US, Saudi and IS (German) – US and Yemen war – US-Iranian tensions and impact on Yemen–Conflict in the Red Sea. air raids at Hodeida – Yemeni missile at Riyadh – Disputed: US anti-terror raid in Yemen again – and more
Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Klassifizierung / Classification
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
cp1a Am wichtigsten: USA und Iran, Rotes Meer / Most important: US and Iran, Read Sea
cp1b Am wichtigsten: Geschoss auf Riad / Most important: Missile at Riyadh
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
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
cp13 Söldner / Mercenaries
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp15 Propaganda
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
cp17a Kriegsereignisse: Mokha / Theater of War: Mokha
cp17b Kriegsereignisse: Sonstige / Theater of War: 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
US-Antiterror-Einsatz: cp14 / US anti-terror raid: cp14
6.2.2017 – Epoch Times (** B P)
Die USA, der IS und Saudi-Arabien – Was gerne verschwiegen wird
Wie sein Vorgänger Obama hat Präsident Trump weder im Wahlkampf, noch seit seiner Amtseinführung auch nur ein einziges Wort gegen das Herrscherhaus in Saudi-Arabien gerichtet, obwohl dessen systematische Menschenrechtsverletzungen denen des IS in nichts nachstehen. Warum?
Dass der IS und das saudische Königshaus trotz der Übereinstimmung in ihren Grundwerten von den USA unterschiedlich behandelt werden, hat seinen Grund: Saudi-Arabien ist seit Jahrzehnten der engste Verbündete der USA im Nahen Osten und genießt deshalb trotz aller Verbrechen Washingtons uneingeschränkte Solidarität. Der IS dagegen dient den USA als Vorwand für ihre Militäreinsätze im Nahen Osten und wird deswegen zu deren Rechtfertigung ständig als Hort des Bösen angeprangert.
Interessant ist neben der doppelten Moral, die sich hinter dieser Politik verbirgt, die Tatsache, dass der IS und Saudi-Arabien außer ihrem religiösen Fanatismus und ihrer Verachtung für die Menschenrechte eine entscheidende Gemeinsamkeit aufweisen: Beide wären ohne das Mitwirken der USA niemals zu dem geworden, was sie sind. Außerdem besteht zwischen beiden eine oft übersehene und sehr aufschlussreiche Wechselbeziehung.
Das 1932 gegründete Saudi-Arabien ist nicht nur wegen seiner riesigen Erdölvorkommen einer der weltweit wichtigsten Verbündeten der USA. Es ist seit der Mitte der Siebziger Jahre einer der Eckpfeiler des vom US-Dollar beherrschten globalen Finanzsystems.
Nach der Aufhebung der Gold-Dollar-Bindung 1971 und dem Ende der festen Wechselkurse 1973 geriet die Rolle des US-Dollars als Weltwährung Nr. 1 in Gefahr.
Um diesen Zustand zu beenden, schlossen die USA Mitte der Siebziger Jahre ein historisches Abkommen mit Saudi-Arabien: Dessen Herrscherhaus wurde von den USA verpflichtet, innerhalb der OPEC (Organisation erdölexportierender Länder) dafür zu sorgen, dass Öl – die weltweit meistgehandelte Ware – nur noch in US-Dollar gehandelt wurde (der sogenannte „Petro“-Dollar). Außerdem sollte es die eigenen Dollar-Überschüsse fortan als Staatsanleihen in den USA investieren. Im Gegenzug garantierten die USA dem Herrscherhaus von Saud Schutz vor seinen Feinden (im Ausland insbesondere vor Israel, Syrien und dem Iran, im Inland vor den eigenen Untertanen) und unbegrenzte Waffenlieferungen.
Für die Finanzelite der USA war es in dreifacher Hinsicht ein lukrativer Deal: Erstens sorgte die Bindung des Öls an den US-Dollar dafür, dass ihm neben seiner Rolle als globale Leitwährung auch noch die – viel wichtigere – Rolle der globalen Reservewährung zufiel.
Zweitens spülten die Käufe von Staatsanleihen durch das Haus von Saud Billionenbeträge in die US-Staatskasse, die zur Führung weiterer Kriege (z.B. in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Libyen, Syrien, Jemen) genutzt werden konnten. Und drittens erhielt die US-Rüstungsindustrie durch den Pakt einen ihrer zahlungskräftigsten Dauerkunden.
Für das Herrscherhaus von Saud hat sich der Deal ebenfalls gelohnt: Bis an die Zähne bewaffnet und mit der stärksten Militärmacht der Erde im Rücken konnte es mit der Ausbeutung von neun Millionen unterbezahlten und zum Teil unter katastrophalen Verhältnissen lebenden Fremdarbeitern weiterhin ungestört sagenhafte Reichtümer anhäufen und gleichzeitig jegliches Aufbegehren gegen die eigene mittelalterliche Herrschaft gewaltsam im Keim ersticken.
Die Verbindung zwischen den USA und Saudi-Arabien kennt also zwei Gewinner: Die Finanzelite der USA und das Herrscherhaus der wohl rückständigsten absoluten Monarchie auf der Erde.
Der IS – Vorsätzlich geschaffenes Produkt eines typischen Stellvertreterkrieges
Der IS, zeitweilig auch als ISIS (Islamischer Staat in Syrien) bekannt, ist nicht, wie von Politik und Mainstream-Medien behauptet, die Folgeerscheinung eines außer Kontrolle geratenen Bürgerkrieges in Syrien. Er ist vielmehr das Produkt eines von den USA geförderten Versuchs des Regime-Wechsels in Damaskus. Zwar hat dessen Geschichte mit inneren Auseinandersetzungen in Syrien begonnen, doch wären diese ohne das Eingreifen der USA und ihrer Verbündeten längst versiegt und versandet.
Der wahre Grund für die unterschiedlichen Strategien: Geld, Macht und das globale Finanzsystem
Nach ideologischen oder gar moralischen Gründen für die Politik der USA und ihrer Verbündeten im Nahen Osten zu suchen, ist also vergebene Mühe. Es geht Washington beim Wechsel zwischen Allianzen und Feindschaften ausschließlich um Geld, Öl und Macht.
Eine besondere Rolle fällt hierbei den Mainstream-Medien zu, die die Öffentlichkeit immer auf den jeweiligen (und sich oft selbst widersprechenden) Kurs der US-Regierung einschwören müssen. Das geschieht auf mehrere Arten und Weisen: Die häufigsten darunter sind die Unterschlagung von Informationen, das Schüren von Hass durch gezielte Übertreibung oder dreiste Fälschung.
Im Fall Saudi-Arabiens wird vor allem mit der ersten Variante gearbeitet: Die Unmenschlichkeit des Herrscherhauses wird nur selten erwähnt, über seine Kriege (wie den gegen den Nachbarstaat Jemen) wird nur spärlich berichtet, und Tatschen wie die, dass 15 der 18 Terroristen bei den Anschlägen auf das World Trade Center saudi-arabische Staatsbürger waren, werden großzügig übergangen – von Ernst Wolff
4.2.2017 – Consortium News (** B K P)
The Double Standard on Yemen’s Suffering
The Trump administration condemns Iran as somehow responsible for a Yemeni rebel group’s attack on a Saudi warship, but ignores the Saudi-inflicted bloodbath on the Yemeni people, as Gareth Porter explained
Let’s start with the situation on the ground. That is that there are millions of Yemenis in areas of the country which have been under bombardment by the Saudi led coalition.
And as a result of that bombing, which has been going on now since March of 2015, there has been a huge and very deep disruption of normal life, throughout a huge part of Yemen
At one point, that would be–according to my estimate looking at the age distribution of Yemen–that would be about 1.7 million children under the age of five in Yemen who are either … in an advanced stage of malnutrition, or who are headed very far, and have gone very far in that direction.
And the same article used the figure of 7 million people who are in what they call “severely food insecure areas” of the country. Meaning that these are areas that have been bombed severely, and where the food production has been, virtually, brought to a halt. It’s been extremely limited, and therefore, access to food has been very limited. So, that’s an extremely serious situation.
It’s a humanitarian catastrophe, there’s no doubt about that. And, it is certainly on a scale similar to Syria, and in many ways, maybe worse than the catastrophe that has occurred…. humanitarian catastrophe that has occurred in Syria.
Well, first of all, the complicity begins with the fact that the Saudi government, which, of course, is the primary national entity behind … carrying out this bombing campaign against the Yemeni people, approached the Obama administration before it went to war. Before it started the bombing campaign, it went to the Obama administration, told the administration what it wanted to do, and that administration said, “Okay, yes, we’ll support you.”
It would not have started if the United States had refused to go along with it. And the main reason is that the Saudis were incapable of carrying out a bombing campaign of that kind in Yemen without the United States providing the bombs and without the United States, potentially and more importantly, providing the refueling services for the flights of Saudi and UAE and other countries’ planes carrying out the bombing. So this is complicity which goes very deeply.
It means that the United States is really wholly responsible for the outcome because, at any time, over the past almost two years now, the United States could have said, “No, you cannot do this, we will stop refueling the planes.” And the Saudis and their Gulf allies would have been forced to end the entire campaign. So, that’s the nature, legally and morally, of U.S. culpability.
And, of course, the consequence is that the United States now is responsible for the civilian suffering, for the severe malnutrition and starvation that we’re seeing now in Yemen.
There have been negotiations going on now for many months, between the Houthis on one side, and the Yemeni government that was put into power, put back into power, by the Saudis and their coalition, after the war began.
Well, after the war began, these negotiations have been stalled because the Saudi supported officials in those negotiations have essentially refused to allow the Houthis to basically hold onto their weapons, until the process is completed. I mean, they have been demanding a prior giving up of weapons before the settlement is reached, in terms of the political part of it. So, we’re still not close to, as I understand it, to actually having a peace agreement, and a durable ceasefire.
And the United States, you know, the Obama administration, was at least trying to push the Saudis to be a bit more reasonable. But, I’m sorry to say that the problem we face here is that the U.S. government, (and I’m quite sure that the Trump administration will not be very different, if at all, from the Obama administration in this regard) the permanent government, the national security government or the “permanent war government,” as I call it, of the United States is so dependent, or shall we say so cozy with the Saudis, particularly, that they have basically screwed up Syria, they have destabilized and caused a terrible humanitarian crisis in Syria, then they went and did the same thing in Yemen, by supporting the Saudis.
Why did they do it? Because the Pentagon, the CIA and the NSA all have sweetheart deals with the Saudis which are worth a great deal of money.
What I have found, just to summarize… the conclusion that I’ve come to in my study of the permanent war state, is that what we used to think of as a state bureaucracy has morphed into a combination of state bureaucracy and private contractors. They have merged so totally that there’s no distinction anymore. The lines have been blurred. And the Pentagon and the CIA and the NSA are all now, basically, more like corporations than they are public services, or state services, to the American people – Dennis J Bernstein interviewing Gareth Porter
https://consortiumnews.com/2017/02/04/the-double-standard-on-yemens-suffering/ = http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Double-Standard-on-Yem-by-Dennis-Bernstein-Children_Houthis_Pentagon_Starvation-170205-70.html
5.2.2017 – Fars News (** B K P)
Prof. Matthew Crosston: Yemen War is Largely Absent from the Main Media Sources
A professor of political science tells Fars News Agency that the problem with the media coverage of the Yemeni war is not the level of bias in news stories, commentaries and video footage being released, but the overall absence of the conflict from the media reports.
Prof. Matthew Crosston is the Miller Chair for Industrial and International Security and Director of the International Security and Intelligence Studies (ISIS) program at Bellevue University in Nebraska.
Q: The Saudi Arabian forces have been leading a military invasion of Yemen for the past ten months. They continue carrying out airstrikes on the different parts of Yemen on a daily basis. Legally speaking, the attacks have not been endorsed and authorized by the UN Security Council. Do you think Saudi Arabia is violating the international law by spearheading airstrikes on Yemeni cities, regardless of the political justification for their attacks?
A: This conflict provides a perfect case study for those of us in the school of skepticism when it comes to international law. We skeptics have raged for years that, perhaps unfortunately, international law acts more like ‘international guidelines’ rather than actual law. What this means in real terms is that power balances and dominant control over conflict narratives often determine just which conflicts will come up on the global stage for judgment by the international community.
What Assad does to his own people in Syria clearly passes the threshold and therefore becomes international news – in the West, at least – for months on end. But what Saudi Arabia may or may not be doing to the Houthi rebellion within Yemen with either the implicit or explicit support and backing of the United States, Great Britain, and Israel, remains relatively unfocused and ambiguous across global Western media. So, the real issue is not so much whether or not Saudi Arabia is violating international law, but rather why is international law being violated in this case with little fanfare or outrage while it can be violated in other instances to great attention? The second half of this question leads to the more poignant and perhaps sad fact of global affairs: political justification is more important than international law. I do not say this to say I support this fact, but rather admit that this fact must be acknowledged by all. Because if global affairs in the modern age has shown us anything, with increased and instantaneous media communication all over the world, it is that how a state is able to argue its behavior is actually more relevant and impactful than what the actual behavior is. And if this supposition is in fact true, then it consequently shows international law to be nothing more than window-dressing to make states feel better about themselves.
International law matters when we are following it. If we are not following it, then it does not matter and we can give other reasons as to why you should not care either. This flippant retort is an accurate paraphrase of just about every nation on earth when it comes to its individual contemporary global affairs.
Q: Is the US government interested in the continuation of Saudis’ airstrikes on Yemen, or does it want a lasting truce to take place? According to the Los Angeles Times, there are currently about 45 US military advisors working with the Saudis to give them guidelines on how to conduct the airstrikes. What would be the ultimate goal of this elongated military involvement in Yemen?
A: The US government will remain interested in the continuation of the conflict in Yemen as long as an outcome in line with its foreign policy remains undetermined. What I mean by that is that the clear foreign policy interest of the United States, rightly or wrongly depending on your own foreign policy perspectives and priorities, is to make sure Yemen does not end up under the control of a group that is sympathetic to or directly aligned with Iran. This is because at the moment the United States still sees Iran as an adversary with no track record of trust between them. […]. So, in all honesty, if Iran is interested in seeing a United States that does not just ‘knee-jerk’ react in opposition to everything Iran does or has an interest in, then it needs to begin strategic engagement that fosters not just its own national objectives but also cultivates international respect and trust, even if at first this is only in a begrudging form. Without that paradigm shift in reality, then any discord that is thinly veiled as a Saudi-Iranian tet-a-tet will see the United States staunchly support the Saudi side. I for one have always seen that as a tenuous position; everyone knows that Saudi society is not exactly a shining beacon of democratic openness and principle, while Iranian society, at the grassroots level at least, has long held a high level of democratic knowledge and embracing of democratic ideals. One of the problems with foreign affairs is that we never anticipate a real change of direction until after the change is already well underway. I see this potentiality – a US switch from Saudi interests to Iranian ones – as just one of those changes that only seem far-fetched right now. But with a few well-placed and strategic initiatives, it might not be so far-fetched at all.
Q: MIT linguist and author Noam Chomsky has described the Saudi military intervention in Yemen as “the most extraordinary global terrorism campaign in history”, and American journalist Paul Street says the Obama administration supports the Saudis in this campaign because he needs their oil and money, and so he should “placate” them. What do you think of this assessment? Is it really that the Obama administration has been dragged into the Yemen war involuntarily?
A: I do not believe the Saudi military campaign should be judged a global terrorism campaign – especially not the ‘most extraordinary’ in history, simply because it resembles too closely what a standard conventional war campaign looks like to me. And unless we want to judge all conventional warfare as a terrorist campaign, something I feel Professor Chomsky would likely enthusiastically raise both hands in the affirmative to, then the Yemen conflict is not a terrorist campaign. It is a war like so many other wars before it: it is not just about the internal sides fighting for control of the small local pie but also the external sides jockeying around the internals, trying to massage and manage the result to make sure the bigger global picture comes out in their individual favor. As for the Street assessment, it is an easy target to take aim at, most certainly: America needs oil and doesn’t make enough of its own, so as goes the oil, so goes the American interest.
Q: In a recent report, the Media Lens website has analyzed the US and British media coverage of the Yemen war, and cited a number of “shortcomings” in the way they’ve been reporting on the Saudi airstrikes and the subsequent human casualties. The report said the media in the UK and America have failed to keep track of the involvement of their respective governments in the war on Yemen and their role in the suffering of the people of the Arab country. Do you believe that the media reaction to the Yemen war has been biased, as the Media Lens notes?
A: Indeed, in America we have a vexing problem that I consider to be the ‘fusing of news with news commentary.’ The pundits who wax poetic on everything, often with little evidence but with great style and flair, often portray themselves as ‘experts’ in the given subjects they are discussing. More often than not, they are no such thing. But the portrayal sticks and since the news corporation that gave them their elevated position has a vested interest in keeping the ratings high and popularity soaring, it does what it can to lend even greater style gravitas to said pundits. On the flip side, ‘hard-core’ news dedicated to objective, substantive, and long-reach analysis is a dying art form in America. The reality is that the American people themselves seem to have little time or desire to delve deeply into the depressing reality of global affairs. Yes, it is indeed hard to blame anyone for not wanting to hear copious detail about the suffering of innocent children or the wanton destruction of civilian areas in a war that they’ve never heard of in a place they likely could never find on a map, even with 100 guesses. On the other hand, however, acquiescing to this reality means we raise a society of ill-informed and indifferent global citizens. The consequences of that, I’m afraid, are quite stark: wars last longer, catastrophes become more prolonged, and atrocities likely become more vicious, as no one cares to notice or, at best, feels that there is nothing they can do to change the situation.
Indeed, to me that has been the much more egregious situation regarding media coverage of the Yemen conflict: the problem is not how biased the media is here in the West, trying to portray it in a one-sided and unfair fashion and engendering a misinformed public perception. No. The problem is how absent the conflict largely is from the main media sources. This of course means the population simply does not have an opinion one way or another, because it simply does not know. There is no real awareness of the Yemen conflict. I fear it is in the shadow of such ignorance and indifference that the worst of human nature comes out.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951116001666
4.2.2017 – Junge Welt (** A P)
Spiel mit dem Feuer
US-Präsident Donald Trump steuert auf einen militärischen Konflikt mit dem Iran zu. Washington behält sich »alle Optionen« vor
Dem Iran stehen neue US-Sanktionen bevor. Mit einer entsprechenden Anordnung von Präsident Donald Trump wurde bereits am Freitag gerechnet. Trump hatte schon während des Wahlkampfs immer wieder angekündigt, dass er das im Juli 2015 in Wien geschlossene Atomabkommen ablehne und nach seiner Wahl auf Konfrontationskurs gegen den Iran gehen werde. Das Thema steht nun früher als allgemein erwartet auf der Tagesordnung, nachdem die iranischen Streitkräfte am vergangenen Sonntag eine Rakete testeten. In einem eskalierenden Feuerwerk von Twitter-Botschaften warf Trump den Iranern am Freitag morgen (Ortszeit) schließlich vor, sie würden »mit dem Feuer spielen«. Sie wüssten nicht zu schätzen, wie »freundlich« sein Vorgänger Barack Obama zu ihnen gewesen sei. Er werde anders mit ihnen umgehen.
Trump und seine Republikanische Partei stellen sich auf den Standpunkt, dass Teheran die Entwicklung von Mittel- und Langstreckenraketen durch die UN-Resolution 2231 grundsätzlich verboten sei. Mit dieser Entschließung hatte der Sicherheitsrat am 20. Juli 2015 einen Schlussstrich unter den jahrelangen internationalen Streit um das iranische Atomprogramm gezogen. Alle Beschränkungen, die der Sicherheitsrat in diesem Zusammenhang verhängt hatte, wurden aufgehoben. Gleichzeitig wurden aber einige der Strafmaßnahmen in teilweise veränderter und zeitlich befristeter Form in die Resolution 2231 aufgenommen. Zum Beispiel sind Waffenlieferungen an den Iran nicht mehr generell verboten, allerdings nur mit Zustimmung eines vom Sicherheitsrat gebildeten Ausschusses erlaubt.
Hinsichtlich der Raketen heißt es in der Entschließung, Iran werde dazu »aufgerufen«, »Aktivitäten in Zusammenhang mit ballistischen Raketen« zu unterlassen, sofern diese »so konstruiert sind, dass sie Atomwaffen transportieren können«. Iran stellt sich auf den Standpunkt, dass das auf die von seinen Streitkräften getesteten Raketen nicht zutrifft. Diese Ansicht wird offen und ausdrücklich von Russland und mindestens stillschweigend auch von China geteilt. Die ständigen europäischen Mitglieder im Sicherheitsrat – Frankreich und Großbritannien – pflegen zwar routinemäßig gegen Irans Raketentests zu protestieren, aber lassen keine Absicht erkennen, deswegen aktiv zu werden. Die Obama-Administration verfuhr ähnlich. Offenbar war man sich im Sicherheitsrat bisher einig, dass Resolution 2231 keine Handhabe bietet, Strafmaßnahmen gegen Iran wegen der Tests zu verhängen. Einen Verstoß gegen internationale Abkommen stellen diese ohnehin nicht dar. – von Knut Mellenthin
https://www.jungewelt.de/2017/02-04/029.php
3.2.2017 – Ron Paul Institute / Antiwar (** A P)
Kriegstrommeln: Trumps nationaler Sicherheitsberater bedroht den Iran
Es war nicht schwer, das vorherzusehen. Präsident Trumps nationaler Sicherheitsberater General Michael Flynn gab heute eine eindeutige Drohung an die Regierung des Iran von sich und stellte unheilverkündend fest: „vom heutigen Tag an setzen wir den Iran offiziell ganz oben auf die Liste.“ Weniger eindeutig ist die Begründung des Generals für diese Drohung.
Flynn nennt zwei Rechtfertigungen dafür, dass er die Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika auf den Kriegspfad gegen den Iran bringt. Beide sind dubios. Zum ersten gibt er dem Iran die Schuld an einem vor kurzem erfolgten Angriff gegen ein Schiff der saudischen Marine, der im Jemen von Houthikämpfern durchgeführt wurde. Laut Flynn ist es der Iran, der tatsächlich verantwortlich für den Angriff ist, weil die Houthis vom Iran unterstützt werden, was seinerseits eine fadenscheinige Behauptung ist.
Sogar wenn es wahr wäre, dass die Houthis iranische Stellvertreter sind, wird diese Art von mitgefangen-mitgehangen-Begründung schnell peinlich, wenn man bedenkt, was einige von den Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika unterstützte Rebellen in Syrien mit amerikanischen Waffen und Ausbildung getan haben. Junge Buben enthaupten zum Beispiel.
Was Flynn nicht erwähnt, ist dass Saudiarabien den benachbarten Jemen seit 2015 unter Mithilfe der Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika angegriffen, Zehntausende Getötete und Verwundete hinterlassen und das ärmste Land des Mittleren Ostens in eine verheerende Hungersnot gestürzt hat.
Der zweite Grund, um den Iran an die Spitze von Flynns Liste zu setzen: am vergangenen Wochende testete der Iran eine Mittelstreckenrakete, was nach Meinung Flynns das von den P5+1 ausgehandelte und von der UNO unterstützte Atomabkommen mit dem Iran verletzt. Die Resolution 2231 des UNsicherheitsrats „fordert den Iran auf,“ keine Aktivitäten in Richtung Raketen zu unternehmen, die atomare Waffen befördern können, aber dieser Abschnitt wurde eher als ein Wunsch interpretiert als als ein Verbot. In dem Atomabkommen gibt es keine spezifischen Vorschriften, die den Iran ausdrücklich daran hindern, eine Rakete zu testen.
In der Tat hat der Iran seit der Unterzeichnung des Atomabkommens mehrere Raketen getestet, aber dieses Mal unterscheidet sich die Reaktion der Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika wesentlich
Flynns Untergebene haben sich lange über seinen aggressiven Stil beschwert, darunter über eine Forderung nach der Attacke auf eine CIA-Einrichtung in Bengazi 2012, die Analysten müssten eine Verbindung zum Iran finden. Dieser Druck, Geheimdienserkenntnisse „hinzubiegen,“ damit sie zu einer vorherbestimmten Politik passen, erinnert auf unheimliche Weise an die Methoden, die eingesetzt wurden, um den Krieg 2003 gegen den Irak voranzutreiben. Von seinem damaligen Posten als Chef des Militärgeheimdiensts DIA wurde er laut Berichten wegen seiner extrem feindseligen Ansichten gegenüber dem Iran gefeuert.
Wenn man Präsident Trumps Telefongespräch mit dem saudischen König, in dem sie die „destabilisierenden” Aktionen des Iran diskutierten, und einen Gesetzentwurf über eine präventive Kriegsbevollmächtigung, der im US-Repräsentantenhaus dahindümpelt (>>> LINK), zusammenzählt, dann liegt zur Zeit die Gefahr eines Angriffs der Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika auf den Iran nur einen Unfall – oder eine Operation unter falscher Flagge – weit entfernt – von Daniel McAdams
http://www.antikrieg.com/aktuell/2017_02_03_kriegstrommeln.htm = https://linkezeitung.de/2017/02/04/kriegstrommeln-trumps-nationaler-sicherheitsberater-bedroht-den-iran/
The original English version (presented in YPR 262) here: http://www.ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/peace-and-prosperity/2017/february/01/war-drums-trumps-national-security-advisor-threatens-iran/
6.2.2017 – Paste (** A P)
The Art of Doing Something: Trump in Yemen and Beyond
Mainstream conservative critics of the Obama administration’s foreign policy regularly accused the President and his team of inaction.
One does not have to look very hard in conservative circles to see there was a desire to “return to action” throughout the 2016 election. Abandoning the perceived “retreat” undertaken by Obama was a major theme.
Democrats unfortunately cannot escape blame for letting this kind of rhetoric escalate.
For the Yemeni people however, the Obama doctrine’s so-called “inactivity” and “retreat” was no such thing. The material and intelligence support provided to the Saudi-led coalition at war in Yemen saw repeated bombing of Yemeni civilian targets.
A policy driven at least in part by a need to show force has already started to change the US role in the Saudi-led war. The biggest story regarding Yemen in years is how Trump’s raid killed a Navy SEAL, several civilians and an eight-year-old American citizen
Of course, pointing out this hypocrisy has its limits. As those living and reporting on Yemen can attest, a professionally planned action can still have a disastrous human cost.
Less reported but equally dangerous is the call President Trump and King Salman had the week of the raid wherein the two agreed on the need for “safe zones” in both Syria and Yemen. Establishing a safe zone would require a significant US or Saudi troop presence on the ground in Yemen to maintain. The possible inclusion of US forces needed to maintain a safe zone would likely see the proliferation of counter-insurgency operations in Yemen, a tactic under fire for its questionable effectiveness in Iraq and Afghanistan. At worst, it would become another open-ended occupation as mission-creep sets in.
The Trump administration’s most dangerous action in regard to Yemen is the extent to which they have tied the conflict to Iran. Although the Obama administration concluded the Houthis—the ostensible enemy of the Saudi-led coalition—were not direct proxies of the Iranians despite receiving some material aid from them, the Trump administration has seemingly rejected this view. Using the war to saber-rattle about Iran, Sean Spicer claimed the Houthi attack on a Saudi ship was an Iranian attack on a US ship.
The push to “do something” quickly pushed Yemen into a potentially bloodier future. Getting tough has meant endangering Yemeni students and breaking up families. At its absolute worst, the crisis in Yemen has been used for belligerent ends elsewhere. There are no winners: particularly the average Yemeni people who were regarded with indifference in the Obama-era of the war and are now declared evil by President Trump – By Larry Stavinoha
4.2.2017 – The American Conservative (** A P)
The Trump Administration May Increase the U.S. Role in the War on Yemen
As if it weren’t bad enough that the U.S. has enabled the Saudi-led wrecking and starvation of Yemen for the last twenty-two months, Trump may make the U.S. even more complicit in a reckless, unnecessary war that has nothing to do with U.S. security. Worse still, this is being justified as sending a “signal” to Iran, which is not a party to the conflict and offers the Houthis negligible support. It isn’t possible to “push back” against Iran in Yemen because Iran’s involvement in the war is minimal to non-existent. Ideologically-driven analysis that invents an Iranian “empire” spreading across the region has been misleading Americans for years, but thanks to the many Iran hawks in the Trump administration it is now in danger of driving terrible policy decisions.
Contrary to the delusions of Iran hawks and the propaganda of the Saudis, the Houthis are not Iranian proxies and are not under their control. Iran won’t perceive a larger U.S. role in Yemen as proof of our “resolve.” They will probably see it as proof of the administration’s ignorance and bad judgment. Giving more aid to the Saudi-led coalition in its attack on Yemen to show “resolve” against Iran is therefore pointless. It will do nothing to Iran while inflicting additional harm on the people of Yemen and increasing the costs to the U.S. in this disgraceful war.
Increasing support for the war on Yemen in the name of combating Iranian influence would be to attack the wrong target because of a stupid ideological preoccupation and because of a serious misunderstanding of both Yemen and the conflict happening there. It would be akin to invading Iraq in the name of fighting jihadism. Perversely, the Trump administration may be about to compound one of Obama’s gravest errors while pretending to break with Obama’s policies. U.S. backing for the coalition’s disastrous military campaign has been a shameful, inexcusable policy for almost two years, but this would make things much worse – by Daniel Larison
is referring to:
3.2.2017 – Foreign Policy (** A P)
Yemen Is the First Battleground in Trump’s Confrontation With Iran
The administration has its sights set on checkmating Tehran’s ambitions across the region. Iran’s proxies in Yemen are in the crosshairs.
The Trump White House has begun stepping up action against Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen, part of a broader plan to counter Tehran by targeting its allies in the impoverished Gulf state.
On Thursday, the United States diverted a destroyer to the Yemeni coast to protect shipping from Iranian-backed rebels, and is weighing tougher steps including drone strikes and deploying military advisers to assist local forces, according to officials familiar with the discussions.
“There’s a desire to look at a very aggressive pushback” against Iran in Yemen within the administration, a source advising the Trump national security team said. Given the public rhetoric and private deliberations in the White House, the United States could “become more directly involved in trying to fight the Houthis” alongside Saudi and Emirati allies, said the source, who asked not to be named as he had not been authorized by the White House to comment.
President Donald Trump’s aides see Yemen as an important battleground to signal U.S. resolve against Iran and to break with what they consider the previous administration’s failure to confront Tehran’s growing power in the region. But the tough approach carries the risk of triggering Iranian retaliation against the United States in Iraq and Syria, or even a full-blown war with Iran.
On Friday, national security advisor Michael Flynn released a statement accusing the international community of having been “too tolerant of Iran’s bad behavior,” adding “the Trump Administration will no longer tolerate Iran’s provocations that threaten our interests.”
In the first visible response to Monday’s attack on a Saudi frigate by Houthi suicide boats, the USS Cole, a guided missile destroyer, was ordered away from a “routine mission” in the Persian Gulf late Thursday and sent to the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a Pentagon official told FP. The Cole is the same warship hit by a lethal Qaeda suicide bombing in 2000 in the Yemen port of Aden, which left 17 sailors dead.
The U.S. destroyer will escort vessels passing the Yemeni coastline and into the Red Sea said the official. Additionally, on Friday, the administration slapped a new round of sanctions on Iranian businesses, backing up a stream of threats and condemnations it issued in response to Iran’s recent ballistic missile test.
To counter Iran’s proxies in Yemen, the administration is considering ramping up drone strikes, deploying more military advisors and carrying out more commando raids, the administration advisor and Republican congressional staffers said. The review also includes possibly expediting approval for military strikes against militants in Yemen — which required high level deliberations under the Obama administration — and expanding efforts to block Iranian arms deliveries to the Houthi forces – by Dan de Luce
Comment by Jane Novak: "#Yemen first battleground in Trumps confrontation with Iran" Major blunder! #Iran has no command control Houthis.
https://twitter.com/JNovak_Yemen/status/827825760538882048
Comments by Peter Salisbury:
The Trump administration seems to want to do what KSA tried to do in 2015: prove its resolve against Tehran by 'beating' it in #Yemen
https://twitter.com/MENAPPete/status/828238055127543809
While Iranian support has increased for Houthis since civil war began, it is not the driving force behind the war or reason for quagmire
https://twitter.com/MENAPPete/status/828238291631747073
3.2.2017 – The Hill (** A K P)
Trump's raid in Yemen proves he, wrongly, embraced the Iran hawks
The Trump administration’s response to the war in Yemen is an early indicator of what its Middle East policy may look like. Unfortunately, the Jan. 29 raid on an al-Qaeda encampment in Yemen by U.S. Special Forces along with National Security Advisor Mike Flynn’s Feb. 1 statement on Iran and Yemen’s Houthi rebels are not promising.
The raid, which cost the life of a U.S. serviceman and an as yet unknown number of Yemeni civilians, tells us that the Trump administration is likely to continue to play a deadly but ineffective game of whack a mole with al-Qaeda rather than addressing the root causes of extremism.
Flynn’s statement on Iran in which he implies that Iran is responsible for the Yemen based Houthi rebels’ Jan. 30 attack on a Saudi frigate is even more worrying. The statement, in which he put “Iran on notice,” is a clear sign that the Trump administration has fully embraced the Iran hawks and bought into Saudi Arabia’s Iran-centric view of the war in Yemen.
The war’s only real beneficiary has been al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
The war has exacerbated all of the conditions that favor the growth of militant organizations: namely grinding poverty and a weak or absent government. Much of southern Yemen, which is under the nominal control of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, is effectively a safe haven for AQAP. As a militant Salafi organization, AQAP is the mortal enemy of the Zaydi Shi’a Houthis.
In what is a dangerous parallel with Syria where al-Qaeda inserted itself into many anti-Assad forces, AQAP too has leveraged its fighting skills and capabilities and is enmeshing itself into many of the forces that are fighting the Houthis.
Yemen is an incredibly complex country where loyalties are often fluid and where lines between opponents are rarely demarcated. What is certain is that the Saudi led and US supported war in Yemen has greatly benefited AQAP and — ironically — Iran which can only be delighted by the fact that Saudi Arabia is immersed in a costly war that it cannot win.
If the Trump administration were to employ a nuanced and measured strategy to the war in Yemen, it could combat AQAP and check what is — at most — limited Iranian influence in Yemen.
The U.S. would regain some of its credibility among Yemenis on both sides of the conflict if it were to pressure Saudi Arabia to end its bombing campaign and its naval blockade. This along with a concerted effort by neutral countries like Oman could well re-start Yemen’s national dialogue and lead to some kind of power sharing agreement.
However, it is unlikely that the Trump administration will pursue such a strategy. Instead, the Trump administration appears to be intent on escalating tensions with Iran while continuing to employ counter-terrorism strategies that have yielded little and cost far too much in terms of lives lost and resources wasted – by Michael Horton, Senior Analyst for Arabian Affairs at the Jamestown Foundation
4.2.2017 – Washington Post (** A P T)
Deadly U.S. raid in Yemen reveals strength of al-Qaida affiliate
The raid and civilian casualties have triggered widespread anger across Yemen toward Washington, adding to tensions over President Donald Trump's travel ban on citizens of Yemen and six other majority-Muslim countries. Yemenis have posted photos on social media of children purportedly killed in the attack.
In the capital, Sanaa, where anti-American slogans are scrawled on billboards and walls across the city, the raid appeared to unify Yemenis, a rare occurrence these days in the fractured country.
"What happened caused more anger and hatred toward America," said Bassam Mahmoud, 40, a government employee. "America has no right to carry out any military action in our country. This a serious violation for our country's sovereignty and is totally unacceptable."
Al-Qaida in Yemen "is stronger than it has ever been," the International Crisis Group said, adding that the militants are "thriving in an environment of state collapse, growing sectarianism, shifting alliances, security vacuums and a burgeoning war economy."
Also of concern is an emerging Islamic State affiliate that has staged numerous suicide bombings against Yemeni military and government officials in the south, especially in the port city of Aden.
Together, the groups "emerged arguably as the biggest winners of the failed political transition and civil war that followed," the report said.
The ill-fated raid was an indicator of how much the political fallout from the Arab revolts has weakened U.S. counterterrorism efforts in Yemen. As the nation slid toward civil war, Washington scaled back on counterterrorism training, intelligence-gathering and advising of Yemeni forces.
U.S. counterterrorism efforts during the Obama administration mostly involved drone strikes targeting the radical groups. Many AQAP leaders and operatives were killed, but the overall strategy did little to neutralize the radical groups.
Analysts say it is unclear what broader strategy the Trump administration will employ, but that it appears he might also heavily rely on drones and special operations.
"Yet drone attacks have shown limited effectiveness and a propensity to backfire politically when they cause high civilian casualties," wrote Alley, adding that the strikes have "failed" to stop AQAP's "rapid growth - in large part because the opportunities provided by the war outstrip its losses."
AQAP has forged alliances with influential Sunni groups and tribes, often with cash payments.
In Bayda, where the U.S. raid unfolded, AQAP exploited tribal rivalries, "leveraging its access to arms, funds, and the military acumen of some of its ranking members in exchange for safe havens," according to Horton.
But many of the tribesmen were likely supporting AQAP because of its fight against the Houthis and Saleh loyalists and not because it has targeted the West.
In fact, the United States is providing weapons, intelligence and other support to those fighting the Houthis and Saleh. But even U.S. allies condemned the raid – by Sudarsan Raghavan
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/nationworld/ct-yemen-raid-al-qaida-20170204-story.html = http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/ct-yemen-raid-al-qaida-20170204-story.html
cp1a Am wichtigsten: USA und Iran, Rotes Meer / Most important: US and Iran, Read Sea
Siehe auch / Look at cp1
Luftangriffe auf Hodeida im Einzelnen: cp16 / Air raids at Hodeida in detail: cp16
5.2.2017 – Antikrieg (* A P)
Iraner befürchten, dass Trumps Drohungen auf Krieg oder auf neue Wirtschaftssanktionen hinweisen
Ein Jahr nach dem P5+1 Atomabkommen fürchten viele Iraner, dass die neue Offenheit dem Ende zu geht – von Jason Ditz
http://www.antikrieg.com/aktuell/2017_02_05_iraner.htm
5.2.2017 – Almasdar Online (A P)
U.S. National Security Advisor describes the Houthis as "terrorist group"
U.S. National Security Advisor Michael Flynn has described the Houthis as "a terrorist group" affiliated to Iran.
This came in a statement issued by the American Administration, in which it imposed sanctions on Iranian individuals and companies with links to the ballistic missiles test, the Revolutionary Guards, and the Quds Legion.
The statement gave examples of the Iranian violations, including that "the Iranian-backed terrorist group has attacked a Saudi frigate on the Red Sea."
http://almasdaronline.com/article/88599
My comment: This statement is odd in several aspects: 1) to describe the Houthis as “terrorist group” (whatever they are, they are no “terrorist group”); 2) to make Iran responsible for what the Houthis are doing; 3) to be exaggerated at all about a retaliatory targeting of a military target in a war.
5.2.2017 – Saba Net (A P)
Information Minister: US, Israel seek to enable Daesh, al-Qaeda in Bab al-Mandab
Information Minister Ahmed Hamed affirmed that the real risk to Bab al-Mandab is not from Yemen and its army, but from the US-Israeli intervention and from their dirty arms called ''Daesh and al-Qaeda''.
"America and Israel are seeking to enable Al-Qaeda and Daesh to seize Bab al-Mandab, and therein lies the real risk to international navigation and world trade," Hamed said in a statement to Saba on Sunday.
If Daesh took Bab al-Mandab, Israel will use that to pressure on China and Egypt and other countries, he added.
The information minister confirmed that the army and popular forces constitute a guarantee for the security of international navigation and that is what Israel and America do not want.
Hamed considered what is circulating by media on Iranian intervention an attempt to divert attention and to cover on the direct Israeli intervention in Bab al-Mandab and the coasts of Yemen.
The Israeli enemy plays a major role in the Saudi-American aggression on Yemen in order to achieve its serious ambitions to control the Bab al-Mandab, he explained.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455282.htm
My comment: That is one quite different, but not less odd statement by this Sanaa government minister.
5.2.2017 – Al Arabiya (A P)
Is Yemen the first front in Trump’s confrontation with Iran?
Given the public rhetoric and private deliberations in the White House, the United States could “become more directly involved in trying to fight the Houthis” alongside Saudi and Emirati allies, said the source, who asked not to be named as he had not been authorized by the White House to comment.
President Donald Trump’s aides see Yemen as an important battleground to signal U.S. resolve against Iran and to break with what they consider the previous administration’s failure to confront Tehran’s growing power in the region. But the tough approach carries the risk of triggering Iranian retaliation against the United States in Iraq and Syria, or even a full-blown war with Iran.
On Friday, national security advisor Michael Flynn released a statement accusing the international community of having been “too tolerant of Iran’s bad behavior,” adding “the Trump Administration will no longer tolerate Iran’s provocations that threaten our interests.”
After meeting with Flynn on Friday, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said there needed to be “a coordinated, multi-faceted effort to pushback against a range of illicit Iranian behavior” in Yemen and the Middle East.
My comment: View from Saudi Arabia. The Saudis of course would appreciate the US to lead a war against Iran (for them).
5.12.2016 – Debka Files (* A K P)
Yemen shapes up for US-Iran military clashDEBKAfile’s sources report that the Trump administration would find this battleground expedient out of six considerations:
1. It would enable the US to keep the confrontation within controlled limits, by claiming it was acting against the Houthi insurgents in Yemen - not a direct attack Iran.
2. If Iranian Revolutionary Guards “happened” to be caught in the fire, Washington would ask what they were doing in Yemen, when Tehran denied its intervention in the Yemeni civil war.
3. Iran would not necessarily be compelled to hit back directly so long as the US avoids direct attacks on its soil.
4. It would provide serious support for the Saudi and UAE armies, whose armies’ entanglement in the Yemen conflict is deepening without their making real headway against the Houthis. President Trump would show Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Cairo, that he is on their side in the fight against Iran.
5. Iran is capable of coping with the regional armies ranged against the Houthi rebels, but any substantial US military intervention might force Iran to reconsider its support for the Yemeni insurgency.
6. The Russians are not involved in Yemen and any US intervention can be kept quite separate from the Trump administration’s evolving political and military partnership with Moscow in Syria.
https://www.debka.com/article/25916/Yemen-shapes-up-for-US-Iran-military-clash
My comment: After repeating the common anti-Iranian paranoia, the article lists up why leading war in Yemen could be interesting for the Trump administration. Please just read this example of unscrupulous “realpolitik” and compare it to the suffering such a war will bring to those affected by it. In the case of Yemen, the country would be battleground of a war it has nothing to do with – and all that for the 6 reasons given above.
4.2.2017 – Alternet (* A K P)
Trump Admin. Covers up U.S.-Backed Saudi War Crimes in Yemen, Exaggerates Iran's Role
AlterNet's Ben Norton joins The Real News to discuss the catastrophic war in Yemen, and how the Trump admin. is misleadingly blaming Iran
(The following is a rush transcript and may include errors.)
BEN NORTON: Yeah, but we should also be clear that Sean Spicer, the White House Press Secretary is on record now lying multiple times.
So certainly, when they go out and make an outlandish lie claiming that Iran hit a U.S. vessel, this is absolutely preposterous and, of course, it contributes this fear, this atmosphere of fear-mongering about Iran.
And Yemen, this is an issue that I've reported on a lot, but unfortunately it's not gotten much attention in the U.S. media, let alone in U.S. politics. It was not mentioned at all in the presidential election, but since March 2015, the U.S. has staunchly backed a Saudi-led war on Yemen.
I mean, most people agree who seriously look at this, and serious analysts will agree, that Iran's influence is certainly extant, but it's not large. Iran has sent weapons shipments, likely, to the Houthis through Oman, but although Oman said that they're going to stop allowing this to happen. But at the end of the day, the Houthis don't necessarily need access to foreign weapons.
Yemen is also one of the most highly militarized -- just in terms of sheer number of weapons -- countries in the world. Most households have guns. So the Houthis don't have a shortage of weapons, and at the end of the day the Houthis are themselves Yemeni, but a lot of Saudi propaganda that has been echoed by the U.S. government for two years now has claimed that the Houthis are Iranian proxies.
The Washington Post actually published a very good article based on an expert's analysis saying that, no, the Houthis actually are not Iranian proxies, and I would invite anyone interested in further information to read that.
But at the end of the day, the Trump administration is really using their ties to Iran to push for more aggressive action.
Trump's first raid that was carried out, was carried out in Yemen and it was a complete disaster.
So, I mean, when you look at Iranian policy in the region I think there's a lot of exaggeration. The U.S. is really overstating Iran's influence and the war in Yemen-
PAUL JAY: And I think there's another part of this -- the Saudis have been accused of war crimes in the Yemen war, which are at least equal to or similar to the accusations against the Assad government and the Russians, yet there's not a whisper of an accusation of war crimes against the Saudis from the U.S. government.
BEN NORTON: Absolutely. And Saudi Arabia has carried out many documented war crimes -- according to human rights groups -- with weapons that were sold by the U.S. and the U.K. Saudi Arabia has... we now have documentation that they have used cluster munitions in civilian areas in Yemen – by Ben Norton, Real News
http://www.alternet.org/grayzone-project/yemen-war-iran-trump-saudi-arabia-crimes
and film:
3.2.2017 – The Real News (* A K P)
Trump Admin. Covers Up Saudi War Crimes in Yemen, Exaggerates Iran's Role
Ben Norton tells Paul Jay that the U.S. and Saudis are overwhelmingly responsible for the atrocities committed in Yemen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF8-NWpmx60
3.2.2017 – The Nation (* A P)
The Trump Administration Is Recklessly Escalating Tensions With Iran
The escalation is also taking hold in the mainstream press. Earlier this week, Business Insider published a piece with the headline “US May Have to Consider Firing on Iranian Boats After Latest Houthi Attack,” further raising tensions across the region. Seriously, the United States might “have to” attack Iran? The article was about an attack by Houthi rebels in Yemen against a Saudi warship that is part of the continuing US-backed Saudi assault against Yemen. There have been baseless claims that the Houthi attack was actually aimed at a US ship—and the administration and now some in the mainstream press are continuing a popular but false claim that the Houthis are merely a proxy of Iran.
The realities are that
1) The Houthis are a longstanding part of Yemeni society with their own grievances; Iran has provided some funds, but they are not controlled by Tehran. The Houthis are fighting against the Saudi-backed former government in Yemen, in an internal war that predates the direct Saudi assault on Yemen that began in early 2015.
2) The Saudi war against Yemen is brutal, killing thousands of civilians through bombing and hunger, shutting off access to ports needed for food and medicine, and leaving the already-impoverished country to face near-famine conditions, with 50 percent of its population food insecure and dependent on UN food aid for survival.
3) The United States is already part of the war in Yemen—selling billions of dollars’ worth of warplanes, weapons, and other war materiel to Saudi Arabia, and participating in the war directly by providing in-air refueling by US Air Force planes flown by US Air Force pilots.
4) Congress has never authorized any US involvement in the Saudi war against Yemen.
The biggest danger—at least right now—is less a direct US military assault on Iran than a massive escalation of the US war against Yemen, in the name of going after Iran. It will no longer be US support for the Saudi war, but instead risks becoming Washington’s own Yemen War against Iran. The humanitarian consequences for Yemenis would be horrifying.
And things could escalate even further. There is a particular danger of even more reckless actions by a president unlikely to walk back his tweeted threats against Iran, even if advisers warn him of the dire potential consequences. And with the National Security Council now seemingly run largely by White House strategic adviser Steve Bannon, a leading white supremacist and Islamophobic ideologue, it’s not clear which advisers might do so.
Further, can we really assume that Trump Inc.’s investments in Saudi Arabia, and newly confirmed Secretary of State and former Exxon-Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson’s oil connections, are playing no role in the decisions that could send the United States to war in Yemen on the side of Saudi Arabia against Iran? – By Phyllis Bennis
3.2.2017 – Huffington Post (** A P)
A Reckless Slide Toward War With Iran
Since the inauguration, the White House has taken several ham-handed escalatory steps that bring into question whether Trump and his most radical advisors are begging for war with Iran. This would be a disaster of epic scale, perhaps eclipsing the nightmare of the Iraq War. Republicans and Democrats need to start viewing President Trump’s actions and words as a possible accidental or intentional prelude to major conflict, and taking steps to counter this dangerous slide to war.
The descent began with last Friday’s executive order barring Iranian citizens from entering the United States. Potentially the most dangerous result of the order was to empower the most hardline clerics in Iran—threatening not just our own security, but our ally Israel’s as well.
The danger of including Iran comes in the message it sends to Iranians and its potential to tip the political balance inside Iran to forces that are deeply antithetical to the United States and Israel – the kind of people who actually could start World War III.
Rouhani said that the Muslim ban was a “great gift to extremists.” He meant groups like ISIS, but he might have also have been referring to extremist political groups in his own country. Why? Because the hardliners in Tehran who want to tear up the nuclear agreement, make Iran a nuclear weapons power, and create havoc in the Middle East will use the Muslim ban as evidence that America does indeed hate Iran.
We watched on Sunday as the hardliners showed off their new strengthened position. The ballistic missile test was a signal that Rouhani is losing power and the anti-Western conservatives are ascendant.
But often lost in the debate in the United States is that Iran has not been associated with direct threats against our country.
Making matters worse this week, instead of trying to heal the wounds created by Friday’s executive order, Trump’s new National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn, doubled down on the path to conflict.
What was exceptional was that Flynn included in the statement a warning to Iran that had nothing to do with the missile tests. “These are just the latest of a series of incidents in the past six months in which Houthi forces that Iran has trained and armed have struck Emirati and Saudi vessels and threatened United States and allied vessels transiting the Red Sea,” he said. Flynn brought the Houthis into the statement in order to warn the Iranians that if the Houthis continued to attack Saudi Arabia, we would consider it a threat to us commensurate to the firing of the ballistic missiles. This is an absurd equivalence argument, and it could lead us into a war that no American is looking for.
You wouldn’t know this by listening to his statement, but the United States does not have a security treaty with Saudi Arabia. They are our ally, but they fight their own battles.
What was so dangerous about Flynn’s statement was that he is now suggesting that Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia could lead to war between the United States and Iran. This makes no sense.
And it squares with other actions that Trump has authorized in the early days of this administration.
The United States should target extremist groups in Yemen, which are growing stronger largely because of the bombing campaign by Saudi Arabia. But we should stay the hell out of the civil war there. I have long argued that we should cease helping Saudi Arabia in its bombing campaign, but we should not get any more involved in a war between two rival ethnic groups in Yemen when who wins that fight has no meaningful effect on U.S. national security – by Senator Chris Murphy
3.2.2017 – Antimedia (* A P)
U.S. Blaming Iran for Attack on American Navy That Never Actually Happened
But Iran is allegedly backing the Houthi rebels in Yemen. So surely, any attack committed by those rebels against the U.S. or its allies can be deemed and Iranian assault by way of proxy, right?
Not according to the U.N. experts, who presented a report to the U.N. Security Council just this past weekend. It stated:
“The panel has not seen sufficient evidence to confirm any direct large-scale supply of arms from the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, although there are indicators that anti-tank guided weapons being supplied to the Houthi or Saleh forces are of Iranian manufacture.” [emphasis added]
For those skeptical of claims made by so-called U.N. experts, perhaps one could analyze the claims made by the mainstream media regarding Iran’s role in Yemen to see if there is any substance to the narrative that Iran is backing the Houthi rebels in Yemen. As noted by a Truth-out article published in October 2015, the mainstream media struggles to produce any compelling evidence of Iranian involvement, even with the enormous resources at their disposal:
“[A] recent article published by the Guardian on October 8, 2015, again states that: ‘It is now six months since a coalition of countries, led by Saudi Arabia, took on Iran-backed Houthis who had swept through the country earlier this year.’ The words ‘Iran-backed Houthis’ are again hyperlinked. This time, the hyperlink takes you to another Guardian article, which explains that a ‘source’ has revealed that no more than 10 Gulf-trained fighters have arrived in Yemen. The article references Iran only once by again claiming that the Houthis are Iranian-backed, but this is not hyperlinked to any other source and at no point in the article does the writer even try to explain in which of the Gulf states these fighters, who number no more than 10, were trained before their deployment into Yemen.”
Still don’t believe it? This next excerpt is from the Washington Post, dated May 2016:
The best concrete evidence the media can produce regarding Tehran’s involvement is that some of the weapons the Houthis use are of Iranian origin. However, the media is well aware that the weapons come from Somalia, and outlets are unable to make any real link between Somalia and the claim that Iran is supplying the weapons directly to Yemen (as indicated by the U.N. experts last weekend).
The Houthis are Yemeni, not Iranian. Therefore, they are well within their rights to fight back against the aggressive invading force of Saudi Arabia’s brutal coalition.
The U.S. is once again playing a dangerous game in which officials spout absolute nonsense and mobilize the American citizenry in support of another disastrous war in the Middle East. As noted by the Intercept, the U.S. has used similar baseless fear tactics on multiple occasions in the past, including launching the U.S. into the Vietnam quagmire.
Iran has not attacked the United States, nor can it be said to have attacked any other country for decades, if not centuries. War should be a measure of last resort, not the first action an administration takes after a mere two weeks in office based off inaccurate and dishonest reporting – by Darius Shahtahmasebi
http://theantimedia.org/us-blaming-iran-american-naval-attack/
6.2.2017 – Hisham Al-Omeisy (A K)
UN: Hudaydah is #Yemen's lifeline; Saudi, ease import restrictions & allow fixing port (which Saudi bombed). Saudi: Let's bomb to ground.
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/828598879981621252 referring to UNs O’Brien (see photo)
5.2.2017 – AWD News / Yemen Press (* A H K)
Saudi Arabia steals wheat from Yemen
Saudi Arabia refused to permit a ship carrying wheat to the port of Al-Hodeidah and instead led it to Jeddah.
Saudi military forces prevented the movement of the ship that was licensed by the Arab coalition and instead forced it to change its route to the port of Jeddah. It emptied its cargo at the port of Jeddah rather than the port of Al-Hodeidah in Yemen.
The Port of Al-Hodeidah is the only entry to the provinces under the control of the National Salvation Government in Yemen.
Meanwhile, the Institute for Development and Human Rights in the Middle East has strongly condemned the Saudi media provocations against the port of Al-Hodeidah and promoting false news about the use of the port for military operations by the army and popular committees.
The law firm said: “The instigation to target the port of Al-Hodeidah is contrary to all international agreements on non-military ports as well as the Geneva Convention and is considered a war crime.
http://www.awdnews.com/political/saudi-arabia-steals-wheat-from-yemen = http://www.yemenpress.org/yemen/saudi-arabia-steals-wheat-from-yemen.html
My comment: And the US pretend that the Houthis would menace shipping in the Red Sea; who actually does it???
5.2.2017 – Al Masirah TV (* A K)
Film (Arabic): Continued US overflights in the skies of Hodeida and coastal areas
Continued to fly planes to the United States since the beginning of the aggression concentrated in coastal areas, and these days wandering three of them in the sky # Hodeidah province and a number of coastal areas of the governorate of Taiz, Hajjah # conjunction with aggression targeting western coast.
US military activity concrete to target the western coasts and disable the port of Mokha and detention of commercial and humanitarian ships and blocking access to the port of Hodeida in seeking to double the blockade within the framework of the destructive and economic war after the military and political failure reveals the features of securities who uses aggression in partnership with Washington, with the approaching entry of aggression in its third year
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9jfEhp2w5Q
5.2.2017 – Hisham Al-Omeisy (A H K)
Thanks to Saudi relentless bombing of Hodeidah, last lifeline port, and roads/bridges connecting to Sana'a, gas price now 50% up.
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/828195922819612672
4.2.2017 – Hamed Albukhaiti (A K)
Saudi-US coalition threats to bomb commercial ship & #Yemen Sea Port
Radio recording: Coalition Forces threatening Sea Port Control to bombard commercial ship (Oryx) at Al Saleef Sea Port, #Yemen
https://twitter.com/hamedalbukhiti/status/827984351405211649
4.2.2017 – kmalabotaleb (A K)
Saudi besieges boats from reaching the ports of Red Sea at #Yemen with vital supplies
https://twitter.com/kmalabotaleb/status/827958606226194432
4.2.2017 – Ahmad Alghobary (A K)
#Saudi led coalition ordered a vessel carrying 4 mobile cranes for Hudaydah to leave
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/827934417955987458
My comment: Saudi airstrikes had destroyed the cranes at Hodeida airport. These cranes were necessary to unload the imports to Northern Yemen, which depends on imported food (90 % of all food imported) and other goods. Ships hired by WFP which had on board four mobile cranes for Hodeida had been blocked by the Saudis – now ordered to leave.
6.2.2017 – The Mirror (* A K)
Shock new footage from on board warship shows exact moment suicide boat packed with explosives slams into hull
The Al Arabia news network released the footage which shows the smaller vessel skimming through the water before blowing up on impact with the Saudi Arabian batteship, killing two soldiers
New footage has emerged of the moment a suicide boat packed with explosives slammed into a Saudi Arabian warship off the coast of Yemen last week.
The video, recorded on board the boat, shows the smaller vessel skimming through the water before blowing up on impact with the Al-Madinah batteship, killing two soliders.
The Al Arabia news network released the footage taken from the frigate's observation platform which overlooks the ship's helipad (with film)
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/shock-new-footage-board-warship-9766553
6.2.2017 – Al Sahwa (A K PS)
Saudi frigate attacked by Houthis reaches Jeddah
A Saudi frigate, which was attacked by the Houthis last week, on Sunday reached the King Faisal Naval Base of the Western fleet in Jeddah.
The frigate managed to reach Jeddah on schedule, without any delay after the Houthi attack.
Upon docking, it was received by General Abdurrahman bin Saleh Al-Bunyan, Chief of the General Staff, General Abdullah bin Sultan Al-Sultan, Commander of Royal Saudi Navy Forces, Commander of the Western region, and a number of senior naval officers of the Western Fleet.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-3715 and as reported by AFP: http://www.france24.com/en/20170205-saudi-warship-returns-port-after-yemen-rebel-attack and propaganda related to this warship and its return look at cp15.
5.2.2017 – MbKS15 (A K PS)
After it was attacked by Houthis off the coast of Yemen, #RSNF Al Madinah-class frigate (702) arrives to Jeddah Seaport (photos)
https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/828139145679749120
The #Saudi CGS inspects the #RSNF attacked frigate at Jeddah Seaport. Looks intact with possible damage to the helicopter on the flight deck (photos)
https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/828190883526877184
6.2.2017 – Kuwait News Agency (A K P)
Kuwaiti Cabinet deplores attack on Saudi warship
http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2590623&Language=en
My comment: it was no “terrorist attack” but an act of warfare, Japanese Kamikaze style as it seems.
3.2.2017 – Newsfront / Antiwar (* A K P)
USA: PENTAGON ENTSENDET MARINE AN DIE KÜSTE DES JEMENS, UM SEINE «SEEWEGE» ZU SCHÜTZEN
Im Jemen-Konflikt entsendet die USA Zerstörer an die Küste Jemens .Regierungsvertreter bezeichnen diesen Schritt als Reaktion auf Angriff der Houthis auf ein saudisches Kriegsschiff
Das Pentagon hat den Zerstörer USS Cole an die jemenitische Küste in der Nähe der Bab al-Mandab-Strasse beordert, um in der Gegend herumzulungern und inmitten der anhaltenden Invasion des Jemen durch die Saudis „Seewege zu beschützen.“ Regierungsvertreter stellen diesen Schritt als Unterstützung für die Saudis hin, nachdem schiitische Houthis ein Schiff der Saudis angegriffen haben.
Regierungsvertreter der Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika sagten, man könne es auch so sehen, dass die Houthis glaubten, ein US-Kriegsschiff anzugreifen, obwohl, nachdem sich die Houthis seit der Invasion Saudiarabiens vor zwei Jahren mit den Saudis im Krieg befinden, in keiner Weise klar ist, warum das der Fall hätte sein sollen. Regierungsvertreter haben auch angedeutet, dass das etwas mit dem Iran zu tun hat, obwohl derartige Iran-Jemen-Verbindungen immer ausschließlich darauf beruhen, dass beide Schiiten sind, wenn auch eine jeweils unterschiedlich Art von Schiiten.
Dass der Angriff auf die saudische Fregatte als gegen die Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika gerichtet hingestellt wurde, legt die Vermutung nahe, dass die USS Cole nicht zuletzt in der Absicht geschickt wird, ebenfalls einen Angriff der Houthis auf sich zu ziehen, was den Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika einen Vorwand für eine Beteiligung an der Invasion der Saudis gibt, die noch umfassender ist als die bedeutende Rolle, die die Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika bereits einnehmen.
Die USS Cole hat Erfahrung als Opfer einer Attacke vor der Küste des Jemen, wo sie im Jahr 2000 im Hafen von Aden von al-Qaeda angegriffen wurde, wobei bei diesem Angriff 17 Seeleute getötet wurden – von Jason Ditz
3.2.2017 – Reuters (* A K P)
U.S. sends Navy destroyer to patrol off Yemen amid Iran tensions: officials
The United States has sent a Navy destroyer to patrol off the coast of Yemen to protect waterways from Houthi militia aligned with Iran, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Friday, amid heightened tension between Washington and Tehran.
The USS Cole arrived in the vicinity of the Bab al-Mandab Strait off southwestern Yemen where it will carry out patrols, including escorting vessels, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-yemen-idUSKBN15I25F
Comment by Haykal Bafana: The USS Cole's deployment off #Yemen's coast implies the US Navy provides ballistic missile defence for Saudi-paid Yemeni militias on land. (and following)
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/828195920823144448
4.2.2017 – RT (* A K P)
US deploys guided missile destroyer off Yemeni coast after attack on Saudi warship – reports
The US has deployed an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer off the coast of Yemen, according to media reports. The battleship will protect US interests in the region following an attack on a Saudi military vessel which killed two sailors.
The USS Cole, which was targetted in an Al-Qaeda attack off the same shores in 2000, was allegedly redeployed from its operations in the Persian Gulf to a new station in the Bab al-Mandab Strait near Yemen. The USS Comstock and the USS Makin Island are also deployed in the same area as the Cole.
“They were moved down to the region in response to what happened to the Saudi frigate,” an anonymous official familiar with the matter told AFP.
Separately, two other defense officials confirmed the news to Reuters, adding, the USS Cole will now carry out patrols and escort vessels. In addition, Cole’s relocation was also confirmed by an anonymous defense official to USNI News, who called the decision a reaction to the Monday attack in which an alleged Houthi rebel explosive-laden suicide boat rammed into a Saudi Al Madinah-class frigate in the Red Sea.
The Navy’s move to reposition the ship came as the Trump administration imposed new Iranian sanctions on 13 people and a dozen companies in response to Iran’s recent ballistic missile test.Washington believes the Houthis, who have been fighting the Saudi-led coalition, are heavily supported by Tehran.
With the new American president in office, some believe Yemen will become an important battleground for the Trump administration’s resolve against Iran’s perceived influence in the region.
3.2.2017 – Stripes (* A K P)
Pentagon: USS Cole off Yemen coast to respond to threats
The Navy destroyer USS Cole is cruising off the coast of Yemen to defend access and ships transiting the Bab el Mandeb strait, a U.S. defense official said Friday.
Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said Thursday that the United States was prepared to defend access to waters off the coast of Yemen where a Saudi frigate was attacked earlier this week.
Three U.S. warships are near the strait, the U.S. defense official said on the condition of anonymity. The USS Makin Island, an amphibious assault ship, and the USS Comstock, a dock landing ship, are monitoring the strait, but the Cole, which is now at the southern end of the strait, is there "for no other reason than to respond to Bab el Mandeb incidents," the official said on the condition of anonymity.
“The Red Sea and … the Bab el Mandeb [strait] is a vital waterway that the world relies on for the free flow of commerce,” Davis said. “We will ensure that maritime traffic continues to get through that critical strategic waterway.”
“When we see things like what happened to the Saudi frigate earlier this week take place it gives us great pause,” Davis said. “This is on top of other things we’ve seen -- to include the well-known missile attempts against U.S. ships last fall -- we’ve seen evidence that the Houthis are laying mines in the waters outside at least one of their ports. We officially have great concern for the freedom of navigation there.”
https://www.stripes.com/news/pentagon-uss-cole-off-yemen-coast-to-respond-to-threats-1.452216
My comment: Even one more story: The Houthis mining the ports. I read that here for the first time and simply think I cannot believe this. And even if they would do it: That’s within Yemeni national waters and does not affect the international shipping route at all.
3.2.2017 – Antiwar (* A K P)
US to Deploy Navy Destroyer Off Yemen Coast to ‘Protect Waterways’
Officials Present Move as a Reaction to Houthi Attack on Saudi Warship
The Pentagon has deployed the USS Cole, a Navy destroyer, to the Yemeni coast near Bab al-Mandab Strait, to loiter in the area and “protect waterways” amid the ongoing Saudi invasion of Yemen. Officials are presenting the move as support for the Saudis, after Shi’ite Houthis attacked a Saudi ship off the base.
US officials have said it was conceivable that the Houthis thought they were attacking a US warship, though since the Houthis have been at war with Saudis since the Saudi invasion two years ago, it’s not at all clear why that might’ve been. Officials have also implied this has something to do with Iran, though such Iran-Yemen links always rest exclusively on them being Shi’ites, albeit a different sort of Shi’ites.
That they presented the targeted Saudi frigate as aimed at the US suggests the USS Cole is being sent in no small part with an eye toward it drawing such an attack from the Houthis as well, potentially giving the US a pretext for a deeper involvement in the Saudi invasion than the substantial involvement the US already has.
The USS Cole has experience as a target for attack off the Yemeni coast, having been hit by an al-Qaeda attack in the harbor of the port city of Aden in 2000, an attack which killed 17 sailors.
http://news.antiwar.com/2017/02/03/us-to-deploy-navy-destroyer-off-yemen-coast-to-protect-waterways/
My comment: What should be the reason for the USS Cole staying there? If the US really wants to make the Red Sea more secure, why do they not have the idea to intervene against Saudi war ships pounding the Yemeni coast and against Saudi jets bombing fishing and refugee boats? Because for US officials, the lives of Yemeni coastal dwellers, of Yemeni fishermen, of African refugees simply do not matter? That seems to be it.
4.2.2017 – Hisham Al-Omeisy (A P)
FYI, vast majority of gov't employees didn't receive salaries. #Yemen gov claiming to have paid out is massive PR stunt.
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/827842265695526914
3.2.2017 – Al Araby (* A K P)
Yemen minister contradicts White House: 'No safe zones discussed'
"I want to clarify the reports have been journalistic errors because Trump and the Saudi King Salman did not speak about safe zones in Yemen," Mekhlafi said.
"They did speak about the situation in Yemen in general and safe zones in Syria. In Yemen it would be illogical and unjustified to have safe zones," he added.
The minister explained that unlike Syria his country did not have a crisis of internally displaced people and that safe zones would limit the activities of the Saudi-led aerial campaign against Houthi rebels.
"There are common interests between Yemen, Saudi Arabia and the US, such as fighting al-Qaeda and the Houthis," he added.
My comment: Where does he know this from??? It is right, the idea of “safe zones” in Yemen was a riddle. And, this Hadi minister also clearly reveals: We do not want any type of “safe zones” in Yemen, we just want relentless bombing without respect for anything.
3.2.2017 – Reuters (* A P)
Trump Slaps Sanctions on Iran
Trump administration tightens Iran sanctions, Tehran hits back
The Trump administration on Friday imposed sanctions on Iran, which it said were just "initial steps" and said Washington would no longer turn a "blind eye" to Iran's hostile actions.
The sanctions on 25 individuals and entities were the opening salvo by President Donald Trump who has vowed a more aggressive policy against Tehran and came two days after the administration had put Iran 'on notice' following a ballistic missile test.
"The Trump Administration will no longer tolerate Iran’s provocations that threaten our interests," National Security Advisor Michael Flynn said.
"The days of turning a blind eye to Iran’s hostile and belligerent actions toward the United States and the world community are over," Flynn said in a White House statement.
Suggesting that more concrete action could follow if Iran does not curb its ballistic missile program and continues support in regional proxy conflicts, a senior administration official said the latest sanctions were the initial steps in response to Iran's "provocative behavior".
The administration was "undertaking a larger strategic review" of how it responds to Iran.
Iran denounced the sanctions as illegal and said it would impose legal restrictions on American individuals and entities helping "regional terrorist groups", state TV quoted a Foreign Ministry statement as saying.
Those affected under the sanctions cannot access the U.S. financial system or deal with U.S. companies and are subject to secondary sanctions, meaning foreign companies and individuals are prohibited from dealing with them or risk being blacklisted by the United States.
The White House said that while the sanctions were a reaction to recent events, they had been under consideration before. It added that a landmark 2015 deal to curb Iran's nuclear program was not in the best interest of the United States.
"The list is actually so targeted and comparatively mild, it leads one to surmise that it may have been a set of targets devised by the Obama administration, and was ready to go when Trump came into office," said Adam Smith, former senior advisor to the Director of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
"As such, the real test for which way the Trump team will go on Iran may well be not this list release but the next one, whenever that occurs," Smith said.
The sanctions' impact will be more symbolic than practical, especially as they do not affect the lifting of broader U.S. and international sanctions that took place under the nuclear deal – By Yeganeh Torbati
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-usa-idUSKBN15H253?il=0
and
3.2.2017 – The American Interest (* A P)
Trump Slaps Sanctions on Iran
This screws-tightening approach is in line with what Iran hawks in both Israel and the U.S. have been advising Trump to do rather than blowing up the nuclear deal outright.
If properly executed, a more aggressive stance against Iran’s regional ambitions could be a welcome course correction to the Obama approach. But there is still much uncertainty ahead. For one, how will the White House respond the next time Iran launches a ballistic missile, as it has already promised to do? For another, what will happen if Iran treats the new sanctions as an abrogation of the deal? The Trump Administration has built a reputation for itself as being unpredictable. How well in manages to calibrate its response to further escalations will tell us just how well they are planning their next steps out.
http://www.the-american-interest.com/2017/02/03/trump-slaps-sanctions-on-iran/
cp1b Am wichtigsten: Geschoss auf Riad / Most important: Missile at Riyadh
6.2.2017 – Newsfront (*A K)
KRIEG IM JEMEN: REBELLEN SCHIESSEN BALLISTISCHE RAKETE AUF RIAD — SAUDIS DEMENTIEREN
Verschiedene Quellen berichten, dass der Jemen eine Rakete in Richtung Saudi-Arabien getestet hat, bislang dementiert Riad aber einen Unfall. Genaue Daten sind deswegen bislang noch nicht bekannt, wie die arabische Quelle Al-Masdar News schreibt.
6.2.2017 – Sputnik News (** A K)
Riad offenbar mit Raketen angegriffen
Die Hauptstadt des Königreichs Saudi-Arabien soll am Montag mit Raketen beschossen worden sein, wie die Zeitung „Al-Masdar“ berichtet. Mindestens eine Rakete vom Typ Borkan-1 sei auf dem Militärstützpunkt Mazahimia westlich der Millionenmetropole eingeschlagen.
Die saudischen Behörden bestreiten diese Meldung bislang. Knall und Rauch seien auf ein lokales Erdbeben oder einen Meteoriteneinschlag zurückzuführen, hieß es. Laut unbestätigten Angaben wurde in Riad der Ausnahmezustand verhängt.
Nach Angaben von Huthi-Rebellen ist vom Jemen aus eine Rakete von Anhängern des Ex-Präsidenten Ali Abdallah Saleh abgefeuert worden.
https://de.sputniknews.com/politik/20170206314410050-saudi-arabien-jemen-rakete/
6.2.2017 – Welt Taibaweb (** A K)
Jemen meldet Raketenangriff auf Saudi-Hauptstadt Riad
Der Jemen meldet einen Raketenangriff auf Saudi-Arabiens Hauptstadt Riad. Dies wurde zwar bislang nicht offiziell bestätigt, doch meldeten Anwohner via Twitter einen Raketeneinschlag auf eine Militärbasis.
Jemens offizielle Nachrichtenagentur SABA meldete gestern einen Raketenangriff auf Saudi-Arabiens Hauptstadt Riad. In einer Erklärung wurde behauptet, dass es sich bei dem Angriff auf eine saudi-arabische Militärbasis westlich der Hauptstadt um „einen Vergeltungsschlag“ für den unerbittlichen Krieg des Königreichs gegen das Land handle.
Der Angriff beweise außerdem die gute Erreichbarkeit Riads für jemenitische Raketen. Saudi-Arabien kommentierte diese Meldung bisher nicht. Privatpersonen bestätigten via Twitter, dass eine Rakete in ein Militärlager eingeschlagen ist.
http://welt.taibaweb.com/blog/2017/02/06/jemen-meldet-raketenangriff-auf-saudi-hauptstadt-riad/
6.2.2017 – Al Araby (** A K)
Riyadh military base 'targeted' by Houthi rebel missile strike
Yemeni rebels reported the successful test-launch of a precision scud missile on Sunday night, which was allegedly aimed at a Saudi military camp 40 kilometres west of Riyadh.
Saudi officials denied that the missile hit the military camp near al-Mazahimiyah and it has not been possible to independently verify this fact.
No local residents have reported hearing an explosion on social media.
The Houthi rebels announced the successful launch of a Scud-type ballistic missile at around 8pm GMT.
Saba News agency quoted a Houthi spokesperson announcing the attack as a "successful test-fire of a precision, long-distance ballistic missile."
"We stress that the capital of [expletive] Saudi Arabia is now in the range of our missiles and, God willing, what is coming will be greater," a statement from the Houthi government said.
The Saudi minister of defence, Mohammad bin Salman, was at a meeting with Yemeni president Hadi at the time of the attack.
This is the second alleged Houthi Scud missile attack on Saudi soil in one week and the latest attack since Yemen started stockpiling missiles in summer 2016.
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2017/2/6/riyadh-military-base-hit-by-houthi-rebel-missile-strike and Press TV Iran: http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/02/06/509301/yemen-saudi-arabia-riyadh-ballistic-missile and (some more details): Asian News International: http://www.aninews.in/newsdetail-NA/Mjk4NTMy/houthi-rebel-missile-strikes-riyadh-military-base-reports.html
6.2.2017 – Al Masirah TV (** A K)
Film: Yemeni army balistic missiles unit released footage of launching the missile that struk Riyadh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QSwatMpwnc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuU1A0HV6T0
Yemeni army balistic missiles unit shows type of missile that struk Riyadh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMOHKTxbnBk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj5Cg3tBclQ = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ly466HxDT4
and also by Yemen Today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcTZJOdUNzg
6.2.2017 – Nasser Arrabyee (A K)
Photos: Saudi capital Riyadh Becomes in the range of Yemen ballistic missiles
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/828670001431314433
6.2.2017 – Nasser Arrabyee (A K)
Yemen army declared New ballistic missile system of long-distance Locally developed Successful test fired to Saudi capital Riyadh.
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/828643809005285377
Yemen army spokesman: 'We have more surprises to enemy over few coming days' After successful test of new ballistic missile fired to Riyadh (document)
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/828647426986766336
5.–6.2.2017 – Haykal Bafana (A K)
Target of #Yemen ballistic missile launch tonight : #Saudi military base in Al Muzahhimiyah region, 30-40km SW of capital Riyadh
https://twitter.com/BaFana3/status/828366832956481538
6.2.2017 – Hisham Al-Omeisy (A K)
Remember when they thought #Yemen only had missiles w/ 70KM range and proudly declared destroying 90% of in Apr 2015. Today's range: 1000KM+
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/828379139451281408
Well hey, we pleaded, even begged world to intervene and stop Saudi's carnage in #Yemen for TWO years. Don't blame for fighting back.
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/828379694126997509
6.2.2017 – Fars News (A K P)
Analyst: Tel Aviv Horrified by Destruction of Saudi Frigate, Yemenis Able to Target Israeli Base in Eritrea
A prominent political analyst said Tel Aviv has been frightened by the Monday attack against a Saudi frigate off the coast of Yemen as Israel's base in Eritrea is within the range of the Yemeni missiles.
"Israel's concern over the Yemeni navy's attack against a Saudi frigate in the Red Sea is not anything normal as it indicates certain points," Abdolhamid Zaher, a Yemeni analyst, said on Sunday.
"Israel fears Yemen's power, specially its missile units," he added.
Zaher also stressed that the Israeli military base in Eritrea is within the range of the Yemeni army and popular committees which is another source of concern for Tel Aviv.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951117001203
My comment: Whatever, if the Houthis are not mentally ill they just do not pull Israel into this war and let these Israeli base in peace.
cp2 Allgemein / General
6.2.2017 – Voice of America (* A P)
Yemen Proxy War Adds to Tensions Among US, Iran, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has accused Iran of involvement in a series of missile attacks launched from Yemen. Saudi Arabia says the attacks also targeted its naval vessels in the Red Sea. Some analysts worry that the ongoing proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia could escalate.
Nothing, however, has provoked tensions more than ballistic missile and rocket attacks by Yemen's Houthi militia fighters and forces loyal to their ally, former President Ali Abdallah Saleh. Saudi media reports say that Iran has supplied some of those missiles and rockets, in addition to helping train combatants to use them.
Arab media reported Monday that the Houthis have mined waters surrounding the port of Hodeida, further south, in a bid to prevent Saudi forces from trying to take the strategic facility near the Bab al Mandeb and international sea lines leading to the Suez Canal and the Israeli port of Eilat.
Saudi analyst Ali Touati argued that the upcoming battle to take Hodeida will not be easy and that the Houthis' Iranian allies are not likely to let it fall easily.
He said that Iran and the Houthis are not eager to see the port of Hodeida fall and will fight hard to prevent it from happening, especially after the recent loss of the smaller port of al Mukha.
Analyst Khattar Abou Diab, who teaches at the University of Paris, told VOA that he thinks the attack on the Saudi naval frigate al Medina last week, along with a recent missile test, were intended to test the resolve of the new Trump administration.
He said that [recent Houthi] missile attacks [into Saudi territory] and the attack on the Saudi naval vessel during the past couple of weeks were meant to test the pulse of the Trump administration and see how it would react and they discovered that it would act much more forcefully than the prior Obama administration.
Abou Diab said he doesn’t expect any direct conflict between the U.S. and Iran over recent incidents in Yemen, arguing that Tehran prefers proxy wars and small attacks, here and there, in places like Iraq, Bahrain or Yemen – by Edward Yeranian
http://www.voanews.com/a/proxy-war-in-yemen-adds-to-tensions-among-us-iran-saudi-arabia/3707893.html
My comment: This report fully adopts the US-Saudi narrative of full Iranian involvement and anti-Iranian paranoia. Just look at this: “Nothing, however, has provoked tensions more than ballistic missile and rocket attacks by Yemen's Houthi militia fighters and forces loyal to their ally, former President Ali Abdallah Saleh”. That’s odd. There have been no Saudi air raids? Remember that these missile attacks began just 10 weeks AFTER the beginning of the Saudi bombing war, as a retaliatory action following it. – And what this report also shows: there is no wish for a peaceful solution at all, the goal is further victory (occupation of Hodeida).
6.2.2017 – Fars News (A K P)
US, Yemeni Army to Involve in Intelligence War in South
The Southern regions of Yemen will witness a war of intelligence between the Yemeni army and popular committees and the US and Israel in the future, a source said on Monday.
"The safe regions that the US and Saudi Arabia are attempting to create in Yemen will be controlled by the ISIL and al-Qaeda and monitored by the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia," an intelligence source told al-Najm al-Thaqib news agency.
Noting that the US most obvious goal during Donald Trump's presidency is transferring the terrorist groups to the safe regions that will be set up in Yemen and Syria soon, the source said, "The Southern regions of Yemen will soon witness a major war of intelligence between the Yemeni army and popular committees affiliated to Ansarullah on one hand and the US and Israel on the other hand through the ISIL and al-Qaeda."
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951118000203
5.2.2017 – Almasdar Online from SAM (A K)
Recent report reveals serious violations against Yemeni civilians
A recent report chronicling grave human rights violations in seven governorates in Yemen was published by SAM, an organization for rights and liberties, based in Geneva.
The report reveals serious violations that have occurred since the beginning of 2017 in Yemen, of which both warring parties have committed against civilians.
According to the report that was published in February 03 2017, these human rights violations include: killings, arbitrary detentions, death in prisons, indiscriminate shelling, extrajudicial executions, air attacks, abductions, and bombing of houses.
Almasadronline re-publishes the whole report below:
Statement on Human Rights Situation during January 2017
February 03,2017
By info@samobserv.com
SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties, based in Genève, watches with great concern the escalation in violations on civilians and serious deterioration in human rights situation during January 2017.
Where, gross violations were committed during January in several governorates, and worst of which was in Taiz with the indiscriminate shelling on civilians, bombing of houses in Ibb and detention of activists, journalists, and opponents by legitimate government in Aden and Hadhramout, in addition to Hodiedah governorate by Houthi-Saleh militia.
http://www.samobserv.com/en/2017/02/03/statement-on-human-rights-situation-during-january-2017/ / http://almasdaronline.com/article/88619
My comment: Second half of January 2017. Mostly listing violations by Houthi / Saleh forces, one by US, some by Hadi forces and Saudi coalition. I did not hear of this organization before.
4.2.2017 – BBC (A K P)
Film: Media can't come in #Yemen due coalition restrictions of entry(Part 2)
BBC interview with Stephen O’Brien @UNReliefChief, Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, on #Yemen Crisis
https://twitter.com/bo_hamzh1/status/827937480884310017
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
5.2.2017 – Your Abilities (* A H)
Film: children in Yemen suffering
https://plus.google.com/photos/photo/112714699394385528692/6383762810156687842?icm=false
5.2.2017 – Human Needs Deve (A H)
%50 medical facilities in #Yemen are no longer function because some bombed by airstrikes &others have ground to a halt due to no funding.
https://twitter.com/HNDngoYE/status/828309676139876356
4.2.2017 – Living Yemen (* A H)
Film: A story of Yemeni child Shoaib die cuz of shortage of medicines
If you don't die from airstrikes , you're going to die from being ill and from starvation."
https://twitter.com/Living_Yemen/status/827938063770873860
4.2.2017 – Saba Net (A H)
Islamic Relief Organization distributes food baskets in Sana'a
The Islamic Relief Organization launched on Saturday the distribution of food baskets funded by the World Food Program for displaced people in Jehana district of Sana'a province.
Director-General of Jehana district, Mohammed Al-Bashari, told Saba that the Islamic Relief Organization has begun distributing food baskets to 7,700 displaced families in the district.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455170.htm
4.2.2017 – WAM (A H K)
Upon President's directives, Yemenis injured in war to be treated in UAE hospitals
As per the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) has announced that a large number of Yemeni people, who suffered injuries during the war in that country, would receive medical treatment in the UAE hospitals.
This comes as a part of the ERC s pledge to provide treatment to 1,500 wounded Yemenis, and a continuation of the President s initiative to mark 2017 as the "Year of Giving."
http://www.wam.ae/en/news/emirates-international/1395306889124.html
My comment: Also people from the North where the Emiratis are keen on bomb people, i.e. to kill and injure them?
Comment: Question: anyone or only those supporting the aggression? Considering civilians in Mokha, Hodeidah, Taiz, Sanaa, Nihm, Hajjah, Mareb, Al Jawf gov., etc have been injured by Coalition's bombs: does it apply also to them?
Question: instead of airlifting (eventually) tens of thousands of people, would it not be better to work for peace WITHOUT dropping boms?
Question: no sense of guilt for having maimed over 30.000 people?
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1269384319781262
4.2.2017 – WHO Yemen (A H)
Shams, 14, diagnosed w/ lung, skin, intestinal & liver tumours. She needs testing and treatment that is now simply not available in #Yemen. (photo)
https://twitter.com/WHOYemen/status/827833345870614530
3.2.2017 – Oxfam and other humanitarian organizations (* A K)
Yemen: Humanitarian agencies warn that escalating fighting on coast could cut off vital supplies for millions
Humanitarian agencies working in Yemen today warned that escalating fighting on the west coast of the country risks cutting off vital supplies to millions of people.
Fighting in and around the port of Mokha has forced thousands of people from their homes and, according to the UN, trapped 20,000 - 30,000 people in the town. These people are in need of immediate protection and assistance.
As the fighting moves north, the agencies warn that access to the country’s main sea port of Hodheida could be blocked, further worsening the widespread humanitarian crisis. Yemen is witnessing a prolonged conflict which has killed or injured over 46,000 people since March 2015. It has left nearly 19 million people in need of aid and forced more than three million people to flee their homes in search of safety. Some seven million people do not know where their next meal is coming from and less than half of the country’s health facilities are fully functioning.
https://www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/pressreleases/2017-02-03/yemen-humanitarian-agencies-warn-escalating-fighting-coast-could = http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-humanitarian-agencies-warn-escalating-fighting-coast-could-cut-vital-supplies
3.2.2017 – Saudi war crimes (AH)
Yemenis are killed with the newest weapons – the humanitarian help they are getting by the Emirati aggressors are expired (photos)
https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1635008433461811
3.2.2017 – World Health Organization (* A H K)
22,000 people are affected by intense fighting in Al-Mokha City in Taizz Governorate.
More than 8,000 people have fled to Al-Hudaydah and Taizz Governorate to escape, while thousands more remain trapped and caught in the crossfire.
WHO has deployed a rapid response team to districts receiving internally displaced persons from Al-Mokha City to identify the most urgent health needs.
WHO has dispatched a mobile medical team to deliver primary health services in affected districts in Al-Hudaydah Governorate and delivered three trauma kits sufficient for 300 surgical interventions to the main hospitals in Bait Al-Fakeeh, Zebeed and Hays districts.
26.3.2015 – Zerohedge (* B E K P)
The World's Greatest Oil Chokepoints, And Why Yemen Matters
About half the world's oil production is moved by tankers on fixed maritime routes, according to Reuters. The blockage of a chokepoint, even temporarily, can lead to substantial increases in total energy costs and thus, these checkpoints are crucial to global energy security. While Hormuz remains the largest chokepoint (and along with Bab el-Mandeb explains why Yemen matters so much), Malacca (as we noted previously) is quickly becoming another area of potential problems.
And while Yemen is key for The Strait of Hormuz... (infographics, maps)
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-03-26/worlds-greatest-oil-chokepoints-and-why-yemen-matters
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
6.2.2017 – Saba Net (A P)
FM meets Palestinian Acting ambassador in Sana'a
They discussed bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries ways of strengthening them.
The minister reaffirmed Yemen's and the continuous support for the Palestinian cause.
The Palestinian official denied the arrival of a new ambassador into Sana'a to re-open the embassy.
He confirmed that the embassy did not close, affirming that there are no private jet came to Aden Airport then moved to Sana'a Airport.
The embassy is continuing to provide its services for the Palestinian community, al-Bazor said.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455402.htm
6.2.2017 – Saba Net (A P)
President meets Jawf Governor
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455398.htm
President meets Lahj Governor
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455392.htm
6.2.2017 – Almasdar Online (A P)
Houthis raid houses, clash with locals in northern Sana'a
Forces loyal to the Houthi group and former President Ali Abdullah Saleh stormed on Saturday Dharwan village in Hamdan district, north of the capital, Sana'a, and abducted nine civilian opponents.
Local residents and eyewitnesses told Almasdaronline that the pro-Houthi/Saleh forces raided the village in an attempt to abduct a son of Obad Hamoud Azzan. But several locals took up arms and stood on the way.
A villager said that a shootout ensued between the locals and the the pro-Houthi/Saleh forces, and led to the injury of Abdullah, the son of Obad Hamoud Azzan.
However, pro-Houthi/Saleh reinforcement troops were sent aboard four pick-up trucks, and were deployed around the village, blocking its all entrances; several troops stormed the houses while others were deployed to Khat farms outside the village, according to the villager.
He also said that the pro-Houthi/Saleh troops "cordoned tue house of Obad Azzan and his farm, and shot fire nearby in an attempt to force the women out of the house and blow it up. But the women did not leave the house, and the troops had to back out.
According to the villagers, the raid that was led by pro-Houthi locals from the village itself has resulted in the abduction of nine local people
http://almasdaronline.com/article/88624
5.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K P)
Amran holds tribal meeting to mobilize fighters to front lines
Chieftains and citizens of Amran province held a tribal meeting on Saturday to declare popular mobilization to face the US- Saudi barbaric aggression war against Yemen .
The attendants re-confirmed their support for the army and popular committees in battlefronts. They also sent more men and foods to front lines to defend the homeland and to achieve the great victory against enemy Saudis.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455246.htm
5.2.2017 – Saba Net (A P)
Health Ministry, ICRC's mission discuss cooperation areas
Minister of Public Health and Population Dr. Mohammed bin Hafeedh met here on Sunday with Head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) mission in Yemen, Alexandre Faite.
The meeting discussed the cooperation areas between the Health Ministry and ICRC and and the possibility of extending the support provided by the Committee to include emergency, ambulance and medicines of chronic diseases, especially cancer, kidney and diabetes.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455273.htm
6.2.2017 – Asharq Al-Awsat (A P)
Demands for a Transparent Investigation in Poison Death of Yemeni Journalist
Yemeni journalist Mohammed Alabsi’s death has been witnessing growing interest among each of the Yemeni journalists’ union, rights groups, and family members who demand an inquiry into the mysterious death of a top investigative journalist after an autopsy showed that he was poisoned.
The toxicology report exhibited a lethal 65 percent of Carboxyhemoglobin present in the deceased system.
Alabsi, died 35, was renowned for pursuing information and tips regarding purported corruption which has always been a major issue in Yemen.
On Dec. 20, 2016 Alabsi died under mysterious circumstances — shortly after Yemen media circulated information of his work being focused on corruption involving high-profile political figures in the coup-run capital Sanaa.
Alabsi’s family and friends decided to preserve his body in a Kuwait-based hospital, putting together an investigative team to look into his death.
His sudden death prompted his family and friends to demand an autopsy, delaying his funeral for nearly three weeks. Samples were flown to Jordan for tests, which finally revealed on Sunday that al-Absi died of poisoning.
It is worth noting that the journalist’s house was raided by Iran-aligned Houthi militias last March, and has received numerous threats against his publishing of corruption files linked to the coup’s de facto capital in Sanaa.
Alabsi actively perused corruption, irrespective of how prickly and life-threatening the journey would get. He is known for starting up activist organizations and campaigns, most notably being the “National Coalition Anti-YLNG” that opposed contracts involving the liquefaction of Yemeni natural gas – by Abdul Hadi Habtoor
5.2.2017 – Hisham Al-Omeisy (A P)
Yes we do. We must start local. Stop that hateful & despicable Houthi slogan "A curse upon the Jews". Love MUST win over hate.
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/828188001406689280
5.2.2017 – Nasser Arrabyee (A P)
Yemen clerics told President Samad top priority still remain2confront US-backed Saudi invasion by supporting army with more fighters&money (photo)
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/827954194090954756
4.2.2017 – Saba Net (A P)
FM meets head of ICRC mission in Yemen
Foreign Minister Hisham Sharaf met here on Saturday with Head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) mission in Yemen, Alexandre Faite.
The meeting discussed the worsening humanitarian situation in Mokha city of Taiz province and its neighboring areas because of the continuing Saudi-Emirati aggression, which poses danger threatening innocent civilians due to intensive brutal air bombing.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455196.htm
4.2.2017 – Saba Net (A P)
PM meets UNICEF's resident representative in Yemen
Prime Minister Dr. Abdul Aziz Saleh Bin Habtoor on Saturday with UNICEF's Resident Representative in Yemen, Meritxell Relano, on the occasion of assuming her functions recently.
The meeting discussed the cooperation relations between Yemen and UNICEF in the areas of maternal and child, immunization, water and sanitation and other aspects relating to the protection of children from the repercussions of the current conditions experienced by the Yemeni people due to the Saudi aggression and siege.
Dr. bin Habtoor confirmed the government's keenness to provide all aspects of support and facilitations for the success of the organization's humanitarian functions.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455171.htm
4.2.2017 – Saba Net (A P)
President meets head, members of Yemen Scholars Association
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455161.htm 3.2.2017 – Nasser Arrabyee (A P)
1000s of Yemen trained tribesmen Keep joining battlefields to fight US-backed Saudi invaders. Hajja north, Feb 3 , 2017 (photos)
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/827765517867970560
3.2.2017 – Almasdar Online (A)
Ibb: Senior officer gunned down in land dispute
A local source said that a senior officer in the Yemeni Army was killed on Wednesday in clashes with gunmen over land ownership dispute in Ibb governorate, in central Yemen.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/88569
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
6.2.2017 – The Duran (* B P)
The Southern Movement and the ambiguities of the civil war in Yemen
Unlike in Syria, where the lines between good and evil are clearly delineated, the Civil War in Yemen is far more precarious and subtle
What is less mentioned than the sectarian elements of the conflict, are the regional and historically ideological elements of Yemeni history which are at play. I am speaking of al-Hira or The Southern Movement, founded in 2007 with the aim of re-establishing an independent state in South Yemen.
The [1994] civil war was odd for many reasons, not least because Soviet trained Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi sided with the government of Ali Abdullah Saleh in the north. The fact that Saleh would become Hadi’s rival in the current civil war is a supreme irony of history.
Another odd fact of the 1994 civil war in Yemen is that Saudi Arabia sided with socialist southern forces whilst the US sided with the north. Saudi Arabia in this instance took a rare pragmatic decision to favour a divided neighbouring state rather than a potentially rivalrous united Yemen.
Currently, the Southern Movement have sided with the Hadi government. Hadi was himself born and raised in the south and when he was deposed by Iranian backed Houthi rebels, he fled to Aden, the former capital of the South.
So now one has a former supporter of a united Yemen fleeing to the Southern Movement stronghold of Aden where he is being supported by the US, Britain and Saudi Arabia. China incidentally gives tacit support to the Southern Movement, putting it strangely in league with the western coalition.
The best thing a country like Russia can do is stay well away from this violence, not least because it already seems the US and Saudi Arabia may be using the Yemeni Civil War as a pretext for a larger regional war against Iran – by Adam Garrie
https://theduran.com/southern-movement-ambiguities-civil-war-yemen/
6.2.2017 – Al Arabiya (A P)
Saudi Deputy Crown Prince discusses developments with Yemen President
President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi of Yemen received at his residence in Riyadh yesterday evening Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, it has been revealed.
The Yemeni President thanked King Salman bin Abdulaziz for supporting the Yemeni government and people and the efforts made by Saudi Arabia and the coalition countries to restore legitimacy to Yemen.
The Deputy Crown Prince received a message from the Yemeni president for Saudi King Salman. The two discussed also discussed the latest developments in Yemen.
6.2.2017 – Saudi Gazette (A H P)
Mass wedding of Yemenis who lost their limbs in war with Houthis
Some 40 Yemeni amputees married in a mass wedding in Taiz in Yemen on Saturday.
The amputees sustained their injuries during battles against Houthi militias and forces loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Hundreds attended this wedding which was organized in Taiz’s Gamal Street and celebrated despite the ongoing war in the city.
The wedding was held under the banner “love and mercy,” and it was organized by the NGO Muath Developmental Foundation in coordination with the NGO Developmental Care Foundation and sponsored by Taiz governor Ali Al-Maamari, according to the Anadolu news agency.
Another party was held for grooms and brides of the mass wedding in a hall in Taiz University.
http://saudigazette.com.sa/world/mena/mass-wedding-yemenis-lost-limbs-war-houthis/
6.2.2017 – The National AE (A H P)
Mass wedding for Yemeni resistance fighters who lost limbs defending Taez
The mass wedding was paid for by a philanthropist and organised by the Muath Developmental Foundation, an NGO that provides food for the poor and coordinates with other organisations to help people affected by the war in Taez.
The ceremony took place in the street before a party for the grooms was held at the local university. Hundreds of Taez residents attended the wedding and many were dancing in the streets, the celebrations a welcome relief from nearly two years of war.
The foundation said it organised the wedding to show appreciation for the young men's sacrifices in defending the city.
Adnan Ismail, 25, was shot in his left leg by a Houthi sniper while fighting the rebels in December 2015 in his native Al Misrakh district, about 10 kilometres outside the city. His leg had to be amputated at the knee as a result of the injury.
"I was not prepared to surrender to the Houthis rebels. I wanted to to do my duty and defend my area and I was willing to sacrifice my soul to stop the Houthis taking over my home," said Mr Ismail, who still lives in Al Misrakh with his parents
Mr Ismail said he was far from thinking about marriage when he joined the fight against the rebels, but after becoming disabled he felt he needed someone to take care of him.
"I want to thank the charitable man and Muath foundation for this wedding, as I think all of the injured need someone to take care of them. I am so happy today and hope to see all of the single, injured people married."
The foundation's financial manager, Haroon Rasheed, said it would continue helping fighters who had lost limbs by finding more sponsors for their weddings.
"This is the first batch and we are planning for others," Mr Rasheed told The National – by Mohammed Al Qalisi and Tareq Al Mallah
5.2.2017 – Hisham Al-Omeisy (A P T)
AQAP making advances in Abyan, and the same morons who kept denying existence of AQ in Aden, Taiz, alBayda, desperately playing down
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/828509509618429952
6.2.2017 – Al Sahwa (A P T)
Yemen government plans to eliminate al-Qaeda from Abyan
The Yemen government is to prepare a plan to eliminate al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula from the governorate of Abyan.
According to Saba News Agency, the government held a meeting with the local authorities in Aden And Abyan, stressing the importance of defeating any al-Qaeda attempts to exist in Abyan governorate.
Prime Minister Ahmed Obaid Bin Daghar directed ministries and competent authorities to provide any equipment and supplies to security services in order to enhance their performance.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-3713
My comment: “Plans” or “wishes”?
6.2.2017 – Al Sahwa (A T)
Yemen's army declares curfew in Lawdar
Yemen's army on Saturday declared a curfew in the town of Lawdar, Abyan governorate, from 8:00 pm until 6:00 am.
This declaration came hours after al-Qaeda militants failed to take over the headquarters of the security department in Lawdar.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-3712
4.2.2017 – Sputnik News (* A T)
Jemen: Zivilisten überwältigen 13 Al-Qaida-Kämpfer
Die Einwohner einer Stadt im Süd-Jemen haben am Samstag 13 Kämpfer der Terrorgruppierung Al-Qaida getötet, wie die Agentur AFP unter Berufung auf einen Vertreter der Sicherheitsbehörden berichtet.
Der Agentur zufolge versuchten die Terroristen, mehrere Verwaltungsgebäude in der Stadt Loder in der Provinz Abyan unter ihre Kontrolle zu bringen. Die Einwohner sollen jedoch heftigen Widerstand geleistet und die Kämpfer somit zum Rückzug gezwungen haben.
https://de.sputniknews.com/panorama/20170204314402257-jemen-ziviliesten-alqaida-kaempfer/
5.2.2017 – Gulf Today (* A T)
Yemen tribesmen kill 13 Al Qaeda fighters: Official
Yemeni tribesmen on Saturday killed 13 Al Qaeda fighters who had slipped back into a southern town hours after pulling out in the face of street protests, a security official said.
The militants had reemerged during the night and sought to take control of public buildings in the Abyan province town of Loder, the official said.
They met with fierce resistance from armed residents and withdrew after gun battles lasting two hours.
Loder was one of three towns in Abyan province that Al Qaeda fighters entered on Thursday.
They withdrew from two of them on Friday in the face of warnings of resistance from local tribes.
Yemen’s powerful and heavily armed tribes play a leading role in the country’s politics and frequently determine local allegiances.
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/851976f2-a8c0-49d9-a4af-a1ee434a65d2.aspx
and
6.2.2017 – Al Sahwa (A T)
About 13 al-Qaeda operators killed in Abyan
Thirteen al-Qaeda operators were killed on Saturday as tribesmen installed ambushes in the town of Lawdar, Abyan governorate, a Yemeni security source told Alsahwah Net.
The source affirmed that al-Qaeda returned to the southern towns of Lawdar and Shaqrah though al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula had previously declared that it withdrew from these towns.
Tribesmen clashed with al-Qaeda terrorists inside the town when the terrorists tried to enter some public facilities, the source added.
The source said that clashes lasted two hours between al-Qaeda militants and tribesmen, and they ended when al-Qaeda militants withdrew.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-3674 and mentioning 23 killed: http://english.aawsat.com/2017/02/article55366902/yemen-23-al-qaeda-terrorists-killed-lawdar
5.2.2017 – Southfront (* A T)
AL-QAIDA GELANG ES NACH US-ANGRIFF DREI STÄDTE IM JEMEN ZU EROBERN
Al-Qaida-Terroristen gelang es, nur wenige Tage nach dem Überfall der US-Spezialeinheiten drei Städte im Süden des Jemen zu besetzen.
Nur wenige Tage nach dem Überfall der US-Spezialeinheiten im Bezirk Qifah in der jemenitischen Provinz Bayda gelang es der Terrororganisation Al-Qaida im Süden des Jemen drei Städte zu erobern. Bei dem Eroberungsfeldzug wurden 16 Zivilisten getötet.
Wie der Nachrichtensender Press TV unter Berufung auf namentlich nicht genannte lokale Quellen berichtete, konnten die Terroristen, unterstützt von saudischen Söldnern, die über die verspätete Zahlung ihres Lohnes wütend waren, die Städte Ahwar, Loder und Shaqra zurückerobern.
Laut einer anderen Quelle der Website, verließ al-Qaida später die Städte Shaqra und Loder wieder, als Anwohner ihren Protest demonstrierten und drohten, Waffen gegen die Terroristen zu einzusetzen.
https://de.southfront.org/al-qaida-erobert-3-jemenitische-stadte-nach-dem-us-uberfall/ siehe auch http://www.zeit.de/news/2017-02/03/jemen-al-kaida-zieht-sich-aus-zwei-staedten-im-sued-jemen-zurueck-03165403
4.2.2017 – Xinhua (* A T)
Al-Qaida deploys scores of fighters in 3 Yemeni towns
The Yemen-based al-Qaida branch deployed on Friday scores of its well-armed fighters across three southern towns in the country's troubled war-torn province of Abyan, residents told said.
"Numerous checkpoints were set up by al-Qaida gunmen across the roads in Abyan's towns of Lawder, Ahwar and the coastal town of Shuqra," the local residents confirmed to Xinhua by phone.
"Armored cars of the al-Qaida group were deployed around the government facilities and in the key entrances of Lawder town," the local residents said.
Las week, the UAE-backed Yemeni security forces withdrew from Abyan's towns after receiving several ambushes and repeated armed attacks by al-Qaida gunmen.
The al-Qaida gunmen detonated on Thursday three security buildings and two positions used by the UAE-backed Yemeni forces.
However, tribal sources told Xinhua that hundreds of local citizens were mobilized to confront al-Qaida gunmen and prepare for launching a military campaign against the terrorist group there.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-02/04/c_136029448.htm
4.2.2017 – Al Sahwa (A T)
Security services capture dangerous terrorist in Aden
Aden Police Department on Friday declared it captured a dangerous al-Qaeda militant, Abu Dujanah, who carried out a number of assassinations in Aden.
Sources of Aden Police Department told Alsahwah Net that a counter-terrorism unit stormed into a place in al-Mimdarah neighborhood in Aden and managed to capture Abu Dujanah.
Security sources said that Abu Dujanah admitted, during investigations, that he carried out assassinations against security and military officials in Aden.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-3676
5.2.2017 – Almasdar Online (A K T)
Within 24 hrs, two security members assassinated in Taiz
Unknown gunmen riding a motorcycle assassinated Thursday evening a policeman when he was driving a minivan in Bab Mosa area in Taiz city, in southwestern Yemen. Earlier, gunmen shot dead Mohammed Abdul Aziz Al Aghbari, a security member from Al Shammasi Police Station, when he was at the entrance of Souk Assameel, to the east of the city. Assassinations of security members in Taiz have lately been rife, in spite of the strict measures and arrangements the Provincial Security Committee has made to to limit such killings.
Security sources, however, accuse gunmen, belonging to pro-Houthi/Saleh forces, of staging assassinations against both military and security members, pointing out that the Houthis and their allies are trying to instigate chaos by increasing such incidents, as a response to the victories of the pro-government forces in the western coast.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/88573
My comment: Looks like Al Qaida, not Houthis.
5.2.2017 – Almasdar Online (A T)
Al-Qaeda militants Abduct senior officer close to Hadi
Militants linked to al-Qaeda in Yemen abducted on Sunday a senior officer from the Presidential Guards of President Abdu Rabbo Mansour Hadi, a security source in the southern port city of Aden told Almasdaronline.
The source said that the officer, who has close ties with Hadi, "Major Abdullah Al Khader Hussein was abducted in Akad atea, while on the way to Lowder town, in Abyan," in southeastern Yemen.
The militants drove him to unknown destination, the source added.
The source also said the senior officer, who hails from Al Wadhee' area, the hometown of president Hadi, was the Chief of Military Logistics and Supplies Department at the Defense Ministry.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/88622
4.2.2017 – Hussam Al Sanabani (A P)
Hadi order his government to markdown the customs to activate Aden port. Merchants prefers Hodeidah port No bandits (photo)
https://twitter.com/HussamSanabani/status/827941601888583681
4.2.2017 – Southern Hirak (A P)
Film: Saleh relies on 'unity' to maintain control of South Yemen's resources
2014 Dialogue results meant resources would be devolved to be managed locally. This in turn meant end of Salehs reign & purpose of unity. Hence reason for coupe and war in 2015. #TheSouthWillRiseAgain
https://twitter.com/SouthHirak/status/827930480817356800
My comment: The view of southern Hirak separatists on the unity of Yemen.
11.1.2017 – SAM (A P)
10 January 2017 Detention of Activist Ali Baqitiyan by Elite Forces in Hadhramout
SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties, Genève, followed with great concern detention of human rights activist Ali Harmal Baqitiyan in Mukalla city, Hadhramout capital, eastern Yemen, on Tuesday 10/1/2017, by Hadhrami Elite forces (AL-Nukhba Al-Hadhramiah).
Sources confirmed to SAM that detention of Mr. Baqitiyan was for his participation in the protest before Arrayan airport, staged by relatives of detainees who have been detained on 9 January 2017, to release their detained.
SAM organization condemns with strongest terms the abduction of Baqitiyan, besieging his house and intimidating his family, stressing that this is clear violation to freedoms and to the Yemeni constitution which guarantees protection of citizen and ensures freedom of civil activities and peaceful protests.
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
6.2.2017 – UN Security Council (A P)
February 2017 Monthly Forecast, Yemen, Expected Council Action
In February, the Council is expected to adopt a resolution renewing the 2140 Yemen sanctions regime and the mandate of the 2140 Sanctions Committee’s Panel of Experts. Current sanctions measures expire on 26 February, and the mandate of the Panel expires on 27 March.
In a 6 December 2016 letter to the SecretaryGeneral and the Security Council, the Yemeni government reiterated its rejection of the roadmap proposed by the UN Special Envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed as a basis for resuming peace talks. The government described the roadmap as “flagrantly revers[ing] the three terms of reference”—the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) initiative and its implementation mechanism, the National Dialogue Conference outcomes and resolution 2216 and other relevant Council resolutions—and said it “sows the seeds of a new phase of bloody conflict”
On 18 December 2016, foreign ministers of the “Quad”—Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the UK and the US— met with the foreign minister of Oman and Ould Cheikh Ahmed in Riyadh. They discussed the Special Envoy’s “proposals”—previously referred to as the roadmap—for resuming peace talks.
Following the meeting, the Quad released a communiqué reaffirming their support for the UN proposals, which “represent an outline for a comprehensive agreement whose details will be settled in negotiations”.
http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/monthly-forecast/2017-02/yemen_26.php?print=true
My comment: “renewing the 2140 Yemen sanctions regime”: nothing will change, the charter for the Saudi bombing war and Saudi blockade and starvation will be renewed.
3.2.2017 – Atlantic Council (* B P)
Rethinking Transitional Justice in Yemen
Yemen’s complex social fabric—composed of factional, tribal, and local dynamics—has frayed over the course of the conflict, with systematic abuses of human rights and international law driving a wedge between centers of gravity within the various communities. Unless Yemenis (with the support of international actors) develop a plan now to address these grievances, they will undermine any future stability and potentially drive otherwise peaceful citizens into the embrace of armed groups.
Transitional justice, as defined by the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), “is rooted in accountability and redress for victims” of human rights abuses too widespread and systematic for the judicial system of post-conflict countries to handle. In the case of Yemen, one can easily imagine how different military, paramilitary, jihadist, and tribal groups have focused solely on their objectives at the cost of the civilian population, creating additional motivations to take up arms to either exact revenge or protect what they have left. Add to that an international dimension—wherein Saudi Arabia drops US-made bombs on military and non-military targets, Iranian rhetoric (at minimum) ensures continued and costly engagement, and transnational jihadists entrench themselves in the lawless vacuum—and it is easy to see how Yemen’s societal foundations have been profoundly shaken. Even if the fighting stops tomorrow, the multitude of injustices against different groups by different perpetrators will leave lasting scars that require reconciliation to repair the social fabric and restore trust in state institutions.
In this stressed judicial environment, the need for a legitimate and well-planned transitional justice process to support a future peace agreement cannot be overstated—but it is not without its pitfalls. In the aftermath of the Yemen uprising that began almost six years ago to the day, the National Dialogue Conference (NDC)—which sought to restore peace by providing a platform for all representatives of Yemenis to redefine the citizen-state relationship—included a working group to address human rights violations, truth seeking, and reconciliation. Previous research on the NDC’s Transitional Justice Committee demonstrated significant differences among the participants on the scope and focus of such efforts.
With the benefit of hindsight, it is possible to get a head start on finding the appropriate mechanism to address different grievances without hurrying the process. In fact, one of the main drivers that led to the current crisis includes the pressure placed on Yemeni officials to rush to peace. The immunity granted to Ali Abdullah Saleh and prominent members of his regime through the post-uprising GCC agreement, the deal that ended the revolution and mapped out the transitional period, left his regime mostly intact.
Should international efforts succeed in pushing the UN roadmap to fruition, it would allow Yemenis to return to their own to rebuild their country. Although the NDC had its flaws and detractors, it nonetheless represents a starting point for a return to accountability for Yemen’s torn communities. The tendency to turn to revenge-seeking tactics in the aftermath of the Hadi-Houthi conflict will peak immediately after the agreement, underscoring the need for the final roadmap to expressly contain a commitment to pursue and prioritize transitional justice. This places the United Nations at the front and center of peace-building, but the ownership of the process must belong to Yemenis. Most importantly, the international community can best support transitional justice by a deft and nuanced emphasis on compromise and patience—applying appropriate pressure on spoilers of the past—rather than focus on deadlines and stability. Although the current conflict has done damage that will take decades to repair, it also provides a second chance to acknowledge the painful truths of the past from which Yemen can begin to look forward – by Tarek Radwan
http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menasource/rethinking-transitional-justice-in-yemen
3.2.2017 – Middle East Monitor (A P)
Hadi: US stipulated its military aid not be used against Houthis
Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi reiterated his refusal to agree to the “road map” proposed by the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.
“The proposal is rejected regardless of the pressures,” Hadi said, adding that the road map contradicts the Gulf initiative, the outcomes of the national dialogue and international resolutions.
The Yemeni president accused former US Secretary of State John Kerry of trying to impose the road map in a manner that coincided with the policy of former President Barack Obama’s administration of rapprochement with Iran at the expense of Arab countries, according to Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper.
Hadi mentioned that the Americans stipulated that Yemen not use the American military aid in the war against the Houthis, adding that Washington refused to categorise the Houthis as a terrorist organisation, despite the fact that Yemen requested Washington do so.
He denied any intention to bequeath power or authority, stressing that his project lies in a federal government, stating: “I believe in a Yemen united by a federal government from six provinces.”
My comment: Hadi always rejected the UN and Kerry roadmaps for a Yemeni peace which included a shift of power from Hadi to a new vice president. Hadi wants to stay in full power – and rejects all peace attempts which would form a new government including his foes. Hadi has proven to be the main obstacle for all peace efforts – and now, with some military victories and the anti-Iranian politics of US president Trump, he thinks he can crow even more. – The “federal government from six provinces” was a special Hadi plan to weaken his rivals by a special shaping of these six regions. This idea is void, any better federal solution does not require any “president” Hadi. And, once again: Hadi stresses the “the Gulf initiative, the outcomes of the national dialogue”: Both had limited Hadis term, to two years at first, extended for just one more year. If we take would serious Guld Initiative and National Dialogue, Hadi would have had to start his life as a pensioner on Feb. 27, 2015.
cp7a Saudi-Arabien und Iran / Saudi Arabia and Iran
5.2.2017 – Financial Tribune (A P)
Saudi Setbacks in Yemen Behind Anti-Iran Claims
Iran's Foreign Ministry dismissed as hackneyed and groundless the recent claims by Saudi Arabia against the Islamic Republic, saying the heavy blows Riyadh has suffered in Yemen are the reason for such allegations.
"Fictitious claims by the Saudi foreign minister are a result of [Riyadh's] major and successive setbacks in Yemen," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi said on Friday, Press TV reported.
He noted that Saudi Arabia's ceaseless diversionary moves and blame games would not "change the existing realities" and emphasized that the "Yemeni Army and popular forces do not and will not need any foreign assistance".
The spokesperson said the Saudi rulers must be held accountable sooner or later for their "inhumane crimes" committed in Yemen over the past two years.
"Leveling such allegations will not reduce their international responsibility for the war crimes committed in Yemen," he said.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran, as a powerful country in the region, which has always played a constructive and positive role in the fight against terrorism, does not need to interfere in the affairs of regional Muslim countries."
Qasemi urged the Saudi foreign minister "to change his tested and futile ways".
https://financialtribune.com/articles/national/58889/saudi-setbacks-in-yemen-behind-anti-iran-claims and also: http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951116000387 and https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2017/02/04/1317299/spokesman-rejects-saudi-fm-s-anti-iran-allegations-as-bogus and http://en.mehrnews.com/news/123250/Saudi-rulers-to-be-held-accountable-for-war-crimes-in-Yemen and http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/02/03/509002/Iran-Saudi-Arabia-Yemen-Bahram-Qassemi-Adel-alJubeir-Antnio-Guterres
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
6.2.2017 – Human Rights Watch (* B P)
Saudi Arabia: Intensified Repression of Writers, Activists
Saudi Arabia has stepped up arrests, prosecutions, and convictions of peaceful dissident writers and human rights advocates in 2017, Human Rights Watch said today. In January, a Saudi court sentenced two prominent activists to long jail terms, accusing them of being in contact with international media and human rights organizations. The authorities jailed two others, one of whom remains in detention while under investigation.
Saudi courts have convicted at least 20 prominent activists and dissidents since 2011. Many faced sentences as long as 10 or 15 years on broad, catch-all charges such as “breaking allegiance with the ruler” or “participating in protests” that do not constitute recognizable crimes.
“Saudi Arabia is trying to silence and lock away anyone who doesn’t toe the official line or dares to express an independent view on politics, religion, or human rights,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “When will the Saudi authorities understand that talking to the media or an international organization should not be a crime.”
On January 18, Saudi Arabia’s Specialized Criminal Court (SCC), the country’s terrorism tribunal, sentenced Nadhir al-Majed, 39, a prominent writer, to seven years in prison and a seven-year ban on travel abroad. The conviction was based on his participation in protests in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province in 2011, over discrimination against the country’s minority Shia community, his communication with international media and human rights organizations, and a series of articles supporting the protests and calling for an end to discrimination against the Shia.
The Arab Charter on Human Rights, which Saudi Arabia has ratified, guarantees the right to freedom of opinion and expression in Article 32. The United Nations General Assembly’s Declaration on the Rights of Human Rights Defenders states that everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to “impart or disseminate to others views, information and knowledge on all human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
“Saudi Arabia repeatedly demonstrates its complete intolerance toward citizens who speak out for human rights and reform,” Whitson said.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/02/06/saudi-arabia-intensified-repression-writers-activists
5.2.2017 – Ali AlAhmed (A P)
#Saudi Monarchy bans female college students from wearing pants.
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/828424362185330688
2.2.2017 – Bloomberg (* B P)
How Do Israel’s Tech Firms Do Business in Saudi Arabia? Very Quietly
In speeches, Netanyahu likes to quip that the three reasons Arabs are interested in Israel these days are “technology, technology, and technology.” That interest doesn’t translate into open business relationships for one reason above all others: the Israeli-Palestinian problem. Cooperation in the Gulf cannot become truly lucrative until “the lightbulb goes off in Netanyahu’s head” and he signs a peace treaty, says Riad al Khouri, a director at political risk adviser GeoEconomica, based in Amman, Jordan. “The Palestinians are still the gatekeepers.” And the conflict could quickly get worse. Trump said during his campaign, and reiterated after his inauguration, that he intends to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. His nominee for ambassador to Israel, his bankruptcy lawyer, David Friedman, has said he intends to work from Jerusalem, calling it “Israel’s eternal capital.” The Palestinian Fatah party has stated such a move would “open the gates of hell.” On Feb. 1, Netanyahu pledged to build the first new West Bank settlement in 25 years. Since Trump took office, Israel has announced plans to build an additional 5,500 housing units in the occupied territory. Trump has invited Netanyahu to visit the White House on Feb. 15.
The Saudis say they’ll make peace with Israel after Israel makes peace with the Palestinians. The offer was reiterated in 2016 by two retired senior Saudi officials in rare public appearances alongside Israeli counterparts in Washington and Jerusalem.
Netanyahu also uses other aides for high-level Arab contacts, including his personal attorney, Yitzhak Molcho, and former Ambassador to the United Nations Dore Gold. Off and on since the Oslo Accords in the early 1990s, Israel has operated trade offices in Qatar and Oman, and about a year ago it received approval to station a diplomat in the U.A.E.’s capital emirate, Abu Dhabi, as its representative to the International Renewable Energy Agency. The office has the capacity to function as an embassy for Israel’s expanding ties in the Gulf.
He [Netanyahu’s frontman for regional cooperation is Ayoob Kara, a 61-year-old Arab-Israeli parliamentarian] also says there’s Gulf interest in a second Red Sea pipeline, an existing one built 50 years ago in partnership with the shah of Iran when the two countries maintained secret alliances. The state-owned Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline Co. operates the 160-mile conduit to pump oil from tankers in the Red Sea port of Eilat to the Mediterranean city of Ashkelon. It bypasses the Suez Canal and can cut shipping costs to Europe and North America. When the shah was overthrown in 1979, Israel took sole ownership of the project. A Swiss appeals court last year awarded Iran $1.1 billion in lost revenue, a sum Israel refuses to pay its sworn enemy. Kara says the prospect of using the pipeline keeps coming up in his discussions with Saudis – by Jonathan Ferziger and Peter Waldman
cp9 USA
Siehe cp1, 1a, 14 / Look at cp1, 1a, 14
5.2.2017 – Bangkok Post (* B K P)
End Obama war legacy
When outgoing United States president Barack Obama peacefully turned over power to his successor Donald Trump -- a mark of true democracy -- he also handed him some seven separate wars. Four days later
In 2016, the United States bombed Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia. Of these seven countries, Congress has given legal authority to attack two. Mr Trump's authorisation of the...
Mr Trump has stridently insisted he will fight terrorism. That's fine, but it is time for the president to lay out an actual policy. Mr Obama failed utterly to explain the seven separate military adventuresThe new US president has a chance to set bad policy right. Too many innocent people have died under Mr Obama's policies to justify continuing them – Editorial Board
http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1193397/
4.2.2017 – Middle East Monitor (* B K P)
Trump continuing Obama’s ruthlessness in Yemen
The operation that apparently resulted in “important intelligence that will assist the US in preventing terrorism against its citizens and people around the world,” according to President Donald Trump, was in fact, according to further evidence given, not well planned out.
The attack ended in tragedy and within days Al-Qaeda made further gains in Yemen.
Despite this, the Trump administration is still advocating decentralising the process to approve military operations.
Obama’s continued destruction
So far the Trump administration has proven to be reckless in its domestic and foreign policies and has had no real regard for human rights at home or abroad. When Obama approved the killing of Anwar Al-Awlaki, a US citizen, Anwar was killed without being charged with, or even being convicted of any crime. He was also denied a fair trial to the allegations set against him and was assassinated in cold blood.
His assassination sparked anger and a nation-wide debate.
Obama’s policies surrounding the Saudi-led war in Yemen were also products of misinformation, and lacked real consideration for the domestic political situation in Yemen. Because the war happened at a very sensitive time, in a very sensitive geopolitical climate, Obama seemed to primarily care for sustaining a balance between not upsetting Riyadh and Tehran.
The military operation has done little to force the Houthis and Saleh to withdraw, and has cost the lives of thousands of civilians. Y
Trump would continue to support the flawed operation because it will increase arms sales. He would have little regard for the cost of human life, or for finding a political end to the conflict. The Obama era’s drone strikes and raids will continue. However, Obama’s violent history in the Peninsula must not be forgotten and Trump’s ferociousness towards Yemen must be viewed from the lens of the continuation of the Obama administration’s policy – by Diana Alghoul
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170204-trump-continuing-obamas-ruthlessness-in-yemen/
5.2.2017 – RTR (* A P)
Einreisestopp: Gericht lehnt Trumps Berufung ab – Einreise weiter möglich
In den USA bleibt das von Präsident Donald Trump verhängte Einreiseverbot für Menschen aus sieben muslimisch geprägten Ländern außer Kraft. Die Regierung scheiterte in der Nacht zum Sonntag vor einem Berufungsgericht in San Francisco mit einem Eilantrag gegen die vorherige Entscheidung eines Bundesrichters, der das umstrittene Einreiseverbot vorläufig gekippt hatte. Das Berufungsgericht setzte dem US-Justizministerium eine Frist bis Montag, den Widerspruch ausführlicher zu begründen.
4.2.2017 – Frankfurter Allgemeine (* A P)
Nach Urteil von Bundesrichter. Außenministerium setzt Einreiseverbot aus
Ein Urteil hebt den Einreisebann vorläufig auf. Auch das Außenministerium reagiert. Trump selbst bezeichnet das Urteil als „lächerlich“ und stellt die Legitimation des Richters in Frage.
4.2.2017 – Tagesschau.de (* A P)
US-Bundesrichter blockiert Einreiseverbot
Ein US-Bundesrichter in Seattle hat das umstrittene Einreiseverbot vorläufig gestoppt. Die Anordnung gilt landesweit und bis zu einer endgültigen Entscheidung. Die US-Regierung will Widerspruch einlegen.
Eine Woche ist der umstrittene Einreisestopp für Bürger aus sieben überwiegend muslimischen Ländern alt - nun hat ihm ein Richter im Bundesstaat Washington einen Riegel vorgeschoben. Der Bann ist vorläufig ausgesetzt.
Die einstweilige Verfügung gilt laut der Urteilsbegründung landesweit, wie die Generalstaatsanwaltschaft mitteilte. Sie bleibe bis zur Entscheidung in der Hauptsache in Kraft. Der Bundesstaat Washington war der erste Bundesstaat, der gegen das Dekret des US-Präsidenten Donald Trump Einspruch eingelegt hatte - nur drei Tage, nachdem der Einreisestopp vom Republikaner Trump verhängt worden war. Im Laufe der Woche schloss sich auch der Staat Minnesota der Klage an.
Irreparabler Schaden
Die Entscheidung in Washington traf der Richter James Robart. Er sah es als hinreichend belegt an, dass Einwohnern des Staates Washington irreparabler Schaden entstehen könnte, wenn der Einreisebann bestehen bleibt.
Die Anwälte der US-Regierung argumentierten hingegen, die zwei Staaten hätten kein Recht darauf, gegen das Dekret juristisch vorzugehen. Der US-Kongress habe dem Präsidenten die Autorität gegeben, über Fragen der Nationalen Sicherheit zu verfügen. Der Richter wies die Argumentation zurück.
Die Verfügung ist eine von gleich mehreren Maßnahmen, die gegen das Dekret bereits greifen oder noch in der Schwebe sind. Vergangene Woche hatte bereits eine Bundesrichterin in New York für das ganze Land bindend entschieden, dass die Einreise mit einem gültigen Visum erlaubt ist - auch wenn das Trump-Dekret das Gegenteil vorsieht. Am Donnerstag wurde diese vorläufige Anordnung der Richterin um ein weiteres Mal bis zum 21. Februar verlängert. http://www.br.de/nachrichten/tagesschau/usa-trump-einreise-tagesschau100.html und auch http://www.bz-berlin.de/welt/us-bundesrichter-in-seattle-stoppt-vorerst-trumps-einreiseverbot
6.2.2017 – Fox News (* A P)
Trump refugee order could be headed to Supreme Court
The intense national debate over President Trump’s refugee executive order could be headed to the Supreme Court, as the dispute quickly works its way up the judicial food chain – while adding another dimension to the confirmation fight over the president’s pick to fill the high court’s vacancy.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/06/trump-refugee-order-could-be-headed-to-supreme-court.html
5.2.2017 – Reuters (* A P)
Trump faces uphill battle to overcome court's hold on travel ban
U.S. President Donald Trump faces an uphill battle to overcome a federal judge's temporary hold on his travel ban on seven mainly Muslim countries, but the outcome of a ruling on the executive order's ultimate legality is less certain.
Any appeals of decisions by U.S. District Court Judge James Robart in Seattle face a regional court dominated by liberal-leaning judges who might not be sympathetic to Trump's rationale for the ban, and a currently shorthanded Supreme Court split 4-4 between liberals and conservatives.
The temporary restraining order Robart issued on Friday in Seattle, which applies nationwide, gives him time to consider the case in more detail, but also sends a signal that he is likely to impose a more permanent injunction.
The Trump administration has appealed that order.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-immigration-court-idUSKBN15K0WD
5.2.2017 – AP (* A P)
BREAKING: Appeals court denies Trump administration request to immediately reinstate ban on travelers and refugees.
https://twitter.com/AP/status/828169669907447809
4.2.2017 – NBC (A H P)
With President Trump's travel ban temporarily lifted, a 12-year-old Yemeni girl is coming back to the United States to be reunited with her family.
Eman Ali, who has spent the last week struck in Djibouti, is slated to land in San Francisco on Sunday after a federal judge temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's travel ban on people from seven predominantly Muslim countries.
and
5.2.2017 – Abubakr Al Shahami (A P)
12 year old Yemeni Eman Ali reunited with her family in California after the suspension of Trump's Muslim Ban. (Photo: Reuters/Kate Munsch)
https://twitter.com/abubakrabdullah/status/828492957242236928
5.2.2017 – Telegraph (A P)
Iranian PhD graduate who was pulled off a plane and Yemeni 12-year-old girl who was nearly separated from her family now back in the US after Trump's travel ban is suspended
5.2.2017 – Sophie McNeill (A P)
Nazanin was pulled off a plane despite being legal resident. In a stroke of a pen her whole life turned upside down (link)
https://twitter.com/Sophiemcneill/status/828484722309419008
Iranian academic/ legal US resident Nazanin Zinouri whose heartbreaking story you heard on @amworldtodaypm is now back in the US! (photos)
https://twitter.com/Sophiemcneill/status/828483522075688960
4.2.2017 – Reuters (A P)
Royal Jordanian gets U.S. instructions lifting travel ban
Jordanian airline Royal Jordanian received instructions from the U.S. authorities on Saturday allowing travelers from Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Sudan, Somali and Iran to board its flights to the United States if they have the necessary visa.
"These instructions are effective as of today and cancel the U.S. presidential decision that restricted the entry to America of these above mentioned nationalities," Royal Jordanian spokesman Basel Kilani told Reuters.
"The airline will resume flying passengers of these nationalities to the United States as long as they hold valid visas unless the airline gets contrary instructions from U.S. customs and homeland security," he said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-immigration-jordan-idUSKBN15J0OR
3.2.2017 – Reuters (A P)
Nine Yemenis deported from U.S. to Ethiopia under Trump travel ban
Nine Yemenis deported from the United States in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban were flown to Ethiopia, then taken to neighboring Djibouti, an Ethiopian government official said on Friday. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-immigration-ethiopia-idUSKBN15I1Z4
2.2.2016 – Avio News (* A P)
Airplanes and diplomacy. US-Iran relationships: a time bomb ready to explode. Focus on missile -VIDEO
And now the debate enlarges: from aircraft for Iran Air to missile tests of Tehran. UN resolution at risk
In a few hours a sponge off on the diplomatic easing of tensions reached so hardly by the previous administration. And the missile test could be for Washington the starting point to tear up the agreement on nuclear. And at this point two scenarios would be opened: a renegotiation of the contract that predicts the inclusion of the veto to the missile tests (difficult that Iran accepts it, because according some analysts the test has been controlled by the more intransigent Iranian conservatives exactly to cause the reaction by Trump and to "blow up" the agreement reached by the current President and Obama), or to apply new sanctions to the Country.
Currently USA of Trump have Israel, that considers the test a "Violation in the act" of the resolution. "There is no doubt that other sanctions are necessary against Iran", the intelligence and strategic matters minister, Israel Katz declared it. The friendship violated at its beginning of Putin with Trump at least on this side. Russia in fact doesn't agree considering on the contrary that there is no any violation, as it is a medium range missile, not strategic. Probably both will discuss in the first bilateral summit fixed between the end of June and the early July, together to other matters as those regarding Ukraine and Syria.
http://www.avionews.com/index.php?corpo=see_news_home.php&news_id=1201951&pagina_chiamante=index.php
3.2.2017 – Munchies (* A P)
We Spoke to the Yemeni-Americans Who Took Part in NYC’s Massive Bodega Strike
Yesterday, thousands of Yemeni deli-owners and their supporters took to the plaza in front of Brooklyn’s Borough Hall to protest the order, after hundreds of grocers closed their stores yesterday from noon to eight in protest.
The demonstrators waved American and Yemeni flags as New York City public officials greeted them with the words “Assalamu alaikum.” Brooklyn borough president Eric L. Adams told the crowd that the rally was sending “a loud and clear message to America,” and Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted “New York City’s bodega owners are bravely shutting their doors to oppose the president’s shameful executive order. I stand with them.”
Mohamed Alnowfi, an organizer of the protest and owner of Metro Finest Deli in Downtown Brooklyn, told MUNCHIES that the Yemeni community owns more than 4,000 delis and groceries in the city. His family has been in the US for three generations; he has lived in Brooklyn for more than 40 years. “My children grew up here and went to college and they have no connection to the old country,” he said. “America is all about creating a better place to live and dream that has freedom of religion and speech. This is really painful, what happened to the American Dream?” – by Alex Swerdloff (with photos)
1.2.2017 – Foreign Policy (*A P)
SitRep: Trump Advisor Bannon Predicts Wars With China, Middle East; Pentagon Officials Say Gloves Off in Yemen
Keep an eye on Yemen. Some Pentagon officials are looking at Yemen as a place where the Trump administration might allow the military more room for action than the Obama administration, according to the Washington Post’s Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Missy Ryan.
After the weekend’s Navy SEAL raid on an al Qaeda camp that killed over a dozen fighters — along with the 8 year-old daughter of deceased American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who was killed in 2011 in a U.S. drone strike – along with Chief Petty Officer William “Ryan” Owens, defense officials see more action coming. “We expect an easier approval cycle [for operations] under this administration,” one defense official told the Post. Another former officials with experience in Yemen said that more U.S. troops on the ground in Yemen was “overdue.” – BY PAUL MCLEARY, ADAM RAWNSLEY
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
6.2.2017 – MbKS15 (A K P)
UK's Minister of Defense during his inspection of the #AN132D transport airplane at #Antonov facility (photos)
https://twitter.com/MbKS15/status/828637412100284417
My comment: This is an Ukrainian-Saudi joint product. What’s the UK minister doing there? He’s showing how deep complicity between the UK government, the Ukrainian and the Saudi regimes and their interests in arms deals actually is.
6.2.2017 – The Ferret (* A P)
Scottish smart bombs key in landmark legal case on Yemen
Bombs made in Scotland will be a key issue in a landmark legal case this week on the legality of UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
Over three days in London the High Court will hear a judicial review into UK weapons exports to Saudi Arabia for use in Yemen’s war.
The legal challenge against the UK Government is by Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) who were granted a review by Mr Justice Gilbart last June in an historic decision at the High Court.
The review – a type of court proceeding to review the lawfulness of a decision or action by a public body – will take place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.
Although a decision could technically be announced on the final day The Ferret understands it is more likely to be March before the two judges – not yet named – make a ruling.
Both CAAT and the UK Government have the right to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, if they lose.
If CAAT wins and the UK Government appeals, it will be up to the court to decide whether arms sales are suspended immediately.
CAAT will be represented by law firm Leigh Day and Martin Chamberlain QC while The Ferret understands that the UK Government’s case will be argued by James Eadie QC.
Amnesty International will make a submission to the court along with Human Rights Watch, Rights Watch (UK) and Oxfam. – by Billy Briggs
https://theferret.scot/scottish-smart-bombs-key-in-landmark-legal-case-on-yemen/
6.2.2017 – The Independent (* A P)
Government doesn't investigate human rights claims against Saudi Arabia before selling arms
Officials only come to an 'overall judgement' on whether weapons sold will be used to breach laws
The Government does not make judgments over whether countries like Saudi Arabia have violated international humanitarian laws in specific cases before granting arms exports to them.
Ministers have admitted they do not reach any conclusion on whether there have been violations in particular cases, because they say it would “not be possible” in conflicts the UK is not involved in.
Ministers instead try to come to “an overall judgement” that arms sold to a country will not be used to violate international humanitarian laws (IHL), a government spokesman has told The Independent.
The revelation comes ahead of a landmark judicial review case this week in the High Court, which will determine the legality of the arms transfers to Saudi Arabia.
Campaigners have demanded to know how it is possible to reach an “overall judgement” without determining whether violations have occurred in individual instances and accused the Government of “burying its head in the sand”.
But when Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake called on the Government to publish the findings on which its assessment of alleged violations of international humanitarian law in Yemen is based, he was told that while some incidents were monitored and analysed, no conclusions on individual cases are reached.
Instead, information is used to “form an overall view on the approach and attitude of Saudi Arabia” to IHL – by Joe Watts
6.2.2017 – The Independent (* A P)
End British arms sales to Saudi, say all four major parties
British arms manufacturers have signed at least £5.6bn worth of contracts with the Saudi Arabian government since the 2010 election
Campaign groups and representatives of the UK’s leading political parties have renewed a call for an end to the sales of British arms to Saudi Arabia, in the wake of ongoing human rights abuses and damning evidence on the use of banned British-made cluster bombs.
Since Saudi Arabia began bombing Yemen in March 2015, the UK has licensed £3.3bn worth of arms to the regime, including aircraft and drones, grenades and missiles, vehicles and armoured tanks – by Tom Peck
5.2.2017 – The Guardian (* A P)
Most Britons believe selling arms to Saudis is ‘unacceptable’
The government is keen to promote arms exports in a post-Brexit world
Almost two-thirds of British people think selling arms to Saudi Arabia – the UK’s largest defence customer – is unacceptable.
The finding comes ahead of this week’s high court case, which has the potential to derail arms sales to the kingdom – and could have major consequences for defence exports to other countries too.
The case, on Tuesday, comes at a time when Theresa May’s government is keen to promote UK arms exports. In a post-Brexit world, ministers believe the arms industry could be a major beneficiary when the UK establishes new trade deals. Last month, May agreed a £100m deal to help equip the Turkish military with fighter jets.
But an Opinium poll conducted for the Campaign Against the Arms Tradesuggests the government’s enthusiasm for selling weapons to regimes with questionable human rights records is firmly out of step with public opinion.
The poll shows that 62% of people surveyed think selling arms to Saudi is unacceptable. Almost three-quarters – 73% and 72%, respectively – think it would be unacceptable to sell to Libya and Iran, where Britain does not currently sell arms. Similarly, seven in 10 are against arms sales to Russia, while 63% would not sell to China and 68% would not allow sales to Pakistan.
More broadly, more than seven in 10 people (71%) think that the UK should not promote the sale of weapons to foreign governments accused of violating international humanitarian law. Six in 10 (60%) agree that the government should not promote sales to countries that are not democracies. Only a quarter (26%) agree that the UK should promote the sale of British military equipment to foreign governments, compared with a third (34%) who disagree.
The high court case will place all UK arms exports under close scrutiny – by Jamie Doward
2.2.2017 – BBC (A P)
Minister's 'no regrets' on allegedly disarming BAE warplanes
A minister who was arrested after allegedly trying to disarm warplanes set for Saudi Arabia said he has "no regrets".
The Reverend Dan Woodhouse was one of two men arrested on Sunday on suspicion of criminal damage at BAE Systems in Warton.
The Methodist minister from Leeds said he felt it was an "acceptable" thing to do as "Jesus famously turned over the tables in the temple when injustice was happening".
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lancashire-38834849
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
6.2.2017 – Xinhua (* A K P)
Iran denies arming Yemeni militants: spokesman
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman denied on Monday that the Islamic republic has armed Yemeni militants.
"We do not interfere in Yemen's conflicts and we have given no weapons to Yemeni combatants," said Bahram Qasemi during his weekly press briefing.
"Accusations against Iran in this regard is just a lie and irrelevant, and we seriously reject all of them," said Qasemi.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-02/06/c_136036018.htm
5.2.2017 – Pars Today (* A K P)
Ägypten verlängert Militäreinsatz im Jemen
Der ägyptische Präsident, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, hat das Mandat der ägyptischen Truppen in der von Saudi-Arabien angeführten arabischen Militäreinsatz im Jemen «Sturm der Entschlossenheit» verlängert.
Laut "CNN Arabic" teilte dies das Büro des Präsidenten Ägyptens am Sonntag in einer Erklärung mit.
"Nach der Verfassung hat der nationale Verteidigungsrat zur Verteidigung der nationalen Sicherheit die Verlägerung der Präsenz von Soldaten im Persischen Golf , im Roten Meer und an der Meerenge Bab el-Mandab zugestimmt", hieß es in der Erklärung.
cp13 Mercenaries / Söldner
6.2.2017 – Sudan Vision (* A K P)
Sudan to Send Additional Troops to Yemen
President of the Republic, Field Marshal Omer Al Bashir, has disclosed that his country is currently preparing new troops for transporting them to Saudi Arabia and from there they are to proceed to Yemen.
He affirmed that consutlations are ongoing with King Salman Bin Abdulaziz on bilateral and regional issues.
Al Bashir said in an interview with Alarbaia channel “We, in Sudan feel that the situation in Yemen is threatening to us and when the decisve storm emerged, we particpated directly in it by a number of planes and Sudanese troops now present on the ground in Aden.
He further affirmed that his recent visit to Saudi Arabia was in the framework of continuous consultation with the Kingdom, noting that there are full consensous of ideas and stances, hailing the progress and development of relations at the political, economic, investment and military levels
Regarding Iran and its regional activity, he said that Saudi Arabia had information about anti-Kingdom activity inside Sudan, adding that we confirmed that we will not allow using our territories against Saudi Arabia, expressing his belief that the existence of the Iranian center in Sudan has created some sort of sensetivity and in the end we are convinced that this activity should be terminated.
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
Siehe / Look at cp 1, cp6
6.2.2017 – NTV (A P T)
Film: US-Militäreinsatz im Jemen beschäftigt das Internet
Der erste von US-Präsident Donald Trump angeordnete Militäreinsatz im Jemen geht schief: Bei einem Angriff werden ein US-Soldat und mehrere Zivilisten getötet, darunter Kinder. n-tv Netzreporterin Anne-Kathrin Cyrus fasst die Reaktionen im Internet zusammen.
4.2.2017 – ORF (* A P T)
Operation im Jemen: Pentagon veröffentlichte altes Video
Nach einer umstrittenen Kommandoaktion des US-Militärs im Jemen ist dem Pentagon eine Panne unterlaufen. Das Verteidigungsministerium hatte nach dem Einsatz ein Video des Terrornetzwerks Al-Kaida veröffentlicht, das als Beispiel für die bei der Operation gesicherten sensiblen Informationen dienen sollte. Die Clips kursierten jedoch schon früher im Internet und sind alt.
Das räumte ein Sprecher des Militärs gestern (Ortszeit) ein. Daraufhin wurden sie von einer Website des Pentagons gelöscht. Man habe nicht den Eindruck erwecken wollen, dass man alte Videos verbreite, sagte der Sprecher des Zentralkommandos. Seinen Angaben zufolge wurden die Aufnahmen ohne eingehende Prüfung verbreitet.
http://orf.at/stories/2378051/
4.2.2017 – RT (* A P T)
Pentagon will jüngste Militäroperation im Jemen mit neun Jahre altem Video aus Internet nachweisen
Das US-Verteidigungsministerium hat in seinem Bericht zum Sondereinsatz gegen das Terrornetzwerk Al-Kaida im Jemen vom 29. Januar irrtümlicherweise einen Clip aus öffentlichen Internetquellen verbreitet, gab der Sender CNN an. Es stellte sich heraus, dass das Video, das die Übungen der Kämpfer in einem islamistischen Trainingslager zeigte, neun Jahre alt war. Das Pentagon rechtfertigte den Fehler damit, dass die Experten nicht genug Zeit für eine gründliche Videoanalyse gehabt hätten.
https://deutsch.rt.com/newsticker/46122-pentagon-will-jungste-militaroperation-im/
3.2.2017 – Moon of Alabama (* A ÜP T)
ABERWITZIGE LEITGEDANKEN ZUR OFFENSIVE DER USA IM JEMEN
Ursprünglich erschienen auf MoonOfAlabama
Der Beitrag der gefälschte Skandal um Trump beinhaltete einen Abschnitt über eine Offensive der U.S. Special Force im Jemen, die nur wenige Stunden zuvor stattgefunden hatte:
Das ländliche Haus einer Familie eines Stammesführs, der mit einigen jemenitischen al-Qaida-Mitgliedern befreundet ist, wurde von einem Sondereinsatzkommando angegriffen. Ein US-Tiltrotor-Militärflugzeug wurde während der Operation abgeschossen. Ein Soldat wurde getötet und mehrere verwundet. Die US-Kommandos reagierten mit ihrer üblichen Panik. Sie töteten jeden in Sichtweite und bombardierten jede nahe gelegenen Struktur. Nach jemenischen Quellen wurden zwischen 30 und 57 jemeniten getötet, darunter acht Frauen und acht Kinder (Warnung: Diese Bilder sind nicht für Menschen mit schwachen Nerven geeignet). Das US-Militär behauptete, wie es dies immer tut, dass keine Zivilisten in der Schlacht verletzt wurden.
Eines der getöteten Kinder war die 8-jährige Tochter des al-Qaida-Propagandisten Anwar al-Awlaki.
Diese frühe Beschreibung hält sich gut gegen die jüngsten Berichte von NBC, der Washington Post und der New York Times. Der Vorfall geschah wie beschrieben.
Aber eine offene Frage bleibt noch immer, warum fand dieser Angriff statt? Das Militär und die Verwaltung behaupten um an Informationen, Laptops, Festplatten und dergleichen gekommen zu sein. Aber das ist keine gute Erklärung für einen ausgeklügelten Angriff, welcher viele Ressourcen und Backup benötigt. Wir haben festgestellt, dass “jemenitische Quellen sagen, dass mindestens zwei Männer durch das US-Militär entführt wurden.” Der US-Zentralkommando behauptet, dass keine Gefangenen genommen, sondern nur Nachrichtendienstliches Material entwendet wurde. Vor ein paar Tagen behauptete selbiges aber auch, dass keine Zivilbevölkerung verletzt wurde, sie es heute aber gestehen das dies durchaus passiert ist. Ich glaube wir werden noch mehr zu diesem Thema hören.
Es gibt auch einige Vehrverschwörungstheorien zu diesem Überfall.
https://de.southfront.org/offensive-der-usa-im-jemen/
The original English version was presented in YPR 262. Link: http://www.moonofalabama.org/2017/02/crazy-ideas-about-the-us-attack-in-yemen.html
6.2.2017 – Vocativ (* A P T)
Botched U.S Raid In Yemen Re-Energizes Al-Qaeda
Trump's disastrous Yemen operation "has ignited the flame of jihad"
The botched U.S. counter-terrorism raid in Yemen last week that brought President Donald Trump his first military death since taking office has re-energized al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which is using the operation to ignite “the flame of jihad” again.
Al Sahab Media, the main propaganda wing of al-Qaeda, released a statement on the raid in Yemen, calling Trump a fool who has once again roused Muslims to fight the West. In the statement, published on social media, al-Qaeda directly links Trump’s inauguration speech and his promises to eradicate the Islamic terrorism, with the Yemen raid. It warned that Trump’s threats “are directed against the Muslims in general, whether they are men, women, and even children.”
The leader of al-Qaeda’s branch in Yemen said the “Crusader raid” failed and was a “painful blow to the fool in the White House who didn’t learn from the past.” In the audio recording published by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Qassem al-Reemi claimed 25 people were killed in the U.S raid, and threatened the U.S., saying “Muslims around the world had now witnessed the intensity of the hatred of the Crusaders towards Muslims.” He called upon supporters to “burn the land underneath America’s feet.”
Social media accounts affiliated with AQAP published graphic images allegedly showing children who were killed in the raid, saying “America is assassinating children,” and accusing the U.S. of barbarity. On Telegram, channels affiliated with al-Qaeda celebrated Trump’s “failure in the first military operation he had ordered.” One person asked: “Will history record that the first killing of America soldiers in Trump’s era was in Yemen?” – By Gilad Shiloach with Amit Weiss
http://www.vocativ.com/399705/botched-u-s-raid-in-yemen-re-energizes-al-qaeda/
5.2.2017 – War is a crime (* A P T)
Focus: The Yemen Raid (Part 2) - Feb 5, 2017
The Yemen raid was a tragedy, and not by accident. Mistakes were made during the conception, planning, decision making and execution of the mission. Trump was ill-advised and, I guess, deeply regrets to have approved the mission. Civilians, including children, were killed and an American soldier died. It was also costly because multiple units were deployed; Harrier jets, Apache helicopter gunships and drones were involved, and a $70 million MV-22 Osprey destroyed. The fact that an estimated 14 Al Qaeda members were killed does not make a difference.
The core question is: Do this kind of raids prove effective in defeating Al Qaeda in Yemen? The International Crisis Group says no:
An effective strategy to defeat Al Qaeda in Yemen must address the internal civil war which created a power vacuum. US should stop siding with the Saudi who are conducting an indiscriminate bombing campaign destroying residential areas, hospitals and crowded places. US should act as a neutral peacemaker promoting a negotiated political settlement of the dispute between the Hadi government and the Huthi/Saleh alliance. It is worth to revisit the "Kerry plan” which called for the formation of a national unity government and offered security guarantees to both parties. The conflict will not be resolved by a military victory. It’s the art of diplomacy – by bartolo (with a plenty of links)
http://warisacrime.org/content/focus-yemen-raid-part-2-feb-5-2017 and part 1 (Feb. 3), earlier links: http://warisacrime.org/content/focus-yemen-raid-feb-3-2017
5.2.2017 – Elisabeth Kendall (A P T)
Pentagon claims women killed in US #Yemen raid were "combatants". I've followed #AQAP for years. Not credible.
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/826401002177835008
commenting this US story (already reported earlier):
And another report of the US attack at Al Qaida in Al Bayda.
4.2.2017 – Nasser Arrabyee (* A T)
Student of Anwar Awlaki wrote this statement to mobilize fighters for Qaeda/ISIS from US&other after Trump massacre&failure of his commandos
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/827939189417267200
4.2.2017 – Los Angeles Times (* A P T)
What happened the night a U.S. commando was killed in combat, the first such death of Trump's presidency
http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-yemen-raid-2017-story.html
4.2.2017 – Daily Caller (A T)
Al-Qaida Leader Calls For Revenge After Trump’s Raid In Yemen
Qasim al-Raymi, head of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, accused the U.S. of killing civilians in the Sunday raid in an 11-minute audio address. He called upon loyal tribes to avenge the 14 men, 11 women and children allegedly killed in the raid.
http://dailycaller.com/2017/02/04/al-qaida-leader-calls-for-revenge-after-trumps-raid-in-yemen/
Comment: - Wasn't Qasim al-Raymi killed a 'number' of times by US drones?
- Isn't this a way of prefabricating news in order to push for further massacres of civilians?
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1269762383076789
4.2.2017 – Reuters (*A T)
Yemen Al Qaeda leader says U.S. raid on Yemen a blow to Trump
The leader of Al Qaeda's Yemen branch said in a recorded speech released on Friday that the U.S. raid carried out last week had failed and was a blow to President Donald Trump.
Qassim al-Raymi, who became leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in 2015, said that two U.S. helicopters had been downed in the incident and tens of U.S soldiers were injured.
"The fool of the White House has received a painful blow at the beginning of his journey through your hands," al-Raymi said, addressing the people of Yemen.
Al-Raymi said that 14 men had been killed 11 women and children were killed in the raid – by Omar Fahmy
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-alqaeda-idUSKBN15J0TW
3.2.2017 – Long War Journal (* A T)
Al Qaeda criticizes American raid in Yemen
Earlier today, Al Qaeda’s propaganda arm released a statement condemning the recent American counterterrorism operation in Yemen. US Central Command (CENTCOM) has confirmed that “civilian non-combatants were likely killed in the midst of a firefight during” the raid in Yemen on Jan. 29. The casualties “may include children,” CENTCOM stated.
As Sahab, al Qaeda’s propaganda arm, portrays the operation as part of an allegedly broader campaign against all Muslims.
“Only a few days after [President] Trump warned of Islamic Terrorism in his inauguration speech, we witnessed the American massacre in the Qiffah area in Yemen,” the seventh issue of Al Qaeda’s Al Nafir Bulletin reads.
The statement continues: “Hence, it is clear to us all that the threat was not directed at the Mujahideen of the Islamic Ummah [worldwide community of Muslims] alone, but instead it was directed against the Muslims in general, whether they are men, women, or even children, since the Americans in this massacre intentionally killed women and children, and even an infant in the womb was not spared from their brutality.”
But there is no reason to believe that American forces “intentionally” sought to kill innocent women and children, as al Qaeda alleges.
Nonetheless, al Qaeda used its statement to send a message to the new American president.
“And on this occasion we say to the stupid President Trump: The presidency of your country has had several presidents in years past, all of whom have promised the American people to kill the Mujahideen and excise them,” al Qaeda’s statement reads. “However, they all ended up leaving the White House before fulfilling their promise, despite some of them having a second term.” (Note: In reality, Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama all had second terms.)
Al Qaeda’s bulletin concludes: “This is undoubtedly your fate, for the flame of jihad has ignited and reached all over the world.”
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2017/02/al-qaeda-criticizes-american-raid-in-yemen.php
3.2.2017 – Reuters (* A T)
U.S. military releases, withdraws old Islamist video from Yemen raid
In an awkward reversal, the U.S. military promptly withdrew an old video by Islamist militants it had released on Friday as evidence that a fatal raid in Yemen by American special forces this week was a counter terrorism success.
An expert in radical Islamist media said the footage by unknown militants appeared to be part of videos first released by jihadists online some 10 years ago, undermining the Pentagon's explanation about its value.
A U.S. Central Command spokesman confirmed that the video was removed from the website because the contents were old.
"We didn't want it to appear that we were trying to pass off an old video as a new video," spokesman Colonel John Thomas said.
It is the latest controversy surrounding the raid on a branch of al Qaeda in Yemen, the first such operation authorized by President Donald Trump as commander in chief.
The military said the video was found on Sunday in the operation in al-Bayda province in which a U.S. Navy SEAL, militants and civilians were killed.
A U.S. Central Command spokesman had said on Friday the clip of a ski-masked man encouraging people to build bombs, was "one example of the volumes of sensitive al-Qa'eda terror-planning information recovered during the operation."
The Department of Defense posted the video on its web site on Friday but pulled it off within several hours when questions began to arise about its age.
The footage appeared to be similar to that in other videos that surfaced online in 2007.
"The video clip that was posted and abruptly taken down was one of 25 videos that appeared (published) in 2007,” said Adam Raisman, a senior analyst at SITE group which monitors extremists online. He added that the only difference was that the Pentagon video had English subtitles added.
Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said the video was still of worth, even if it may have been created earlier.
"It does not matter when the video was made, that they had it is still illustrative of who they are and what their intentions are," Davis said – By Idrees Ali
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-yemen-raid-idUSKBN15I2NT and film by BBC: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-38869156
3.2.2017 – Politico (* A P T)
U.S. military touted 10-year-old videos from Yemen terror raid
The video clips that the U.S. military said were evidence of the success of last week’s raid on an Al Qaeda compound in Yemen have one major problem, the Pentagon acknowledged Friday: They have been on the internet for a decade.
The U.S. Central Command, which posted the video clips, pulled them from the Pentagon’s video website after it was discovered they had been posted in 2007 and were still online on the SITE Intelligence Group website.
The videos and the accompanying CENTCOM statement — which stated the clips were “a small sample of the sort of intelligence information that was obtained in the site exploitation mission” — were the latest effort from the Trump administration to defend the raid on Al Qaeda's Yemen offshoot in which one Navy SEAL was killed and civilian casualties were reported.
While Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis acknowledged the videos were outdated, he insisted they had in fact been captured in last week’s raid.
“It does not matter when the video was made,” Davis told reporters. “That they had it is still illustrative of who they are and what their intention was.”
The five video clips posted were titled, “Lessons in How to Destroy the Cross,” and they included instructions for how to make a bomb.
In the initial statement about the videos earlier this week, Col. John Thomas, a CENTCOM spokesman, claimed, “The videos are one example of the volumes of sensitive Al Qaeda terror-planning information recovered during the operation. What was captured from the site has already afforded insights into Al Qaeda leadership, AQAP methods of exporting terror, and how they communicate.”
Additional information obtained in the raid will remain classified, CENTCOM said – by Jeremy Herb
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/yemen-raid-video-old-234619 and by CNN: http://www.newsnet5.com/news/national/military-acknowledges-error-in-release-of-video-from-yemen-raid and by The Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/02/03/video-released-pentagon-prove-donald-trumps-deadly-yemen-raid/
3.2.2017 – CNN (* A P T)
Military botches release of video seized in Yemen raid
The US military is scrambling to explain an embarrassing mix-up after it released video obtained from Sunday's raid in Yemen that turned out to have already been published online.
A military spokesman acknowledged it was released without having been thoroughly analyzed.
The video was meant to demonstrate the value of the weekend raid whose stated aim was to recover key intelligence about al Qaeda. But the footage released Friday morning actually consisted of video that was previously available to the public.
The video was pulled because "we didn't want to make it appear that we were trying to pass off old video," said US Central Command spokesman Col. John Thomas. The mistake was due "to our lack of having time to properly analyze it."
"We were trying to provide an example of some of the things recovered on the raid," Thomas said.
Thomas was adamant there was no pressure to release anything. He insisted it was CENTCOM'S decision alone to put out the video and not an order from above.
A second defense official agreed that there was no White House pressure. The official said that the desire to get this out came from a subordinate Special Operations unit involved in the raid frustrated by the politicization and coverage of the mission. The Pentagon quickly approved the idea when broached by CENTCOM, the official added.
A White House official told CNN it was not involved in the Pentagon's decision to release video of the January raid in Yemen – By Nicole Gaouette and Ryan Browne
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/02/03/politics/yemen-raid-videos/index.html
3.2.2017 – Antiwar (* A P T)
About That Intel ‘Treasure Trove’ From Trump’s Yemen Raid…
Worse, the raid was probably not on a hardened al-Qaeda compound, as Centcom claimed, but, as the Telegraph writes, on a ramshackle, impoverished village:
But information from US military officials speaking on condition of anonymity, human rights groups and sources on the ground build a different, contradictory, picture, in which massive fire power was brought to bear on a ramshackle village against targets of limited importance in the so called ‘war on terror.’
By this account, the reinforced al-Qaeda ‘headquarters’ was a two room residence crammed in among other houses in the village; the ‘determined enemies.’ which the Pentagon said included women in ‘prepared fighting positions’ were scared residents firing weapons into the night in panic; and the value of the intelligence gathered is still being assessed.
And what about that treasure trove of intelligence? Facing increasing pressure over the botched raid, the Pentagon earlier today released a video titled “Courses for Destroying The Cross,” to prove just how important was the cache that had been seized.
But the botched part of the botched raid kept botching. It turns out that, as the Telegraph put it, the “video released by Pentagon to prove Donald Trump’s deadly Yemen raid was successful is a decade old and available online.”
So this valuable information could have been been retrieved by a guy with a laptop on YouTube and tens of millions of dollars as well as scores of innocent lives spared. That is why US interventionism is a bad idea. It produces bad results.
We can only hope that the young Trump Administration will learn from this black eye and very quickly retreat from its increasingly aggressive positioning in the Middle East. A president elected on the promise that he would start no new wars is swaggering us into something his panting advisors cannot, in their blind enthusiasm, even imagine – by Daniel McAdams
https://www.antiwar.com/blog/2017/02/03/about-that-intel-treasure-trove-from-trumps-yemen-raid/
3.2.2017 – Just Security (* A P T)
The Yemen Raid—What Was Normal and Abnormal About the Process with Lessons for the Future
Over the past five days, accounts of Sunday’s special operations raid in Yemen have continued to evolve to a point where questions are now being raised as to the process that went into its planning and approval. This dialogue will no doubt continue, and certainly much should still be clarified, but rather than re-litigate what happened, there is now an opportunity to define the new Administration’s framework for reviewing and approving these operations. As a civil servant in the Obama Pentagon and White House, I spent several years helping develop and refine the frameworks for counterterrorism operations. The underlying factors these frameworks consider – questions about risk, value of the target, geopolitical implications – will not go away in the Trump Administration. If anything, they may become more acute in some of the complicated places where we are operating.
I wrote about the raid on Monday and argued that this operation, the first complex counterterrorism mission of the Trump Administration, should serve as a reminder of the importance of considered interagency review of operations. At that time, news reporting suggested that the operation had been subjected to a rigorous review at the end of the Obama Administration and simply left to President Trump to make the final, unenviable decision about whether to send troops into harm’s way.
Regardless of what information President Trump received on this raid, the operation is bound to raise questions about what process such operations should undergo going forward. Reports already suggest that the Administration is considering options for a greater tempo of operations like this one and looking to streamline approval processes for counterterrorism operations. Indeed, one way to read Spicer’s remarks today might be as a subtle rebuke of the Obama process, which supposedly took months to run through and ultimately could not prevent the tragic mishaps that sometimes occur in combat. It would be unfortunate if that is the lesson the Trump team takes away.
The point of interagency process should not be to unnecessarily slow things down or micromanage operations. It is to ensure that senior officials beyond the Pentagon have an opportunity to review the operation and its risks, offer independent assessments of the potential gains, assess the political effects, and consider planning for contingencies such as the deaths of U.S. service members or Yemeni civilians. Simply put, there are vital questions that DOD cannot, and generally does not want to, answer on its own.
The Obama Administration has been criticized (unfairly, in my mind, though I admit my own bias) for an allegedly slow process for reviewing these operations. But it is entirely appropriate to have a debate at the dawn of a new administration about the approval levels for various types of operations. A case might be made for greater delegation of authority to the Secretary of Defense to review and approve these operations. But if that’s the case, the White House and Secretary Mattis would do well to learn from Secretary Robert Gates, who insisted that sufficiently senior representatives from State, the Intelligence Community, and other relevant agencies provide their views on risky operations prior to Gates’ consideration of a given proposal. A case might also be made for standing delegation of authority to lower level operational commanders to approve operations falling within certain parameters. But here, too, the Administration would be well advised to create a framework for such operations that considers the non-military effects of military activities and prepares for various contingencies that could arise in the process.
I fear that some will read this debate as just a case of Obama officials lashing out at the new team. That is not the case. The new team should support President Trump however he prefers. But they would also be wise to use this first major counterterrorism operation of his presidency to develop a process that ensures he has all the information and advice he needs to make the hard decisions – by Luke Hartig
https://www.justsecurity.org/37219/yemen-raid-what-normal-abnormal-process-lessons-future/
3.2.2017 – The Atlantic (* A P T)
Don't Politicize the Failed Yemen Raid
America cannot punish its elected officials for allowing its military, diplomatic corps, and intelligence services to take risks necessary to pursue its interests.
Blaming Trump for what happened is both inappropriate and counterproductive.
This raid, according to The New York Times, was approved by and recommended to the president by his secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. For the recommendation to have gone forward to the president, the senior leadership of the Department of Defense would have signed off on this operation. And for that to have happened, special operations and regional U.S. commanders would have had to have blessed the planning that went into the operation itself.
The left cannot on the one hand claim Donald Trump is ignorant of military and security affairs, and then on the other hand expect him to second-guess the professional recommendations of his uniformed and civilian military leadership.
America cannot punish its elected officials for allowing its military, diplomatic corps, and intelligence services to take risks necessary to pursue its interests. It’s true the president is ultimately responsible for everything his or her administration does and fails to do, but it’s not helpful for the default reaction when something goes wrong to be immediately elevating the blame to the office of the president. – by Andrew Exum
My comment: The author seems not to criticize such actions in general and he speaks of America “pursue its interests”. Whether such an action really is “Americas” interest, may be doubted. The effect on America will be negative.
cp15 Propaganda
6.2.2017 – Arab News (A P)
Yemeni official praises King Salman relief center’s support for his countrymen
Abdul Raqeeb Fath, Yemeni minister of Local Administration, praised King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Works for the contributions it has been making to the Yemeni people.
The minister, who is also heading the Yemeni Higher Committee for Relief, told Yemeni news agency SABA that the King Salman center is playing a significant role in providing services to Yemenis in various sectors, like food, shelters, health and water. He added the support helps ease the sufferings of the Yemeni people caught up in the war waged by the Houthi rebels and Ali Abdullah Saleh’s troops.
“The center has been exerting considerable efforts in treating the people who were injured in this absurd war,” Fath said. “It gave hospitals funds and medical equipment, and even sent some Yemenis to be treated abroad in countries like Jordan and Sudan.”
He pointed out that King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Works extends its services to wounded Yemenis outside the country, adding that 1,850 cases were treated in the Abkh camp in Djibouti.
He added that the center contracted Al-Rahmah International Hospital to provide health-care services to the displaced Yemenis in the same camp.
The Yemeni minister expressed appreciation for the great support the Saudi leadership, government and people lend to their Yemeni brothers.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1049876/saudi-arabia
My comment: O yes, people, never heard that the Saudis had killed, injured, starved out anybody in Yemen. What an odd propaganda. Well, praising the Saudis is one main task of the Hadi “government”.
6.2.2017 – Saudi Gazette (A P)
Mission to protect Yemen legitimacy to continue
The terrorist attack by Houthi militias on a Saudi frigate last week won’t deter coalition forces from supporting legitimacy in Yemen and from continuing their military operations to help restore the legitimate state authority, said Chief of the General Staff Gen. Abdurrahman Al-Bunyan on Sunday.
He was receiving the warship’s crew of officers and non-commissioned officers when the frigate, “Al-Madinah”, docked at King Faisal Naval Base of the Western Fleet in Jeddah.
The Saudi frigate — which came under attack by Houthi militias off the Hodeida port on Yemen’s western coast — managed to reach Jeddah on schedule despite the terrorist attack, Saudi Press Agency reported.
Gen. Al-Bunyan conveyed to the crew the greetings, thanks and appreciation of Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, second deputy premier and minister of defense, for their bravery and courage in repulsing the terrorist attack. He said the suicide terrorist attack has reaffirmed the importance of standing up against the Houthi militias which constitute a regional threat.
Gen. Al-Bunyan said that the use of Yemeni Hodeida port, which is currently being controlled by Houthi militias to launch terrorist operations, is a clear threat to the safety of international navigation lines and to the ships of relief, humanitarian and medical aid docking at the port for the benefit of Yemeni citizens.
He was briefed by the frigate’s commander on the terrorist attack and how it was countered by its crew.
http://saudigazette.com.sa/saudi-arabia/mission-protect-yemen-legitimacy-continue/ and also at http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2590471&Language=en
My comment: This was no „terrorist“ attack but an act of warfare (attack at a military target). The fact that the Houthis control Hodeida port is menacing nobody. The menace is war – which the Saudis began in this region by pounding the coastline and by bombing fishing and refugee boats.
6.2.2017 – Arab News (A P)
Coup defeat a matter of time, says Yemeni VP
Yemeni Vice President Lt. Gen. Ali Mohsen Saleh Al-Ahmar said the defeat of the coup in his country is just “a matter of time” given the progress made by the Saudi-led Arab coalition.
“The legitimate Yemeni forces are in a much better position than they were some time ago; they now have full control of most land and maritime territories,” Al-Ahmar said.
“The legitimacy is being restored to the state institutions, especially after the transfer of the Central Bank of Yemen and the Yemeni Parliament’s sessions to the temporary capital of Aden,” he said.
The vice president also said that the legitimate leadership is shouldering its responsibilities toward the Yemeni people, who see the Houthi militias losing by the day, and realize that the coup will inevitably come to an end.
Moreover, salaries of state employees are being paid without discrimination in all provinces, Al-Ahmar pointed out, adding that this is a step in the right direction that makes citizens realize that their leadership is assuming full responsibility.
Al-Ahmar also said that support should be given to President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi’s project of creating a federal state made up of six regions.
“The national army is fighting an unusual battle to restore the state, with an integrated political, military and economic support of the Arab coalition forces,” he said.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1049936/middle-east
My comment: This man for a double reason is not the legitimate vice president of Yemen. “”Coup” in Hadi government propaganda wording means Houthi and Saleh forces and their government at Sanaa. – The parliament still is at Sanaa. – Transferring the Central Bank to Sanaa strictly is contradicting the Law of the Central Bank. – The payment of state employees by the Hadi government is said to have been just a propaganda scam up to now. – The federal state of six regions was a 2014 scam by president Hadi who tried to shape the regions in a way that his own influence could be maximalized; this did not work in 2014 and will not work now.
5.2.2017 – Hisham Al-Omeisy (A P)
Oh wow, Saudis getting real crafty trying to click bait me with filthy links like these. Sad. Really sad. And you call yourselves Muslims! (photos)
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/828147406911000578
4.2.2017 – Middle East Monitor (A P)
Yemen army chief: Houthi rebels ‘living their last days’
The Yemeni Chief of Staff General Mohammed Ali Al-Maqdeshi said on Thursday that the forces of the internationally recognised government of President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi were very close to the capital Sana’a, and that the Houthi rebels and their backers were “living their last days”.
Yemeni news agency Saba reported Al-Maqdeshi as saying that “the army achieves daily victories along its way towards the capital,” which has been controlled by the Iran-backed Shia Houthis and allied militias controlled by ousted Yemeni dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh since 2014.
The senior military official said that the “putchist” Houthis and Saleh forces were “living their last days,” noting that fighting them needs “joint” and “loyal” efforts to liberate all the institutions of the state.
Al-Maqdeshi was confident that the Yemeni capital would soon be back under government control: “There is nothing that separates [the army] from Sana’a apart from a few mountains that are currently being liberated.”
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170204-yemen-army-chief-houthi-rebels-living-their-last-days/
My comment: Just added to the last sentence: That’s exactly the way it is there for more than a year now.
4.2.2017 – Hisham Al-Omeisy (A P)
OMG! Saudi, have you no shame? After bombing historical monuments, museums, UNESCO protected heritage sites, now pinning on Houthis! #Yemen (photo)
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/827850124902723584
5.2.2017 – Al Arabiya (A P)
Bashir to Al Arabiya: Yemen poses threat
In an exclusive interview with Al Arabiya's General Manager Turki Aldakhil, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir discussed Sudan's participation in the Decisive Storm Operation in Yemen and Iran’s activity in the region.
Bashir said he met with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud when he was still the Crown Prince and discussed Yemen and how dangerous the situation was there.
“We in Sudan feel that the situation in Yemen poses a threat to us,” he said, adding that he informed high-ranking Saudi officials of this point of view.
Once the Decisive Storm Operation was declared, Sudan immediately joined forces through a number of military aircraft and Sudanese troops present on the ground in Aden, the president said. “We are also preparing troops to send them to the kingdom and to Yemen,” he added.
Iranian ambitions
On Iran and its activity in the region, Bashir said Saudi Arabia had information about carrying out certain activities against the kingdom from Sudan. “We've always confirmed that we will not allow our land to be exploited against the kingdom,” he said, adding that the Iranian activity in Sudan created some sort of sensitivity. “In the end, we were convinced that this activity must be stopped,” Bashir said.
Bashir accused the Americans of establishing a Shiite state in Iraq after the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime and thus helping Iran to expand. “This gave Iran control over four Arab capitals -- Damascus, Beirut, Baghdad and Sanaa,” he said.
“Is this the end of Iran's ambitions or does it have other aims? I think Tehran has other aims,” Bashir added.
Comment: Disturbing: Al Arabya, the voice of the Gulf, interviewing someone with 2 ICC warrants, claiming that #Yemen poses a threat.
To what, it is not clear. Just going with the tide of the Gulf and bombing Yemen.
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1270289409690753
Look at: If #Yemen poses a threat to #Sudan, its dictator poses a threat to humanity (image)
3.2.2017 – Asharq Al-Awsat (A P)
Putting a Spoke in the Wheel of Saudi-U.S. Relations
For a ‘cold’ status quo, Saudi-U.S. relations did good enough to strike envy among other countries—hoping their U.S. ties in dark hours would crystalize in the same manner.
On Jan 29, 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump phoned Saudi King Salman in what evolved to be more than a mere protocol call, but an hour-long fruitful meeting on bilateral relations. In that long-distance call, the two heads of state outlined the character of future bilateral relations. What is more is that most of Trump’s regional stances were identical to those of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Popularly disputed topics with the Obama administration seem to have leveled out to an accord as soon as Mr. Trump stepped into the White House. Matters such as the Iran nuclear deal and counterterrorism efforts no longer reflect different U.S. and Saudi viewpoints.
Although the nuclear deal with Iran was meant to curb the country’s arms manufacture, it proved counterproductive as it has managed to build ballistic missiles that destabilize and threaten regional security. More so, under the Obama administration, fighting terrorism was selective and carried out in a one step forward, two steps back fashion.
Saudi Arabia fathoms the truth in the U.S. being a political, economic, military and technology superpower, and has established that its shared ties are core to Riyadh’s foreign policy. But one must keep in mind that the U.S. in turn also understands the central role played by the Kingdom in terms of sustaining regional stability across the scopes of politics, military, economy and security.
The U.S. realizes that the two countries’ relations are not centered on oil. Truth be told, the U.S. no longer needs Saudi oil for national consumption, but when speaking in terms of global economy a stabilizing 10 million bpd produced by the kingdom become indispensable. Today’s reality is that the international political, economic and security solidity are unsustainable without the Saudi played role.
Even though Saudi-U.S. relations have naturally undergone tensions throughout the past eight decades, they never strayed from being the partnership clear in strategy.
More so, those tensions are what helped sustain relations with such great momentum.
These days Washington’s viewpoint on the Iran and counterterrorism files is consistent with Riyadh’s, which only reasserts the clarity and accuracy of Saudi stances. This strongly motivates restoring the alliance to its natural course, bolstering confidence and strengthening the partnership, after it had long stumbled due to the Obama administration’s indecision – by Salman Al-dossary
http://english.aawsat.com/2017/02/article55366791/putting-spoke-wheel-saudi-u-s-relations
Comment by Brian Whitajer: So far, the only world leader claiming "identical" views to Trump is the king of Saudi Arabia. Go figure.
https://twitter.com/Brian_Whit/status/827799270363373568
1.2.2017 – Saudi Gazette (A P)
Arab coalition slams Houthi attack on warship
Arab coalition spokesman Ahmed Asiri slammed a Houthi attack on a Saudi warship earlier this week and said it was a dangerous indicator.
“Launching attacks from the Hodeida port and targeting a Saudi warship is an act of sabotage and a dangerous indicator,” Asiri told Al-Hadath channel, Al Arabiya’s sister news channel, on Tuesday evening.
“The Saudi warship was monitoring ships entering the Hodeida port,” he also said, adding that Houthi militias work randomly and target maritime security in the Red Sea.
According to Asiri, the Hodeida port is one of the most important ports for delivering humanitarian aid and supplies and for bringing in commercial products into Yemen.
“Therefore, launching terrorist attacks on the Hodeida port will affect the productivity of the port and its work. This is part of the militias’ sabotaging act,” Asiri said.
“The terrorist threat in Yemen includes the Houthis and al-Qaeda. They are two sides of the same coin and they work together,” he added.
http://saudigazette.com.sa/saudi-arabia/arab-coalition-slams-houthi-attack-warship/
My comment: O what a bullshit propaganda. Hadi also had told this ship would have transported humanitarian aid. Now this story. “monitoring ships entering the Hodeida port”, what a lie. For the best, this Saudi ship had blocked the port for civilian ships to enter, for the worst, it was one of those ships which had pounded the coastline. Anyway, it was a warship and warships are targeted in wars, so what??? Thus, this was no “terrorist attack”. Look at my comment above.
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
6.2.2017 – Legal Center (* A K PH)
The violations and crimes that are committed by Saudi Arabia and its alliance in Yemen 5/2/2017 (full list):
https://www.facebook.com/551288185021551/photos/a.551858951631141.1073741828.551288185021551/769815056502195/?type=3 and http://lcrdye.org/lcrd/Eng/PageDetails?id=631 (Arabic only)
5.2.2017 – Legal Center (* A K PH)
The violations and crimes that are committed by Saudi Arabia and its alliance in Yemen 4/2/2017 (full list):
https://www.facebook.com/551288185021551/photos/a.551858951631141.1073741828.551288185021551/769244599892574/?type=3 and http://lcrdye.org/lcrd/Eng/PageDetails?id=630 (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/4-Feb-2017.pdf) and also by Saba Net, http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455284.htm
4.2.2017 – Legal Center (* A K PH)
The violations and crimes that are committed by Saudi Arabia and its alliance in Yemen 3/2/2017 (full list):
https://www.facebook.com/551288185021551/photos/a.551858951631141.1073741828.551288185021551/768722059944828/?type=3 and http://lcrdye.org/lcrd/Eng/PageDetails?id=629 (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/3%20Feb,%202017.pdf)
3.2.2017 – Legal Center (* A K PH)
The violations and crimes that are committed by Saudi Arabia and its alliance in Yemen 2/2/2017 (full list):
https://www.facebook.com/551288185021551/photos/a.551858951631141.1073741828.551288185021551/768720789944955/?type=3&theater and http://lcrdye.org/lcrd/Eng/PageDetails?id=628 (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/2%20Feb,%202017.pdf)
6.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi warplanes wage 5 airstrikes on Dhamar
Saudi aggression's fighter jets on Monday launched five airstrikes on Dhawran district of Dhamar province, an official told Saba.
The airstrikes hit al-Haqla area, causing heavy damage to citizens' farms.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455349.htm
6.2.2017 - APA (A K PS)
Saudi-led coalition strikes Houthis, allies in E. Yemen
A Saudi-led Arab coalition on Monday conducted two air raids targeting concentrations of Shia Houthi militiamen and their allies in Yemen’s oil-rich eastern Maarib province, APA reports quoting Anadolu Agency.
"Coalition aircraft carried out two airstrikes targeting concentrations of Houthi fighters and their allies that had been advancing on Maarib’s Serwah directorate," Ahmed al-Shaleef, a leader of Yemen’s pro-government "Popular Resistance" forces, told Anadolu Agency.
He added, however, that losses sustained by the Houthis and allied fighters as a result of the strikes remained undetermined.
http://en.apa.az/world-news/asia-news/saudi-led-coalition-strikes-houthis-allies-in-e-yemen.html
6.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi airstrikes hit Mareb
Saudi fighter jets launched two airstrikes on Serwah district of Mareb province overnight, an official told Saba on Monday.
The airstrike targeted Wadi Habab and al-Makhadarah area in the same district.
Meanwhile, Saudi-paid mercenaries ' artillery shelled several areas in Herib al-Qaramish and Serwah districts, causing heavy damage to citizens' houses and farms.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455352.htm
6.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Four civilians killed in Saudi strikes on Sa'ada
Four citizens were killed when Saudi aggression fighter jets launched a strike on their car on Monday in Majz district of Sa'ada province, an official told Saba.
The officials and residents condemned the continuing of Saudi airstrikes against the Yemeni civilians, urging the international community to end Saudi aggression war against Yemen.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455358.htm and
6.2.2017 – Nasser Arrabyee (A K PH)
4 Yemeni civilians killed this morning by US-backed Saudi war criminals bombing their truck laden with gas in Majaz Saada north
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/828442658125262848
6.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi aggression fighter jets raid on Hodeida
Saudi aggression fighter jets launched a strike on al-Tuhitah district of Hodeida province overnight, an official told Saba on Monday.
The strike hit the irrigate water project, causing damage to citizens' farm and killing numbers of livestock.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455362.htm
6.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
US-Saudi aggression wages four raids on al-Masloub, Jawf
The US-Saudi aggression warplanes waged on Monday four raids on several areas in al-Masloub district in Jawf province.
A local official told Saba that the aggression targeted al-Sallan, al-Qatafah, Sadah and al-Zurqah areas in al-Maslub.
The raids caused huge damage to citizens' farms.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455430.htm
6.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
US-Saudi aggression wages four airstrikes on Harib-al-Qaramish
The US-Saudi aggression warplanes waged on Monday four raids on Harib-al-Qaramish district of Mareb province.
A local official told Saba that the aggression warplanes targeted Wathabat area with two raids and two other raids on Wadi Namlah area, in the northeastern of Harbi-al-Qaramish.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455432.htm
5.–6.2.2017 – Sanaa at night (A K)
3:AM Frenzied drones buzzing in Sana'a sky. Fools, you'll never find where missile landed in Saudi was launched from. Goodnight.
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/828396344452735008
5.–6.2.2017 – Hodeidah at night
Drones over #Hodeidah
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1270592146327146
5.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi airstrike destroys educational compound in Jawf
US-backed Saudi aggression launched an air raid on the educational compound in Barat al-Marashi district of Jawf province, a local official said Sunday.
The strike caused significant damage to the compound.
The aggression's warplanes also launched three air raids on the al-Moton and al-Masloub districts of Jawf.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455221.htm
5.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi aggression wages four air raids on Serwah
The US-Saudi aggression waged four air raids on different areas in Serwah district of Mareb province, a local official told Saba on Sunday.
The strikes launched on Saturday evening targeted Wadi Habab, Serwah Souk and Bait Dammaj leaving serious damage to houses and farms.
The aggression's warplanes launched on Saturday morning six air raids on different areas in Serwah.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455218.htm
5.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Four airstrikes hit capital Sana'a
The Saudi aggression launched overnight four airstrikes on the capital Sana'a, a local official said on Sunday.
The airstrikes, which were very violent, targeted al-Nahdain area in al-Sabeen district southern the capital, he added.
The nearby houses and public facilities were damaged by the airstrikes.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455214.htm
5.2.2017 – Almasdar Online (* A K PS)
Dozens of Houthi recruits killed, injured in coalition airstrikes in northern Sana'a
Eyewitnesses told Almasdaronline that tens of pro-Houthi/Saleh recruits were killed or injured in airstrikes launched by the coalition's warplanes on a training camp, north of the capital, Sana'a.
The eyewitnesses said that at least 12 airstrikes have targeted a training camp in Wadi Dhar in Hamdan District.
The camp used to harbor a large number of recruits who were being trained and prepared to be sent to the battlegrounds.
The eyewitnesses added that several recruits escaped the airstrikes and were seen running towards the areas of Beit Na'am and Dhula, while ambulance cars rushed to the scene following the air raids.
Other trucks belonging to the Houthis were seen transferring dead bodies and wounded recruits, and heading for Sana'a city.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/88603
6.2.2017 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)
Coalition fighter jets launch 20 airstrikes on Houthis, as government forces advance on Mocha
The fighter jets of the Saudi-led Arab Coalition launched on Sunday about 20 air raids on al Houthi-Saleh forces in al Mocha and Maqbanah districts in western Taiz city, in south-western Yemen.
A source from the field told Almasdaronline that seven airstrikes have targeted Houthi sites in al Zaharri camp, north of al Mocha city, and another six on sites in the harbor and the coastal strip camp.
Moreover, the fighter jets launched several airstrikes on Houthi positions in al Barah area in western Maqbanah, near the Cement Plant.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/88639
5.2.2017 – Aristo Teles (A K PH)
The Masirah report from #Taiz: Saudi-American`s aggression`s war jets launched 10 raids on various areas of #Al_Mokha since the morning
https://twitter.com/AristoT43914395/status/828247178833453057 referring to https://twitter.com/Hona_Almasirah/status/828167043186831360
5.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Taiz's local authority appeals to Int'I organizations to save civilians
The local authority of Taiz province on Sunday appealed to international humanitarian organizations to save civilians in Mocha and Thubab districts, who are exposed to brutal bombing by US-Saudi aggression warplanes.
The local authority of Taiz said in a statement to Saba that what committed by the aggression coalition in Mocha and Thubab districts is war crimes and genocide against humanity, which are contrary to all values, principles, norms and the international humanitarian law.
The statement called on the Red Crescent, International Committee of Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders and humanitarian organizations to intervene immediately to save Yemeni civilians from the brutal bombing of the Saudi aggression and to provide them with food.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455303.htm
4.2.2017 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)
Coalition airstrikes intensified in western Taiz
Warplanes from the Saudi-led Arab coalition were back on Thursday evening to strike once again positions under pro-Houthi/Saleh forces in both districts of Mocha and Mawza', in western Taiz.
Sources from the field told Almasdaronline that the coalition's warplanes targeted ordnance and militias in the Khaled Ben Al Waleed military Camp in downtown Mawza', confirming that several were killed while others were injured and taken to a field clinic near the camp.
Also on the same day, positions in Yakhtol area, in northern Mocha district, were hit by two airstrikes, while a position near Al Saeed School in downtown Mocha was hit with one airstrike. Two other airstrikes hit a depot in a military camp of the coastal sector, near the Mocha seaport, and clouds of smoke were seen billowing from the place.
Moreover, the coalition's warplanes launched six airstrikes on positions under pro-Houthi/Saleh forces, which are located between Dhubab and Al Wazi'yah districts, in western Taiz.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/88572
And that’s what actually is happening on the ground:
4.2.2017 – Nasser Arrabyee (* A K PH)
11 Yemeni fishermen killed, 13 others went missing today after US-backed Saudi war criminals jets destroyed their boats in Turfa island west
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/827922066397655041
and lower figures:
4.2.2017 – Ahmad Alghobary (* A K PH)
Sat 4/2/2017 #Saudi air strikes targeted fishermen boats in Turfa Island in #Hudidah city killing 5 fishermen & 16 are missing
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/827926781374169088
and film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uShjViP2-U = https://twitter.com/Hona_Almasirah/status/827979951932583936
and
4.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Two killed in overnight Saudi airstrikes on Mocha
At least two citizens were killed in overnight Saudi airstrikes on the coastal city of Mocha of Taiz province, local official said Saturday.
The airstrikes targeted commercial stores in Mocha downtown. The number of the dead is initial as tens of people were wounded, the official said. Several stores and buildings were damaged.
Targeting residential neighborhoods and stores aim at intimidating the citizens, he said.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455132.htm
4.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Three airstrikes hit Jawf
The US-backed Saudi aggression launched overnight three airstrikes on Jawf province, a local official said Saturday.
The airstrikes hit al-No'amaniah area twice in al-Masloub district and al-Matoun district once.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455107.htm
4.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi aggression warplanes launch six strikes on Mareb
Saudi aggression fighter jets on Saturday waged six airstrikes on Serwah district of Mareb province, an official told Saba.
The warplanes hit al-Mahjazah, al-Makhdarah and Habab valley areas six times, leaving heavy damage to citizens' houses and farms
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455146.htm
4.2.2017 – Almasirah TV (A K PH)
Film: Saudi aggression at Nahm, Saada province
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08Z_8gZ3yDQ
4.2.2017 – Almasirah TV (A K PH)+
Caught on camera, #Saudi air strike targeted a school and civilian house in Razeh area #Sadaa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nr3myRMepZg = https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/828263471678681088
4.2.2017 – Fatik Al-Rodaini and others (A K)
The capital Sanaa now is under heavy bombing by Saudi jets
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/827946435979116544
Explosions rocking the capital Sanaa now, as Saudi jets continue flying over the sky of the city.
https://twitter.com/Fatikr/status/827951002682847232
BREAKING NEWS: #Sanaa, #Yemen - #Saudi airstrikes began at 9:21 p.m. #Sanaa local, 2nd strike 9:26 p.m. Warplanes are still flying.
https://twitter.com/teddy_cat1/status/827949822636343298
6 Saudi airstrikes in less than 15 minutes. #Sanaa #Yemen
https://twitter.com/AmalAlYarisi/status/827950740421373957
3.2.2017 – Sanaa at daytime (A K)
Saudi bombing hell out of Sana'a now. Will somebody plz tell them that AQAP tookover cities in Abyan today, NOT Sana'a.
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/827524334889611268
Never mind, just remembered Saudi never bombs AQAP, reserves bombs for hospitals, homes, schools..you know, "evil civilians".
https://twitter.com/omeisy/status/827524880526614528 The capital #Sanaa is under heavy Airstrikes by #Saudi fighter jets. 5 airstrikes so far, it's very terrifying.
https://twitter.com/AmalAlYarisi/status/827525823326519297
3.2.2017 – Almasirah TV (A K PH)
100s of cluster bombs dropped at Haydan directorate, Saada prov.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6Nf2QNrHaU
3.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Citizen killed in Saudi fighter jets airstrike on Mareb
A citizen waz killed and three injured when Saudi fighter jets on Friday waged a strike on their car in Serwah district of Mareb province, an official told Saba.
The warplanes hit the car in Al-Hajlan area, killing the citizen and wounding the three others, the official added.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455060.htm
3.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Four civilians wounded, two schools destroyed in Saudi airstrikes on Sa'ada
Four civilians were wounded and two schools were destroyed when the Saudi aggression fighter jets on Friday waged a series of strikes on different areas of Sa'ada province, a security official told Saba.
The warplane hit Muthalath al-Madhah area three times, injuring four citizens.
Meanwhile, the aggression fighter jets waged two strikes on Wabalah school in al-Dhaher district and other four strikes on Abdullah bin Masaud school in Razah district , as well as another one strike on a citizen's house in the same area, the official added.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455073.htm
3.2.2017 – Living in Yemen on the edge (A K PH)
#Razih #Saada #Today After the airstrikes targeted a building in the area (photos)
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/1268723389847355
3.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi aggression warplanes wage 2 strikes on Hodeida
US-Saudi aggression fighter jets launched two strikes on al-Maina district of Hodeida province overnight
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455082.htm
3.2.2017 – Al Masirah TV (A K PH)
Film: Saudi American aggression targeting the home of citizens of Beit al-Faqih in Hodeidah
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cnbEpp5RLQ
3.2.2017 – Saudi War Crimes (A K PH)
Miami holiday resort in Hodeida destroyed by 5 Saudi raids (photos)
https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1634960336799954
3.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi aggression fighter jets wage 5 strikes on Sana'a
The US-Saudi aggression fighter jets on Friday evening launched five strikes on the capita of Sana'a, a local official told Saba.
The warplanes hit al-Hafa area of al-Sabain district five times, causing heavy damage to citizens' houses, private and public properties, the official added.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455081.htm
3.2.2017 – Saudi war crimes (A K PH)
Today this morning flight brutal aggression waged the capital Sanaa (photos)
https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/1635063070123014
6.2.2017 – Nasser Arrabyee (A K PH)
Photo: Najat, The only survivor! Thinking of her mother, father,all sisters& brothers killed here N Sanaa last week by US-backed Saudi war criminals
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/828616650844930048
cp17a Kriegsereignisse: Mokha / Theater of War: Mokha
6.2.2017 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)
Coalition fighter jets launch 20 airstrikes on Houthis, as government forces advance on Mocha
[air strikes]
In a related development, the pro-government forces have advanced on the city of Mocha with heavy gunfire cover from the northern neighborhoods, after demining the roads and buildings.
"The government forces advanced from two directions, the first was from the northern residential city, the Power Plant and the Ice Blocks Factory, the second was from the western of al Daeri Line towards the Water Station and the Post Office building," added the source, confirming that the fighting continued for a while.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/88639
4.2.2017 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)
Coalition airstrikes intensified in western Taiz
Warplanes from the Saudi-led Arab coalition were back on Thursday evening to strike once again positions under pro-Houthi/Saleh forces in both districts of Mocha and Mawza', in western Taiz.
Sources from the field told Almasdaronline that the coalition's warplanes targeted ordnance and militias in the Khaled Ben Al Waleed military Camp in downtown Mawza', confirming that several were killed while others were injured and taken to a field clinic near the camp.
Also on the same day, positions in Yakhtol area, in northern Mocha district, were hit by two airstrikes, while a position near Al Saeed School in downtown Mocha was hit with one airstrike. Two other airstrikes hit a depot in a military camp of the coastal sector, near the Mocha seaport, and clouds of smoke were seen billowing from the place.
These airstrikes occurred as sporadic clashes between the putschist militias and pro-government forces were taking place in eastern and southern Mocha. Both sides were using light and heavy weapons, and clashes were expected to intensify in the next hours.
In a related development, tens of families had to leave their homes from the eastern entrance of Mocha, and were seen heading for Mawza' district. This came as a response to calls by the pro-government forces to save the local people, especially after militiamen have set up trenches in residential areas, and used human shields.
http://almasdaronline.com/article/88572 n
cp17b Kriegsereignisse: Sonstige / Theater of War: Other
6.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Mercenaries' vehicle smashed in Mareb
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455356.htm
6.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Army kills 3 Saudi soldiers in Najran
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455369.htm
6.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Army kills Saudi solider in Jizan
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455406.htm
6.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Army repulses Saudi-paid mercenaries in al-Waze'yah, Taiz
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455412.htm
6.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Army purges sites in eastern Yam Chain in Nehm
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455420.htm
5.2.2017 – Middle East Monitor (A K PS)
UAE soldier killed in Yemen in anti-Houthi operation
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170205-uae-soldier-killed-in-yemen-in-anti-houthi-operation/
5.2.2017 – Almasdar Online (A K PS)
Source: Cross-border fighting between the Saudi army and rebels intensifies once again
http://almasdaronline.com/article/88601
5.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Zelzal-2 strikes mercenaries in Mareb
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455215.htm and
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951117000877
5.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Saudi solider shot dead in Najran
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455323.htm
Rocketry Force hits Saudi mercenaries bases in Najran
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455230.htm
Army, popular forces kill dozens Saudi mercenaries in Najran
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455227.htm
5.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Two Saudi soldiers killed, 5 military vehicles destroyed in Jizan
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455311.htm
5.2.2017 – Press TV Iran (A K PH)
Yemeni troops kill 7 Saudi soldiers in Najran, Jizan, pound Saudi bases
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/02/05/509253/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-Najran-Jizan
5.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Artillery hits locations of Saudi aggression troops in Asir
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455232.htm
6.2.2017 – Al Sahwa (A K PS)
Arab Coalition kills 24 Houthis in Midi
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-3714
and
4.2.2017 – Asharq Al-Awsat (A K PS)
Hajjah, Yemen: Army Forces Cut Off Major Houthi Land, Sea Supply Routes
4.2.2017 – Al Sahwa (A K PS)
Scores of Houthis killed and captured in Midi
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-3677
and
4.2.2017 – Al Sahwa (A K PS)
Yemeni official reveals plan to liberate western coast
Director of the Moral Guidance Department Mohsin Khasroos has revealed that the Yemeni army has prepared a plan to liberate the western coast of Yemen as a whole.
He cited the area of Midi located in this coast is very strategic, pointing out that this area is now controlled by the army.
He spelt out Houthis used this and other surrounding areas to smuggle weapons, indicating that Iran used to provide them with weapons via this area.
He indicated that the Houthis do best to restore this area, asserting that all their attempts failed.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-3675
My comment: Midi in the north of the western coast, at the border to Saudi Arabia. The “plan” as “that the Houthis do best to restore this area”seems to be a reason for LOL.
but the other side is contradicting:
5.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Army recaptures several areas in Medi
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455216.htm
Remark: Here: the part of the army allied to the Houthis.
4.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Dozens of Saudi-paid mercenaries killed in Medi, their moving attempt foiled
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455131.htm
4.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Mercenaries' infiltration in Rada'a foiled, dozens killed
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455104.htm
4.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Army repulses mercenaries' attempt to advance in Nehm
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455150.htm
Dozens of mercenaries killed, 5 military vehicles destroyed in Nehm
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455188.htm
4.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Mercenaries' rockets kill two women, child in Mareb
Two women and a child were killed by a rocket attack launched by the Saudi-paid mercenaries on Mareb province, a local official said Saturday.
The attack targeted houses in Al Hamid viilage in Hareib Nehm area western Mareb province.
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455109.htm
4.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Three Saudi soldiers shot dead in Jizan
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455102.htm
Army storms Saudi military base in Jizan
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455123.htm
Artillery inflicts heavy casualties upon enemy Saudi troops in Jizan
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455130.htm
Dozens of Saudi soldiers killed in Jizan
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455202.htm
4.2.2017 – Tasnim News (A K PH)
Several Saudi Forces Killed in Yemeni Army’s Attack on Jizan
3.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Numbers of Saudi soldiers killed in Najran, Jizan, Asir
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455083.htm
3.2.2017 – Saba Net (A K PH)
Army foils Saudi-paid mercenaries' infiltration in Taiz
http://www.sabanews.net/en/news455079.htm
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-262-yemen-war-mosaic-262
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-262: / Yemen War Mosaic 1-262:
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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