / Current news
B = Hintergrund / Background
C = Chronik / Chronicle
D = Details
E = Wirtschaft / Economy
H = Humanitäre Fragen / Humanitarian questions
K = Krieg / War
P = Politik / Politics
PH = Pro-Houthi
PS = Pro-Saudi
T = Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
2.2.2017 – Ayad (** A H K)
Saudi coaliton started today by preventing food ships to enter #yemen Hodaidah port, Saudi intending to punish &starve all yemen civilan.
https://twitter.com/maddllock/status/827261638457782279
Saudi aggression is preparing to destroy the #yemen port of Hodeida with American bombs &Israeli coordination
https://twitter.com/maddllock/status/827256229328089094
Destroying/closing #yemen hodaidah port only life line 4over 20million person by S coaltion will cause unimaginable humanitarian catastrophe
https://twitter.com/maddllock/status/827274881246978050
My comment: The Saudis had declared the whole city of Hodeida a “military target” and are bombing relentlessly. Look at cp16. And film by Al Masirah TV(only in Arabic): Alliance Mulls aggression to stifle the Yemeni people to prevent ships from reaching the port of Hodeidah, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UebkWw3ktK4
2.2.2017 – International Crisis Group (*** B K P T)
Yemen’s al-Qaeda: Expanding the Base
Thriving on conflict, sectarianism, and local opportunism, al-Qaeda’s affiliates are stronger than ever in Yemen. To shrink their growing base will require better governance in vulnerable areas, not treating all Sunni Islamists as one enemy, and above all ending Yemen’s civil war.
Executive Summary
The Yemeni branch of al-Qaeda (AQ) is stronger than it has ever been. As the country’s civil war has escalated and become regionalised, its local franchise, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), is thriving in an environment of state collapse, growing sectarianism, shifting alliances, security vacuums and a burgeoning war economy. Reversing this trend requires ending the conflict that set it in motion. This means securing an overarching political settlement that has buy-in from the country’s diverse constituencies, including Sunni Islamists. As this will take time, steps must be taken now to contain AQAP’s growth: improving governance in vulnerable areas, disaggregating Sunni Islamist groups and using military tools judiciously and in coordination with local authorities. These efforts will be imperilled if states interested in fighting AQAP and Yemen’s nascent Islamic State (IS) branch, such as the U.S., take military actions that ignore the local context and result in high civilian casualties, like the Trump administration’s 29 January 2017 raid on AQAP affiliates in al-Bayda, or fail to restrain partners who tolerate or even encourage AQAP/IS activities.
Prior to Yemen’s 2011 popular uprising against President Ali Abdullah Saleh, AQAP was a small yet lethal branch of AQ, focused primarily on Western targets. With at most several hundred members, it had limited local appeal and was both sustained and constrained by complex and sometimes contradictory relationships with the governing authorities and tribes. A primary security concern for the West and especially the U.S., AQAP was a sideshow for most Yemenis, at times tolerated by the government and routinely used by local elites for financial and/or political advantage. It was far less threatening to state stability than growing regime infighting, southern separatist sentiment or Huthi militancy in northern areas.
AQAP and, later and to a much lesser extent, a new outcrop of IS, emerged arguably as the biggest winners of the failed political transition and civil war that followed. AQAP adapted to the rapidly shifting political terrain, morphing into an insurgent movement capable of controlling territory and challenging state authority. Its main success derives from its demonstrated pragmatism: working within local norms, forging alliances with Sunni allies, assimilating into militias and embedding itself in a political economy of smuggling and trade that spans the various fighting factions, including the Huthi/former President Saleh alliance. It has at times controlled territory in the country’s south and appears ever more embedded in the fabric of opposition to the Huthi/Saleh alliance, dominant in the north, that is fighting the internationally recognised, Saudi-backed interim government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
IS, with its more brutal tactics, has been less successful in gaining recruits or capturing territory, but war has opened space for it to operate in places that have experienced sectarian-tinged violence, such as the southern port city of Aden. There, the group has turned its sights on the Hadi government and local security personnel through assassinations and bombings that have, indirectly, benefited the Huthi/Saleh front by weakening its common enemies and repeatedly underscoring the lack of security in Aden, the government’s temporary capital.
Virtually all local and foreign fighting parties in Yemen claim to be enemies of AQAP and IS, yet all have contributed to their rise. The Huthis, who as Zaydi/Shiites are AQAP’s primary ideological enemies, strengthened their foes through their February 2015 military push into predominantly Shafai (Sunni) areas, allowing AQAP to present itself as part of a wider “Sunni” front against Huthi/Saleh expansion. The Huthi/Saleh bloc’s willingness to conflate the Sunni Islamist party Islah and southern separatists with AQ and IS does not help. Their opponents, especially a gamut of Salafi fighting groups that the war has pushed to the foreground, as well as their Gulf backers, have poured fuel on the fire, at times crudely labelling Huthis as Iranian proxies who are part of a “Shiite agenda” in the region.
The logic of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”, coupled with a long legacy of politicians using jihadists in power struggles against foes, has allowed AQAP to forge tacit alliances with a range of anti-Huthi/Saleh forces. The Saudi-backed coalition’s almost single-minded focus on defeating the Huthi/Saleh bloc has been a boon to AQAP, which has controlled territory unimpeded for stretches of time, in the process indirectly gaining weapons from the coalition and mining new funding streams by raiding banks and controlling ports. The United Arab Emirates dislodged AQAP from its Mukalla stronghold in April 2016, but such successes are fragile and could easily be reversed in the absence of more effective and inclusive governance.
The evolution of AQAP into an insurgent force with the ambition and capacity to govern territory, showing pragmatism and sensitivity to local concerns, does not negate the international risk posed by the group. AQ’s long-game strategy, combined with the immediate benefits from Yemen’s war, means that it, along with its local affiliates, will likely outlast the swift global rise of IS and its Yemeni subsidiary, which has pursued a more aggressive approach. The continuation of an increasingly fractured conflict greatly enhances AQAP’s unprecedented ability to expand local support and amass financial and military resources. Countering its gains poses a complex long-term challenge and will require an urgent yet measured response, focused on bringing the civil war to a negotiated end.
Introduction
This report examines the nexus of regional and local factors fuelling al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and Islamic State (IS)’s gains in Yemen. It builds on Crisis Group’s comparative study of the evolving global jihadist landscape, Exploiting Disorder: al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, by exploring the case of Yemen as a subset of this milieu.
In many ways, AQAP’s and IS’s rapid growth in Yemen follow regional trends. The collapse of Yemen’s Arab Spring transition and the chaos that followed have catalysed their expansion, providing them with new political opportunities, money, weapons and recruits. As in Syria, Iraq and Libya, growing enmity between regional states, mainly Saudi Arabia and Iran, has fuelled sectarian tensions and led them to prioritise traditional rivals over violent jihadists, in some cases leveraging the latter as proxies.
Yet, the challenge that AQAP and IS present in Yemen is embedded in the country’s unique history and local political dynamics that both sustain and limit them.
https://www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/gulf-and-arabian-peninsula/yemen/174-yemen-s-al-qaeda-expanding-base and a shorter survey here: https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-02-02/al-qaeda-in-yemen-seen-stronger-than-ever-as-war-wears-on and
Comment by Judith Brown: This is an ongoing story in Yemen. The more Yemenis are killed, the more desperate they become, the more some desperate people turn to extremist militias. In truth AQ is largely home grown in the Arabian peninsular - the Saudi group migrated to Yemen really with the encouragement of the Saudi government. The numbers in this type of group Yemen fluctuate between tribal militias and extremist militias, and with the right political will they could morph back again. The Houthis and the Yemen army have been succcessful in controlling AQ in Yemen in the past but they are now caught up fighting the Saudis. The Saudis it is rumoured have funded and encouraged AQ and also they have been economical with the truth - for example they claimed to have fought AQ in Mukalla and driven them out - with hundreds of AQ deaths but this was soon proven to be untrue as locals described an orderly exit of AQ from Mukalla, and they left complete with their weapons and moved to Shabwa. They have been seen fighting alongside the Saudi led coalition in Aden and Taiz and have been filmed by BBC and Al Jazeera in that role. So the expansion is not difficult to understand. And if only America would stop its drone attacks on Yemen, AQ benefit directly from the anger and disillusionment that the drone attacks cause - it is a recruitment aid.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628/posts/10155180526833641
2.2.2017 – The Intercept (** A P)
Press Secretary Sean Spicer Falsely Accuses Iran of Attacking U.S. Navy Vessel, an Act of War
WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY Sean Spicer asserted at Thursday’s press briefing that Iran had attacked a U.S. naval vessel, as part of his argument defending the administration’s bellicose announcement that Iran is “on notice.”
National Security Adviser Michael Flynn on Wednesday said he was “officially putting Iran on notice” following the country’s ballistic missile test and an attack on a Saudi naval vessel by Houthi rebels in Yemen (the Houthis are tenuously aligned with Iran’s government but are distinct from it).
The White House press corps wanted to know what being put “on notice” entailed, and Spicer responded by claiming that Iran’s government took actions against a U.S. naval vessel, which would be an act of war. “I think General Flynn was really clear yesterday that Iran has violated the Joint Resolution, that Iran’s additional hostile actions that it took against our Navy vessel are ones that we are very clear are not going to sit by and take,” he said. “I think that we will have further updates for you on those additional actions.”
Major Garrett of CBS News quietly corrected him, saying “a Saudi vessel,” and Spicer then responded almost inaudibly: “Sorry, thank you, yes a Saudi vessel. Yes, that’s right.” He did not in any way address his false claim that it was an Iranian attack, however.
Watch Spicer’s remarks:
This, of course, is how American wars start. In the infamous 1964 “Gulf of Tonkin incident,” as it is often referred to, the White House and the Pentagon accused North Vietnamese forces of attacking two Navy destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin off Vietnam on August 4. President Lyndon Johnson used the attacks to coax Congress into approving a resolution, known as the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, that authorized military action in Vietnam. As the New York Times noted a few years ago, the “attack never happened.”
And way back in February 1898 – by Zaid Jilani and Alex Emmons
My comment: On the attack at the Saudi vessel, cp17b. The story is getting more and more crazy within hours. The Trump administration seems to look for a pretense to start a war on Iran. More on this look at cp9.
and
3.2.2017 – Al-Bab (** A P)
A Yemeni attack, and the creation of a dangerous myth
At a bizarre press conference yesterday, the Trump regime's chief spokesman falsely blamed Iran for an attack on an American warship – an attack that never happened.
The story behind this fictitious incident provides an object lesson in how anonymous sources, a gullible reporter, a news organisation devoted to pushing out propaganda and a White House press secretary who is a compulsive liar can lead to the creation of a dangerous myth.
This is how the myth evolved:
Yemen's Houthis – who are at war with Saudi Arabia and its allies – hit a Saudi frigate in the Red Sea
A Fox News TV presenter told viewers this "could have ominous implications for the US military".
Neither Griffin nor Fox News bothered to question the truth or otherwise of this very dubious claim or presented any real evidence to support it.
On Thursday, the myth developed a stage further when Trump's communications director, Sean Spicer, wrongly asserted in a news conference that the warship hit by the Houthis was American and that it was attacked by Iran.
A journalist from CBS News then intervened to point out that it was actually a Saudi vessel and Spicer agreed: “Sorry, thank you, yes a Saudi vessel” but did not correct his false claim that it had been attacked by Iran.
The Trump regime seems eager for a confrontation with Iran, though its anti-Iranian rhetoric over the last few days may be partly intended to divert attention from the disastrous American raid on al-Qaeda hideout in Yemen which resulted in the death of a US serviceman, the loss of a helicopter and a large number of Yemeni civilian casualties.
On Sunday, Trump had an hour-long phone conversation with the Saudi king and, according to the Saudi government news agency, they had "identical" views on all the issues discussed, including "confronting those who seek to undermine security and stability in the region and interfere in the internal affairs of other states".
In doing so, they are both pursuing the familiar propaganda line that Yemen's Houthis are Iranians in disguise. Although the Houthis have Iranian support, the extent of that support is less than is often claimed. The Saudis, on the other hand, have a long history of extensive meddling in Yemen and in the current conflict their meddling is sustained with British and American weaponry – by Brian Whitaker
http://al-bab.com/blog/2017/02/yemeni-attack-and-creation-dangerous-myth
1.2.2017 – The Ron Paul Institute (** A P)
War Drums: Trump’s National Security Advisor Threatens Iran
It wasn’t hard to see this coming. President Trump’s National Security Advisor, Gen. Michael Flynn, delivered a clear threat to the government of Iran today, ominously stating that “as of this day, we are officially putting Iran on notice.” What is less clear is the the General’s rationale for issuing the threat.
Flynn cites two justifications for bringing the US on war footing against Iran. Both are dubious. First, he blames Iran for a recent attack on a Saudi naval vessel carried out by Houthi forces in Yemen. According to Flynn, because the Houthis are backed by Iran – itself a specious claim – it is Iran that is actually responsible for the attack.
Even if it were true that the Houthis are Iranian proxies, this kind of guilt-by-association reasoning gets quite awkward when considering what some US-backed rebels in Syria have done with US-provided weapons and training. Like beheading young boys.
What Flynn fails to mention is that Saudi Arabia has been attacking neighboring Yemen since 2015, with US assistance, leaving tens of thousands killed and injured and the Middle East’s poorest country in the midst of devastating famine. Saudi Arabia’s war on Yemen was unprovoked, initiated only to force Riyadh’s preferred leader onto its southern neighbor. Under Flynn’s logic, it is perfectly fine for Saudi Arabia to initiate a genocidal war of aggression against another country. But the victim of the attack had better not fight back or the United States will blame yet a third country that has nothing to do with it.
And these are the experts?
The second reason for putting Iran at the top of Flynn’s hit list: Over the weekend Iran tested a medium-range ballistic missile which Flynn claims violates the P5+1 negotiated and UN-backed Iran nuclear deal. UN Security Council Resolution 2231 “calls on” Iran to not undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, but this section has been interpreted as a request rather than a prohibition. There are no specific provisions in the nuclear deal that explicitly prevent Iran from testing a missile.
In fact, Iran has tested several ballistic missiles since the nuclear agreement was signed but this time the US reaction is far different.
Flynn’s subordinates have long complained of his aggressive style, including a demand after the 2012 Benghazi attack on a CIA facility that analysts find some link to Iran. This pressure to “stove-pipe” intelligence to suit a predetermined policy is eerily reminiscent of the methods used to push the 2003 Iraq war. He was fired from his previous job as Defense Intelligence Agency chief for, reportedly, his extremely hostile views toward Iran.
Adding together President Trump’s call to the Saudi king, where they discussed Iran’s “destabilizing” actions, and a preemptive war authorization bill languishing in the US House, the current danger of a US strike on Iran is just an accident – or a false flag – away – by Daniel McAdams
http://www.ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/peace-and-prosperity/2017/february/01/war-drums-trumps-national-security-advisor-threatens-iran/ = https://www.antiwar.com/blog/2017/02/01/war-drums-trumps-national-security-advisor-threatens-iran/ and as a reminder: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/20/iran-houthis-yemen_n_7101456.html (Iran and Houthis) and http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/flynn-and-the-war-on-yemen/ (Flynn and Iran)
Comment: This really is insane (or a plan to monger war) because the Iranian influence on the Houthis and their real support are meagre – and the Iranian role in this special attack even simply is: zero.
cp1a Am wichtigsten: US-Angriff / Most important: US-attack
Earlier reporting: YPR 260, 261, cp1a
In US media, there is plenty of (partly very similar) reporting on this raid. There is many criticism – no wonder, as the mainstream media are strictly anti-Trump, others also defending him. As in general, the focus is on what is told in the US itself – by the White House, by the Pentagon, by the military, by internal critics.
3.2.2017 – Spiegel Online (* A P T)
Trumps erster Militäreinsatz geht schief
Militärs werfen dem Präsidenten vor, er habe die Mission vorschnell angeordnet.
Nach Informationen der "New York Times" gab Trump am Mittwoch vergangener Woche grünes Licht für die Kommandomission, während eines gemeinsamen Abendessens, bei dem unter anderem Vizepräsident Mike Pence, Verteidigungsminister Jim Mattis, sein Nationaler Sicherheitsberater Michael Flynn, sein Chefstratege Stephen Bannon sowie Schwiegersohn Jared Kushner anwesend waren. Der Nachrichtensender CNN berichtet unter Berufung auf Diplomatenkreise, der Präsident habe die Mission "ziemlich schnell" abgesegnet.
Drei ranghohe Mitarbeiter des US-Militärs werfen Trump vor, er habe der Operation zugestimmt, obwohl die Vorbereitungen noch nicht abgeschlossen waren. Sie berichteten der Nachrichtenagentur Reuters, es habe vor dem Befehl zum Angriff weder ausreichend Geheimdienstinformationen noch Bodenunterstützung noch angemessene Sicherheitsvorkehrungen gegeben. Es ist ungewöhnlich, dass gut informierte Angehörige des Militärs ihren Oberbefehlshaber so offen kritisieren. Das ist ein Indiz dafür, dass die Unzufriedenheit mit Trump in Teilen der Armee schon nach wenigen Tagen groß ist.
Die mangelhafte geheimdienstliche Aufklärung des Zielobjekts in dem abgelegenen Bergdorf Jakla führte zu einer Kette von Pannen während des Einsatzes. Als Hubschrauber das Kommando, das aus mehreren Dutzend Elitesoldaten aus den USA und den Vereinigten Arabischen Emiraten bestand, rund acht Kilometer vom Dorf entfernt absetzten, wussten die Qaida-Kämpfer schon von dem bevorstehenden Angriff. Die Navy Seals wussten wiederum, dass die Terroristen das wussten - sie konnten Gespräche der Milizionäre abhören.
Das Überraschungsmoment war damit dahin, dennoch entschloss sich das Kommando, die Mission fortzuführen.
Schließlich schickte die Einsatzleitung vom im Golf von Aden liegenden Kriegsschiff "USS Makin Island" aus zwei senkrecht startende Flugzeuge vom Typ MV-22 Osprey nach Jakla, die das Kommando aus dem Kampfgebiet herausbringen sollte. Eines der Flugzeuge legte jedoch eine Bruchlandung hin, bei der zwei Besatzungsmitglieder verletzt wurden. Der Senkrechtstarter war nicht mehr flugfähig. Ein US-Jet zerstörte das rund 70 Millionen Euro teure Fluggerät mit einer Bombe, um zu verhindern, dass die Osprey al-Qaida in die Hände fällt.
Die Navy-Seals haben niemanden gefangengenommen, nach Angaben von Trumps Sprecher Sean Spicer aber "eine unglaubliche Menge an Geheimdienstinformationen gesammelt, die potenzielle Attacken auf amerikanischem Boden verhindern werden". Die Rede ist unter anderem von mehreren Computerfestplatten mit Daten zu al-Qaida – von Christoph Sydow
Mein Kommentar: Ob der Vorwurf mangelnder Planung tatsächlich Trump oder nicht doch eher den Militärs gemacht werden sollte, wird in den US-Medien kontrovers diskutiert (s. unten). Kritisch deutschsprachig auch http://orf.at/stories/2377843/2377845/
2.2.2017 NTV (** A P T)
Angriff auf Al-Kaida im Jemen: Trumps erster Militäreinsatz geht schief
Vergangenes Wochenende autorisiert Donald Trump seine erste Militäroperation: Beim Angriff auf ein Al-Kaida-Camp im Jemen sterben mehrere Zivilisten - auch Kinder. Der Präsident wertet den Einsatz dennoch als Erfolg. US-Militärs sollen das anders sehen.
Das US-Militär hat angekündigt, die Hintergründe einer fehlgeschlagenen Operation im Jemen gegen Stellungen des radikal-islamischen Terrornetzwerkes Al-Kaida zu prüfen. Konkret gehe es um die Frage, ob der erste von US-Präsident Donald Trump autorisierte Militäreinsatz noch mehr zivile Opfer gefordert hat als bisher bekannt.
Wie die Nachrichtenagentur Reuters unter Berufung auf Militärkreise berichtet, wird intern aber auch die schlechte Vorbereitung des Einsatzes für die hohe Zahl der zivilen Opfer verantwortlich gemacht. Demnach habe Trump die Aktion "ohne ausreichende Information, Bodenunterstützung und angemessene Sicherheitsvorkehrungen" genehmigt. In der Folge hätten sich die Soldaten der Navy Seals bei ihrem Einsatz vor einem stärker gesicherten Al-Kaida-Lager wiedergefunden als zunächst angenommen.
Drei Militärs berichteten laut Reuters, dass die Stellung sowohl durch Landminen als auch Scharfschützen gesichert gewesen sei. Zudem hätten sich mehr Al-Kaida-Kämpfer in dem Camp befunden als erwartet - und sie seien auch schwerer bewaffnet gewesen.
Der Präsident hatte noch am Sonntag erklärt, dass die Operation erfolgreich verlaufen sei.
Nichtsdestotrotz erklärte das Zentralkommando der US-Streitkräfte am Mittwochabend, man bedauere, dass auch Zivilisten in das "heftige Gefecht" verwickelt worden seien. Gleichzeitig räumte die Behörde ein, dass unter den Opfern auch Kinder sein könnten. Eine genaue Zahl wurde nicht genannt.
Nichtsdestotrotz erklärte das Zentralkommando der US-Streitkräfte am Mittwochabend, man bedauere, dass auch Zivilisten in das "heftige Gefecht" verwickelt worden seien. Gleichzeitig räumte die Behörde ein, dass unter den Opfern auch Kinder sein könnten. Eine genaue Zahl wurde nicht genannt.
Von einem voreilig genehmigten Militäreinsatz kann laut Zentralkommando dennoch keine Rede sein.
Die Al-Kaida-Stellung im jemenitischen Al-Baida soll mehreren Quellen zufolge bereits vor dem Machtwechsel im Weißen Haus zum militärischen Ziel erklärt worden sein. Auch die Planung und Prüfung sei bereits im Januar vom damaligen Verteidigungsminister Ashton Carter abgesegnet worden. Die Administration von Präsident Barack Obama habe jedoch gezögert, einen Angriff zu autorisieren - weshalb die endgültige Entscheidung darüber laut "New York Times" schließlich der Nachfolgeregierung überlassen wurde.
http://www.n-tv.de/politik/Trumps-erster-Militaereinsatz-geht-schief-article19683549.html
2.2.2017 – Telepolis (* A P T)
Der Einsatz der US-Spezialeinheit im Jemen war ein Fiasko
Das Pentagon räumte darauf ein, dass möglicherweise auch einige Zivilisten ums Leben gekommen seien. Ein Untersuchungsteam sei zu dem "bedauerlichen Schluss gekommen, dass zivile Nichtkämpfer wahrscheinlich getötet" worden seien. Man werde dies überprüfen. Diese Hinhaltetaktik wird vom Pentagon und anderen Militärs permanent praktiziert, obgleich bekannt sein dürfte, was vorgefallen ist. Sollten die Informationen zutreffen, dass neben einigen al-Qaida-Mitgliedern viele Zivilisten bei dem Einsatz ermordet wurden, muss man wohl von einem Kriegsverbrechen ausgehen. Reuters berichteten Informanten aus dem Militär, es seien mindestens 15 Frauen und Kinder ums Leben gekommen, der Pentagon-Sprecher Jeff Davies sagte, es hätten sich auch Frauen an der Schießerei beteiligt. Überlebende scheint es keine gegeben zu haben, so dass dies schwer zu überprüfen sein wird.
Gefangene wurden nach Sean Spicer, dem Sprecher des Weißen Hauses nicht gemacht
Auf Nachfrage beteuerte Spicer, dass niemals Amerikaner bei Einsätzen gegen Terroristen zum Ziel würden ("No American citizen will ever be targeted". Da al-Awlakis Tochter auch US-Staatsbürgerin war, gerät dies gleich zur postfaktischen Aussage, Medien erinnert daran, dass Trump im Wahlkampf erklärt hatte, er sei auch bereit, die Familien von Extremisten auszulöschen.
Gestern ging Spice darauf nicht mehr ein, versicherte aber, dass der Einsatz ein Erfolg gewesen, wen auch kein hundertprozentiger, wobei er aber nur den getöteten US-Soldaten ansprach. Aufgrund des gefundenen Materials könne man Terroranschläge in den USA verhindern – von Florian Rötzer
2.2.2017 – Spiegel Online (*A P T)
US-Militär räumt zivile Opfer ein
Nach eigenen Angaben hatte das US-Militär bei einem Angriff im Jemen 14 Terroristen getötet. Bei der Kommandoaktion sind jedoch auch Zivilisten ums Leben gekommen, gab ein Sprecher nun zu.
Das US-Militär hat eingeräumt, dass es bei der Kommandoaktion auf einen Stützpunkt Terrororganisation "Al-Qaida auf der Arabischen Halbinsel" (AQAP) am Sonntag auch zivile Opfer gegeben hat. Bei dem Einsatz seien "bedauerlicherweise" wahrscheinlich mehrere Zivilisten getötet worden, hieß es in einer Mitteilung. Darunter seien möglicherweise auch Kinder. Es war der erste Angriff im Jemen unter der Präsidentschaft von Donald Trump.
Nach Darstellung des US-Militärs mische das Terrornetzwerk Qaida regelmäßig Frauen und Kinder unter Kämpfe in Lagern und Stellungen. "Und das macht Fälle wie diesen so besonders tragisch", wurde ein Sprecher von Central Command zitiert.
Das US-Militär hatte nach eigenen Angaben 14 Extremisten getötet. Mediziner vor Ort sprachen von 30 Toten, darunter zehn Frauen und Kinder.
2.2.2017 – Bellingcat (** A T)
Survey of the US Raid in Yemen
This survey takes a closer look at the open sources available to gain a better understanding of the incident.
Context
What happened in the raid?
US Department of Defense
Local sources
A resident, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that the “operation began at dawn when a drone bombed the home of Abdulraoof al-Dhahab and then helicopters flew up and unloaded paratroopers at his house and killed everyone inside” [archived]. This is in line with the official DoD narrative.
Subsequently, “the gunmen opened fire at the U.S. soldiers who left the area, and the helicopters bombed the gunmen and a number of homes and led to a large number of casualties.”
Another local resident said that several bodies were still under the rubble, and that the local mosque was damaged in the attack. A Yemeni security officer and a local official that were interviewed by Reuters corroborated that account.
Speaking to NBC News, a local source said that one house was burned by the Navy SEALs, and that there “is an assumption there was a woman [in the house] from Saudi Arabia who was with [al-Qaida]. All we know is that she was a children’s teacher.”
Footage appearing to show a destroyed aircraft was uploaded to YouTube by local newspaper al-Mashhad al-Yemeni. The grainy 25-second clip cannot be used to establish whether it shows the destroyed Osprey. No significant geographical features or landmarks are shown in the low-quality video, making it difficult to geolocate the footage. The video was uploaded at 18:57 local time (UTC+3) on Jan. 30.
There is a claim that two Apache helicopters were shot down as well, as tweeted by the Yemen Post. This claim cannot be verified with open sources.
Al-Qaida
Al-Qaida mourned the killing of Abdulraouf al-Dhahab (also spelled as “Zahab”) as a “holy warrior” and other fighters, without specifying how many militants were killed, in a message on its official Telegram channel.
Pro-al-Qaida Telegram accounts also blamed President Trump for killing children in the raid, IHS Jane’s Ludovico Carlino tweeted.
Who was killed in the raid?
Dhahab and other al-Qaida militants
A US Navy SEAL
Civilians
Local reports quickly emerged citing local medics which claimed that around thirty people were killed, including ten women and children. Graphic pictures of at least seven dead children, allegedly due to the raid, started circulating on the Internet, for example via justpaste.it [archived] and local and social media, from the early morning of Jan. 29 onward.
The photos shared do not show up in reverse image searches before the date of the raid, increasing the chance they may are authentic, and seem to originate from Al-Mashhad al-Yemeni, a local newspaper, which uploaded those photos in the early morning of Jan. 29 [link/archived]. The photos are said to have been taken by a photographer named “M’ad al-Zakaria” (Arabic: “معد الزكري”).
A video of the alleged aftermath of the raid also shows a dead child. No significant features of the surrounding are shown, making it difficult to determine whether this is the same location as where the photos were taken. The 13-second clip was uploaded to YouTube by a user named Abu Mustafa at 23:27 local time (UTC+3) on Jan. 29, 2017.
Among the dead was the 8-year-old Nawar, according to her grandfather Nasser al-Awlaki, a former Agriculture Minister. “She was hit with a bullet in her neck and suffered for two hours,” Nasser al-Awlaki told Reuters. She was shot at around 2:30, Nasser would later tell NBC News, and he recognised hear dead body from a photo taken at the scene of the raid.
The grandfather Nasser was extensively interviewed by journalist Jeremy Scahill for his book and film on former US President Obama’s “Dirty Wars”. Unlike her father and brother, Nawar is not believed to have been a US citizen.
A photo of the 8-year-old was posted on Facebook by her uncle, Ammar al-Awlaki, a former Yemeni government deputy minister [link/archived].
Where did the raid take place?
When did the raid take place?
Why did the raid take place?
Conclusion
Discussion
While this open source survey aims to gain a better understanding of the situation, it is worth mentioning that the raid is already controversial.
The attacks may be in breach of the Geneva Conventions to deliberately or disproportionately target civilians, international monitoring Airwars tweeted. Did near-certainty or imminent standards apply in the attack, especially given the fact that the main target was computer materials?
Several individuals and groups have warned that the killing of the civilians could stir up support for al-Qaida in the region. Stephen Zunes, the head of the Middle Eastern Studies Programme at the University of San Francisco, for example, told Al Jazeera that interventions like these have only provoked more backlash against the US in the past.
“Drone strikes and intervention over the past 15 years have stirred up more terror, extremism and anti-Americanism than it has curbed, and this incident will once again resume the debate whether this is an effective counter-terrorism strategy,” Zunes said.
Karen Greenberg, director of Fordham University’s Center on National Security, said that the death of the 8-year-old Nawar would benefit al-Qaida propagandists. “The perception will be that it’s not enough to kill al-Awlaki – that the U.S. had to kill the entire family,” she told NBC News. – By Christiaan Triebert
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2017/02/02/open-source-survey-of-the-us-raid-in-yemen/
2.2.2017 – Reprieve (** A T)
Trump’s Yemen raid killed newborn baby and scores of civilians
An attack on a village in Yemen ordered by President Trump on Sunday caused the death of a newborn baby, alongside as many as 23 civilians, human rights organization Reprieve has discovered.
Reprieve has obtained evidence that many as 23 civilians were killed in the US raid, including a newborn baby boy, and ten children. The heavily pregnant mother was shot in the stomach during the raid, and subsequently gave birth to an injured baby boy, according to local reports. The baby died on Tuesday 31st.
Among the adult civilians killed in the raid, Reprieve has counted an 80-year-old man, and a man who narrowly escaped death in 2013 when a US drone strike hit his wedding. The ‘wedding strike’ killed 12 guests after their party was mistaken for an al-Qaida convoy. Officials later described it as a “mistake.”
The US military has said that President Trump personally approved Sunday’s raid, despite concerns over the quality of the intelligence behind it. A former US official told the Guardian that the intelligence for the raid had been reviewed before Mr Trump came to power, but that it “was not judged strong enough to justify the risks.” They added: “The case was left to the incoming Trump administration to make its own judgment.”
Separately, an anonymous US official has told NBC that “almost everything went wrong” on Sunday.
Secret US strikes, in countries where the US is not at war, are widely considered to violate international law. Previous research by Reprieve has found that, in attempts to kill 41 named individuals in Yemen and Pakistan, US strikes killed some 1,147 unknown men, women and children.
On the campaign trail, Mr Trump said he supported the killing of family members of individuals being targeted by the US. He told Fox News: “When you get these terrorists, you have to take out their families.”
Commenting, Jennifer Gibson – Reprieve Drones and Kill List Project Lead – said:
“Americans should be appalled that President Trump’s excesses now include the death of a baby, and attacks on pregnant women and elderly people, in a country where the US is not at war. Make no mistake – secret raids that kill small children will do nothing to make Americans safer. Trump’s allies – both in the US, and in countries like the UK – must urgently persuade him to scale back on this disastrous use of his executive powers.”
http://www.reprieve.org.uk/press/trumps-yemen-raid-killed-newborn-baby-scores-civilians/
2.2.2017 – Yemen Post (A H T)
Operation GONE BAD: Baby girl just died, 1 of 8+ children killed by #US troops during ground raid on #Yemen region Baitha. (photo)
https://twitter.com/YemenPostNews/status/827157003113988097
2.2.2017 – The Hill (* A P T)
Misplaced blame on Trump for Yemen raid ignores deeper problems
For any military official to blame Trump for the raid’s technical and operational problems is as unacceptable as it is factually untrue. Such conduct undermines trust and damages the military’s credibility. It also creates an impression that officials seek presidential approval for operations with the intention of avoiding blame if things go wrong.
The raid raises bigger questions that the president should ask his national security team.
First, what is our strategy in Yemen? For years, it seems, we have been playing whack-a-mole with drone strikes, only to watch al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) — the branch that is in Yemen — grow stronger. Meanwhile, we are supporting Saudi Arabia’s military operations there — operations that have caused significant numbers of civilian casualties and may be strengthening the terrorist group.
Trump should demand to know what goals the United States is trying to achieve, how elements of national power are being used to achieve them, and how to measure results.
Second, what operations require presidential approval and why? Withholding authority at higher levels does not necessarily improve decision-making or prevent civilian casualties. In fact, as General Stanley McChrystal suggests in his book Team of Teams, over-centralization can lead to worse decisions.
Subordinate leaders, knowing they can transfer risk upward, may make more aggressive recommendations than a situation warrants. Senior leaders rarely possess greater knowledge of a tactical situation, so may contribute little in the review process other than delays
Third, who is in charge? He is likely to find out that nobody below him is responsible and accountable for success in Yemen. Instead, he will probably discover that Defense, State, the intelligence community, and others operate in un-prioritized bureaucratic silos. These silos allow agencies to “do their own thing” while no one is focused on achieving U.S. goals. If that is the case, Trump should put someone in charge and hold that person accountable for results.
Last, why is the situation getting worse? After over 15 years of counterterrorism efforts, groups like AQAP should be much weaker or eliminated. Instead, they are stronger and reportedly have more support from the population than before. Trump is likely to find his agencies are measuring progress within their silos, and that such efforts may be operating at cross-purposes. He may also find that U.S. support to Saudi Arabia’s operations is damaging American credibility.
Trump has an important opportunity to examine U.S. counterterrorism strategies and make needed changes. This is an important way of honoring the sacrifices of those America puts in harm’s way – By Christopher D. Kolenda
2.2.2017 – Stars and Stripes (* A P T)
Pentagon, White House defend planning in SEAL team raid in Yemen
The Pentagon and White House on Thursday defended the planning and execution of a U.S. Special Operations raid in Yemen that killed civilians along with a Navy SEAL, saying there was sufficient intelligence to carry it out and that it had been planned for months.
Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said the civilians were killed Saturday by gunfire from aircraft needed to support the SEALs after they came under heavy gunfire by militants, among them women who ran to planned fighting positions. The SEALs, he said, were "in extremis," a term the U.S. military uses to define situations in which service members or partner forces are under immediate threat. The dead are said to include the 8-year-old daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, the U.S.-born cleric and a propagandist with al-Qaida's affiliate in Yemen who was killed in a 2011 U.S. drone strike.
"The enemy had gone to a building and taken up fighting positions in that building to fire on our troops who were on the ground conducting this operation," Davis said. "The enemy put potentially the civilians at risk in doing so."
Davis and White House press secretary Sean Spicer disputed allegations, reported by Reuters and the New York Times, that the mission was poorly planned and had lost the element of surprise. The Times reported that the SEALs learned that their mission had been compromised after intercepting a transmission that showed the militants were preparing for their arrival.
"We have nothing to suggest that this was compromised," Davis said, adding that report "does not match with reality."
Spicer said that the plan for the mission was first submitted by U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations across the Middle East, to the Defense Department on November 7, one day before the presidential election. A plan was approved by the Pentagon on December 19 and turned over to the White House. Obama administration officials approved a plan for an operation during an interagency meeting January 6, two weeks before President Donald Trump's inauguration, and decided it would be best to carry it out in the dark of a "moonless night," Spicer said. That meant waiting until after Trump took office.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis reviewed a memorandum on the plan January 24 during his first week on the job, and Trump was briefed on it by national security adviser Michael Flynn the following day, Spicer said. Trump met with Mattis and Marine Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and then authorized the mission one day later.
Spicer defended the mission as a "successful operations by all standards," – by Dan Lamothe
https://www.stripes.com/news/middle-east/pentagon-white-house-defend-planning-in-seal-team-raid-in-yemen-1.452212 and also https://thinkprogress.org/white-house-yemen-raid-navy-seal-successful-operation-trump-e005bb35741e#.uabcz6ivm and http://www.cbsnews.com/news/raid-in-yemen-how-trump-ordered-al-quaeda-attack/ and http://abc7ny.com/news/actionable-intelligence-in-qaeda-material-captured-by-us-commandos-in-yemen-official/1734100/
2.2.2016 – New York Times (** A P T)
Raid in Yemen: Risky From the Start and Costly in the End
With two of his closest advisers, Jared Kushner and Stephen K. Bannon, joining the dinner at the White House along with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., Mr. Trump approved sending in the Navy’s SEAL Team 6, hoping the raid early last Sunday would scoop up cellphones and laptop computers that could yield valuable clues about one of the world’s most dangerous terrorist groups. Vice President Mike Pence and Michael T. Flynn, the national security adviser, also attended the dinner.
As it turned out, almost everything that could go wrong did.
But the mission’s casualties raise doubts about the months of detailed planning that went into the operation during the Obama administration and whether the right questions were raised before its approval. Typically, the president’s advisers lay out the risks, but Pentagon officials declined to characterize any discussions with Mr. Trump.
A senior administration official said on Wednesday night that the Defense Department had conducted a legal review of the operation that Mr. Trump approved and that a Pentagon lawyer had signed off on it.
Mr. Trump’s new national security team, led by Mr. Flynn, the former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency and a retired general with experience in counterterrorism raids, has said that it wants to speed the decision-making when it comes to such strikes, delegating more power to lower-level officials so that the military may respond more quickly. Indeed, the Pentagon is drafting such plans to accelerate activities against the Qaeda branch in Yemen.
But doing that also raises the possibility of error.
In this case, the assault force of several dozen commandos, which also included elite soldiers from the United Arab Emirates, was jinxed from the start. Qaeda fighters were somehow tipped off to the stealthy advance toward the village — perhaps by the whine of American drones that local tribal leaders said were flying lower and louder than usual.
Through a communications intercept, the commandos knew that the mission had been somehow compromised, but pressed on toward their target roughly five miles from where they had been flown into the area. “They kind of knew they were screwed from the beginning,” one former SEAL Team 6 official said.
With the crucial element of surprise lost, the Americans and Emiratis found themselves in a gun battle with Qaeda fighters who took up positions in other houses, a clinic, a school and a mosque, often using women and children as cover, American military officials said in interviews this week.
The commandos were taken aback when some of the women grabbed weapons and started firing, multiplying the militant firepower beyond what they had expected. The Americans called in airstrikes from helicopter gunships and fighter aircraft that helped kill some 14 Qaeda fighters, but not before an MV-22 Osprey aircraft involved in the operation experienced a “hard landing,” injuring three more American personnel on board. The Osprey, which the Marine Corps said cost $75 million, was badly damaged and had to be destroyed by an airstrike.
The raid, some details of which were first reported by The Washington Post, also destroyed much of the village of Yakla, and left senior Yemeni government officials seething. Yemen’s foreign minister, Abdul Malik Al Mekhlafi, condemned the raid on Monday in a post on his official Twitter account as “extrajudicial killings.” – by Eric Schmitt and David E. Sanger
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/01/world/middleeast/donald-trump-yemen-commando-raid-questions.html = http://sandiegonewsdaily.com/questions-cloud-u-s-raid-on-qaeda-branch-in-yemen/ and an article by The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/02/trump-approved-yemen-raid-five-days-after-inauguration and by NBC: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/what-went-wrong-inside-yemen-seal-raid-n716216
2.2.2017 – CNN (** A P T)
Costly Yemen SEAL raid could bolster anti-US anger
The US Special Forces raid in central Yemen on January 29 is further evidence of two things: al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) remains a formidable, resilient enemy -- and is more deeply entrenched in Yemen's tribal society than ever.
"Considering that it now appears that those in the area had some foreknowledge of the operation, it would be far from surprising, for example, if women at the scene took up weapons in self-defense," said Adam Baron, an expert on Yemen.
One aim of the raid was to target members of the Al-Thahab clan, which has long been close to al Qaeda, and which Baron describes as "one of the key tribal families" in the area. Among those killed was Abdul Raouf Al Thahab -- the head of AQAP in the area and the purported target of another US strike in 2012 that ended up killing several civilians.
But AQAP still has a deep bench. Michael Horton, a senior analyst at the Jamestown Foundation and regular visitor to Yemen, told CNN that "the leadership recognizes it will be targeted and therefore actively trains replacements. It's also increasingly diffuse."
Horton says AQAP then moved north into the mountains of al Bayda province where it "exploited inter-tribal rivalries by leveraging its access to arms, funds, and the military acumen of some of its ranking members in exchange for safe havens."
A US official confirmed to CNN Thursday that the raid was indeed aimed at better understanding connections between regional tribal fighters and al Qaeda operatives.
Writing in the Combating Terrorism Center's Sentinel journal, Horton says AQAP is "refining its capabilities in multiple areas, and in what is a dangerous parallel with Syria, is deepening its ties to local communities."
One example was its meticulous courting of tribes in the area around Mukalla on the Arabian Sea coast. That allowed AQAP briefly to seize the town in April 2015.
Baron, a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations and co-founder of the Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies, told CNN that "AQAP has never been wealthier, while the collapse of the Yemeni government has given them unprecedented freedom of movement."
Horton told CNN that the Saudi-led offensive "has blurred the lines between forces supporting (former President) Hadi, jihadists with a nominal alliance to AQAP, and core AQAP forces. In many cases they are indistinguishable."
But the twin goals of combating AQAP and Iranian influence tend to undermine each other. In Horton's view, "The Trump administration's stance on Iran can only mean continued support for the Saudi war in Yemen -- and will undermine its stated aim of combating AQAP."
Civilian casualties
April Longley Alley, an analyst with the International Crisis Group, says raids that inflict heavy civilian casualties are "deeply inflammatory and breed anti-American resentment across the Yemeni political spectrum that works to the advantage of AQAP."
Horton agrees, telling CNN: "What looks to be a botched attack with high civilian casualties will likely only strengthen the resolve of many tribesmen there to support AQAP."
That's what AQAP hopes for.
Inadequate intel
The latest raid also underlines the difficulty of operations where intelligence is literally thin on the ground – By Tim Lister
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/02/02/middleeast/al-qaeda-yemen-analysis/index.html
2.2.2017 – Huffington Post (* A P T)
Trump Effort To Pin Botched Yemen Raid On Barack Obama Falters
Congress is increasingly worried, and the House intelligence committee has already been briefed.
President Donald Trump’s first overseas operation as commander in chief, a botched raid that led to the death of an American serviceman and significant civilian casualties, was never approved by former President Barack Obama before he left office, two top former national security officials said on Thursday.
The comments from Colin Kahl, the national security adviser to former Vice President Joe Biden, and Ned Price, a former White House spokesman, came after White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer tried to deflect blame by saying Obama’s team had approved the plan.
Concern around Trump’s decision-making grew as lawmakers called for further information on the operation in harsh statements Thursday. The military had already announced that it would launch its own investigation.
The House intelligence committee has already received a preliminary briefing, an aide told The Huffington Post, and the committee expects to receive more detailed information in coming days. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) of the foreign affairs committee and Reps. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Anthony Brown (D-Md.) of the armed services committee sent letters requesting further briefings.
With Iran supporting an insurgency against the internationally recognized government in Yemen, Trump’s apparent willingness to act rashly there and his harsh words for Tehran worried some foreign affairs watchers.
Washington is already involved in two separate conflicts in the country.
Obama continued to support the Saudi-led coalition despite growing allegations of war crimes and signs that the government-rebel fight was distracting local forces from the battle against al Qaeda, allowing it to become more powerful.
The militant organization is now stronger than ever, an International Crisis Group report said this week.
Still, national security experts cautioned against seeing the raid as a definitive signal of Trump’s policy for the war-torn nation.
“I don’t think the Saudi war on Yemen is really on the radar,” said Alex Ward, the associate director of the Brent Scowcroft Center at the Atlantic Council think tank. “I’m not sure this administration has yet an idea of how they would use proxy battles and conflicts to push back on Iran ... if Iran really becomes a foreign policy priority then I’m sure that would be part of the strategic decision-making.
To Ward, the raid is a signal of flaws in the White House’s national security decision-making that should be blamed on ― and fixed by ― those around Trump rather than the president himself. Others, including former Defense Department official Andrew Exum, agreed. – by Akbar Shahid Ahmed
Comment: Anyway, the anti-Trump media seem to have some blackout: It was Obama, who made possible the Yemen war; who supported the Saudi side for 22 months; who blocked peace efforts by forcing the UN to follow a totally one-sided agenda; who did nothing to really end this war by stopping his own failed policy and intervention; who passed this war to his successor.
2.2.2017 – The American Conservative (* A P T)
The Botched Yemen Raid
Trump ordered the raid on an Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) compound in Yemen without adequate preparation and intelligence:
The raid also reportedly resulted in the deaths of as many as thirty women and children, including one girl who was a U.S. citizen. The number of civilians killed in the raid and the poor preparation raise some obvious questions: 1) if preparations were inadequate, why was the raid ordered when it was? 2) was the raid ordered in ignorance of the presence of so many civilians, or despite knowing they were there? 3) who among the president’s advisers recommended that the raid go forward despite inadequate preparation?
There will presumably be an investigation to determine how this happened, and there may be another explanation, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the information reached AQAP from one of our “allies” that is currently busy wrecking Yemen. It would be useful to know which of the coalition governments besides the UAE knew about the raid. The coalition and pro-Hadi forces have been known to fight alongside AQAP in the war on Yemen since March 2015, and AQAP has flourished as much as it has during the war because the coalition hasn’t been interested in combating them. That is just one of the many reasons why the U.S. should never have supported their war and ought to halt its support now. Unfortunately, all indications are that U.S. support will continue and AQAP will continue to benefit from the upheaval – by Daniel Larison
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/the-botched-yemen-raid/
The same idea also here:
Marc Springer in a comment: There is the possibility they were given warning, by locals who saw something or even from within the Hadi government. Lets not forget he has members of AQAP working under him. Personally I dont think they knew they were coming. I think what the SEALs ran into was a group where the fighters had been very well trained. The way they reacted sounds like the way any well trained unit defending a base in a war zone would react. I think the difference is there is a level of training and professionalism with AQAP that was not present before. I dont think this has anything to do with being warned, it just means that AQAP, at least this bunch, was a couple of cuts above the standard jihadi and previous encounters between them and US forces.
https://www.facebook.com/judith.brown.794628
and
2.2.2017 – Hakim Almasmari (A T)
Did #US Govt unwillingly tip off AlQaeda before #Yemen raid? When drones constantly hover skies 24 hrs before raid its not surprise anymore.
https://twitter.com/HakimAlmasmari/status/827369646160543744
2.2.2017 – Khalid Ahmed Alhradi (A T)
Regarding that #YemenRaid by #USA this the whole story (in image)
https://twitter.com/alradhi_/status/827469546143510528
2.2.2017 – Moon of Alabama (* A P T)
Crazy Ideas About The U.S. Attack In Yemen
The Fake Outrage About Trump piece included a part on a U.S. special force attack in Yemen that had happened just hours before:
The rural home of a tribal leader's family, friendly with some Yemeni al-Qaeda members, was raided by a special operations commando. A U.S. tiltrotor military aircraft was shot down during the raid. One soldier was killed and several were wounded. The U.S. commandos responded with their usual panic. They killed anyone in sight and bombed the shit out of any nearby structure. According to Yemeni sources between 30 and 57 Yemenis were killed including eight women and eight children (graphic pics). The U.S. military claimed, as it always does, that no civilians were hurt in the raid.
One of the killed kids was the 8 year old daughter of al-Qaeda propagandist Anwar al-Awlaki.
That early description holds up well against recent reporting by NBC, the Washington Post and the New York Times. The incident happened as described.
But an open question is still why the raid happen. The military and the administration claim it was to get intelligence, laptops, hard-drives and the like. But that is not a good explanation for an elaborate raid that needed lots of resources and backup. We had noted that "Yemeni sources say that at least two men were abducted by the U.S. military." The U.S. Central Command claims that no prisoners were taken only intelligence material. But a few days ago it also claimed that no civilians were hurt which it now admits indeed happened. My gut tells me that we will hear more on this issue.
There are also some weir conspiracy theories around the raid.
http://www.moonofalabama.org/2017/02/crazy-ideas-about-the-us-attack-in-yemen.html
2.2.2017 – Mother Jones (* A P T)
Who's to Blame For the Disaster in Yemen?
The raid in Yemen that went pear shaped on Saturday was originally planned under the Obama administration. However, they were unable to complete their detailed assessment before Obama left office. Then Trump and his team took over and—apparently—decided to speed things up:
Reading between the lines, Trump figured that Obama was a wuss and spent too much time over-litigating this stuff. He wanted action, so he approved the mission. It went badly, and now military officials are blaming Trump, telling reporters that he went ahead "without sufficient intelligence, ground support or adequate backup preparations."
Is that really what happened? Or is the Pentagon throwing Trump under the bus for a failure that's their fault? I suppose we might find out if Congress decided to investigate, but that would be out of character for them. After all, Congress rarely spends its time holding contentious hearings about missions in dangerous parts of the world that go south and get people killed. I can't think of one recently, anyway – by Kevin Drum
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/02/whos-blame-disaster-yemen and more articles discussing that problem:
2.2.2017 – National Review (* A P T)
Don’t Believe Claims that Trump ‘Botched’ the Yemen Raid
Reuters report where unnamed defense officials blamed the losses in last weekend’s Yemen raid on, you guessed it, Trump.
Journalists spread the Reuters report far and wide, but anyone with the slightest experience in complex special operations missions should have been instantly skeptical.
While the president is often the ultimate approval authority for raids in sovereign countries, he does not design or plan the operation.
Indeed, a more in-depth New York Times report shows that the operation was actually planned during the Obama administration but held over to Trump because the need for a dark night to minimize enemy visibility.
As the Times makes clear, there were “months of detailed planning” that took place under Obama, and the Department of Defense had conducted a legal review that Trump approved.
As the Times makes clear, there were “months of detailed planning” that took place under Obama, and the Department of Defense had conducted a legal review that Trump approved.
People who haven’t been exposed to war with jihadists tend to think of firefights as precise affairs. Instead, they’re extraordinarily destructive, and the battle is waged against an enemy who intentionally and flagrantly violates the laws of war.
So, no, don’t believe claims that Trump botched the raid in Yemen. He didn’t plan the operation, and we don’t want him planning operations. We want presidents to rely on professionals. But those same professionals will tell you that war is terrible by its very nature, and no president can guarantee victory without cost – by David French
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/444560/dont-believe-claims-trump-botched-yemen-raid
My comment: the civilian victims are not even mentioned (even if you might be in doubt how fare the president should be blamed). – And, even if it is true that this is “an enemy who intentionally and flagrantly violates the laws of war”, this point really is of no importance for an incident like this.
and
2.2.2017 – New York Post (A P T)
Smearing Trump over deadly Yemen raid is unfair
Smearing President Trump over a raid on al Qaeda that left a US Navy SEAL dead: Let’s pray the fake news doesn’t get any lower than this.
A front-page New York Times headline Thursday claimed a “chain of miscues” in Saturday’s attack in Yemen is “Raising Questions Over Planning and Trump’s Approval of Raid.” Reuters cited unnamed “officials” who hit Trump for OK’ing the raid “without sufficient intelligence, ground support or adequate backup preparations.”
No: That “chain of miscues” was little more than a case of the enemy fighting back. And the planning went on for months — on President Barack Obama’s watch
Press accounts described the raid as “disastrous” — when, in fact, it killed a dozen-plus Qaedas, including three senior leaders, and recovered a trove of intel.
Yes, Navy SEAL William Owens died. So, it seems, did several civilians, including women and children. And a crashed US aircraft had to be destroyed.
The loss of innocent lives is always regrettable — but some women were firing weapons.
And the raid was a necessary part of the War on Terror — as even Obama knew. And wars entail deaths, sometimes even of innocents. Especially one where the enemy intentionally targets innocents — and keeps civilians close as human shields.
To blame Trump for its casualties (while ignoring its successes) is beyond shameful – by Editorial Board
http://nypost.com/2017/02/02/smearing-trump-over-deadly-yemen-raid-is-unfair/
My comment: The usual “collateral damage” and “human shields” (these men had their relatives with them and certainly did not want to expose them to danger) narrative? Also be aware that less than criticizing a single raid this whole policy of “war on terror” has to be criticized as it proved to be totally counterproductive.
2.2.2017 – Aljazeera (*A P T)
US admits civilians 'likely' killed in Yemen raid
US military says civilians likely "caught up" in gunfire in Bayda province, but stays mum on death of American girl.
Civilians were "likely" killed in a US commando raid in Yemen over the weekend and children may have been among the dead, the US military's Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
"A team designated by the operational task force commander has concluded regrettably that civilian non-combatants were likely killed in the midst of a firefight during a raid in Yemen January 29. Casualties may include children," CENTCOM said in a statement late on Wednesday.
The civilian deaths appear to have occurred when US aircraft were called to help the commandos as they conducted the dawn raid that US officials said killed 14 members of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
"The known possible civilian casualties appear to have been potentially caught up in aerial gunfire that was called in to assist US forces in contact against a determined enemy that included armed women firing from prepared fighting positions, and US special operations members receiving fire from all sides to include houses and other buildings," the statement added.
Officials were conducting an ongoing "credibility assessment" to see if there may have been additional civilian casualties in the intense firefight, it said.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/02/admits-civilians-killed-yemen-raid-170202042531151.html
1.2.2017 – CNN (* A P T)
Inside the Yemen raid: Women al Qaeda fighters surprised US forces
The raid was greenlit by President Donald Trump shortly after taking the oath of office
Multiple officials have told CNN the mission had been planned months in advance
One such operational reason: The need for a moonless night to help provide the cover of darkness for the Navy SEALs undertaking the raid on the al Qaeda headquarters located in the al Bayda Governorate in Yemen.
According to one diplomatic source, after being briefed on the operation, Trump approved the mission "fairly quickly."
The raid involved elite US Navy SEALs and special forces from the UAE, with armed drones flying overhead in support, according to officials from several countries.
But as the combined force approached the al Qaeda compound, it was detected and an intense firefight broke out that saw Chief Petty Officer William "Ryan" Owens receiving a fatal wound and three additional SEALs being wounded.
During the gun battle, which featured small arms fire, hand grenades and close air support strikes from US aircraft, al Qaeda fighters -- including some female combatants -- took up firing positions on the roof of a nearby building and the US troops came under fire, calling in an airstrike against the building, which likely led to civilian casualties, a US official told CNN.
The civilian casualties were "caught up in aerial gunfire that was called in to assist US forces in contact against a determined enemy that included armed women firing from prepared fighting positions, and US special operations members receiving fire from all sides," US Central Command, which oversees military forces in the region, said in a statement Wednesday.
"Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has a horrifying history of hiding women and children within militant operating areas and terrorist camps, and continuously shows a callous disregard for innocent lives," US Col. John J. Thomas, a spokesman for Central Command, said in the statement. "That's what makes cases like these so especially tragic."
Trump was quick to label the raid a success, issuing a statement Sunday saying it acquired "important intelligence that will assist the US in preventing terrorism against its citizens and people around the world."
Military analysts who spoke with CNN noted that the complexity of this type of mission, saying that at least from a tactical standpoint, the intelligence gathering mission could be deemed a success – by Ryan Browne
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/02/01/politics/us-raid-yemen/
My comment: Also giving a report of the whole operation, mainly relying on official US sources – which construct their own best version of the story (Remember: For the US attack on the Kunduz hospital, the Pentagon had presented four different stories within a very short time). The position on the civilian victims sounds quite hypocritical. And according to the family, the 8 year old girl was shot in the neck and not killed by an air raid. And the shooting women remain a very dubious story – relabeling civilian victims as fighters, as it happens so often. And I would be interested in the character of the houses which were hit; in the photos they look like quite normal residential houses, not like “militant operating areas and terrorist camp”, thus the claim of the “horrifying history of hiding women and children within militant operating areas and terrorist camps” (of course spoken out to let the attack look better), simply would be void.
1.2.2017 – Washington Examiner (* A P T)
Pentagon sources: Obama did not reject plan for Yemen raid
A U.S. special operations raid against an al Qaeda compound in a remote part of Yemen was not delayed because President Obama failed to sign off on the operation before he left office this month, three Pentagon officials told the Washington Examiner.
The timing of the raid instead was determined by "operational" factors, and could not have been launched any earlier than Saturday, officials said. That runs counter to reports that Obama nixed the plan over weak intelligence.
The raid, conducted by the Navy's elite SEAL Team 6 along with commandos from the UAE, was intended to capture members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Their mission included grabbing vital intelligence on the group, which is known for planning attacks against the West, including the 2014 Charlie Hebdo office massacre in Paris.
When Obama was briefed that the optimal time to launch the raid would be eight days after he was out of office, he deferred the decision to President Trump, almost as a "professional courtesy," said one official.
That account runs counter to a report in The Guardian, which quoted a source saying the attack plan had undergone several reviews, but Obama took a pass because the intelligence was viewed as too weak to act upon – by Jamie McIntyre
1.2.2017 – MSNBC (* A P T)
A mission in Yemen in which ‘almost everything went wrong’
Towards the end of the White House press briefing yesterday, a reporter brought a question that may have seemed strange: “The president has previously indicated that he would encourage the targeting of families of terror suspects. Is that still his current position?”
Press Secretary Sean Spicer, responded, “When did he say that?”
As it turns out, it was on Dec. 2, 2015, at the height of the Republican presidential primary, when a variety of GOP candidates were eager to tell the party’s base how much they supported torture. Trump declared, in reference to terrorists, “[Y]ou have to take out their families. When you get these terrorists, you have to take out their families. They care about their lives, don’t kid yourself. But they say they don’t care about their lives. You have to take out their families.”
As for why this is suddenly relevant, NBC News ran a striking report the other day about a deadly mission in Yemen on Sunday, which did not go according to plan.
According to the unnamed official describing this mission, “Almost everything went wrong.”
NBC News’ report added: Intentional or not, Greenberg said, the deaths of three al-Awlaki family members will enhance the al Qaeda narrative. She noted that as part of propaganda efforts, terrorist groups have begun to circulate photographs of children reputedly killed by U.S. forces. Photos of Nawar al-Awlaki alive and dead are already circulating widely in Arab media.
This is why Sean Spicer was asked about whether Trump still supports the targeting of families of terror suspects.
Were it not for a half-dozen other political controversies swirling around the White House, Sunday’s developments in Yemen – the new president’s first military raid – would likely be a much bigger story – By Steve Benen
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/mission-yemen-which-almost-everything-went-wrong
1.2.2017 – WGBH (* A P T)
Trump Approved A Disastrous Military Operation in Yemen
The first military operation Donald Trump has authorized as President ended in disaster.
“Everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong.” said national security expert Juliette Kayyem on Boston Public Radio Wednesday.
Kayyem sees this mission as being representative of two major changes the Trump administration has instituted for how military operations are handled. “One [change] is obviously much more operationally focused, to have special troops and special operations going in and literally put boots on the ground,” Kayyem said.
“The second aspect of this is giving much more operational authority to the Pentagon to make the decisions. There was a reason why, at least with President Obama, would have wanted White House oversight over how many special operations were occurring. Too many operations begin to look like a war,” Kayyem continued.
A preliminary inquiry will look into the loss of civilian life during the raid. As of now, Kayyem does not believe the mission's failure was a result of poor management. She does believe though that important questions need to be asked to prevent tragedies like this from happening again.
Kayyem says that this could be the beginning of a larger operational involvement with Yemen, which she called a “silent covert war.”
“I anticipate that we will have more actions like this,” said Kayyem – by Jason Turesky
http://news.wgbh.org/2017/02/01/trump-approved-disastrous-military-operation-yemen
1.2.2017 – Ron Paul Institute (** A P T)
Pentagon Finally Admits it Killed Women and Children in Yemen
The Pentagon at first did not admit any civilian casualties in the raid. Then, when pictures (caution) made their way to the Internet of slaughtered women and children, the Pentagon adjusted its story to make the outlandish claim that al-Qaeda had recruited women into its fighting ranks and it was those women who were killed in combat.
The women killed in the raid were not innocent civilians, claimed Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis, “there were a lot of female combatants who were part of this.” The spokesman further stated, “take reports of female casualties with a grain of salt. Not all female casualties are civilian casualties. In many cases, and certainly in this one, females can be legitimate combatants."
The excuse fell flat. In fact just last September, al-Qaeda criticized ISIS in its online magazine for allowing women to take part in combat.
Finally, after rounds of denial and cockamamie stories, the Pentagon came clean. In a statement late this afternoon, the US Central Command admitted that "a team designated by the operational task force commander has concluded regrettably that civilian non-combatants were likely killed in the midst of a firefight during a raid in Yemen Jan. 20. Casualties may include children."
The Pentagon continued to insist, however, that there were women engaged in combat during the firefight.
We should recall that while the US claims it is attacking Yemen because of al-Qaeda's presence in the country, the US has strongly backed Saudi Arabia's war on the Shia-related Houthis who are mortal enemies of the Sunni jihadist al-Qaeda.
In fact, the US war in Yemen looks more like a US proxy war against Iran - a proxy war that may soon become a real war. – by Daniel McAdams
1.2.2017 – Reuters (* A P T)
U.S. military probing more possible civilian deaths in Yemen raid
The U.S. military said on Wednesday it was looking into whether more civilians were killed in a raid on al Qaeda in Yemen on the weekend, in the first operation authorized by President Donald Trump as commander in chief.
U.S. Central Command said in a statement that an investigating team had "concluded regrettably that civilian non-combatants were likely killed" during Sunday's raid. It added that children may have been among the casualties.
Central Command said its assessment "seeks to determine if there were any still-undetected civilian casualties in the ferocious firefight."
U.S. military officials told Reuters that Trump approved his first covert counterterrorism operation without sufficient intelligence, ground support or adequate backup preparations.
As a result, three officials said, the attacking SEAL team found itself dropping onto a reinforced al Qaeda base defended by landmines, snipers, and a larger than expected contingent of heavily armed Islamist extremists.
The Pentagon directed queries about the officials' characterization of the raid to U.S. Central Command. The latter pointed only to its statement on Wednesday.
A White House official said the operation was thoroughly vetted by the previous administration and that the previous defense secretary had signed off on it in January. The raid was delayed for operational reasons, the White House official said.
The military officials who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said "a brutal firefight" took the lives of Owens and at least 15 Yemeni women and children
Some of the women were firing at the U.S. force, Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis told reporters – By Ayesha Rascoe
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-commando-idUSKBN15G5RX
My comment: “U.S. military officials told Reuters that Trump approved his first covert counterterrorism operation without sufficient intelligence, ground support or adequate backup preparations”, that is a heavy objection against this “Do first, think later” president.
2.2.2017 – Time (A P)
Trump Attends the Return of the Remains of the Navy SEAL Who Died in Yemen
Assuming the somber duties of commander in chief, President Donald Trump made an unannounced trip Wednesday to honor the returning remains of a U.S. Navy SEAL killed in a weekend raid in Yemen.
Chief Special Warfare Operator William "Ryan" Owens, a 36-year-old from Peoria, Illinois, was the first known U.S. combat casualty since Trump took office less than two weeks ago. More than half a dozen militant suspects were also killed in the raid on an al-Qaida compound and three other U.S. service members were wounded.
Trump's trip to Delaware's Dover Air Base was shrouded in secrecy.
After returning to the White House, Trump commented on the trip at the swearing-in of Rex Tillerson as secretary of state.
http://time.com/4657513/trump-owens-navy-seal-yemen-raid/
1.2.2017 – Reuters (A P T)
Civilians likely killed in Yemen raid: U.S. military
A deadly dawn raid on the al Qaeda militant group in southern Yemen earlier this week "likely killed" civilians and could include children, the U.S. military said on Wednesday.
Trump traveled to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware in an unexpected visit to meet with the family of William “Ryan” Owens, a chief special warfare operator who died in Sunday's raid.
"The known possible civilian casualties appear to have been potentially caught up in aerial gunfire that was called in to assist U.S. forces...," U.S. Central Command said in a statement.
The U.S. military has said 14 militants were killed in the raid in al Bayda province on a branch of al Qaeda known as AQAP. Medics at the scene, however, have said around 30 people, including 10 women and children, were killed – by Idrees Ali
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-yemen-raid-idUSKBN15H02K
My comment: What is really new about that? Just the fact that US finally is taking account?
1.2.2017 – Almasdar Online (*A P T)
US Official: Emirati forces took part in the military raid central Yemen
A US official said on Tuesday that Emirati Special Forces have taken part in the military raid carried out dawn on Last Sunday by US marines on Yakla village in Al Bayda governorate, central Yemen.
The US official told the CNN news network that Emirati Special Forces have taken part in the military operation carried out by the US forces against AQAP.
However, the CNN website did not mention details about Emirati forces taking part in this military raid
http://almasdaronline.com/article/88525
1.2.2017 – Hamed Ghaleb (A P T)
What u don't know about the #US raid in #Yemen , facts that Trump admin is Turning a blind eye &keep supporting #Saudi war against Yemen (images)
https://twitter.com/HamedGhaleb/status/826954969689575424
cp2 Allgemein / General
3.2.2017 – Index on Censorship (* B K)
Murad Subay: Yemen’s war makes a month feel like a year
The Index award winner talks about his fears of a possible escalation of the conflict in Yemen
US president Donald Trump’s executive order banning citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries from travelling to the USA for has had devastating consequences for thousands of people. Among them is Index on Censorship Award winner Murad Subay. The Yemeni street artist is now unable to visit his wife, who is currently studying in the USA.
At home, the worries that have plagued Subay throughout the Obama administration remain, particularly Trump’s continuation – and possible escalation – of his predecessor’s drone strikes in Yemen.
“Trump has no right to make things even worse for Yemenis. Yemen is already suffering from US arms deals with Saudi Arabia that helped fuel this war. Barring Yemenis from entering the USA under his administration only adds to these troubles.”
The war has been hitting close to home for Subay in recent months. Two of his cousins were recruited by warring parties and killed on the battlefield.
Subay addressed a recent wave of violence against civilians, including journalists and public figures, in a mural entitled Assassination’s Eye, painted on the Mathbah Bridge in Sana’a in late December. Part of the Ruins Campaign, the minimalist painting depicts a sniper’s crosshairs training in on a human target.
with Yemen’s economic circumstances ever worsening, and many working people now into their fourth month without receiving salaries, he sees difficult times ahead.
“It’s very harsh to see people every day looking for anything to eat from garbage, waiting along with children in rows to get water from the public containers in the streets, or the ever increasing number of beggars in the streets. They are exhausted, as if it’s not enough that they had to go through all of the ugliness brought upon them by the war.”
Referring to the deaths of his cousins and his close friend, he added: “No one can live in this country and not be affected by the war. This all happened in the last three or four months. These events make a month in Yemen feel like a year.” – BY KIERAN ETORIA-KING
https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2017/02/murad-subay-yemens-war-makes-a-month-feel-like-a-year/
2.2.2017 – Tagesschau (* B H K)
Film: Krieg im Jemen: Die ignorierte Katastrophe
Seit zwei Jahren tobt im Jemen ein brutaler Krieg zwischen Huthi-Rebellen, die vom Iran unterstützt werden, und der Armee, die von Saudi-Arabien Hilfe bekommt. Die Zivilbevölkerung leidet besonders unter den Kämpfen - die UN warnen vor einer Hungersnot.
https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/jemen-553.html
2.2.2017 – AFP (A K P)
UAE protests Iran's arming Yemen rebels with 'drones'
The United Arab Emirates said Thursday it summoned the Iranian envoy to protest Tehran's alleged arming of Shiite Huthi rebels in Yemen, including providing drones, in their fight against the government.
The foreign ministry handed the charge d'affaires a "protesting memorandum concerning Iran's illegal arming" of Huthi rebels, according to state news agency WAM.
It said that "Iranian weapons, including unmanned drones targeted recently by the Arab coalition, represent a flagrant violation" of UN Security Council resolutions.
The UAE is a key partner in the Saudi-led coalition that intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after rebels stormed the capital Sanaa and advanced on second city Aden.
Emirati press reported recently that UAE warplanes destroyed a rebel drone before it was launched on Yemen's west coast.
http://www.france24.com/en/20170202-uae-protests-irans-arming-yemen-rebels-with-drones and http://gulftoday.ae/portal/85daa48f-b1d0-4b53-8fe3-67f039002202.aspx
My comment: As always: The Saudis and the UAE being armed 1000 times more does not matter at all. Funny.
Comment: Either the siege is lousy or this is usual made up story.
We know the answer considering UAE's paranoia towards Iran (it is worse than Saudi Arabia's)
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1267626073290420
2.2.2017 – Press TV Iran (A K P)
US involvement in Yemen war, totally unconstitutional: Analyst
A former US Army officer and political commentator says the United States has “no jurisdiction” over Yemen, adding that its involvement in the Saudi war on the impoverished Arab country is “totally unconstitutional.”
“This is the Saudi Arabian genocide of the Yemeni people and political structure in an attempt to try and take over that part of the Arabian Peninsula and really [US President Donald] Trump needs to take a look at the financing of terrorism that has come from Saudi Arabia to arm any of these al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in the first place,” Scott Bennett told Press TV in an interview on Thursday.
He also noted the situation is “very messy” and it requires a “surgical analysis by President Trump, arguing that he cannot simply continue the policies of former US president Barack Obama in giving a “blank slate” to Saudi Arabia.
The commentator further opined that Trump has no “operational understanding” of the various battlefields that the US military is involved with covertly as well as overtly.
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2017/02/02/508799/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-US-military-raid-alQaeda-Trump
2.2.2017 – Shahid King Bolsen (B P)
Can #Syria, #Somalia, #Sudan, #Iran, #Iraq , #Libya and #Yemen ban Americans from bombing and plundering their countries?
https://twitter.com/ShahidKBolsen/status/827049411364667392
2.2.2017 – Al Sahwa (A P)
Islah supports presidential decree of moving Parliament to Aden
The Islah party has declared its support to the presidential decree of moving the Yemeni parliament to the temporary city of Aden.
In a statement, the Islah party cited that the decree is in Yemen's interest, calling the legitimate government to activate all military, security, judicial and economic institutions, and get rid of all obstacles which prevent turning Aden into the temporary capital of Yemen.
The statement also urged the members of Parliament to do best in accordance with the GCC-brokered initiative and outcomes of the National Dialogue Conference on the basis of partnership and compromise.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-3584
My comment: On Hadi’s try to get the parliament to Aden look at YPR 260, cp2. Islah Party is strictly anti-Houthi. Be aware: “GCC-brokered initiative” limited Hadi’s term to 2 years (ending Feb. 2014). The National Dialogue Conference extended it for another year (ending Feb. 2015). If anybody wants to act “in accordance with the GCC-brokered initiative and outcomes of the National Dialogue Conference”, this at first means: Bye bye Hadi.
1.2.2017 – Dawn (* A K P)
Yemeni tragedy
THE nearly two-year-old Saudi-led assault on Yemen has been an unmitigated disaster. Riyadh has roundly failed in its objective of ejecting the Houthi rebels from areas under their control and restoring the president Hadi-led government. Moreover, as a UN report recently observed, a number of air attacks carried out by the Saudi coalition may amount to war crimes.
To end the Yemeni people’s nightmare, a negotiated settlement must be reached through which the bombing is stopped immediately, relief is brought to the population and the belligerents agree to settle their differences peacefully. With an air of uncertainty clouding the West, especially Washington D.C., it is futile to look in that direction for a solution. Instead, it is the nations of the region that must take the initiative to end the Yemeni war. For example, while the Syrian imbroglio is far from solved, the situation has undoubtedly improved through Turkish, Iranian and Russian cooperation. In this case also, Turkey can act as a bridge between the Saudis and Iranians, as the latter are believed to have influence over the Houthis. The good offices of Oman can also be used – by Editorial Board
http://www.dawn.com/news/1311889/yemeni-tragedy
1.2.2017 – Al Salam (* A K)
Announcement Hodeida port "military zone" .. UNICEF and withdraw its staff
It announced the "coalition" led by Saudi Arabia to the war in Yemen's port of Hodeida military zone.
An official source for "Peace News" that the leadership of the coalition informed the Saudi port of Hodeida management that the port has become a military zone.
The source pointed out that "coalition forces" issued warnings to ships in the harbor ubiquitous and demanded to leave the immersion.
It withdrew its staff from UNICEF and the port city of Hodeida fear of any impending attacks in light of the intensity of raids by Saudi aircraft.
The Saudi Arabia has vowed to target as soon as the news of her battleship currently off Hodeidah they would respond to the port from which it described then as "constitutes a real threat."
http://www.alsalam-news.com/news1401.html
7.1.2017 – Yemeni Cruel (* B K)
Film: Saudi war on Yemen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIHL4WKR-yE
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
2.2.2017 – Ahmad Alghobary (A H)
Distributing food aid for the forth day in my city Dhamar to most needy ppl there. #Yemen It makes me feel good and happy (photos)
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/827173624561991682
2.2.2017 – Al Sahwa (* A H)
UNICEF: 63,000 Yemeni children died in 2016
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has affirmed that 63,000 children died in 2006 due to malnutrition, pointing out that 3.3 million persons suffer of acute malnutrition.
In Yemen, the worst affected areas include the capital, Sana'a, where 78 per cent of children are chronically malnourished. Furthermore, many other areas have also seen growing deprivation, from Hodeida in the west to Taiz and now Aden to the south.
UNICEF's Yemen Representative, Meritzell Relano termed the situation for children in Yemen “catastrophic”, with at least 10 million in need of some form of humanitarian assistance.
“Children are dying of malnutrition, that is for sure […] under-five mortality rate has increased to the point that we estimate that at least in 2016, 10,000 more children died of preventable diseases,” she said.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-3582
My comment: referring to UNICEF report, look at YPR 260, cp1. This Islah Party media now made the calculation. It is right. What they of course “forget” to tell: The main guilt for all that is going to Saudi Arabia for blocking most imports to Houthi-held Yemen and for bombing the infrastructure and medical institutions.
31.1.2017 – Doctors without Borders (* B H)
Yemen: Crisis update - January 2017
After 22 months of conflict, Yemen is a full-blown humanitarian emergency. After a short ebb in fighting due to the peace negotiations, airstrikes and ground fighting fully resumed, with huge consequences for civilians. All armed actors involved in the conflict, including the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis, are carrying out indiscriminate attacks without any respect for civilians or civilian infrastructures such as hospitals, schools or markets. Airstrikes are resulting in a disproportionately high level of civilian casualties, with as a sad example the airstrike in Haydan on 13 August which killed 10 people and seriously injured 28 children. On 8 October, an airstrike hit a funeral home killing at least 140 people and injuring more than 500. The main hospitals in Sana’a that received the wounded were supported by MSF with supplies to cover the needs.
MSF health facilities alone have been hit four times. The last bombing, an airstrike on Abs hospital on 15 August 2016, resulted in 19 deaths and 24 wounded, including an MSF staff member. The UN reports that over 600 health facilities in the country have stopped functioning due to damage or lack of staff/supplies and this is affecting access to healthcare for millions of people. Taiz city is one of the worst affected areas of Yemen, with intense fighting including daily shelling in the densely populated inner city. There has been no ceasefire here since July 2015.
MSF health facilities hit by airstrikes/missiles
15 August 2016 - Abs hospital
10 January 2016 - Shiara hospital
02 December 2015 - Tent clinic in Al-Houban, Taiz
26 October 2015 - Haydan hospital
Current activities
MSF has been working in 12 hospitals and health centres in Yemen, and providing support to more than 30 hospitals or health centres in 11 Yemeni governorates: Taiz, Aden, Al-Dhale’, Saada, Amran, Hajjah, Ibb, Sana'a, Hodaida, Abyan and Lahj, with nearly 1,600 staff including 82 international staff - making it among MSF's largest missions in the world in terms of personnel.
MSF resumed working in Hajjah and Abs hospital in November 2016. MSF supported the Al-Jamhouri hospital in Saada city with medications, incentives for their Ministry of Health staff and logistic support until December 2016, and is supporting the Shiara hospital in Razeh district with advanced care (emergency room and maternity).
MSF operations in Yemen had a budget of more than 103 million euros for 2015 and 2016.
Key MSF figures, March 2015-December 2016
Surgical interventions: 28,796
Emergency room patients: 396,032
War-wounded and wounded by violence: 56,202
Number of children admitted in paediatric unit: 20,939
Number of patients admitted: 36,774
General consultations for internally displaced people: 176,847
Deliveries assisted: 23,489
MSF projects
http://www.msf.org/en/article/yemen-crisis-update-january-2017
30.1.20217 – Devex (* B H)
Opinion: The humanitarian response in Yemen isn't working
Two years into a devastating civil war, those coping mechanism are not enough for the Yemeni people to survive. The 2017 U.N. humanitarian needs overview estimates that more than 8 million people have lost their jobs and income in Yemen since the war started. Civil servants’ salaries have been either completely cut, or have not been paid for months. Programs that used to support vulnerable people living under the poverty line with cash assistance have been suspended since 2015.
Yemen had fundamental economic and development challenges before the war. But two years of conflict have pushed my homeland into a downward spiral toward humanitarian catastrophe.
High-profile humanitarian appeals often fall short. The amount pledged frequently fails to accurately estimate real needs. The amount pledged for Yemen in 2016 was $1.8 billion to address the needs of 13.6 million people. That amounts to $11 per month per person, or around 30 cents a day —- much less than the global poverty rate set by the World Bank at $1.90 per day. Lately, appeals have remained greatly underfunded, usually securing less than 60 percent of money pledged.
At the same time, there is no shortage of funding for arms deals.
But funding is not the only problem in the humanitarian response. The plan also fails to address the protracted nature of the crisis. The Yemen humanitarian response plan for 2016, much like other plans that went before it, was a package of short-sighted reactive measures — instead of proactively trying to tackle the problems Yemen faces. The plan focused on distribution of different types of aid, including tents, food items, hygiene items, and so on. Some have horribly cheesy names, such as dignity kits, that claim to magically restore women’s dignity simply because they contain essential feminine hygiene items.
Although short-term remedies are important, the humanitarian plan should shift its focus to sustainable solutions that lead to increasing the resilience of people.
One of the more glaring omissions from the plan is the issue of children constantly being recruited to fight in the war.
There are, of course, serious challenges faced by aid agencies in trying to establish and sustain an effective humanitarian response in a time of war when hospitals and schools are bombed, fuel is in short supply, and aid itself becomes subject to local power dynamics. The embargo imposed on different ports have led to delays in importing essential commodities.
The humanitarian response in Yemen isn’t working effectively for the people most in need. A new approach seeking creative local solutions is urgently needed. There is a need for a “Humanitarian Plus” plan, where emergency response is coupled with peace initiatives and plans for recovery and development. Waiting for the war to end is no longer a viable strategy – by Rasha Jarhum
https://www.devex.com/news/opinion-the-humanitarian-response-in-yemen-isn-t-working-89540
31.12.2016 – UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (A H)
Yemen: Organizations 3W Operational Presence (as of 31 December 2016)
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-organizations-3w-operational-presence-31-december-2016-enar and in full: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/3w_dec_29_01_2017.pdf
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
2.2.2017 – Saba Net (A)
Security forces arrest 5 wanted mercenaries in Sana'a
The arrested were captured while they were riding a water tanker at a security check point coming from Mareb where they were fighting along side
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455030.htm and film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lPojFCcEhY
2.2.2017 – Nasser Arrabyee (A P)
Yemen Foreign Ministry: US-Saudi tensions with Iran must not be linked with Yemen fighting US-backed Saudi aggression.
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/827215365591670786
and longer article:
2.2.2017 – Saba Net (* A K P)
Yemen rejects attempt to link Yemeni resistance against aggression with U.S.-Saudi-Iran dispute
The Republic of Yemen rejects any attempt to link between the national duties of the Yemeni army and popular forces in defending the country against Saudi-led aggression coalition and any U.S.-Saudi dispute with Iran, the Yemeni Foreign Ministry said in a press statement received by Saba on Thursday.
In comment on the White House Wednesday statement about Iran’s latest missile test and attempts to link it with the Yemeni army’s shelling against the enemy Saudi warship, the ministry said that “such statement and other remarks made by senior officials at the U.S. administration contained false facts in an apparent and botched attempt to link Yemen’s self-defense and protection of its coasts and land against the Saudi aggression war with the U.S.-Iranian dispute. "
“The attempts seek to find any justification for a number of international powers to intervene in the Red Sea and the Yemeni coasts and land,” said the ministry.
The ministry expressed confidence that the new U.S. administration knowns well that the Republic of Yemen calls for peace, stability and supports all efforts to fight terrorism and financiers in the region and world and that Yemen is keen on the security and safety of the waterways and the navigation lines in the southern Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait.
The ministry said that “any attempt to impose a military intervention in the area will not work”, making clear that the safety, security and stability of waterways are linking to “immediate end to the Saudi-led aggression war and their all-out blockade against the Yemeni people.”
It said that Yemen welcomes all peace efforts to achieve a political settlement and regain peace to the whole region.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455034.htm
1.2.2017 – Nasser Arrabyee (A K P)
Yemeni tribesmen Simmering&out outraging over US-backed Saudi war crimes by sending 1000s of fighters2battlefields. Feb1 Kabel,northSanaa (photos)
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/827015011063197697
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/827014910773194752
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/827014677460873216
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
Siehe / Look at cp14
2.2.2017 – AFP (A T)
Al Qaeda kills Yemen police
Suspected Al Qaeda militants in southern Yemen killed six policemen Thursday and their extremist group was targeted in a raid likely carried out by the US Navy, security and tribal sources said.
In the first incident, a vehicle exploded as a group of about 30 members of the Yemeni security forces travelled from the town of Loder to the southern city of Aden, the security source said.
“An exchange of fire with Al Qaeda fighters” followed the blast, the source said, adding that “six of our men were killed and others were wounded” in the ambush
http://jordantimes.com/news/region/al-qaeda-kills-yemen-police-targeted-us-raid-%E2%80%94-reports
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
2.2.2017 – Xinhua (* A P)
UN "extremely concerned" over sharp rise in military operations in Yemen: spokesman
The UN is extremely concerned about an intensification of military operations, including airstrikes, in the Dhubab and Al Mokha districts of Yemen's Taizz Governorate, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters here Thursday.
"There has also been a sharp increase in airstrikes in Hudaydah and surrounding areas," Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.
Displacement is increasing from Mokha, with at least a third of the population, approximately 30,000 people, forced to flee to other areas in Taizz governorate, as well as to Hudaydah and Lahj governorates, he said. "There are conflicting reports on the number of people that are still in the city."
"Assistance is being provided to the displaced in Hudaydah and a response is being mobilised in the governorate of Taizz," he said.
"We are also concerned about the impact of military operations on the movement of commercial and humanitarian vessels in the Red Sea near Yemen's ports, the gateway of 70 percent of imports for Yemen," he added.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-02/03/c_136026869.htm
Comment: The copy and paste of #UN's statements: we will never get more than 'extreme concern'
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1268036466582714
cp7a Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran
1.2.2017 – Mclatchydc (*B P)
As U.S. issues warning to Iran, Persian Gulf cyberwar takes on new meaning
For anyone wondering what cyber warfare might look like, the conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia provides an ongoing example.
Since 2012, the two nations have been lobbing digital artillery fire at each other in a simmering conflict that began when Iranian hackers destroyed more than 30,000 computers of the Saudi crown jewel, Aramco, the world’s biggest energy company. Since then, and as recently as last week, new cyberattacks have unfolded.
Just eight days ago, Saudi Arabia issued a cyber-defense alert, the equivalent of an air raid siren in a more conventional conflict.
“This is an urgent call for your cybersecurity team to be on alert for Shamoon 2 and ransomware attacks that could possibly cripple your organization’s systems,” the nation’s Computer Emergency Response Team told domestic network systems operators, referring to Iranian-created malicious code.
As the Trump administration casts about for a cybersecurity policy, the byte battle between Iran and Saudi Arabia may well be a harbinger for conflicts to come.
It bears even closer watching following a statement Wednesday from President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Flynn, in which he listed recent “provocative” actions by Iran and said, “We are officially putting Iran on notice.”
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/national-security/article130131674.html
My comment: Only the bad, bad Iranians leading a cyberwar against the poor, poor Saudis? How short-minded the audience should be? Remember the Stuxnet attack against the Iranian nuclear facilities, which could have causes an atomic catastrophy. But who will care about things like that? (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuxnet#Iran_as_target)
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
1.2.2017 – Konstantin Velichkov (A P)
The same #Starbucks which bans women from its stores in Saudi Arabia thinks itself fit to dictate US immigration policy! (photo)
https://twitter.com/Konstant_V/status/826251002592559109
10.9.2016 – Rania Khalek (* B P)
Film: ISIS is reportedly using Saudi Arabia textbooks in schools bc they promote the same ideology as ISIS.
https://twitter.com/RaniaKhalek/status/774689402517938181
cp9 USA
Siehe / Look at cp1, 1a
2.2.2017 – NBC (* A P)
Analysis: Trump Turns Attention to Yemen, but Is Looking at Iran
As the Trump administration ramps up its rhetoric, NBC News takes a look at whether Yemen is in the cross hairs — and what role Iran is playing there.
"Saudi Arabia's whole premise for entering into the Yemen conflict was to contain Iran," said Sanam Vakil, an associate fellow at the Middle East program at London's Chatham House think tank.
On Oct. 27, U.S. officials told NBC News that they believed Iran had supplied weapons to the Houthis — including coastal defense cruise missiles like ones that were fired at U.S. Navy ships in the region earlier that month.
A senior Trump administration official told NBC News that Iran appeared to be seeking "to leverage this relationship with the Houthis to build a long-term presence in Yemen."
The source added: "It's clear that Iran supports the Houthis. They arm them, they train them, they finance them, they guide them."
Vakil said regional governments worry that with Iranian backing, the Houthis will become a Yemeni version of Hezbollah — the militant group that dominates Lebanese politics.
"Both sides [Iran and the U.S.] are testing each other to see how far each side is going to go," she added. "The question is how is that tit-for-tat going to be defined? … Will it be rhetorical or will it result in military conflict?"
Clement Therme, an Iran research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said that Trump is already taking a harder approach than President Barack Obama did.
The new president's approach is that if "you are a friend, you are a friend 100 percent, and if you are an enemy, you are an enemy 100 percent," according to Therme.
He added: "This is a real change in U.S. policy ... Trump will hopefully notice that it is al Qaeda and [ISIS] that are the main threat in the region."
Michael Stephens, a research fellow for Middle East studies at the Royal United Services Institute think tank, cautioned against over-emphasizing Iran's role in Yemen in the way the Saudis have traditionally done.
He said that while a "proxy battle" is an aspect of it of the war — Saudis see their military involvement as a way to stop Iran from exploiting instability in their poorer neighbor — "if you look at Yemen on the list of Iranian priorities it is really low."
What Has the Trump Administration Said About Iran?
During the campaign, Trump stuck to a hardline approach on Iran, and called the 2015 multinational plan to lift economic sanctions in exchange for Tehran's promise not to develop nuclear weapons "the worst deal ever negotiated."
On Wednesday, Flynn underlined Trump's disapproval of the President Barack Obama agreements with Iran as "weak and ineffective." U.N. resolutions currently do not prohibit Tehran from conducting such missile tests — but one states that "Iran is called upon not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons."
The Trump White House has not accused Tehran of breaching that resolution, but alleges it is acting "in defiance" of it.
What Might Happen Next?
Flynn suggested that the new administration would take a harder line on Iran in the wake of the missile test.
"Instead of being thankful to the United States for these agreements, Iran is now feeling emboldened," Flynn said, an apparent reference to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.
While it isn't clear what exactly this means, the new administration's pronouncement represents a sharp escalation in the rhetoric coming out of Washington.
If the desired effect was to get Iran to back down, the White House failed — at least in the short term.
RUSI's Stephens pointed out that Iran's involvement in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq is much deeper than in Yemen.
"The concrete is drying pretty quickly on Iran's footprint across the region," he added – by F. BRINLEY BRUTON
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/analysis-trump-turns-attention-yemen-looking-iran-n715776
2.2.2017 – New York Times (* A P)
What’s Wrong With Michael Flynn’s Bluster on Iran? Plenty
In an unusual appearance in the White House briefing room Wednesday, retired Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, President Trump’s national security adviser, issued a blunt warning to Iran.
Mr. Flynn, then, is not wrong about Iran’s provocative actions and the need for a vigorous response. The problem is with his performance: By issuing a warning so imprecise — in such a dramatic, public fashion — he has set himself and the United States up for either an embarrassing retreat or a risky confrontation.
While Trump administration officials have claimed to have a “large range” of options to choose from in responding more effectively to Iran, the reality is that they do not. And it would be no small irony if President Trump, who hammered President Barack Obama for failing to enforce a red line the United States had drawn in Syria, ends up failing to enforce his own.
Why will it prove so difficult to back up Mr. Flynn’s words with significant action?
First, contrary to a widespread perception in the region and among Mr. Obama’s domestic critics that his administration had tilted toward Iran and failed to respond to its destabilizing behavior, under Mr. Obama, the United States made significant efforts to contain Iran.
Second, as Mr. Trump looks for ways to punish Iran for the tests, he is unlikely to find much international support, which would be essential to make any further sanctions effective.
Third and most important, as President Trump contemplates his options, he will also have to consider Iran’s likely response.
Iran is unlikely to back down in the face of mere warnings, or even symbolic military strikes.
None of this is to argue against responding to Iranian provocations in the region. Clear and credible private warnings, strong cooperation with the Gulf states and Israel, diplomacy to get partners on board, financial and diplomatic measures to increase costs on Iran, the effective use of intelligence and covert action, and the maintenance of superior military capacity will all be necessary to contain the Iranian threat. All of those are more advisable than bluster and ambiguous public red lines that would be hard to enforce – by Philip Gordon, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, was the White House coordinator for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf region from 2013 to 2015.
My comment: of course, this Obama man hails Obama and blames Trump. Of course he is right that Flynn’s imprecise threats are not helpful at all. But, no word about 1) that Iran cannot at all be blamed when the Houthis target a Saudi war ship (that would exactly be the same if Putin would threaten Germany for the new attack campaign of the Ukrainian army against the “separatists” in Eastern Ukraine) – 2) even the Houthis are not to blame because there is war at this coast with Saudi war ships having pounded the coast for weeks now; when the Houthis now are pounding a Saudi warship, what should be special about that? – 3) “strong cooperation with the Gulf states and Israel”: why continuing a bad policy of taking sides and interference when only taking an intermediate position will lower tensions in the region?
2.2.2017 – Reuters (*A P T)
Trump to focus counter-extremism program solely on Islam - sources
The Trump administration wants to revamp and rename a U.S. government program designed to counter all violent ideologies so that it focuses solely on Islamist extremism, five people briefed on the matter told Reuters.
The program, "Countering Violent Extremism," or CVE, would be changed to "Countering Islamic Extremism" or "Countering Radical Islamic Extremism," the sources said, and would no longer target groups such as white supremacists who have also carried out bombings and shootings in the United States.
Such a change would reflect Trump's election campaign rhetoric and criticism of former President Barack Obama for being weak in the fight against Islamic State and for refusing to use the phrase "radical Islam" in describing it. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for attacks on civilians in several countries – By Julia Edwards Ainsley, Dustin Volz and Kristina Cooke
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-extremists-program-exclusiv-idUSKBN15G5VO
Comment: That does not fit to:
2.2.2017 – Ali AlAhmed (A P)
@VP just told @seanhannity that he trusts #Saudi Monarchy to protect Americans security. #9/11 has no impact.
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/827356962006384640
My comment: Odd.
2.2.2017 – RT (* B K P)
I'm afraid Trump may continue Obama legacy of supporting Saudi war against Yemen'
We have witnessed big payoffs to the Pentagon in the form of the ability to sell arms to the Saudis – at least to $200 billion estimated over two decades - to American arms makers, Gareth Porter, investigative journalist, told RT.
RT: In December, just a month before Obama left office, his administration decided to limit military support to Saudi Arabia on concern over civilian casualties. What do you make of the timing of that decision?
GP: Well, I think the point about that decision by the Obama administration is that it was far too little, far too late.
It did not end the really crucial aspects of the Obama administration’s assistance to the Saudis and their allies, which was primarily to provide the refueling for the planes that have carried out the air attacks, which have so completely destroyed the society in large parts of Yemen – in more than half of Yemen. This is the crucial issue, which the Obama administration has never been willing to deal with in terms of its complicity with the war crimes of the Saudi government and its allies.
In addition to that, after months of this bombing which Amnesty International regards as filled with war crimes, because of the deliberate targeting of cities that were regarded as supportive of the Houthis, the US then renewed the agreement to provide bombs to the Saudi government for carrying out this war. So it was in effect a sort of public support for the Saudi
RT: Critics are branding the US approach to Yemen, one of ‘cautious approval,’ on the one hand, keep supplying the Saudis with arms, on the other staying silent on the country’s growing humanitarian catastrophe. What's your take on that approach?
GP: Well, my take is that what is happening here – the Obama administration has been essentially tied to the Saudi interests in Yemen, as they have been in Syria to a great extent of the past by the degree to which the permanent government in the US - the Pentagon, the CIA, the NSA – all have very, very close relations with their counterparts in Saudi Arabia.
So these war powers in the US are very unwilling to have any US policy that would criticize, much less take away, support for the Saudi war so that these arrangements can continue. I am very much afraid that the Trump administration will be subject to the same logic, the same political forces that have kept the Obama administration from taking any responsibility for what is going on in Yemen.
https://www.rt.com/op-edge/376066-yemen-nancy-pelosi-us/
1.2.2017 – Ben Norton (* A P)
Trump and Saudi King Agree to More Military Intervention, Collaboration, Aggression Against Iran
So much for change: Trump and Saudi dictator "reaffirmed the longstanding friendship and strategic partnership"
According to its official press agency, the Saudi regime appears to be excited about working with Trump
Saudi Arabia is incredibly excited about Trump. His planet-destroying oil policies are going to help save the Saudi regime from collapse
The Trump administration is threatening and ramping up aggression against Iran while Saudi Arabia cozies up to it
The Trump admin, chock-full of anti-Iran hawks, is threatening Iran, putting it "on notice" — while Saudi celebrates
[with images, links]
https://twitter.com/BenjaminNorton/status/826916429811347463 and a reminder: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/doug-bandow/president-elect-trump-end_b_12911720.html
1.2.2017 – The Independent (* A P)
Saudi Arabia praises Donald Trump's pro-fossil fuel policies
Mr Falih added that the Saudis, the world’s biggest oil exporters, are not “foes” of the US administration
Saudi Arabia’s energy minister has praised US President’s Donald Trump’s energy policies, saying that he is pleased the US government is planning to pursue a more fossil-fuel oriented strategy.
In an interview with the BBC, Khalid Al-Falih, said: “President Trump has policies which are good for the oil industries and I think we have to acknowledge it.”
He added that the President had “steered away from […] unrealistic policies”.
Asked whether he had concerns about Mr Trump’ promise to put “America first” and pursue energy independence, Mr Falih said: "We have no problem with the growth of American indigenous oil supply. I have said it repeatedly, as long as they grow in line with global energy demand, we welcome them.”
Mr Falih added that the Saudis, the world’s biggest oil exporters, are not “foes” of the US administration and that there are “huge areas of alignment” between the two nations.
Mr Trump’s “America First Energy Plan” posted on the White House website after his inauguration on 20 January suggested getting rid of “burdensome regulations on our energy industry”. Those include the “harmful and unnecessary policies such as the Climate Action Plan and the Waters of the US rule” – by Zlata Rodionova
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/saudi-arabia-praise-donald-trump-pro-fossil-fuel-energy-minister-khalid-al-falih-oil-industries-opec-a7556731.html and also https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-01/saudi-energy-minister-praises-trump-s-pro-fossil-fuel-policies and https://www.wsj.com/articles/saudi-oil-minister-says-trump-energy-policy-good-for-oil-industry-1485944237
Comment by Ben Norton: Saudi Arabia is incredibly excited about Trump. His planet-destroying oil policies are going to help save the Saudi regime from collapse
2.2.2017 – Reuters (* A P)
Exclusive: U.S. expected to impose fresh sanctions on Iranian entities - sources
The United States is expected to impose sanctions on multiple Iranian entities as early as Friday following Tehran's recent ballistic missile test, but in a way that will not violate the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
One source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said about eight Iranian entities were to be sanctioned, or "designated" in U.S. legal jargon, for terrorism-related activities and about 17 for ballistic missile-related activities under separate existing U.S. executive orders. The source declined to name the entities.
The sources said the new sanctions had been in the works for some time and that Iran's decision to test-fire a ballistic missile on Sunday had helped to trigger U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to impose them.
The new sanctions may be the leading edge of a tougher policy but the sources stressed that the United States was imposing them in a manner so as not to conflict with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal under which Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear program in return for relief from economic sanctions.
Trump said earlier on Thursday that "nothing is off the table" in dealing with Iran following the missile launch, and his fellow Republicans in Congress said they would back him up with new sanctions.
Trump's comment was in response to a question about whether he would consider military options to respond to Tehran, a day after Flynn's comment about putting Iran "on notice." – By Arshad Mohammed
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-iran-sanctions-idUSKBN15H2OE
3.2.2017 – Press TV Iran (A P)
In response to the latest accusation, the Yemeni Foreign Ministry issued a statement condemning Washington’s efforts to link Yemen’s military actions to Iran. The statement said that the destruction of the Saudi warship had enraged the Saudi-led forces, prompting them to make baseless allegations against Iran.
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/02/03/508942/Yemen-Saudi-mine-blast-Jizan-US-Iran-warship
3.2.2017 – AP (* A P)
Trump puts Iran 'on notice' after ballistic missile test
President Donald Trump said Thursday his administration has put Iran "on notice," echoing comments from his top national security adviser that the U.S. will act against Iran unless it stops testing ballistic missiles and supporting Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Trump and his national security adviser, Michael Flynn, didn't elaborate on what retaliatory actions the U.S. could pursue.
Trump tweeted, "Iran has been formally PUT ON NOTICE for firing a ballistic missile. Should have been thankful for the terrible deal the U.S. made with them!"
He added in another tweet: "Iran was on its last legs and ready to collapse until the U.S. came along and gave it a life-line in the form of the Iran Deal: $150 billion."
As part of the nuclear deal struck during the Obama administration, Iran received access to an estimated $100 billion of its own money that had been frozen in foreign bank accounts. The U.S. did not give Iran $150 billion.
Iran's acting commander of the elite Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Hossein Salami, responded in comments to the semi-official Tasnim news agency Thursday, saying Iran will "never change direction by a world power's demand, and our missile and nonmissile power will be updated every day."
Salami added, "If our missile power was not such a power to put fear into the hearts of Americans, there is no reason for these controversies."
The warning was an early manifestation of Trump's promise of a tougher American approach to Iran. Yet administration officials emphasized that their allegations were unrelated to Iran's obligations under the Iran nuclear deal that President Barack Obama and world leaders negotiated. Though Flynn noted Trump has criticized that deal, officials declined to say whether Trump planned to follow through on his campaign pledge to renegotiate it.
https://www.apnews.com/4d118e79c30c4ae6ae439019f5c64b24
1.2.2017 – AP (* A P)
US puts Iran 'on notice' after missile test, won't elaborate
The White House issued a cryptic warning Wednesday that the U.S. will act against Iran unless it stops testing ballistic missiles and supporting Houthi rebels in Yemen, but declined to say what retaliatory actions the U.S. would pursue.
Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump's national security adviser, forcefully denounced Iran's behavior in his first public remarks since Trump took office. He accused Iran of threatening U.S. allies and spreading instability throughout the Middle East while faulting the Obama administration for doing too little to stop the Islamic Republic.
"As of today, we are officially putting Iran on notice," Flynn said from the White House podium.
On notice for what, Flynn didn't say. Senior Trump administration officials said they were actively considering a "range of options" including economic measures and increased support for Iran's regional adversaries. The officials, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity, declined repeatedly to say whether military action was being considered.
Later Wednesday, Trump tweeted: "Iran is rapidly taking over more and more of Iraq even after the U.S. has squandered three trillion dollars there. Obvious long ago!"
The warning was an early manifestation of Trump's promise of a tougher American approach to Iran. Yet administration officials emphasized that their allegations were unrelated to Iran's obligations under the Iran nuclear deal that President Barack Obama and world leaders negotiated. Though Flynn noted Trump has criticized that deal, officials declined to say whether Trump planned to follow through on his campaign pledge to renegotiate it.
"The Obama administration failed to respond adequately to Tehran's malign actions — including weapons transfers, support for terrorism and other violations of international norms," Flynn said.
The White House also faulted Iran for backing Houthi rebels in Yemen who on Tuesday claimed a successful missile strike against a warship belonging to a Saudi-led coalition fighting to reinstall Yemen's internationally recognized government. The media arm of the Shiite rebels said the vessel was believed to belong to the Saudi Arabian navy.
Administration officials said Iran was providing key support by arming, training and financing the rebels, with a goal of leveraging its relationship with the Houthis to "build a long-term presence in Yemen."
The White House said the goal in putting Iran "on notice" was to signal to Tehran that it needed to rethink its behavior – by Vivian Salama and Josh Lederman
https://www.yahoo.com/news/national-security-adviser-puts-iran-notice-190944150--politics.html
My comment: Hey, folks, read that: “Administration officials said Iran was providing key support by arming, training and financing the rebels, with a goal of leveraging its relationship with the Houthis to "build a long-term presence in Yemen." And translate it to reality: “Administration officials said US was providing key support by arming, training and giving intelligence to the Saudis, with a goal of leveraging its relationship with the Saudis to "build a long-term presence in Yemen."” What does this mean? The one is US interest, the other is (supposed) Iranian interest. The Iranians are requested simply to follow US interests and not their own. Otherwise, they are bullied and menaced. The whole world should be foced to make a policy following “America first!” And what is the difference to Obama? Obama (and other presidents followed exactly the same policy; Obama’s just was more secret and diplomatic; with Trump it became direct and open.
There were nearly 5000 comments within a few hours, like:
JB: My God this Conservative Administration has created this Monster. I promise with this Buffoon as POTUS, I feel 1000% NOT SAFE. Mark my words, we will be at war with someone before the end of the year. Let us hope it is not what was predicted, and the Idiots do not start WW3.
MF: Let's see; trade war with Mexico, Iran on "notice", threatening war with China... this presidency is not even two weeks old yet.
K: Does the NSA realize how safe Americans felt under President Obama, and how the bully Dictator Donald is making the whole world less safe? Impeachment is coming.
M: We're going to war. No question about it, another fumbling Rep President.
And of course, the standard propaganda is showing up as here: https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-02-03/obama-should-thank-trump-for-putting-iran-on-notice
1.2.2017 – Mcclatchydc (*A P)
Trump administration putting 'Iran on notice'
Trump's national security adviser Michael Flynn describes the recent "provocative" actions by Iran that led the administration to officially put Iran on notice.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/article130216269.html
My comment: That is odd warmongering – when looking at what really happened (look at YPR 260, 261, cp17a). Look above at cp1.
and
1.2.2017 – National Iranian American Council (* A P)
NIAC Statement on Flynn Putting Iran “On Notice”
Trita Parsi of the National Iranian American Council issued the following statement regarding National Security Advisor Michael Flynn’s statement today:
“National Security Advisor Michael Flynn’s statement on Iran today was reckless. While Flynn’s remarks could be construed as simply bluster, they will beget an Iranian response which in turn will beget further threats by the U.S. At some point, this escalatory cycle that started with bluster may end in war.
“Iran’s missile test was also a needless provocation, particularly given the impulsiveness already on display in the Trump administration. However, it is important to note that Iran’s missile test is not a clear-cut violation of the current UN Security Council Resolution on Iran, and Iran’s nuclear pathways have been blocked thanks to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
“Iran’s influence over the Houthi rebels has also been grossly overstated, as repeatedly confirmed by U.S. intelligence officials. To pin on Iran the recent attack by Houthi rebels against a Saudi vessel only signals a desire for escalation.
“The United States should not go to war with Iran to defend Saudi Arabia’s reckless war in Yemen, which has undermined U.S. interests, created a humanitarian crisis, and boosted Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.”
https://www.niacouncil.org/niac-statement-flynn-putting-iran-notice/
30.1.2017 – Alternet (* A P)
Trump and Saudi King Agree to More Military Intervention, Collaboration, Aggression Against Iran
Trump and King Salman planned to create "safe zones" in Syria and Yemen and to address Iran's supposed "destabilizing regional activities."
President Donald Trump and the monarch of the repressive Saudi regime spoke on the phone for more than an hour on Sunday. They agreed to more military intervention, political and economic collaboration, and aggressive action against Iran.
According to a White House statement, "The two leaders reaffirmed the longstanding friendship and strategic partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia."
The official Saudi Press Agency said Trump and Saudi King Salman agreed on everything they discussed. It reported that the leaders stressed the "depth and strength of the strategic relations between the two countries."
The two planned greater military intervention in the Middle East, and the creation of so-called safe zones in Syria and Yemen. The details of how such zones would be created are not clear, but if they were instituted, it would likely take direct U.S. military involvement.
While agreeing on Middle East policy, Trump and King Salman took a hard line against Iran, Saudi Arabia's arch nemesis. The White House said they agreed to address Iran's supposed "destabilizing regional activities." Reuters reported, according to the Saudi source, that, "Trump agreed with Riyadh's suspicion of what it sees as Tehran's growing influence in the Arab world."
Trump's administration is full of anti-Iran hawks.
Saudi Arabia, which speaks of itself as the "home of Islam," has remained silent on Trump's extremist anti-Muslim policy, while massive protests have errupted throughout the U.S. and the world. Iranians are the group most affected by Trump's immigration ban, whereas Saudis are not targeted.
The Saudi Press Agency summarized the discussion, writing, "The views of the two leaders were identical on the files that were discussed during the call, including the fight against terrorism, extremism, their finance, formulating the appropriate mechanisms for that, and confronting those who seek to undermine security and stability in the region and interfere in the internal affairs of other states." – by Ben Norton
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/trump-saudi-king-phone-call-collaboration-iran-syria-yemen
Remark: Earlier reporting in YPR 260, 261.
2.2.2017 – Justice Now (* A P)
Trumps Muslim Ban ist Teil der islamfeindlichen US-Agenda
Bei all der berechtigten Empörung, die Trump für seinen zutiefst rassistischen Erlass entgegenschlägt, wird gerne so getan, als wäre der Muslim Ban ein präzedenzlos grauenhafter Erlass, als wäre der Hass auf den Islam erst mit Donald Trump ins White House eingezogen. Diese Darstellung ist grotesk falsch und ein schändliches Whitewashing der vorherigen US-Präsidenten – insbesondere von Barack Obama. Trump ist nichts weiter als der nächste Präsident, der den jahrzehntelangen Krieg der USA gegen muslimische Länder und deren Zivilisten fortführt. Allein seit 1980 regneten auf mindestens 14 mehrheitlich muslimische Länder US-amerikanische Bomben nieder. Sieben der acht Länder, die Friedensnobelpreisträger Obama bombardiert hat, waren muslimische Länder im Orient. Die abscheulichen Gräueltaten der Bush-Administration und deren Entmenschlichung von Muslimen sind allseits bekannt. Kaum weniger bekannt ist der Umstand, dass Bill Clinton mithilfe von Knebelsanktionen einen erbarmungslosen Krieg gegen die irakische Zivilbevölkerung führte, und so indirekt 576.000 irakische Kleinkinder ermordete.
Glenn Greenwald von The Intercept bezeichnet Trumps Muslim Ban daher treffend als „die Krönung der War on Terror-Mentalität.“ Ohne den 15-jährigen post-9/11 Krieg gegen den Islam, wäre der Muslim Ban heute unmöglich gewesen. Trumps islamfeindliche Politik wurde von Bush und Obama „moralisch und rechtlich“ vorbereitet, die beiden legten „das Fundament zur Normalisierung von Islamophobie,“ urteilt das linksprogressive Magazin The New Arab. Der von Falken in Washingtoner Neocon-Think Tanks herbeigesehnte Kampf der Kulturen ist lange Realität, und jeder US-Präsident der jüngeren Geschichte leistete einen enormen Beitrag zu dessen Implementierung. Trump ist in dieser Hinsicht kein grundsätzlich neues Phänomen, die Grundausrichtung seiner Politik ist vielmehr fest im US-Establishment verankert. Trump ist allein in der Ausführung noch radikaler als seine Vorgänger und poltert wesentlich lauter bei allem, was er tut – von Jakob Reimann
http://justicenow.de/trumps-muslim-ban-als-teil-der-islamfeindlichen-us-agenda/
2.2.2017 – Al Araby (* A P)
Yemeni president urges Trump to lift travel ban
Yemen's President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi on Thursday urged the administration of his US counterpart Donald Trump to lift its travel ban on Yemenis, arguing they are the victims of terrorism.
Hadi, whose government is backed by Washington in its war with the Houthi rebels, made the appeal in a meeting with the US ambassador to Yemen, Matthew Tueller, whose mission has been moved to Riyadh because of the conflict.
The ban, which Trump imposed last Friday on citizens of seven mostly Muslim countries, including Yemen, should be lifted for dual nationals, Yemenis "with business interests or family ties, and for students in the US", said Hadi.
"Yemen is suffering, like other countries, from terrorism and making efforts to confront and eradicate terrorism," said the Yemeni president whose administration has been driven out of Sanaa by the war.
On Monday, the Yemeni government warned that Trump's order banning travellers from the seven countries on the grounds of protecting US citizens from terrorism would only serve to encourage global "extremism".
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2017/2/2/yemeni-president-urges-trump-to-lift-travel-ban
2.2.2017 – Middle East Eye (* A P)
Muslim ban: Outrage from many, silence in Gulf, support from Dubai
Dubai's head of security sparks outrage for backing Muslim ban saying 'underdeveloped peoples' do not deserve to be in America
Donald Trump's executive order banning people from seven Muslim majority countries as well as all refugees from entering the US has sparked worldwide protests - but also silence and support from some unlikely quarters.
Many in the international community have condemned the measures, including numerous European leaders, and the United Nations.
Some leaders took to social media to condemn the US president's policy and extend solidarity to refugees and Muslims, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,
But not all Western leaders have condemned the policy, perhaps most notably British Prime Minister Theresa May, who has twice refused to condemn Trump’s suspension of refugees, stating that “The United States is responsible for the United States’ policy on refugees.”
Many took to Twitter to express their views of May’s complicity.
Middle East silence - and support from Dubai
There has also been an unmissable silence from many Muslim-majority states. Leaders of Saudi Arabia and Egypt have been notable for their lack of comment, while the King of Jordan is on his way to visit the US on Tuesday for talks with the Trump administration.
A top UAE official even went so far as to praise Trump’s actions and the measures put in place by the executive order. Dubai’s head of security, Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, openly backed the ban on his Twitter account, sparking outrage. He described Trump as the first US president to truly work for the good of his country.
Condemnations
There have conversely been some very strong condemnations of Trump’s actions from leaders of some of the countries included in the ban.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif described the ban as “a great gift to extremists” and stated that “collective discrimination aids terrorist recruitment by deepening fault lines exploited by extremist demagogues to swell their ranks”.
However the silence of their leaders did not stop Middle East citizens from speaking out against the ban 8with many tweets, images)
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/trump-muslim-ban-arab-reaction-west-comparison-1863119716
1.2.2017 – Reuters (* A P)
Seeking good ties with Trump, Gulf monarchies quiet over travel ban
The rich Arab monarchies of the Gulf have been conspicuously absent from the chorus of international condemnation of the U.S. ban on travel from seven mainly Muslim countries, hoping for warmer ties with Donald Trump than with his predecessor.
Saudi Arabia and its wealthy neighbours, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain, have traditionally been close U.S. allies, and all were left off the travel ban, which instead included their main regional rivals: Iran, Iraq and Syria.
The travel ban has been sharply criticised even by close American allies in Europe. The Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference have denounced it.
But of the five major oil monarchies, the only one to express even mild disapproval in public was Qatar, whose foreign minister was quoted during a visit to Serbia as saying he hoped Washington would reassess it.
Saudi Arabia's King Salman spoke to Trump by telephone on Sunday but neither side said whether the travel ban was discussed.
United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed said on Wednesday it was a "sovereign decision" for the United States and not directed at any religion.
Some Gulf officials even backed it openly.
The Gulf states, ruled by Sunni Muslim monarchs and protected by the U.S. Fifth Fleet, had troubled relations with President Barack Obama, who they believed was too soft on their chief rival, Shi'ite Iran.
Tarik Yousef, director of the Brookings Doha Centre think tank, said the Gulf countries were still "in a cautious wait and see mode given the uncertainty about the direction of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East under the new administration."
"Isolating Iran and ultimately containing its regional ambitions will trump their reservations over the restriction of Muslim entry into the U.S.," he said.
To the extent that the travel ban increases tension between the United States and the Shi'ite-led governments in Iran, Iraq and Syria, the Gulf rulers could see it as a boon – By Tom Finn
http://in.mobile.reuters.com/article/idINKBN15G585
Comment: Make the Gulf Monarchies Great Again?
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1267097206676640
and here fits this piece from a Saudi media:
1.2.2017 – Arab News (* A P)
Understanding the reality of Trump’s immigration policy
Here is the truth that the anti-Arab and anti-Muslim media does not want to report, and that protesters are ignoring: Trump’s order does not restrict immigration into the US from the vast majority of Muslim nations, so clearly his action is not “anti-Muslim.”
What justifies a suspension of immigration from the seven targeted nations? It is obvious. Six of them — Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen — are failed states that are in societal disarray. The seventh, Iran, is less of a government and more of a terrorist enterprise committed to the destruction of Arab society and Western democracy.
How does any of this relate to America’s immigration? If a Daesh terrorist wants to enter the US to fulfil repeated terrorist proclamations — such as the most recent one in December to drive trucks into American parades and high-profile public events to kill civilians — the easiest way for these terrorists to enter the US is through the weak and ineffective immigration systems in those six Arab/Muslim nations.
What is most appalling, when watching Arab- and Muslim-American organizations join the mainstream news media in accusing Trump of taking racist actions, is that the biggest purveyors of racist, anti-Arab and anti-Muslim hatred in America is the mainstream news media. So why would anyone in the Arab or Muslim worlds listen to the mainstream US news media say they care about Arab or Muslim rights?
Worse is why American Arabs and Muslims would join in this bonfire of truth and denounce the immigration suspensions, which are clearly intended to protect all Americans regardless of their faith.
The media says the suspension is racist because it singles out certain peoples such as Syrians, Iranians and Libyans. That is just not true.
Trump has explained that his goal is not to ban Muslims, but to ensure that anyone entering the country is not intent on committing terrorism. Basically, he wants to separate the “good” from the “bad.”
The real issue is about US politics. Most ethnic minorities such as Hispanics tend to be Democrats, not Republicans. That is why Democrats have been the loudest in denouncing Trump’s policies. Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by winning the majority of the votes in a dozen states that traditionally have voted Democrat, not Republican.
Trump is not perfect. His rhetoric sometimes feeds public fears, but those fears are being played by the mainstream US news media, the same media that fuels racism against Muslims and Arabs. The fact that Arab and Muslim Americans do not see this concerns me, and should concern everyone – by Ray Hanania
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1047886
My comment: That in parts could be labeled as propaganda. What trhe author tells about the hypocrisy of US mainstream media, certainly is true. The last paragraph is quite interesting, containing a new idea.
2.2.2017 – Epoch Times (A H P)
US-Richter untersagt Regierung Verbot der Einreise für 28 Jemeniten – „Das sind Menschen, die vor Krieg geflohen sind“
Ein Bundesrichter in Kalifornien urteilte, dass die US-Regierung mehreren Jemeniten, die derzeit im ostafrikanischen Dschibuti festsitzen, nicht länger den Flug nach Los Angeles verwehren darf.
1.2.2017 – ABC 30 (A H P)
California District Court rules for stranded Valley family in Yemen
Congressman Jim Costa brought the plight of Eman Ali to the floor of congress.
"Mr Speaker, I rise today to call attention to a 12-year-old girl, Eman Ali, who is stuck in Djibouti. Eman and her father, Ahmad Ali, who is an American citizen, are in Djibouti because of President Trump's flawed executive order to ban travel to the United States."
A federal judge in Los Angeles has issued a temporary restraining order to lift the ban, but Congressman Costa isn't sure it will work.
"We are not certain that the folks at customs and the airport in Djibouti will recognize the judges ruling."
Costa is working with Homeland Security and the State Department to resolve the problem – By Gene Haagenson
31.1.2017 – Los Angeles Times (* A P)
Trump administration signals that some bans on U.S. entry could be extended indefinitely
The Trump administration signaled Tuesday that some of the temporary bans on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries are likely to be extended indefinitely and elevated a deportations official to run the nation’s top immigration enforcement agency as it pushed further to dramatically restrict U.S. immigration policy.
Top immigration officials, led by newly sworn-in Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly, moved to allay the havoc that marked the rollout of the bans over the weekend. They visited Capitol Hill to reach out to Republican lawmakers upset over being excluded while the order was being developed and separately briefed reporters on adjustments to the program.
Kelly pressed forward with Trump’s plans to transform U.S. border policy, saying for the first time that some of the restrictions that caused confusion and sparked protests over the weekend could be extended well into the future.
Among the countries on the banned list — Iraq, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen — many “are in various states of collapse,” Kelly said, and have poor record-keeping or unreliable police forces that undermine U.S. border officials’ efforts to determine travelers’ identities and criminal histories.
"Some of those countries that are currently on the list may not be taken off the list anytime soon," while federal officials review screening procedures for visa applicants from those countries, he said – by Brian Bennett
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-immigration-20170131-story.html
2.2.2017 – W US 9 (A H P)
Immigrants from Yemen have permanent visas canceled at Dulles Airport
The sons of an American citizen had immigrant visas in hand ready to join their father in Flint Michigan where he runs several gas stations.
But when they arrived at Dulles International Airport on Saturday morning, because they are from Yemen, the young men were handcuffed and put back on a plane.
2.2.2017 – Raw Story (A H P)
‘Like a nightmare’: 4-month-old girl misses open heart surgery because of Trump’s travel ban
The family of a 4-month-old Iranian girl said that she missed an appointment for open heart surgery due to President Donald Trump’s executive order banning travelers from seven majority-Muslim countries.
Sam Taghizadeh told KPTV that his niece, Fatemah, was scheduled to fly in for an appointment next week at Oregon Health & Science University but the trip was cancelled (photo)
My comment: America gets secure again when this terrorist cannot enter (look at photo).
1.2.2017 – Go fund me (A H P)
Frida's Immigration Attorney Fees
My cousin, Frida (pictured), has been living in the US for years now. She attended college in San Antonio and has resided there with her family and daughter, Camila (also pictured).
In the recent days, Frida took a weekend trip to Mexico for a wedding, expecting to return home the following Monday. Upon her arrival in the United States (after #MuslimBan was put in place), she was refused entry even though she had a legitimate visa and was not coming from any "banned" countries. She was told her visa would be revoked for 5 years and was forced to return to Mexico.
Frida's whole life and everything she owns is here in Texas. Most importantly, her daughter is here and away from her mother.
https://www.gofundme.com/fridas-immigration-attorney-fees?rcid=4215b4de74ce4e26a475c21cf0e7ddd2
30.1.2017 – Oman Times (A H P)
'Dumb' Executive Order barred Saleh's cousin from entering USA
Youtube star Adam Saleh’s Yemeni cousin was caught up in the global travel chaos sparked by the US executive order banning citizens of seven countries from entering the USA.
29.1.2017 – AJC (A H P)
Clark Atlanta student stuck in Saudi Arabia after immigration order
A Clark Atlanta University student was detained at the airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday following President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration, signed late Friday.
Reham Noaman, 31, is a third-year doctoral student from Yemen studying education leadership at the historically black university.
She and her sister, a sophomore at Georgia State University, were attempting to return to Atlanta from their home in Saudi Arabia – by Janel Davis
2.2.2017 – Reuters (A P)
Yemeni-Americans shut hundreds of shops in NY City to protest travel ban
Hundreds of New York City bodegas, grocery stores and restaurants owned by Yemeni Americans closed for hours on Thursday in protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration policies, organizers said.
Loyal patrons who rely on the stores for staples of daily life had to look elsewhere for lunch after more than 1,000 locations shut their doors from noon to 8 p.m. in a move coordinated by groups including the Muslim Community Network and the Yemeni American Community.
Bodega, a Spanish word meaning wine shop, is New York City slang for small stores selling everything from deli foods to newspapers and cat litter.
"We want to send the message that we're here," said Sulaiman Alaodyi, a 24-year-old cashier at the Best and Tasty deli in the borough of the Bronx, a bodega that is normally open around the clock. This was the first time it closed its doors since it started business nine months ago.
The protests followed the decision by Trump's administration to put a four-month hold on letting refugees into the United States and to temporarily bar travelers from Yemen, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Somalia – By Gina Cherelus
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-immigration-bodegas-idUSKBN15H2TA and images: https://twitter.com/WidadIndie/status/827254188430196736 and films: https://www.facebook.com/cnn/videos/10156019831821509/ and https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1268037633249264
1.2.2017 – Vice (A P)
NYC Bodega Owners Are Going on Strike to Protest Trump's Immigration Ban
Nearly 1,000 Yemeni American grocery owners have pledged to close their doors from 12 PM to 8 PM on Thursday.
After Trump signed the controversial executive order barring refugees and people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US, Yemeni Americans who run the New York City bodega scene decided to plan a strike. The protest was then announced on Facebook and asked bodega and grocery store owners across the five boroughs to shut down Thursday, from 12 PM to 8 PM, as a public show of solidarity for those affected by the ban.
"Many of these bodega owners have a story to tell about a loved one being detained, or being sent back, or not being able to enter on a green card or visa," one of the event organizers, Dr. Debbie Almontaser, told SPIN. "The message we believe this would send is really helping New Yorkers as well as Americans across the country realize that the Yemeni community is a vibrant part of the American fabric."
Along with the eight-hour strike, the organizers will hold a public protest outside of Brooklyn's Borough Hall at 5:15 PM, where people are encouraged to come and share stories about how their friends and family members have been affected by the immigration ban – by Lauren Messman
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/nyc-bodega-owners-are-going-on-strike-to-protest-trumps-immigration-ban and http://www.spin.com/2017/02/1000-yemeni-businesses-in-nyc-to-shut-down-tomorrow-over-trumps-muslim-ban/
My comment: Why they did not do that before? The US-Saudi war in Yemen lasts 22 months.
31.1.2017 – USA Today (* A P)
Steve Bannon’s own words show sharp break on security issues
Steve Bannon, who has ascended in just months from relative obscurity to become one of President Trump’s most influential advisors, has said that Islam is “the most radical” religion in the world and the U.S. is engaged in a civilizational struggle potentially leading to “a major shooting war in the Middle East again.”
Trump installed Bannon this week as a member of his National Security Council, taking the unusual step of installing a political adviser on the powerful White House body responsible for shaping security and foreign policy.
Far more significant may be the views he brings to that table, which represent a sharp break from how previous administrations approached security issues, particularly around Islamic terrorism.
In dozens of hours of audio recordings reviewed by USA TODAY of his Breitbart News Daily radio show in 2015 and 2016, Bannon told his listeners that the United States and the Western world are engaged in a “global existential war,” and he entertained claims that a “fifth column” of Islamist sympathizers had infiltrated the U.S. government and news media. Those recordings, preserved online, offer an often unfiltered window into the thinking of Trump’s interview-averse senior adviser.
The views mark a stark shift from foreign policy doctrine under the previous two administrations – by Steve Reilly and Brad Heath
My comment: Warmongering madness came to rule, also look at Flynt (cp 1). But certainly, Clinton would not have been better.
1.2.2017 – Konstantin Velichkov (A P)
That's a bit rich coming from the woman who forcefully dismantled Yugoslavia and starved 500K Iraqi children!
https://twitter.com/Konstant_V/status/826607096837861377 referring to Madelaine Albright: https://twitter.com/madeleine/status/826424008602222593
28.1.2017 – Seth Frantzman (A P)
OBAMA’S ADMINISTRATION MADE THE “MUSLIM BAN” POSSIBLE AND THE MEDIA WON’T TELL YOU – By SETH J. FRANTZMAN
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
1.2.2017 – The Independent (* A P)
British Quaker 'prepared for jail' after allegedly trying to disarm Saudi Arabia-bound fighter jet
Sam Walton wants to see UK, Saudi Arabia and private weapons manufacturer BAE standing trial for war crimes
A Quaker activist who was “just metres” from allegedly disarming Saudi Arabia-bound fighter planes with a hammer says he is prepared to spend up to 10 years in prison.
Sam Walton and Methodist reverend Daniel Woodhouse were arrested on Sunday morning after allegedly breaking into the BAE Systems weapons base in Lancashire.
It was the pair’s “last option” in their campaign for the Government to scrap arms sales to Saudi Arabia because of the Gulf state’s bloody involvement in the Yemen civil war.
It comes before a judicial review next week where judges will decide whether to ban Britain’s arms export licences for the oil-rich kingdom.
“We did not want to be arrested, absolutely not, but did we expect to be and were we prepared to be? Absolutely,” said Mr Walton, speaking to The Independent.
“We went in thinking that was a likely outcome, and that we could be sentenced from six months to 10 years if found guilty.
“We have tried every other means of protest that is less chaotic and less damaging and I really don’t want to go to prison but I’m absolutely prepared to in order to save the lives of innocent people.” – by Peter Walker
My comment: Up to 10 years? That shows what an important public value arms exports for killing people in another country really are in Britain (not Britain alone), while killing scores will bring into jail nobody.
1.2.2017 – Edmund Fitton-Brown / Sidney (A P)
Let us be clear that this war was caused by a violent seizure of power by Ali Abdallah Saleh and the Houthis.
https://twitter.com/EFittonBrown/status/826479327772569600
And it had nothing to do with Hadi overextending his tenuous mandate, and then trying to take back the presidency after resigning?
https://twitter.com/LondonBrexiteer/status/826911899493265408
My comment: Edmund Fitton-Brown, British ambassador to Yemen, one of the most heaviest backers of “president” Hadi and the Saudi intervention, showing his limited world view.
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
1.2.2017 – Informationsstelle Militarisierung (* B P)
Deutsche Rüstungsexporte: Brandbeschleuniger für Konfliktgebiete
Bei den deutschen Rüstungsexporten sind offensichtlich alle Dämme gebrochen. Am 30. November 2016 wurde bekannt, dass der Bundessicherheitsrat in seiner letzten Sitzung Rüstungsexporte in Krisengebiete in Milliardenhöhe genehmigt hatte. Allein nach Algerien wurde ein umfangreiches Arsenal genehmigt: eine weitere Fregatte, 4 Bordhubschrauber, 234 Waffenstationen für schon zuvor gelieferte Fuchspanzer sowie 474 Militär-LKW. Dazu kommen hunderte von Maschinengewehren an Indonesien, mit im Paket: eine halbe Million Patronen. Es wurde Lieferungen an diverse Golfstaaten genehmigt, dazu gehören 41.644 „Artilleriemultifunktionszünder“, die dann in Frankreich zum fertigen „Produkt“ zusammengebaut und von dort exportiert werden. Diese Zusammenarbeit mehrerer europäischer Staaten bei der Rüstungsproduktion und beim Export senkt offensichtlich in der Praxis die Hürden in der Genehmigungspraxis deutlich.
Die Rüstungsunternehmen, deren Börsenkurse bereits nach der Wahl von Donald Trump nach oben schnellten, können sich auf kräftige Gewinne freuen. Zu den jüngsten Profiteuren gehören unter anderem ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, Heckler&Koch und Rheinmetall Defence.
Diese Entscheidung ist Teil einer schon länger anhaltenden Entwicklung in Richtung steigender Waffenproduktion und steigender Exporte. Die Anfang des Jahres bekannt gegebenen Werte für das Jahr 2016 ergaben den zweithöchsten Stand an Einzelgenehmigungen aller Zeiten: 6,88 Mrd. Euro. Auch bei den Genehmigungen für Kleinwaffenexporte gibt es keinen Lichtblick: Sie stiegen von 32 Millionen Euro 2015 auf 47 Millionen 2016 deutlich an – von: Claudia Haydt und Jürgen Wagner
http://www.imi-online.de/2017/02/01/deutsche-ruestungsexporte/
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
Iran: cp 1, 7a, 9
3.2.2017 – Albawaba (* A P)
Kuwait issues its own Trump-esque visa ban for five Muslim-majority countries
Citizens from five Muslim-majority countries will no longer be able to obtain Kuwaiti visas, after reports the Gulf state issued tight entry restrictions that mirrored US President Donald Trump's Muslim ban.
Syrians, Iraqis, Iranians, Pakistanis and Afghans will not be able to obtain visit, tourism or trade Kuwaiti visas with the news coming one day after the US slapped its own restrictions on seven Muslim-majority countries.
Passport holders from the countries will no lot be allowed to enter the Gulf state while the blanket ban is in place and have been told not to apply to visas.
Kuwaiti sources told local media that the restrictions were in place due to the "instability" in the five countries and that the ban would be lifted once the security situation improves.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have all witnessed violence from extremist groups, while Syria and Iraq are embroiled in internal conflicts.
Kuwait is concerned about the threat of extremist groups such as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group
My comment: If the last sentence cited here really would be true, they must keep out Saudis first.
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
Siehe / Look at cp11
cp13b Flüchtlinge / Refugees
2.2.2017 – International Organization for Migration (* A H)
IOM, First UN Agency to Enter Lahj Governorate since Outbreak of Yemen Conflict
This week, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) coordinated the first United Nations mission to the Lahj Governorate in Yemen since the outbreak of the conflict in March 2015.
Lahj is located in south-western Yemen and has experienced intense fighting. The Governorate has a population of around 960,000 of which nearly 10 per cent has been displaced by the conflict. The presence of Al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula (AQAP) and ISIL has led to a large majority of public facilities, such as schools and hospitals, being destroyed. IOM visit highlighted the severe level of destruction in the city, especially to infrastructure.
IOM is set to increase its humanitarian and development support to the Lahj Governorate population – internally displaced persons, migrants and host communities – in order to respond to their immediate humanitarian needs, as well as start their rehabilitation and the reconstruction of infrastructure through development and job-generating activities.
In 2016, IOM rehabilitated 21 water points serving 125,963 beneficiaries in nine different districts in the Governorate. More than 15,000 persons benefited from shelter, hygiene and non-food item (NFIs) kit in four districts (Al Madaribah Wa Al Arah, Al Qabbaytah, Tuban and Tur Al Bahah), where the largest concentration of displaced population in the Governorate were registered. IOM also intensified its actions, during 2016, to ensure higher protection and direct assistance to more than 4,300 newly arrived migrants from the Horn of Africa. To support victims of trafficking and smuggling, IOM provided primary health-care assistance throughout the year to 2,415 migrants, core relief items to 3,342 persons and food to another 1,377.
Due to the return of close to 70,000 people to their places of origin within the Governorate, IOM intends to launch a new approach comprising programmes of stabilization and reconstruction in ‘the Pockets of Stability’.
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/iom-first-un-agency-enter-lahj-governorate-outbreak-yemen-conflict
2.2.2017 – UN High Commissioner for Refugees (A H)
Yemen Situation - 2016 Funding Update as of 27 January 2017
172.2 required for 2016
79.2 M contributions received, representing 46% of requirements
93.0 M funding gap for the Yemen situation
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-situation-2016-funding-update-27-january-2017 = http://reporting.unhcr.org/node/8487 and in full: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Yemen%20Situation%20Funding%20Update%2027%20January%202017.pdf
My comment: That is ashaming. These are the figures for 2016, not to mention 2017 now. Saudi aerial war against Yemen costs 200 million a day, every day since 22 months now.
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
Siehe / Look at cp 1, 1a, 6
3.2.2016 – AFP (** A T)
Al-Qaeda takes three Yemen towns days after US raid
Al-Qaeda in Yemen has taken over three southern towns just days after a deadly US special operations raid targeting its commanders, a security official and tribal sources said Friday.
The jihadist advance into the Abyan province towns of Loder, Shaqra and Ahwar came as the White House defended Sunday's raid on an Al-Qaeda compound as a "success", even though multiple civilians and a Navy SEAL were killed.
Abyan has long been an Al-Qaeda stronghold and it was only through a major offensive backed by a Saudi-led coalition last summer that the government was able to drive its fighters out of the province's main towns.
The jihadists' entry into Loder and Shaqra on Thursday evening was helped by a pullout by government forces angry over the late payment of their wages, a security official told AFP.
"Our forces are also angry that they have not been provided with the weapons and other equipment to confront the jihadists, who have been stepping up their armed attacks," the official said.
Al-Qaeda fighters set up roadblocks around the towns and blew up two security service buildings.
Saudi-led aircraft carried out two strikes on jihadist positions in Loder overnight, the official added.
Tribal sources said there were fears that the jihadists would now move on the provincial capital Zinjibar.
http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/world/al-qaeda-takes-three-yemen-towns-days-after-us-raid/article/485100 = http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/yemens-al-qaeda-takes-3-new-towns-days-after-controversial-us-raid-122218128
Remark: Aqap already tried to take Loder in 2012: http://www.alternet.org/rss/breaking_news/880947/'222_dead'_in_qaeda_battle_for_yemen's_loder
2.2.2017 – Reuters (* A T)
Yemeni officials say warships, likely American, shell al Qaeda positions
Warships shelled suspected al Qaeda strongholds in a mountainous region of southern Yemen on Thursday, in what two Yemeni government officials said they believed was a U.S. operation.
U.S. officials could not be immediately reached for confirmation. The strikes come less than a week after a covert U.S. Navy SEAL raid, also in Yemen's south, the first ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump as commander in chief.
The naval attacks appear to be part of an intensifying campaign against one of the most active branches of the Islamist militant network.
"Ships fired several missiles towards the al-Maraqisha mountains, where al Qaeda elements are based. The ships are widely believed to be Americans," said one official, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.
"We have received no information on the outcome of the shelling."
The al-Maraqisha mountains are a key al Qaeda stronghold in southern Yemen. Militants took refuge there last year after Yemeni government forces, backed by Arab coalition aircraft, drove them from the cities of Zinjibar and Jaar.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-shelling-idUSKBN15H26I
2.2.2017 – AP (* A T)
Yemen officials say US warships fired on al-Qaida; US denies
Yemeni security officials said on Thursday that warships, which they believe to be American, have been firing cannons and rockets at al-Qaida militants in the country's southern coastal areas.
But the United States promptly denied the allegations, with Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, saying U.S. warships were not involved.
According to the Yemeni officials, the naval strikes have been underway for five days and targeted mountainous areas north of the coastal town of Shakra where militants have been massing fighters.
U.S. officials said they were unaware of any firing in the southern Yemeni coastal region in the last several days – by Ahmed Al-Haj
1.2.2017 – CNN (* A T)
Film: Terror group uses Trump in recruitment video
An al Qaeda affiliate has apparently released a new recruitment video featuring a clip of Donald Trump.
cp15 Propaganda
3.2.2017 – NCRI (A P)
Saudi Arabia FM Calls for Countering Iran Regime Interference in Middle East Countries
In a meeting with the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday in New York, the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel Ahmed Al-Jubeir urged the international community to counter the Iranian regime’s meddling in the internal affairs of countries in the Middle East particularly in Yemen.
“Iran is violating United Nations’ Security Council Resolutions by illegally sending arms to al-Houthis in Yemen,” Mr. Al-Jubeir told Secretary General Antonio Guterres, according to Arabic language news outlets.
Mr Al-Jubeir meeting with the UN Secretary General followed the Saudi Foregin Minister’s meeting with a number of U.S. officials in the new US administration in which mutual cooperation between the Washington and Riyadh on facing challenges in the Middle East were discussed.
Arabic countries in the Middle East have already called on the international community and the United Nations to counter the Iranian regime’s interference in the internal affairs of the countries in the region particularly in Yemen.
2.2.2016 – Asharq Al-Awsat (A P)
Top Yemeni Presidential Advisor: Coup Militias Disregard Peace, Reflect Iranian Decision-making
Yemeni Senior Presidential Advisor Yassin Makawi loudly criticized proposals put forth on resolving the national crisis and putting an end to a coup ripping through the country. Makawi says that most outlines incite the continuation of violence, pleading that the international community closely examines proposals before approval.
I believe the international community- especially the United Nations envoy- must review proposals before giving out the green light to one of them, said Makawi.
U.N. envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh ought to go over previous tactics he paced on, particularly on the solution roadmap presented by former United States Secretary John Kerry.
Attending negotiations on behalf of the constitutional government of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, Makawi pointed out that the insurgency does not necessarily harbor intentions for achieving peace.
Largely composed of Iran-aligned Houthi rebels and loyalists backing ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh, the coup has partial to no self-determination, driven instead by Iran, Makawi told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Makawi believes that the coup militias’ persistent escalation of tension and refusal to positively interact with initiatives seeking to enforce U.N. Security Council resolutions (Resolution 2216) makes the future of a political settlement ambiguous and hard to materialize.
Makawi adds that evidence on the coup’s hostile nature is clear, urging the international community to appeal to drafts and documents previously presented by the Hadi administration which are detailed on the coup’s recent activities.
It goes without saying that Houthi militias are incapacitated when it comes to upholding peace, Makawi said. The group is bound by Iran-made decisions that are greatly fixed on destruction as a mean to attain a powergrab.
“The true danger threatening international peace is Iran—the same country that is tinkering around the safety of regional waters and meddling with the affairs of neighboring countries,” explained Makawi.
My comment: The old propaganda tales again and again – in this case with the clear goal to influence the UN decision makers.
2.2.2017 – Al Sahwa (A P)
GCC Secretary-General: The attack on Saudi frigate endangers international navigation
Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council Abdul-Latif al-Zayani on Monday affirmed that the GCC states are very concerned as the Houthis attacked a Saudi frigate.
Al-Zayani depicted the attack as a serious development which endangers the international navigation and interests of the Red Sea countries.
He expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia, emphasizing that the GCC states will support all measures taken by Saudi Arabia to ban smuggling of weapons to Yemen.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-3581
My comment: That simply is putting things upside down. International navigation had been endangered by naval war in all its aspects – Saudi warships pounded the Yemeni coast for weeks, Saudi fighter jets had bombed many fishing and refugee boats. Stop telling bullshit please.
2.2.2017 – Al Sahwa (A P)
Spokesman of army: UN reports ignore crimes of putschists
Spokesman of the Yemeni Army Brig. Gen. Abdu Mujali has said that the military operations of the Arab Coalition are precise, pointing out that UN reports take some information from Houthi-run organizations.
Mujali told the Saudi newspaper of Okaz that all crimes committed against Yemenis are carried out by the putschists, pointing out that they are then attributed by Houthi-run organizations to the Arab Coalition.
He stressed that militias of the Houthis and Saleh commit scores of crimes on a daily basis, pointing out that their crimes including direct murder, bombing, enforced deportation and abductions across a number of governorates.
He cited that hundreds of civilians were taken for treatment to Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkey and Jordon for treatment, calling human rights organizations to visit these wounded persons who were sniped or shot by the Houthis.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-3583
My comment: Spokesman of “president” Hadi army. This is odd propaganda, the best is: “all crimes committed against Yemenis are carried out by the putschists” [putschists meaning Houthis and Saleh party]. And the Saudi coalition actually blocks all those from the North who search medical treatment outside Yemen.
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
2.2.2017 – Legal Center (* A K PH)
1/2/2017
- Place of Violation: Saada, Taiz, Al-Hodieda, Marib, Hajja, Al-Jawf, Sana’a and Lahjj
Violator: Saudi - led Coalition "War on Yemen"
Casualties and damages (full list) (18 killed)
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=767586300058404&id=551288185021551 and http://lcrdye.org/lcrd/Eng/PageDetails?id=627 (http://lcrdye.org/userfiles/files/%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AC%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%B2%D9%8A/Reports%20center/Daily%20reports/2017/Feb/1%20Feb,%202017.pdf)
3.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi aggression warplanes wage 4 strikes on Mareb
Saudi aggression fighter jets on Friday launched four strikes on several areas in Serwah district of Mareb province, a local official told Saba.
The fighter jets hit Al-Hajlan, al-Mahjaz and al-Makhdarah areas four times in the same district.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455056.htm
2.2.2017 – Almasirah TV (A K PH)
Film: Saudi air raid destroyed Irfan bridge, Muzie directorate, Taiz prov.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-_5Qx8PoBU
2.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi aggression wages 14 air strikes on Red Sea coastal areas
US-backed Saudi aggression warplanes launched 14 strikes overnight on several Red Sea coastal areas, officials told Saba on Thursday.
Nine of the 14 strikes targeted al-Araj area in Salif district.
Four strikes hit Kanawis area and one more strike struck al-Khokha port area, leaving large damages to civil infrastructure.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news454965.htm and http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=62966&lang=en
2.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi aggression fighter jets launch 5 strikes on Mareb
Saudi aggression fighter jets waged five strikes on Harib al-Qaramish area and Serwah districts of Mareb province, an official told Saba on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Saudi-paid mercenaries' artillery shelled al-Hazam, al-Alabal, al-Hajairah,Bani Rabai and Bani Ahmed villages in the same district, wounding one citizen and leaving damage in citizens' homes and farms, the official added.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455012.htm and http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=62952&lang=en
2.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi-destroyed road linking capital to Red Sea city Hodeidah repaired
The road linking the capital Sana'a and Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, that was hit three times by Saudi aggression warplanes, was repaired by the local council and residents, director of Bani Matar district told Saba on Thursday.
"The road in Buan area is now ready for all kind of cars, thanking the efforts of the area's residents who helped the local council to repair it" director Abdul Latif al-Lamadhi said.
The road was targeted three times over the past 24 hours.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news454954.htm and http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=62969&lang=en
2.2.2016 – Al-Ahd (A K PH)
Little girl, father and grandfather wounded by clusterbombs, Munabah, Saada prov. (photo)
https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1634773573485297
1.2.2017 – AlMasirah TV (A K PH)
Film: Saudi air raid at house, farm. Mosque, Saqin, Saada province
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W051qkioxHk
2.2.2017 – Living in Yemen on the edge (* A K PH)
As of today, Hodeida has been declared 'military zone', hence, this endorses further indiscriminate air raids which will destroy what is left both of the port and the city (photo from Hodeida?)
2.2.2017 – Fatik Al-Rodaini (A K)
A person has been killed while 2 others wounded in an attack by Saudi jets in al-Husiniah area of Hodediah in Western #Yemen
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/827152750718881793
2.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi aggression warplanes hit Miami tourist resort in Hodidah
S-backed Saudi aggression warplanes launched five airstrikes on Miami tourist resort in the Red Sea port city of Hodidah, an official told Saba on Thursday.
The warplanes hit the resort owned by private Al-Jadry for General Trading and Investment in AL-Kateeb area.
The resort consists of 120 rooms and employ 300 workers.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news454958.htm and http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=62947&lang=en
Remark: The resort already had been largely destroyed before.
2.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi aggression wages 14 air strikes on Red Sea coastal areas
US-backed Saudi aggression warplanes launched 14 strikes overnight on several Red Sea coastal areas, officials told Saba on Thursday.
Nine of the 14 strikes targeted al-Araj area in Salif district.
Four strikes hit Kanawis area and one more strike struck al-Khokha port area, leaving large damages to civil infrastructure.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news454965.htm
and
1.2.2016 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)
Coalition’s fighter jets launch over 20 airstrikes on Houthi sites
According to the source, the fighter jets launched more than 10 air raids on al Mocha city, and about 11 air raids on Khalid Ibn al Waleed military camp in Mawzie district.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/88535
and that is what they actually hit:
2.2.2017 – Ahmad Alghobary (A K)
#Saudi air strike targeted Alsaeed school in Al-Mokha #Taiz #Yemen Again,it's like hundreds of times it did in the past 2 years
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/827166050101796864
1.2.2017 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)
Sana'a: A dozen airstrikes hit a camp used by Houthis to launch ballistic missiles
Eyewitnesses and a source said that fighter jets from the Saudi-led Arab Coalition launched on Wednesday more than 12 airstrikes on a military camp controlled by pro-Houthi/Saleh forces in Hamadan district, north of the capital, Sana'a.
One of the eyewitnesses told Almasdaronline that the airstrikes targeted Anjar, a military site overlooking Wadi Dhahr in Hamdan district after the Houthis had brought weapons from the 1st Mountainous Infantry Brigade and the nearby 140th Air Defense Brigade.
A military source said that heavy weapons were also transferred earlier from the Presidential Palace in Sana’a to Anjar military camp in Hamdan district.
The source added that the fighter jets launched the airstrikes within minutes of the arrival of a small truck, carrying a number of people, including people likely not Yemenis
http://almasdaronline.com/article/88533
cp17a Kriegsereignisse: Mokha / Theater of War: Mokha
2.2.2017 – European Commission's Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (* A K)
Yemen - Conflict (DG ECHO, UN, Media) (ECHO Daily Flash of 2 February 2017)
The Yemeni government forces, with airstrike support from the Saudi-led coalition, continued their push north along the Red Sea coast and have reached the port of Al Mokha. Continued airstrikes, shelling and sniper activity have put a severe burden on the civilian population. According to a statement issued by the UN humanitarian coordinator Jamie Mc Goldrick on 31 January, up to 30 000 people are trapped and in need of protection and assistance. Mr. McGoldrick called for a halt to the fighting to allow the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Reports of a significant number of civilian casualties are circulating in the media, but cannot be confirmed through independent sources at the moment.
Continued coalition strikes are also reported on Hodeidah port and nearby coastal areas. Hodeidah is one of the most populated governorates in Yemen (3.2 m people) and a major entry point for humanitarian assistance and commercial goods. Coalition airstrikes have also targeted key roads and bridges linking Al Mokha district with Hodeida province as well as key road infrastructure linking Hodeida port to Sana’a city, further limiting supply routes and the transport particularly for food and other essential items.
http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-conflict-dg-echo-un-media-echo-daily-flash-2-february-2017
Remark: A short survey from this theater of war.
2.2.2017 – Living in Yemen (A K PH)
#Yemen-i sources: The leadership of the coalition lost complete control of their mercenaries forces in the Bab Al - Mandab front
https://twitter.com/Living_Yemen/status/827266118150545409
2.2.2017 – Asharq Al-Awsat (* A K PS)
Yemeni Army Accuses Houthis of Plotting to Blow up Fuel Tanks in Mokha
Deputy Chief of General Staff of Yemeni Armed Forces General Ahmed Saif confirmed that Houthi militias and their ally Ali Abdullah Saleh are plotting to blow up and destroy the infrastructure in Mokha city, specifically its port, by targeting the city’s fuel tanks and its main power plant.
Gen. Saif told Asharq Al-Awsat that the subversive acts that Houthi militias are plotting aim at implicating Arab coalition forces led by Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni army that has been besieging the city for several days now.
He pointed out that the Yemeni army has given a chance to the insurgents to surrender before soldiers break into the city and preserve the government’s resources.
“Houthis refused to surrender and have been barricading themselves by these fuel and gas tanks and the power plant to blow them up the moment the army decides to advance, showing the whole world that the military is carrying out destructive and sabotaging acts during the military confrontations.”
“The army is keen on the country’s resources, and throughout all the military confrontations with rebels it did not carry out any destructive act despite all the provocations by the Houthis and their allies in areas under their control,” Saif said.
He added that the army is giving a chance to those hiding in these sites to surrender before any military attack.
Moreover, the Yemeni General said that Houthi rebels prevented civilians in Mokha city from fleeing and used them as human shields, in violation of international rules that prohibit obstructing civilians from leaving areas witnessing military confrontations.
My comment: “Yemeni army” = Saudi-backed “president” Hadi army. Well, the worst objections against the Houthis. Let’s see what will happen. Anyway, why they actually should surrender? And: This article clearly shows that the claim of the pro-Saudi side that they had “liberated” the city is wrong.
2.2.2017 – Almasdar Online (* A K PS)
Taiz: Clashes continue in Mocha, coalition’s fighter jets launch over 20 airstrikes on Houthi sites
Clashes in the Red Sea coastal city of al Mocha, in western Yemen, continued to take place on Wednesday after pro-Houthi/Saleh forces launched an attack on pro-government forces in the southern, northern, and eastern areas of the city.
A military source told Almasdaronline that the both sides were using machine and anti-air guns and missiles, as the coalition’s fighter jets launched several airstrikes on Houthi positions.
According to the source, the fighter jets launched more than 10 air raids on al Mocha city, and about 11 air raids on Khalid Ibn al Waleed military camp in Mawzie district.
Meanwhile, the Government forces called on the local residents in al Mocha to save their lives and leave homes from the consequences of the battles across the eastern and northern ports.
In a related development, the air defense forces have intercepted five rockets fired by Houthis on government forces sites in al Mocha and Dhubab district.
The source also said that the Air Defense forces intercepted on Tuesday night two Katyusha rockets fired by the militants positioning in Yakhtil area on the government forces positions at the air defense camp, and another short-range missile over al Khadra in the southern part of the district.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/88535
cp17b Kriegsereignisse: Rotes Meer / Theater of War: Read Sea
3.2.2017 – Press TV Iran (* A K P)
In response to the latest accusation, the Yemeni Foreign Ministry issued a statement condemning Washington’s efforts to link Yemen’s military actions to Iran. The statement said that the destruction of the Saudi warship had enraged the Saudi-led forces, prompting them to make baseless allegations against Iran.
The Yemeni forces attacked the warship in Yemen’s territorial waters as an act of self-defense in response to the Saudi war on Yemen and Riyadh’s dispatching of terrorists and mercenaries to the country, the statement read.
The ministry stressed that the Saudi war in Yemen will fail, and that security and stability will be restored to the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait once Saudi Arabia ends the aggression, lifts the blockade on Yemen, and starts looking for a political solution that maintains the dignity of the Yemeni people.
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/02/03/508942/Yemen-Saudi-mine-blast-Jizan-US-Iran-warship
31.1.2017 – The Washington Institute (A K P)
The Saudi-Houthi War at Sea
Moreover, Iran's reported backing of the Houthi rebels necessarily raises comparisons between the Bab al-Mandab situation and the even more significant chokepoint in the Persian Gulf's Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant portion of the world's oil supplies flow. Small, fast boats deployed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps regularly harass U.S. Navy ships and others transiting that narrow waterway, using tactics similar to those seen in the Saudi frigate attack.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR U.S. POLICY
Warships operating in the Bab al-Mandab will be at risk until Yemen's 1,100-mile coastline is secure. Accordingly, the U.S. military should increase its transfer of tactics, techniques, and procedures to Saudi Arabia and the UAE so that they can better defend themselves against antishipping missiles and hostile small boats. Such efforts would quickly help Saudi-led naval forces operating against the Houthis to protect their vessels while deterring future aggression through denial of its effects. Additionally, U.S. forensics experts should be sent to discover the origin of weaponry used against the frigate, thus providing the coalition with further information on thwarting future attacks. More broadly, Washington may want to treat the incident as an opportunity to press Riyadh on seeking a diplomatic resolution to the conflict rather than persisting with what appears to many as an unwinnable war – by Simon Henderson and Cmdr. Jeremy Vaughan, USN
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/the-saudi-houthi-war-at-sea
My comment: No, the events in the Red sea are not linked to those in the Persian Gulf. By what? – The “recommendations” to the US are insane, as it is a direct military intervention and direct military support to the Saudis. – The pretense of all this is to make the coastline “secure”. Well, it was until Saudi warships started pounding it!!
Comment by Hussam Al-Sanabani: It was not in defending mission, the Saudi frigate was attacking #Yemeni coast. Is it difficult to understand this?
https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/827227716596465664
My comment to comment: They simply do not want as they need a pretense to interfere.
2.2.2017 – Xinhua (A K P)
Morocco denounces Houthi attack against Saudi frigate off western Yemen
While expressing deep condolences and compassion to the Saudi government and people, Morocco reaffirms its full solidarity with Saudi Arabia and its support to Saudi efforts aiming at restoring legality in Yemen, the statement pointed out.
Morocco called for the immediate cessation of these attacks that violate maritime law and impact negatively on humanitarian aid intended for the brotherly Yemeni people, the statement added.
These attacks undermine international efforts aiming at reaching a political solution to the Yemen crisis, in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions, it stressed
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-02/02/c_136026488.htm
My comment: Two articles below. This is really propaganda nonsense. Bombing the cost, bombing fishing boats and refugees’ boats seems not to be any problem.
Comment: Obviously so. Morocco was bombing our country from Day 1 of the Saudi led aggression on #Yemen
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1267621789957515
2.2.2017 – Ahram (A K P)
Egypt says attack on Saudi frigate threatens security in Red Sea
Egypt's foreign ministry said it is following with great concern the repercussions of a militant attack by Houthi forces on a Saudi warship off the western coast of Yemen which it said would have an impact on the security of navigation in the Red Sea.
In a statement late on Wednesday, the ministry said the "vicious" attack "threatens efforts to transfer humanitarian aid and relief supplies" to Yemeni citizens and poses a threat to "navigation security in the Red Sea."
The ministry added that Egypt strongly condemns the assault which reflects a "continuous policy of destabilizing the region."
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/257415/-.aspx
2.2.2017 – Janes (A K)
Attack on Saudi warship off Yemen by Houthi insurgents signals residual risk to shipping [subscribers only]
My comment: Saudi war ships pounding the coast, Saudi air planes bombing fishing and refugees boats do not? No, they do not. The security of western vessels and their crews matter, the lives of Yemenis living at the coast, of fishermen and refugees do not. That is the western moral presented in such statements.
cp17c Kriegsereignisse: Sonstige / Theater of War: Other
3.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi-paid mercenaries' artillery shelled various areas in Harib al-Qaramish district, Marin prov
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455056.htm
3.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Dozens of mercenaries killed in Nehm
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455058.htm
3.2.2017 – Press TV Iran (A K PH)
Footage has recently emerged showing Yemeni forces attacking and destroying Saudi Arabia’s al-Moqran military base in Jizan (look for film)
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/02/03/508942/Yemen-Saudi-mine-blast-Jizan-US-Iran-warship
2.2.2017 – Tasnim News (A K PH)
Yemeni Army Hits Saudi Mercenaries' Positions with Homegrown Missile
The Yemeni army and popular committees hit the Saudi-led forces' positions with a domestically-manufactured missile in the northwestern province of Hajjah, killing and injuring a number of Saudi mercenaries.
The Yemeni forces targeted enemy positions with a homegrown missile dubbed “Zelzal-1” (Earthquake-1) north of the Hajjah Province in retaliation for the continued attacks on civilians by the Saudi-led coalition in the Arabian Peninsula country, the Arabic-language al-Masirah television network reported.
2.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Army secures new sites in Taiz
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455025.htm
2.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Ballistic missile hits mercenaries in Lahj
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455024.htm and http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=62963&lang=en
2.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Mercenaries killed in Nehm
www.sabanews.net/en/news455018.htm and http://www.yamanyoon.com/?p=62954&lang=en
2.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Army breaks Saudi-paid mercenaries in Karish
in Lahij province
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news454970.htm
2.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Army, popular forces launch attack on Saudi-paid mercenaries in Taiz
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news454966.htm
2.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Artillery hit Saudi-paid mercenaries in Taiz
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news454962.htm
2.2.2017 – Xinhua (A K)
Saudi border guard dies in land mine blast
A Saudi border guard was killed in a land mine explosion on a border city near Yemen, the Saudi interior ministry tweeted on Thursday.
The mine blast hit the vehicle of the deceased during routine patrolling in the area, while no confirmation of injuries was made yet.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-02/03/c_136026764.htm
2.2.2017 – Asharq Al-Awsat (A K PS)
Saudi Soldier Killed in Yemen Border Shootout
A Saudi soldier has been killed in a firefight on the border with Yemen, the interior ministry said on Thursday.
http://english.aawsat.com/2017/02/article55366753/saudi-soldier-killed-yemen-border-shootout
2.2.2017 – Almasdar Online (* A H)
Sana'a: One dead, four injured in Houthi shelling on refugees camp
A Local source said that one civilian was killed and four others including a child injured in an attack launched by the Houthis and Saleh forces on a refugees camp eastern the capital, Sana'a.
The source told Almasderonline that a number of shells launched by the Houthis targeted al Khaniq refugees camp in al Namlah area in Wadi Hareeb, while a shell hit on one of the tents.
Among the casualties were elderly people and children.
The shelling has also caused a situation of fear and panic in the camp that contains more than 600 tents (photos)
http://almasdaronline.com/article/88534
My comment: That is Marib province, SE of Marib city. The camp is situated (https://www.google.de/maps/place/Wadi+Harib/@15.0926073,45.1029427,9z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x3df91ed95d908bf9:0x10a741bf6ef7734d!8m2!3d15.0927795!4d45.6632889) exactly at the front line (https://southfront.org/military-situation-in-yemen-on-january-23-2017/). Shelling a refugee camp = a “no do” in every war.
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
1.2.2017 – Haitham Alaini (* B E)
Haitham Alaini - The Future of Yemen - From Oil Powered to Solar
Haitham Alaini believes solar energy could help farmers in Yemen. Alaini is an entrepreneur from Yemen. He has over 20 years of experience and focuses on issues of health, education, and environment, and is always looking for ways to improve the future of Yemen. Alaini says solar powered irrigation pumps could change the future of Yemen.
Irrigation pumps are responsible for getting water to the sprinkler heads. In fact, globally 70% of water supports irrigating crops. Irrigating crops assures farmers plant growth. Solar powered irrigation pumps mean farmers can be assured their crops will be irrigated.
Solar pumps are already reducing irrigation costs around the world. For example, in Bangladesh, farmers have historically relied on diesel or electricity powered irrigation pumps, much like Yemen. Using solar-powered pumps, costs are cut nearly in half and there is less pollution.
Some Yemeni farmers are already starting to realize the benefits of solar-powered irrigation. Earlier this year, an article published by Gulf News featured a Yemen farmer replacing his diesel-fueled pumps with solar-powered pumps.
Wadi Dawan is one of many farmers suffering from the diesel shortage in Yemen. Dawan told Gulf News, "Now when the sun shines, the pumps automatically switch on and the water flows into the farm. We do not even bother to look at them."
Installing more solar powered pumps will also help Yemen's food shortage. The price of installing solar panels is also dropping, which is good news for anyone looking to switch to solar power. According to Futurism, the cost of solar power has fallen 25% in only 5 months.
For farmers in Yemen, this price drop is promising news. Switching to solar powered irrigation pumps will allow farmers to get rid of diesel and oil prices, as well as upkeep.
Alaini believes switching to solar powered irrigation pumps will have a positive impact on the future of Yemen. He works diligently to find innovative ways to improve his native country.
Alaini received a degree in economics from George Washington University. He strives to demonstrate his love for his country. To learn more about Haitham Alaini and the Future of Yemen, visit:
http://www.haithamalaini.org/2017/02/haitham-alaini-future-yemen-oil-powered-solar/ = http://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/haitham-alaini--the-future-of-yemen--from-oil-powered-to-solar-20170201-00846
Haitham Alaini at:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/haitham_alaini
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/haithammalaini?fref=ts
Comment: He certainly is right. If the war would be over…
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-261-yemen-war-mosaic-261
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-261: / Yemen War Mosaic 1-261:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose oder / or
http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm
Der saudische Luftkrieg im Bild / Saudi aerial war images:
(18 +, Nichts für Sensible!) / (18 +; Graphic!)
http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm und / and http://yemenwarcrimes.blogspot.de/
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