Dieses Jemenkrieg-Mosaik besteht aus zwei Teilen / This Yemen War Mosaic is divided in two parts
Part 1: https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-576-yemen-war-mosaic-576
... USA beschuldigt Iran wegen Angriffe auf saudische Ölanlagen, Spannungen steigen – und mehr
Sep. 19, 2019: US Congress report on Yemen – The Yemen War, a genocide? – 92,000 landmine victims are disabled – US and Saudis arming IS in Yemen – US accuses Iran for attacks at Saudi oil facilities, rising tensions – and more
Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
In Italics: Part 1
Klassifizierung / Classification
Für wen das Thema ganz neu ist / Who is new to the subject
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
cp1a Am wichtigsten: Seuchen / Most important: Epidemics
cp1b Am wichtigsten: Kampf um Hodeidah / Most important: Hodeidah battle
cp1c1 Am wichtigsten: Huthi-Angriff auf saudische Ölanlagen: Deutsch / Most important: Houthi air raid at Saudi oil facilities: German
cp1c2 Am wichtigsten: Huthi-Angriff auf saudische Ölanlagen: Englisch / Most important: Houthi air raid at Saudi oil facilities: English
cp2 Allgemein / General
cp2a Allgemein: Saudische Blockade / General: Saudi blockade
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
cp6 Bürgerkrieg im Südjemen / Civil war in Southern Yemen
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
cp8a Jamal Khashoggi
cp9 USA
cp9a USA-Iran Krise: Wachsende Spannungen am Golf / US-Iran crisis: Mounting tensions at the Gulf
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
cp12b Sudan
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms Trade
cp13b Wirtschaft / Economy
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp15 Propaganda
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
Klassifizierung / Classification
***
**
*
(Kein Stern / No star)
? = Keine Einschatzung / No rating
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
cp2 Allgemein / General
(* A K P)
Interactive Map of Yemen War
(* A K)
MILITARY SITUATION IN YEMEN ON SEPTEMBER 18, 2019 (MAP UPDATE)
https://southfront.org/military-situation-in-yemen-on-september-18-2019-map-update/
MILITARY SITUATION IN YEMEN ON SEPTEMBER 17, 2019 (MAP UPDATE)
https://southfront.org/military-situation-in-yemen-on-september-17-2019-map-update/
(B K)
Cartoon: Before Houthis put Taiz under Siege n 2015, it took 10 minutes to go from downtown to Al-Hawban area. It cost Yemeni Rials 250. Now it takes 6 hours & cost 5K YR, a 20 folds increase from original cost Oroginal road right of drawing. Alternative road yellow zigzag
https://twitter.com/Ndawsari/status/1173913618313863176
(* A K)
Yemen's Houthis threaten to attack United Arab Emirates targets
Yemen’s Houthi group said on Wednesday it had identified dozens of sites in the United Arab Emirates as possible targets, in an attempt to underscore its military clout following a weekend attack it claims to have carried out on Saudi oil facilities.
“To the Emirati regime we say only one operation (of ours) would cost you dearly,” Yahya Saria, the military spokesman for the Iran-aligned movement, said in a televised speech.
“Today and for the first time we announce that we have dozens of targets within our range in the UAE, some are in Abu Dhabi and can be attacked at any time.”
He said the Houthis have new drones, powered by “normal and jet engines” that can reach targets deep in Saudi Arabia.
and also https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190918-houthi-leader-uae-oil-cities-among-in-our-targets/
(B K P)
Bomben gegen den reichen Nachbarn: Was treibt Jemens Huthis?
Nach Einschätzung von Beobachtern bauten die Rebellen jedoch erst als Reaktion auf Riads Bombardierungen ihre Drähte nach Teheran stark aus. Die Huthis hätten sich vor der Intervention nicht gegen Saudi-Arabien gewandt, sagt der Autor Said AlDailami, dessen Buch «Jemen - Der vergessene Krieg» im Oktober auf den Markt kommt. «Die Saudis haben sich mit der Intervention ihren Feind erst geschaffen.»
Zurückdrängen konnten die Saudis die Huthis bislang kaum. Die Rebellen haben vielmehr ihre Herrschaft in Sanaa gefestigt, während der international anerkannte Präsident nur noch geringen Rückhalt im Jemen besitzt und dort als Herrscher verspottet wird, der aus einem Fünf-Sterne-Hotel in Riad regiert, finanziert von Saudi-Arabien.
Mit iranischer Hilfe habe die Huthis auch ihr Waffenarsenal ausgebaut.
Die Huthis sehen die Angriffe als Vergeltung für die saudische «Aggressionen» im Jemen. Sie wollen solange weiter Drohnen und Raketen nach Saudi-Arabien schicken, bis das Königreich seinen Einsatz im Bürgerkriegsland beendet.
Ein schnelles Ende des Konflikts erwartet Jemen-Experte AlDailami jedoch nicht
(* B P)
From 2016: Role of the Gulf Cooperation Council GCC in the destabilization of Yemen
The current war in Yemen is a result of the failure of the political transition after theArab Uprising in 2011. The transition deal was a result of the GCC efforts to stabilize thepolitical situation in Yemen, although its implementation remains more than unsatisfactory.However, before its involvement in the war, the GCC had done very little to prevent eruptionof the war. Some analysts have even said that the Yemeni conflict is a direct result of theregional inaction over the last few years, if not decades. This inaction was the consequence ofthe GCC conviction that Yemen is a weak link in the region and potential source of instabilityfor the Arabian Peninsula as a whole. The instability in Yemen have contributed to thestrengthening of Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. Additionally, the GCC states have perceivedYemen as a much poorer state and as the only republic which does not fit into the “monarchical Peninsula”
Yet, although an uneven status of development and differentpolitical system are an indisputable fact, problems of the second largest country in thePeninsula with strategic access to the vital Bab al-Mandab strait, where the Red Sea meets theIndian Ocean, are unlikely to be ignored
(B K P)
HR Organizations call upon UN to protect Yemen’s Journalists
Regional human rights organizations have called on the UN to approve a treaty for protecting journalists and media people during conflicts.
in a seminar organized by Human Rights Information and Qualification Center on the sidelines of the 42 Round of Human Rights Council here, held the UN responsible for leaving criminals of journalistic and media issues in areas of conflicts in Yemen, Iraq, Libya and Syria unpunished.
http://en.26sepnews.net/2019/09/17/hr-organizations-call-upon-un-to-protect-yemens-journalists/
(A K P)
Gargash: Our Goal Is to Restore the Yemeni State
UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash reaffirmed that the main goal in Yemen is to restore power to the internationally-recognized government from the Houthi insurgency.
Stressing that Saudi Arabia and the UAE share the same views on Yemen, Gargash voiced the UAE’s full support for Yemeni talks planned to be held in Jeddah.
Gargash, in statements to Asharq Al-Awsat, reaffirmed that “the ultimate goal for all in Yemen is to end the war,” but linked it to first providing regional security.
He also voiced the UAE’s strong confidence in the Jeddah peace talks bringing about a solution for the conflict ailing Yemen.
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1907806/gargash-our-goal-restore-yemeni-state
My comment: LOL. For a great part, the crash oft he Yemen state ist he UAE fault as well.
(* B K P)
Dr. Osman Faruk Logoglu Turkish veteran politician and a senior member of CHP was interviewed on the issue.
Touching upon the possible consequences of recent retaliatory Yemeni's attack on Saudi Aramco plants and the US efforts to drive major oil producing companies out of oil market, logoglu said, "Disrupting the oil flow from the Persian Gulf and removing Venezuela from the circle of oil suppliers will surely have terrible consequences for the global economy, heightening political tensions in the world.”
Commenting on the US and Russia’s gains of recent tensions in Persian Gulf as two major oil producing countries, he added, “The US and Russia, even if they are colluding to establish their hegemony over oil and gas, stand to make only short-lived gains, but are in the longer run poised to suffer, while I do not believe that there is such an American-Russian conspiracy at work, particularly the US must be called on to ease its harsh rhetoric against Iran and Venezuela.”
Raising a way out of regional problems, Turkish politician said, “In this vein, I believe if there is the opportunity for the proposed meeting to take place, President Rouhani would do well to meet President Trump at New York and reveal bare the facts of American policy for the whole world to see. On the other hand, if there is a chance to move forward after such an encounter, then Iran and the region would all stand to benefit.”
He added, “On a wider scale, the situation calls for a more coordinated effort on the part of the regional states to address the problems of their region and to reduce the intervention and interference of outside powers in their affairs. Regional ownership is the step to take. To this end, the creation of a Middle East OSCE, led by Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and others of the region would be a major development, an idea now being publicly floated by the main opposition party CHP in Turkey.”
https://en.mehrnews.com/news/150166/Middle-East-OSCE-would-be-a-major-development-to-settle-regional
(B H P)
US Agency for International Development: USAID Yemen Governance, Peace and Stability Fact Sheet, 17 September 2019
USAID’s RESPONSE AND EXPECTED RESULTS
Yemen’s A Future Called Peace program focuses on strengthening youth leader capacity in conflict analysis and conflict transformation by increasing key skills such as conflict analysis and conflict transformation by increasing key skills such as conflict analysis, dialogue facilitation, and designing participatory community interventions of young women and men ages 20-35. Trained youth leaders lead conflict scans within their local communities to identify sources of community conflicts and tension; facilitate community discussions in order to prioritize sources of conflict or tension, and develop community interventions to address grievances and other sources of conflict. Stakeholders are expected to include tribal-based groups, religious leaders, women, youth, political parties, local leaders, and other relevant actors
USAID’s Yemen Communities Stronger Together (YCST) program uses the participatory action for community enhancement (PACE) model that to identify and support local-level initiatives that mitigate conflict, strengthen social cohesion, and promote the peaceful resolution of differences.
https://www.usaid.gov/yemen/fact-sheets/governance-peace-and-stability-fact-sheet
and
(B E P)
USAID Yemen Economic Growth, Recovery, Livelihoods and Agriculture Fact Sheet, 17 September 2019
USAID programs enable Yemenis to improve their economic and food security by supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, helping create jobs, and improving farm productivity and linkage to markets.
Through the Yemen Economic Stabilization and Support (YESS) Program, USAID is building the capacity of small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in health care, food processing, and other sectors to create sustainable jobs. From October 2018 to June 2019, commercial banks, using lending products developed for SMEs, have provided loans to over 1,800 customers with a total value of $11.5 million.
YESS technical assistance to the CBY-Aden is part of a multi-donor effort to restore management of the financial sector and improve liquidity conditions by strengthening key central banking functions, such as currency management and foreign exchange operations.
https://www.usaid.gov/yemen/fact-sheets/economic-growth-recovery-livelihoods-and-agriculture
My comment: This pretty looks like US propaganda and influencing campaigns.
(* A K pH)
Abdulsalam: Decision Made, Military to Strike UAE Depth; More Than Ever, UAE Deserved to be Targeted
The head of the Yemeni negotiating delegation, Mohammed Abdulsalam, said that "more than ever, the UAE deserves to be targeted, stressing that the implementation of Balanced Deterrence operations in the depth of the UAE has been authorized and the military will choose the right place and time."
In a phone interview with Al Jazeera television, on Tuesday afternoon, he explained that the UAE plays in the margin of deception and misinformation of the national forces to be far from retaliation and deterrence, while they continue their aggression, siege, negative presence in the south and call for the disruption of the unity of the nation.
Abdulsalam said that "the UAE continued its siege of Ad-durayhimi and through its mercenaries prevents the entry of humanitarian aid to civilians trapped for more than a year and a half despite the human rights and humanitarian appeals."
Abdulsalam pointed out that the UAE had no credibility after announcing its intention to "withdraw from Yemen" and it was given Sana'a an opportunity to prove it.
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=8834
(B K P)
The indiscriminate shelling by Houthi Militias Kills 3892 Civilians, Yemeni Rasd Coalition reports
Al-Absi pointed out that until December 2018, this shelling killed 3892 civilians and wounded more than 12,000 civilians.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1970432
My remark: By a Saudi coalition mouthpiece organization.
(* B K P)
Experte über Angriff auf Saudi-Arabien: "Eine Eskalation im Armdrücken"
Nach einem Angriff auf die Ölfabrik Abkaiuk fällt vorübergehend die Hälfte der saudischen Ölproduktion aus. Noch immer ist unklar, wer den Angriff ausgeführt hat. Politikwissenschaftler Edmund Ratka ist sich sicher: Der Angriff wird Folgen haben.
Auch wenn man die materiellen Schäden reparieren kann – der Angriff hat die starke Verwundbarkeit von Saudi-Arabien für diese Art von Angriffen gezeigt.
Es ist eine neue Dimension, wenn ein Gegner mit solch einer Attacke nahezu die Hälfte der saudi-arabischen Ölproduktion lahmlegen kann.
Die Attacke zeigt eine unerwartet große Verwundbarkeit Saudi-Arabiens. Das schwächt das Vertrauen sowohl der eigenen Bevölkerung als auch der internationalen Handelspartner und Investoren.
Alle Vermutungen sind noch sehr spekulativ. Auch wenn sich die Huthis zu dem Angriff bekannt haben, muss man wohl eine Verbindung zum Iran vermuten.
Dass es der Iran selbst war, wäre ungewöhnlich, aber es ist schwer abzuschätzen, wie intensiv er beteiligt war
Die Huthis repräsentieren eine Stammesgesellschaft, Drohnen stehen für hochmoderne Militärtechnik – wie passt das zusammen?
Ihre Frage beruht auf dem falschen Bild, das wir von den Huthis haben. Im Jemen gibt es sehr viele hoch entwickelte Waffen aus den Beständen der Amerikaner, die früher die jemenitische Armee gegen Al-Kaida hochgerüstet haben.
Die Huthis haben viele dieser Waffen erbeutet. Wenn sie mit Pfeil und Bogen kämpfen würden, würden sie nicht seit fünf Jahren einen großen Teil des Jemen einschließlich der Hauptstadt kontrollieren.
Wir haben hier einen Konflikt auf mehreren Ebenen, die miteinander verwoben sind.
Wer auch immer den Schlag letztlich ausgeführt hat – die Drohkulisse, die Iran damit gegenüber seinen Gegnern aufbaut, ist enorm.
Stellen Sie sich vor, eine ähnliche Aktion würde es gegen Dubai geben, gegen die Glitzerfassaden dort! Was wäre das für ein Imageschaden! Was würde mit dem Tourismus passieren?
Mit solchen Angriffen kann man die ganze Region bedrohen.
https://web.de/magazine/politik/experte-angriff-saudi-arabien-eskalation-armdruecken-34024020
Mein Kommentar: Wieder wird die Rolle des Iran überbewertet, sonst viele vernünftige Gedanken.
(* B K P)
Der verheerende Angriff auf die saudische Erdölindustrie zeigt: Saudiarabien ist militärisch nicht vorbereitet für einen Krieg
Die saudischen Flugabwehrsysteme stammen aus der Zeit des Golfkrieges 1991, und weder in der Luft noch am Boden kommen die Saudis ohne Unterstützung aus. Trotzdem schürt das Land seit J Der Ast, auf dem das saudische Königreich sitzt, ist dünn. Mit einer Handvoll Flugkörpern gelang es den Angreifern am Samstag, Riads Erdölproduktion zu halbieren. Überraschend ist diese Verletzlichkeit keineswegs. Bereits vor zwei Jahren griffen die Huthi-Rebellen in Jemen den internationalen Flughafen in Riad mit einer ballistischen Rakete an. Der Sprengkopf schlug nur unweit des Terminals ein. Das Projektil sei von der Flugabwehr vernichtet worden, meldeten die Behörden. Doch eine Untersuchung der Universität Monterey geht davon aus, dass das amerikanische Patriot-System versagt hatte.
Trotz dieser warnenden Lektion schien die saudische Flugabwehr nun völlig unfähig, das Herz der eigenen Erdölindustrie zu beschützen.
Gemäss Michael Knights vom Washington Institute for Near East Policy hat dies vor allem zwei Gründe. Zum einen sei der Angriff sehr geschickt ausgeführt worden und für ein Flugabwehrsystem sehr schwer zu verhindern gewesen, sagt der Experte im Gespräch. Knights geht von Marschflugkörpern (Cruise Missiles) aus, die nur gerade rund hundert Meter über dem Boden flogen. Mit einem Radar sind solche Waffen schwer zu entdecken. «Und um sie abzufangen, muss ein grosses Risiko in Kauf genommen werden.» In solch geringer Höhe könnten die Abwehrraketen auch unbeabsichtigte Ziele wie etwa einen Helikopter oder ein Flugzeug treffen.
Zum andern stammen die saudischen Flugabwehrsysteme vor allem aus der Zeit des Golfkrieges 1991.
David Roberts vom Londoner King’s College […]: «Die Angriffe haben Saudiarabiens enorme Verletzlichkeit bei einer asymmetrischen Kriegsführung aufgezeigt», sagt der Experte für Sicherheitsfragen am Persischen Golf im Gespräch. Die weitläufige Erdölindustrie ist gegen Angriffe wie jene am Samstag kaum zu schützen. «Und neben der Erdölinfrastruktur sind auch die Entsalzungsanlagen ein mögliches Ziel.» Dadurch könnte die Trinkwasserversorgung ganzer Städte unterbunden werden.
Der Nahostexperte Knights ist davon überzeugt, dass die jüngsten Angriffe nicht von Jemen, sondern von Iran oder gar von Syrien aus erfolgten und von Teheran geplant wurden. «Die USA können die Herkunft nachverfolgen», sagt er. Im Prinzip hätte Riad die Fähigkeiten, um die Aggression mit schweren Luftangriffen zu vergelten.
https://www.nzz.ch/international/die-saudi-sind-nicht-bereit-fuer-einen-krieg-ld.1509079
Mein Kommentar: Bitte nicht alles glauben, was aus den USA kommt!
(* B K P)
Empfindlich getroffen: Saudi-Arabiens Niederlage im Jemen
Für Washington und Riad ist es ein absolutes Debakel: Infolge der Drohnenangriffe der Ansarollah auf die wichtigsten Ölanlagen Saudi-Arabiens in Bakiak und Churais ist die Hälfte der täglichen Ölproduktion des Landes – fünf Prozent des weltweiten Ölangebots – eingebrochen. Wie schnell eine Reparatur möglich ist, ist völlig ungewiss.
Eines steht außer Frage: Der Angriff vom Wochenende war zwar als Weckruf gedacht, wie die Ansarollah deutlich machten, indem sie Angriffe auf 30 weitere hochsensible Ziele in Saudi-Arabien ankündigten und zugleich forderten, den Krieg gegen den Jemen und die Blockade des Landes zu beenden. Er ist aber zugleich eindeutiges Zeichen dafür, dass Riad den Jemen-Krieg endgültig verloren hat. Das Land kann jederzeit empfindlich getroffen werden, und zwar überall – das ist spätestens seit Sonnabend klar. Daran ändern die von der US-Regierung veröffentlichten Satellitenbilder, die eine angebliche iranische oder irakische Urheberschaft der Angriffe beweisen sollen, verbunden mit der verzweifelten Behauptung, die Ansarollah seien zu einem solchen Angriff überhaupt nicht fähig, gar nichts.
Für Riad und seine Verbündeten, die den verheerenden Angriffskrieg gegen die jemenitische Zivilbevölkerung durch direkte Beteiligung sowie Rüstungsexporte in Milliardenhöhe unterstützt haben, ist die Niederlage, die sich in den letzten Wochen bereits andeutete, mehr als nur ein Gesichtsverlust. Ja, Saudi-Arabien befindet sich auch auf einem Rachefeldzug, weil eines der Hauptziele der Ansarollah war und ist, den Jemen aus dem jahrzehntelangen Würgegriff der Golfmonarchie zu befreien. Und natürlich geht es auch um den Kampf um Vormachtstellung in der Region mit Iran. Vor allem aber geht es um eines: Öl.
Hinzu kommt, dass der Jemen laut Medienberichten und Wissenschaftlern, aber auch gemäß einem CIA-Bericht aus dem Jahr 1988 höchstwahrscheinlich über größere Ölvorkommen verfügt als alle Länder am Persischen Golf zusammen.
Riad und Washington wollen – nicht zuletzt angesichts endlicher Reserven in Saudi-Arabien – unter allen Umständen die Kontrolle über diese Vorkommen zurückerlangen, die US-Administration seit einiger Zeit auch durch direkte Verhandlungen mit den Ansarollah. Spätestens seit Sonnabend aber ist klar: Sollten solche Gespräche zustande kommen, werden es weder Washington noch Riad sein, die die Konditionen diktieren können – von Wiebke Diehl
https://www.jungewelt.de/artikel/362993.empfindlich-getroffen.html
(* B K P)
Welt schockiert: Jemen-Krieg fordert erste Öl-Opfer
Der Jemenkrieg hat seit 2015 über 100.000 Todesopfern gefordert, doch diese neue Grausamkeit stellt alles bisher dagewesene in den Schatten: Nach dem Angriff am Samstag auf eine saudische Raffinerie steht die Welt unter Schock – denn offenbar wurde bei der feigen Attacke unschuldiges Erdöl im Wert von vielen Milliarden Dollar in Mitleidenschaft gezogen.
Auch der deutsche Außenminister Heiko Maas (SPD) verurteilte die Angriffe "aufs Schärfste". Sie seien "durch nichts, aber überhaupt nichts zu rechtfertigen". Seine Regierung liefert nach wie vor Waffen an Saudi-Arabien und seine Verbündeten, deren Angriffe bislang kein einziges Mal aufs Schärfste verurteilt wurden.
Auch in deutschen Medien, die sonst allenfalls am Rande über den Jemenkrieg und seine Opfer berichten, ist die Sorge groß: "Wird unser Benzin jetzt teurer?", fragt etwa ein Boulevardblatt und Spiegel online will wissen: "Was bedeutet das für die Preise und die Versorgung?", während tagesschau.de gar einen "Schock am Aktienmarkt" erkennt.
Eines gilt als sicher: Angesichts dieser schrecklichen Verbrechen gegen kostbare Ölreserven darf und wird die Weltgemeinschaft nicht mehr so weitermachen wie bisher. Aus dem Jemenkrieg, der bislang stets als ärgerliches, aber harmloses Geplänkel galt, ist plötzlich tödlicher Ernst geworden.
https://www.der-postillon.com/2019/09/oel-opfer.html
Mein Kommentar: Mit einer der besten Kommentare kommt vom satirischen Postillon.
(* B K P)
The Secret of Yemen’s War? We Can End It
And we must, before it blows up the rest of the Middle East.
Yemen’s war has to end. And the secret is that the way it ends is no secret at all.
On Sept. 14, a drone attack on Aramco facilities in Saudi Arabia destroyed approximately half of Saudi crude oil production. The Houthi militia in Yemen claimed responsibility for the attack; Saudi Arabia and the United States, however, are pointing fingers at Iran. This situation threatens to turn regional tensions into a shooting war, as well as destabilizing the global economy. And for Yemen, the risk of being drawn into a war between states, and not merely between proxies, is now very real. If more evidence was needed for the urgency of a political solution in Yemen, then these attacks provide it.
"First, the monopoly on force must be returned to the government of Yemen. No Yemenis outside the state should be allowed to use violence to achieve their ends. This is a simple but absolute requirement. The militias that fight over Yemen’s land must be replaced by the exclusive authority of the state. This can be achieved through a process overseen by the United Nations of gradually transferring weapons from the militias to the new government."
"Second, the government must be more than a coalition. It must be an inclusive partnership among the political parties that now take different sides. This is the state that will require that differences be resolved through politics and that force is its servant and not its threat."
"Third, the government must ensure that its country will not be used for attacks on neighbours or even those beyond. This must be a compact between Yemen’s new leaders and its neighbourhood."
"Sixth, Yemen’s neighbours will guarantee the prosperity and stability of its population through trade and the generosity that will remove the scars of this war."
"Finally, it will be the people of Yemen and their leaders who decide on the future of the state. No others need apply. The future shape of Yemen can, and indeed should, be determined only by Yemenis free of the duress of war and willing to negotiate the future of their country in good faith." – By Martin Griffiths, the United Nations special envoy for Yemen.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/16/opinion/yemen-war.html
and
(* B P)
UN envoy's task in Yemen: is it mission impossible?
Writing in the New York Times on Monday, Martin Griffiths, the UN's special envoy for Yemen, outlined "seven elements" that "will necessarily underpin any agreement to end the war". The components for a peace deal are "in plain sight", Griffiths said – and few would disagree with them as goals. The problem, though, is that they are so far removed from Yemen's current reality as to be almost unachievable, at least in the short-to-medium term.
Griffiths' basic message is that peace depends on Yemen becoming a radically different country from what it was before the war, and on its Gulf neighbours to start behaving differently too.
https://www.al-bab.com/blog/2019/09/un-envoys-task-yemen-it-mission-impossible
(* B K P)
Yemeni Source Warns of Expanding Attacks to UAE Oil Facilities
A Yemeni military official warned the UAE to wait for attacks similar to those launched on the Saudi oil facilities in case Abu Dhabi refuses to withdraw forces and mercenaries from the war-torn country.
The military official who called for anonymity told the Arabic-language al-Mayadeen news channel on Tuesday that targeting the Saudi oil wells in the depth of the kingdom's territories had also a strong message to the UAE.
"Their oil companies and glass-made cities are among our future targets," he said, warning the UAE government.
The official called on Abu Dhabi to officially leave Yemen and stop crimes against the Yemeni people, adding that the UAE's superficial withdrawal from certain fronts in Yemen would not prevent attacks against the Persian Gulf Arab country's oil firms.
https://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13980626000760
(B K P)
Explainer: Saudi-Yemen conflict
My comment: Very short, not telling enough to really understand.
(* B K P)
EJIL Analysis: Drone Attacks on Saudi Aramco Oil Installations
Regardless of who is responsible, the attacks are unlawful for a variety of reasons. For several of those same reasons and others, however, Saudi Arabia has no right to use military force outside its territory in a response. The limits on other states responding with military force or other forms of coercion are equally restricted. Lawful responses are available, ones that would avoid further ‘wanton’ law violations.
The important starting place of the analysis is with the fact that the Houthi rebels are not the government in effective control of Yemen, so they do not qualify as having authority to use military force on the basis of the one relevant justification in this case, United Nations Charter exception to Article 2(4), Article 51. The fact Saudi Arabia has been attacking them in Yemen does not give rise to their right to attack Saudi Arabia.
The most accurate characterization of the Houthis is as a belligerent party engaged in internal armed conflict or civil war from which all non-Yemeni armed groups—state or nonstate—are barred.
If an opposition armed group has received outside military assistance that meets the conditions for triggering self-defense, then the government may request assistance in collective self-defense. This is not the case in Yemen as no group was in effective control in 2015 when Hadi fled and the civil war began. It has no government with capacity to issue such an invitation or provide consent. No outside support to the fighting should have occurred; only humanitarian assistance.
What about Iran, which is a sovereign state? First, regardless of Secretary Pompeo’s assertion, Saudi Arabia would need clear and convincing evidence establishing the elements of attribution in the law of responsibility before concluding Iran has committed the wrong. Even if Saudi Arabia made this case, that alone would not allow an armed counter-attack in self-defense.
Saudi Arabia may use military force to defend its territory within its territory, air space and territorial sea.
Regardless of who is responsible, the attacks are unlawful for a variety of reasons. For several of those same reasons and others, however, Saudi Arabia has no right to use military force outside its territory in a response. The limits on other states responding with military force or other forms of coercion are equally restricted. Lawful responses are available, ones that would avoid further ‘wanton’ law violations.
The important starting place of the analysis is with the fact that the Houthi rebels are not the government in effective control of Yemen, so they do not qualify as having authority to use military force on the basis of the one relevant justification in this case, United Nations Charter exception to Article 2(4), Article 51. The fact Saudi Arabia has been attacking them in Yemen does not give rise to their right to attack Saudi Arabia.
The most accurate characterization of the Houthis is as a belligerent party engaged in internal armed conflict or civil war from which all non-Yemeni armed groups—state or nonstate—are barred – by Mary Ellen O'Connell
https://www.ejiltalk.org/drone-attacks-on-saudi-aramco-oil-installations/
My comment: The Houthis no more are a „non-state actor“. The view „The fact Saudi Arabia has been attacking them in Yemen does not give rise to their right to attack Saudi Arabia.” Is twisted nonsense.
(? B K P)
Use diplomacy, not bombs, for Middle East crisis (subscribers only)
https://www.dailybreeze.com/2019/09/16/use-diplomacy-not-bombs-for-middle-east-crisis/
(* B K P)
Saudi Oil Refinery Attack Raises Fears of “Wider Regional War” Involving U.S. & Iran
To talk more about the escalating crisis in the Middle East, we’re joined by two guests. Here in New York, Peter Salisbury is with us, of the International Crisis Group. He’s senior analyst for Yemen. And joining us in Washington, Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CodePink.
AMY GOODMAN: The United States awaiting what Saudi Arabia is telling us to do.
PETER SALISBURY: Absolutely. And this is reminiscent of attacks earlier this year on oil tankers off the coast of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, where the U.S. came out pretty strongly and said this was Iran, and the UAE, in the end, said that they could not ascertain who was behind the attacks, because of the potential cost of retaliation against Iran, that would lead, in turn, to retaliation against the UAE. So the decision point really sits with the Saudis right now in terms of what happens next.
MEDEA BENJAMIN: Well, let’s remember that Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, with the help of the United States and other Western powers, that have been selling billions of dollars of weapons, have been destroying the infrastructure of Yemen for almost five years now. Of course the Houthis have been trying to fight back, taking this conflict into Saudi Arabia. This is just the most devastating of the attacks. Maybe it was done just by these $15,000 drones, as the Houthis say. Maybe it was done with help from other countries. But this is to be expected.
But let’s go back to the origin of this problem, which is the Saudis and the Emirates getting involved in the internal affairs of Yemen, and the U.S. giving them the green light and all the logistical support and the weapons to do that.
The other thing we have to recognize is that the conflict with Iran is totally manufactured by Donald Trump and that Congress must reiterate what’s in the Constitution. He does not have the right to take military action against Iran.
AMYGOODMAN: Peter Salisbury, you’ve suggested the real danger in this situation is that the U.S. sees Yemen and the Houthis as a kind of easy means to attack Iran. And explain what that means for the people of Yemen.
PETERSALISBURY: Sure, that’s right. So, earlier this year, we published a fairly lengthy report on the dangers of Yemen becoming increasingly embroiled in tensions between the United States, Saudi Arabia, on one hand, and Iran, on the other. The Yemen conflict is resolvable through political means, through an imperfect solution, an imperfect deal of some kind (also in film)
https://www.democracynow.org/2019/9/16/saudi_arabia_oil_supply_attacks = https://www.opednews.com/articles/Saudi-Oil-Refinery-Attack-by-Democracy-Now-Drone-Attack_Houthis_Trump-And-Saudi-Arabia-190916-559.html
Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSRMRriXHOg
(* B K P)
Yemen is the Middle East’s arms bazaar – and the Saudis would be unwise to underestimate Houthis
The Saudi drone attack – which has halved oil output – may be a sign of levelling the playing field in future wars between rich and poor countries
Saudi Arabia has always underestimated the military ability of the Houthis in Yemen. In March 2015, the Saudi defence minister Mohammed bin Salman, later appointed crown prince, launched what was meant to be a short, decisive bombing campaign in Yemen to evict the Houthis – a campaign still going on four-and-a-half years later.
The Saudis were evidently caught by surprise by the Houthi capacity to use a long-distance drone, since drones depend on GPS systems to find their target. These can be jammed, says a specialist in drone warfare, who did not want to be named, but the Saudis failed to do so at Abqaiq and Khurais – the sites of Saturday’s unprecedented attacks – despite their crucial importance to the Saudi oil industry.
Houthi military proficiency is the fruit of continuous warfare. The Saudis backed the Yemeni government in six separate wars against the Houthi tribes in north Yemen, who practice a variant of Shia Islam known as Zaidism, in the 2000s. The government forces failed to defeat the Houthis, but the wars did mean that their fighters gained significant military experience – by Patrick Cockburn
cp2a Saudische Blockade / Saudi blockade
(A K P)
53 Human Rights Organizations from 13 Arab Countries Demanding Speedy Opening of Sana’a Int. Airport
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=8858
(A K P)
Shipping companies are demanding the release of their tankers detained by aggression The huge losses caused by the aggression of these companies (documents)
https://www.facebook.com/SaudiArabia.war.crimes.against.Yemen/posts/2107613722867944
(* B H K P)
Film: Jemen: Blockade hungert Zivilisten aus
Fest steht, dass die Seeblockade durch die Koalition unter saudischer Führung die Lage wesentlich verschärft hat. Im August 2018 haben die Vereinten Nationen einen Bericht veröffentlicht, der die Kriegsverbrechen der Konfliktparteien anprangert. Etwa das Aushungern von Zivilisten.
Immer wieder blockieren sowohl die jemenitische Regierung, als auch die Huthi-Rebellen die Lieferung von Hilfsgütern, wie Lebensmitteln und Medikamenten, in feindliche Gebiete. Das führte unter anderem zu einer Cholera-Epidemie, die vor allem Kinder trifft. An dieser Strategie des Aushungerns, die Saudi-Arabien und die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate gezielt einsetzen, sind auch in Frankreich hergestellte Schiffe und Ausrüstung beteiligt.
https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/091513-001-A/jemen-blockade-hungert-zivilisten-aus/
(A P)
OIL COMPANY: AGGRESSION’S FORCES AND ADEN COMMITTEE ARE PUSHING TO INTRODUCE A CONTAMINATED DIESEL SHIPMENT
The Yemeni Oil Company refused to unload the shipment of diesel material loaded on board (HELEN-M) ship located in the port of Hodeidah, because of non-compliance with the specifications, and because the shipment is contaminated and if it is allowed to enter, it will affect citizens.
The oil company accused the forces of aggression and “Aden Committee” of trying to impose a fait accompli to unload the contaminated diesel shipment by continuing to detain oil derivatives ships.
It pointed out that the contaminated diesel ship is the only remaining in the draft of the port of Hodeidah and there are attempts to exploit the need of citizens in pursuit of graft.
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
Siehe / Look at cp1
(B H)
From the NYT: "With Saudi visitors watching, the staff members of the rehabilitation center stopped an interview with a boy they said had fought for the Saudi-backed Yemeni forces, not the Houthis."
https://twitter.com/AkbarSAhmed/status/1174370000192360449
(B H)
Thanks to God then the generosity & humanity of our donors. In last two days, we distributed food to 25 IDPs families & orphans in Sana'a, 3 in Aden. Let us work together to alleviate suffering of poor & draw a smile on the faces of these innocent children http://gofundme.com/food-and-medicine-for-yemen (photos)
https://twitter.com/ghalebalsudmy/status/1173660156640616448
(* B H)
Audio: jemen - krieg ja, wasserversorgung nein
anscheinend gibt es kein land, dass so arm ist, dass man nicht doch an der ausbeutung reich werden kann
https://pfarrer.herzblut.fm/index.php?id=3788
(* B H K)
Armut und Hunger in Jemen
Ein Grossteil der Familien in Jemen kann sich selbst Grundnahrungsmittel nicht mehr leisten. In den Gesundheitszentren werden immer mehr akut mangelernährte Kinder behandelt.
Das Gesundheitszentrum im jemenitischen Gouvernement al-Hudaia, das von UNICEF finanziert wird, nimmt täglich schwer akut mangelernährte Kinder wie Doa auf. Neben der medizinischen Versorgung der Kinder bemühen sich die Ärzte und Pflegekräfte, den verzweifelten Eltern zur Seite zu stehen. Sie geben Tipps, wie sich Rückfälle vermeiden lassen, verteilen Zusatznahrung und bleiben wenn möglich mit den Familien in Kontakt.
Doch Dhia Al-Haq Al-Omari, ein Arzt des Zentrums, weiss, dass er das Grundproblem nicht lösen kann: die unvorstellbare Armut der meisten Familien im Land.
UNICEF behandelte in Jemen zwischen Januar und Juli 2019 fast 160 000 Kinder mit schwerer akuter Mangelernährung – 30 Prozent mehr als im gleichen Zeitraum des Vorjahrs. Wie immer sind es die Kinder, die den höchsten Preis zahlen in einem Konflikt, für den sie am allerwenigsten verantwortlich sind.
https://www.unicef.ch/de/ueber-unicef/aktuell/news/2019-09-18/armut-und-hunger-jemen
(B H)
New funding from Kuwait will help meet urgent needs for children in Yemen – UNICEF
(B H)
Yemen: "The most severe current humanitarian crisis caused by humans"
SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL works tremendously on access topics: accessing vulnerable populations, accessing populations that are most difficult to reach … This access can be impeded by administrative constraints such as obtaining visas or travel authorizations for example. Access might also be restricted due to security constraints, or risks of armed clashes or attacks.
Logistical issues are also and often challenging for humanitarian workers. But this matter is more or less in our DNA as an NGO, so we try to analyze constraints in a practical manner to find solutions and ensure aid is sent to the people who need it the most.
We are still present in the field
(* B H)
Open-air lessons for Yemeni pupils without classrooms
Financing for the construction of classrooms was interrupted by Yemen's war, which has engulfed the country since 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its allies launched an offensive against Iran-aligned Huthi rebels
Two million of Yemen's seven million school-aged children are not in education, the United Nations says.
As many as 3.7 million children's educations could be at risk because of the non-payment of teachers' salaries, the UN children's agency UNICEF says.
More than 2,500 schools in Yemen are out of action, two-thirds of these having been damaged in the conflict, more than a quarter shuttered, and others repurposed as shelters for the displaced or barracks (photos)
(* B H)
Film: The people of Hajjah suffer from water scarcity
Residents of Al-Thiraa village in Haradh district in the northwestern province of Hajjah suffer from water scarcity as the village's residents travel 3 km on the back of animals in a journey to search for water in nearby ponds to cover their daily needs. Despite their knowledge that this water lacks health standards. The situation is similar in the village of Bani al-Zain in the district of Hiran, adjacent to the Haradh district, where dozens of families are left without drinking water after torrential rains accompanied by thunderstorms that destroyed the only solar power system in their village mid last week, which has increased the suffering of most of its inhabitants, children and women in the search for water.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbIcwXG3wBE
(B H)
It used to take 10 minutes from Hawban area of Taiz (connecting to Ibb and Sana'a) to the centre of Taiz City, it now takes 6 hours through unpaved roads across mountains and valleys, and costs 20 times more to make that trip due to the closure of the main access road.
https://twitter.com/ymnraf/status/1173902479307759617
Sana’a faces worst siege, it takes 10 minutes from Sana’a airport to the center of Sana, it now takes at least 16 hours through Aden or sayoun. It cost thousands of dollars more and people are dying everyday due to the closure of the main access port.
https://twitter.com/g8UT9tOpxd/status/1173919943143940096
(B H)
World Health Organization, Health Cluster: Yemen: Health Cluster Bulletin, August 2019
Health Cluster partners supported 3,011 Health Facilities (17 Governorate Hospitals, 120 District Hospitals, 66 General Hospitals, 19 Specialized Hospitals, 951 Health Centers and 1,838 Health Units) during the month of August
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-health-cluster-bulletin-august-2019
(B H)
US Agency for International Development: USAID Yemen Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Fact Sheet, 17 September 2019
USAID is helping address the underlying issues of limited access to safe water and sanitation.
USAID and its partners are working to provide water and sanitation assistance to vulnerable populations including those affected by the conflict. USAID is implementing programming that addresses the underlying issues of limited access to safe water and sanitation. USAID’s Comprehensive WASH Support (CWS) program aims to improve access to safe and adequate water supply and basic sanitation infrastructure for households, hospitals, and schools. It also aims to build resilience of the population by encouraging adoption of positive health and hygiene behaviors within the most vulnerable communities.
https://www.usaid.gov/yemen/fact-sheets/water-sanitation-and-hygiene-fact-sheet
(* B H)
UN: Millionen Menschen im Jemen von Essenskürzungen bedroht
Das Welternährungsprogramm hat eine mangelnde Unterstützung der internationalen Gemeinschaft für die hungernden Menschen im Jemen beklagt. Ohne sofortige Zahlungen der Geberländer müssten ab Oktober die Essensrationen für Millionen notleidender Kinder, Frauen und Männer in dem Konfliktland gekürzt werden, teilte WFP-Sprecher Herve Verhoosel am Dienstag in Genf mit.
Für die nächsten sechs Monate benötige das Welternährungsprogramm rund 550 Millionen Euro, um die Lebensmittelhilfe im Jemen zu finanzieren, hielt der WFP-Sprecher fest. Vom Mai bis Juli habe das WFP mehr als elf Millionen Kinder, Frauen und Männer in dem arabischen Land mit Lebensmitteln versorgt. Die Zahlen der Hilfsempfänger im August müssten noch berechnet werden. Ziel sei es Nahrungsmittel an rund zwölf Millionen Einwohner zu verteilen.
(B H)
Photos: Sadia Ibrahim receives medical treatment at an anti-malnutrition treating center in #Yemen. The 11-year-old severely malnourished girl now weighs around 12 kg. Millions of Yemenis have become not able to secure one meal a day for their children. The five-year-long running war and economic blockade have killed thousands of Yemen's children, while millions are struggling to escape the silent killer.
https://www.facebook.com/chinadaily/posts/10157627456631291
cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
(B H)
UN High Commissioner for Refugees: Somalia: Refugee returnees to Somalia (as of 31 Aug 2019)
Assisted Spontaneous returnees from Yemen (4,414)
https://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/somalia-refugee-returnees-somalia-31-aug-2019
UN High Commissioner for Refugees: UNHCR Somalia Factsheet: 1 - 31 August 2019
From Yemen (48 asylum seekers and 13,193 refugees)
some 38,000 Somalis were monitored as arriving from Yemen since March 2015.
https://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/unhcr-somalia-factsheet-1-31-august-2019
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
(A P)
Food baskets were provided today from a "tribal council" to the #Iran-backed #Houthi militias in the west coast of #Hodeida as Houthis attempt to deepen their control of the seaport. Note that Houthis provide the starving children of Hodeidah with reporters instead of food (photo)
https://twitter.com/YemeniFatima/status/1174430185409732610
(B P)
Iran-backed Houthis committed 1039 human rights violations in one week, says NGO
The Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms said in a report that the militia’s violations occurred “from 6th to 13 September 2019.”
The NGO’s monitors said the militia “killed 43 persons including six women and 12 children including by fire squad, executions, sniper shooting and landmines.”
(B P)
Rights group demands UNHRC to stop Houthis abuses against Yemeni children
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-33211
(B P)
Houthis set ideological mobilization campaigns in Yemen
With an aim to hold control over Yemen, the Houthi militia is brainwashing the people of Yemen by educating them on the teachings of Ruhollah Khomeini and their ideologies.
Yemeni reports exposed that the Houthis have been organizing compulsory seminars for ideological mobilization for citizens, students and officials in an attempt to erase the Yemeni national identity.
Through these seminars, the Houthis teach a set of about 60 booklets that include seminars by Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, the founder of the Houthis movement, and his ideological, political and historical views.
It should be also noted that the Houthis admitted that they have changed the school curricula in in the areas under their control.
http://en.adenpress.news/news/13320
My remark: By an anti-Houthi news site.
(A P)
Houthi gunman attempts to kill father
A Houthi-affiliated militant attempted to kill his 64-year old father for suspicion of loyalty to the legitimate government.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-33199
(A P)
Former Advisor to FM Dies under Torture in Houthi-run Prison
Rights sources confirmed on Tuesday the death of activist and former Advisor to Yemen’s Foreign Ministry Sultan Al Jadi, who died under torture in a Houthi-run prison of Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
Al Jadi was abducted and imprisoned in Houthi-controlled CID in October 2017 and was subject to severe torment ever since.
https://republicanyemen.net/en/archives/21007
(A P)
Houthi Rebels Stormed a Yemeni MP’s House, Expelled His Family
https://republicanyemen.net/en/archives/21007
(A K pH)
Yemeni army to release information on major offensive soon
Military spokesman Yahya Sare'e promises stunning revelations
The Yemeni Ministry of Defense in the National Salvation Government is about to reveal shocking information about the area of southern Saudi territory that the Yemeni army and Popular Committees have been able to capture and control, as well as about the number of captured Saudi soldiers.
This was announced by the spokesman of the Yemeni Armed Forces and the head of the Department of Moral Guidance of the army and Popular Committees, Brigadier Genersl Yahya Sare’e, in an interview with the newspaper Rai al-You, which is published in the British capital of London.
“We are in the process of releasing information about a major military operation, in which 500 square kilometres of Saudi territory have been captured and in which our forces have captured thousands of prisoners amongst Saudi soldiers and mercenaries,” Yahya Sare’e said.
https://www.uprising.today/yemeni-army-to-release-information-on-major-offensive-soon/
My comment: Stay serious.
(A K P)
Mohammed al-Houthi thanks international leaders for support to Yemeni right of self-defence
Sends thanks to Iran, Turkey and Russia for words of support
(A P)
Congress party complains of marginalization and exclusion of its cadres from their posts by their Houthi allies
The General People's Congress (GPC) in the central province of Ibb said it was being excluded and marginalized by the Houthi group, which has been ruling on the province since October 2014.
The General People's Congress party, led by former President Saleh, criticized in a statement what it described as a "campaign of exclusion" by its Houthi allies by removing its cadres from their administrative positions, describing this campaign as "unjustified and illegal and conducted in explicit violation."
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/171705
(* B P)
Yemeni Coalition for Monitoring #HumanRights Violations documented 455 cases of torture committed by the #Houthi group from September 2014 to December 2018. 295 cases of torture were recorded in #Sana'a Municipality, 86 cases in Sana'a and 74 cases in Ibb governorate.
https://twitter.com/BelqeesRights/status/1174233847912947713
(A P)
Armed Clashes Between Tribes Around Sanaa Airport
Local sources told ‘Aden-Time’ that armed individuals affiliated to the Houthis who belong to a Houthi leader Fares al-Houbara and another from Hajjah exchanged fire and that the animosity between both men was over a conflict on land in the vicinity of Sana'a International Airport.
http://en.adenpress.news/news/13311
(* B P)
Rasd Alliance: 170 people killed in Houthi prisons under torture
The Yemeni Alliance for Monitoring Human Rights Violations has confirmed that it monitored 455 torture cases committed by Houthi militia in the period between September 2014 and December 2018, most of them in Sana’a’s prisons.
In the symposium organized on the sidelines of the 42 Round of Human Rights Center held here Monday in cooperation with the International Federal for Yemeni Communities, the center pointed out that 170 victims including nine children, two women and six aged died under torture. Ali Abdullah al-Ammar, from Hodeida, the last aged person died in Houthi Hodeida’s prison.
Activist Hamdan Alaleai reviewed a number of torture cases committed by Houthi militia against politicians, human rights activists and journalists, confirming that kidnapped people in Houthi militia’s prisons are subjected to severe torture leading to death or lasting disability.
He cited Journalist Anwar Al-Rakan who died two days after releasing him from Houthi militia’s prison in Taiz.
http://en.26sepnews.net/2019/09/17/rasd-alliance-170-people-killed-in-houthi-prisons-under-torture/
and also http://en.adenpress.news/news/13312
My comment: RASD is a Saudi coalition mouthpiece organization. Nevertheless, these figures sound reasonable.
(A P)
“BONYAN AND KHAIRAT” CELEBRATE THE GRADUATION OF 403 TRAINEES IN MANY FIELDS+IMAGES
Khairat Center for Training and Development of Productive Families has celebrated in cooperation with Bonyan Development Foundation on the occasion of the graduation of 403 trainees in various fields, representing the third batch, which is called (Khairat Al-Eba’a).
The graduates received for four months several knowledge, skills, and experience in many fields including the holy Quran, computer and languages, first aid, food processing, and household and many other skills.
My comment: Bonyan is Houthi-affiliated. Look at the women in the photo: It tells more about Houthi bigotry than many words.
(A K P)
Abdulsalam: Peace in Region Comes with Dialogue and Understanding, away from Clatter of Arms
Head of the National Delegation, Mohammed Abdulsalam, said that that "peace in the region comes with dialogue and understanding away from the clatter of arms and that our Yemeni people love security and peace throughout the Arabian Peninsula."
"In what logic did the world allow itself to denounce and condemn, serving the interest of US-Saudi alliance, while stay silence when it comes to the crime of the time, committed against our Yemeni people?"
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=8841
and
(A K P)
Mohammed Abdulsalam condemns hypocrisy of those condemning Aramco strike
"Oil is not more precious than the blood of Yemeni people", top diplomat says in strongly-worded statement
The Head of the National Negotiating Delegation Mohammed Abdulsalam has on Tuesday said that “the orgy of Saudi-led aggression coalition must be halted.”
In the statement, Abdulsalam affirmed that those who condemned the “deterrence balance operation” carried out by the Yemeni army on September 14 against the Aramco facilities, have revealed their shameful bias in favor of the aggressor.
“By what logic has the world allowed itself to denounce in favour of the aggressor while keeping silent towards the crime of the age committed against our Yemeni people by killing, siege, starvation and destruction?” he said.
Yemen’s top diplomag stressed that “the oil commodity is not more precious than the blood of Yemeni people (…) Those who are keen on the stability of the oil market must pressure on the coalition to stop its aggression and lift the siege on the Yemeni people.”
https://www.uprising.today/mohammed-abdulsalam-condemns-hypocrisy-of-those-condemning-aramco-strike/
(A P)
Anti-al Houthi media claimed that al Houthi officials had clashed with each other at Sana’a International Airport in the al Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital, Sana’a, on September 17. Forces loyal to al Houthi militia commander Fares al Habari reportedly clashed with forces loyal to Mohammed Ali al Houthi, brother of al Houthi movement leader Abdul Malik al Houthi. A land dispute between Mohammed Ali al Houthi and Fares al Habari reportedly sparked the clashes.[3]
(* B K P)
Die Huthis haben den PR-Krieg gegen die Saudis gewonnen
Die schiitischen Rebellen halten seit Herbst 2014 Sanaa – in ihren Gebieten grassieren Menschenrechtsverletzungen
Saudi-Arabien hat in viereinhalb Jahren nicht nur keines seiner Kriegsziele im Jemen erreicht – trotz der Bombardements auch viel zu vieler ziviler Einrichtungen. Die Saudis haben aber darüber hinaus in der westlichen Medienöffentlichkeit auch noch die PR-Schlacht gegen die Huthis verloren. Das mag am Rebellenbonus liegen – aber wohl auch an der neuen Lust am Saudi-Bashing.
Die meisten Strategen sind sich einig, dass auch ein anderer saudischer König als Salman und ein anderer saudischer Verteidigungsminister als sein Sohn Mohammed damals im Jemen eingegriffen hätte: Schon während der lokal begrenzten Huthi-Aufstände in der nördlichen Provinz Saada ab 2004 war es zu Verletzungen der saudischen Grenze durch die Huthis gekommen. Aber diesmal kam noch etwas dazu: Die Gründe für den Krieg zwischen Huthis und Regierung waren zwar interne jemenitische. Aber der Jemen drohte nun an Kräfte zu fallen, die der aggressiven iranischen Einflusspolitik an der Südflanke Saudi-Arabiens Tür und Tor geöffnet hätten. Die Huthis selbst haben sich selbst mit der libanesischen Hisbollah verglichen.
Stets ist von den "schiitischen" Huthis die Rede: Das stimmt, aber nicht ganz.
Die Berührungspunkte der Huthis mit der Islamischen Republik Iran sind hauptsächlich politische, wie schon die Slogans (Bild rechts) illustrieren
Die Verbindung zum Iran, der auch militärischen Technologietransfer beinhaltet, ist nicht zu leugnen. 2014/15 riet Teheran – laut US-Geheimdiensten – den Huthis jedoch davon ab, Sanaa völlig zu übernehmen und die Regierung von Abd Rabbo Mansur Hadi zu stürzen. Und bis heute gilt, dass die Huthis nicht nur einfach Marionetten des Iran sind.
Außerdem ist bekannt, dass die Huthis bis 2015 im Jemen informell mit den USA gegen Al-Kaida zusammengearbeitet hatten – von Gudrun Harrer
Mein Kommentar: Beliebtes „Saudi-Bashing“? Da macht es sich jemand sehr einfach, die Kritik an der in jeder Hinsicht furchtbaren saudischen Innen- und Außenpolitik ins Lächerliche zu ziehen.
(* B P)
170 detainees, 9 children, 2 women & 6 elderly men, died of torture in Houthi prisons between 2014-2018, Yemen coalition for monitoring human rights violations has revealed.
Meanwhile in Sanaa, Ibb, Taiz & Aden, disappearances, abductions & killings of children are on the rise.
https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1173903842028793856
(* B P)
Did Saudi push Yemen’s Zaydi community into Iran’s hands?
It has been argued that the Zaydi sect of Shia Islam is closer to mainstream Sunni Islam than it is to the Twelver Shias who form the majority in Iran. This is particularly so in regards to jurisprudence and general practises. However some socio religious developments among Yemen’s Zaydi community appear to indicate a gradual shift towards Twelverism in recent years.
This has been attributed to Iran’s growing influence in the country, specifically with the Ansar Allah movement, popularly known as the Houthis. Such developments have the propensity to consolidate Houthi control of the north and capital by means of legitimacy partially obtained through the provision of much needed social services where the fragile, barely existent Yemeni government is unwilling or unable to.
There are stern accusations in both the West and neighbouring Saudi Arabia that the Houthis are another “Iranian proxy”, likening them to Lebanon’s Hezbollah or Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces, seeking to destabilise the Middle East and to the benefit of Iranian regional hegemony.
An often repeated journalistic mantra refers to the group as the “Iranian-backed” Houthis although it has been questioned as to how much this support has been exaggerated by the mainstream media. Both Houthis and Iran of course have downplayed the extent of such support.
The fact is the Houthis emerged independently of Iran and received support as they grew into a more powerful entity, having made use of black market networks for trade and arms. Furthermore, they only turned to violence in 2004 after founder of their Believing Youth movement, Hussein Badreddin Al-Houthi – who drew influence from the Iranian Revolution – was killed by government forces, sparking an on and off war for six years, known as the Saadah Wars.
The leaders, who survived these conflicts, are known as the “Saadah Core” and it is their ideology which leans closer to Twelverism. Indeed, of the three main sub-sects within Zayidism – the Jurudiyyah which the Houthis ascribe to is said to be the closest to the Twelver Shia, at least relatively speaking.
Fivers to Twelvers
The Zaydis also known as the “Fivers” are gradually shifting towards Twelverism at least in regards to outward displays of religious observance.
This show of force has been particularly visible on religious commemorative dates, more associated with Twelvers
Missed opportunity by the Saudis?
As with the blowback of the Saudi-led blockade on Qatar which only forced it to move closer to Turkey and Iran, so too did the decision to launch a coalition to drive back the Houthis and re-establish the Hadi government in Sanaa using a campaign of air strikes, naval blockades and mercenaries merely pushed the Houthis closer to Iran’s sphere of influence, out of necessity – thus becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Could the Saudis have better capitalised on their relative theological similarities as a means of soft power? Granted, the state religion of Saudi Arabia is the Wahabi interpretation of Sunni Islam – and part of the emergence of the Houthi’s Believe Youth movement in the early 90s, was in response to the emergence of Wahabi schools in their northern stronghold Saadah, in particular the city of Dammaj. But the Saudis have propagated religious ideas as a means of foreign policy before – as in Afghanistan and Pakistan among the Sunni Deobandi movement (which gave rise to the Taliban) – by Omar Ahmed
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190917-did-saudi-push-yemens-zaydi-community-into-irans-hands/
(A P)
Parliament Listens To Inter-Parliamentary Union’s Letter
https://sabanews.net/en/news3068522.htm
(A K P)
57 Saudi-Paid Mercenaries Released In Sanaa
The security forces released 57 Saudi-led aggression coalition mercenaries in Sanaa province, a security official told Saba.
The mercenaries were arrested while trying to join and fight alongside with the coalition.
https://sabanews.net/en/news3068520.htm
(* A P)
Houthis to impose income tax on UN staff
The Houthi rebels instructed the Tax Authority in Sana’a to impose income tax on the United Nations (UN) staff working in Yemen, the Saudi-based Okaz daily newspaper quoted a source from the Tax Authority.
The new measure requires also aid organizations to pay 20 percent tax on aid shipment at new customs points the rebels set up outside main cities in the northern part of the country.
The income and shipment tax collection will begin soon in the coming days at 20 percent per worker’s monthly salary. The same rate will be applied on total values of aid shipments.
The decision will be applied on both local and international aid organizations including the UN agencies, according to the same source.
Tax on shipments have to be paid at main entrances of Houthis-held areas or at Hodeida port, the source said.
Yemen’s effective laws exempt aid organizations from tax payment.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-33136
cp6 Südjemen und Hadi-Regierung / Southern Yemen and Hadi-government
(A P)
Aden.. Members of the [separatist militia] security belt raid the house of special forces commander Al-Khader al-Abd and cause material damage
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/171737
(* B P)
After taking control of Aden. "Transitional", fleeing from service and security to arrest campaigns!
On August 10, the Southern Transitional Council (STC) took full control of Aden
Now, the "Southern Transition" efforts are about to restore the relationship with the local population of Aden, whose fears have begun to escalate over the arrest campaigns that have renewed the old traditional conflict in the southern regions, with the council carrying out about eight incursions into the homes of anti-council leaders from Abyan province, to which prominent leaders of the Yemeni government belong.
Not far away, the wave of assassinations resumed after the Transitional Council took control of Aden, targeting soldiers, civilians and the imam of a mosque in Sheikh Osman district north of Aden in an assassination of the 37th in which one of the imams of mosques in the city was killed along with others killed in separate incidents during the last four years.
But things are not going well to secure the gains of control of Aden last month for the Southern Transitional Council, while the incursions and arrests of opponents continue, and the incidents of insecurity the Council faces another challenge in the file of services and salaries, which appear to be a pressure sheet exercised by the government has already forced the transitional to make some concessions, but the spokesman for the Transitional Council had earlier said that the transition holds no responsibility to pay salaries and poor services, noting that these matters are the government's prerogative.
It is clear so far that the control of Aden has lifted the responsibility of the government, as the council's control of the city has hindered the work of government institutions and the departure of government ministers and the disassociation of most government officials from their work
A special source told "Al-Masdar Online" that the raids on the homes of military leaders loyal to the government are carried out through the passing of misinformation by Hani Ben Brik at the behest of the UAE leadership in Aden, and this information includes accusations of military commanders harboring armed elements and storing weapon.
The raids and raids, according to security forces, on homes housing terrorists and weapons depots belonging to pro-Islah leaders, are an operation to cover up a hidden alternative plan aimed at eliminating opponents whom Abu Dhabi and its allies believe could lead internal armed movements against the Tarnsitional.
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/171710
(A P)
Hadi will not participate in UN meetings. Did the pressure stop him from traveling to New York?
A senior Yemeni government source told Al-Masdar Online that President Hadi did not travel to New York and will not participate in the UN General Assembly meetings, which began on Tuesday.
This absence comes against the backdrop of escalating disputes and tensions between the legitimate government and the United Arab Emirates following the latter's support for an armed rebellion in Aden
The sources added to "Al-Masdar Online" that the pressure has recently increased on the government, in anticipation of the meetings of the Un General Assembly, due to growing fears that President Hadi will announce from the UN rostrum the end of the UAE's participation in the coalition to support legitimacy, and hold it responsible of stand behind the armed rebellion in the interim capital Aden and work to tear Yemen apart.
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/171701
(A K P)
Saudi newspaper warns: "Transitional" seeks to blow up the situation in Hadhramaut
A Saudi newspaper on Tuesday revealed efforts by the so-called UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council to blow up the situation in Hadhramaut, eastern Yemen.
Saudi newspaper Okaz quoted informed Yemeni sources as saying that pro-transitional elements are holding meetings and are mobilizing the street to blow up the security situation.
The newspaper did not give further details of the moves to the STC.
Hadhramaut is in a state of anticipation after a committee calling itself the "Committee for escalation for Hadramout’s rights" announced its intention to implement popular escalation steps.
The committee, which was convened by a meeting of the Hadhramaut Mosque conference led by Hadhramaut’s undersecretary Amr Ben Habrish, including members of the southern transitional council.
The High Committee for Escalation approved the establishment of a mass escalation event in Mukalla next Sunday, to demand Hadramout’s rights.
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/171685
and also https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-33201
(A P)
UAE-backed militants abduct two government officials
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) supported-Southern Transitional Council (STC) militants abducted on Tuesday two government officials in Abyan, local sources said.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-33210
(* A K P)
Crackdown against separatists launched in Shabwah
Hadi clique launches campaign against UAE-backed mercenaries and activists
Saudi-backed forces have on Tuesday launched a campaign of crackdown against the Southern Transitional Council militias, which are funded by the United Arab of Emirates, in Shabwah province, eastern Yemen.
The campaign coincided with the arrival of large amounts of Saudi military vehicles to the provincial capital.
Local authorities loyal to Saudi-backed government in Shabwah arrested eight followers of STC militias, including a prominent leader, as they launched what they called a campaign to root out the UAE-backed militias.
The so-called Security Committee, headed by the leader of the Al-Islah party and the governor of Hadi in Shabwah, revealed that it had distributed lists of the names of what it described as “wanted criminals”. However, activists said the lists included journalists, activists and politicians in the province.
The campaign comes with extensive military preparations carried out by the Islah party to tighten its grip on the oil province of Shabwah, with the continued dispatch of military reinforcements from Ma’rib and through the port of al- Wadiah coming from Saudi Arabia.
https://www.uprising.today/crackdown-against-separatists-launched-in-shabwah/
and
(A P)
Hadi forces target senior separatist leaders
UAE-backed senior figures injured, arrested in crackdown
https://www.uprising.today/hadi-forces-target-senior-separatist-leaders/
and
(A K P)
Arrest of one of the supervisors of the operations targeting the army forces in Shabwa
A military source in Shabwa province said that on Monday morning, army forces arrested one of the responsible of targeting army personnel.
The source confirmed that government forces managed to arrest the accused to run a group that is targeting the movements of the army in the area of Ain Bama’bad
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/171681
(* A H K P)
In anticipation of a fight. Dozens of families displaced from the town of "Sheikh Salem" east of Zanzibar
The "Sheikh Salem" area east of Zanzibar, the capital of Abyan province in southern Yemen, witnessed the displacement of dozens of families on Wednesday morning as the military mobilization of government forces on the one hand and southern Transitional Council forces escalated along the road linking Shaqra and Zanzibar.
A local source told "Al-Masdar Online" that about 100 families left the coastal area of "Sheikh Salem" located near the international stadium, which is about 12 kilometers from the city of Zanzibar, the capital
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/171707
(* A P T)
Minister Al-Jabwani: We have evidence of the UAE's relationship with al-Qaeda and ISIS
Transport Minister Saleh al-Jabwani said the Yemeni government has evidence that the UAE is Saudi Arabia's main partner in the alliance to support legitimacy in Yemen, have relations with the terrorist organizations al-Qaeda and ISIS.
"We have all the evidence that the UAE is linked to al-Qaeda and ISIS in Yemen and by names," al-Jabwani said in a tweet on his Twitter account on Wednesday.
"These terrorists are using these terrorists to strike Yemeni army reinforcements through Shabwa Abyan provinces," he said.
Army units of the legitimate government in the two provinces in southern Yemen are being ambushed and targeted with improvised explosive devices and smart missiles.
Officials of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) say that the fighters of the security belts, the Shabwa elite and the southern resistance are responsible for carrying out these attacks, and a legitimate end to prevent the forces they describe as "invading and terrorist" from attacking the council's control areas in Aden. and
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/171729
(A T)
Sep. 14: Civilians were injured as a result of the explosion of a device north of #Aden. (photo)
https://twitter.com/BelqeesRights/status/1172978073387577345
(A P T)
Yemeni minister accuses UAE of Daesh, Qaeda links
UAE has not responded to accusation yet
A Yemeni minister on Wednesday accused the UAE of having links with al-Qaeda and Daesh terror organizations in his country’s south.
"We have evidence with names regarding the UAE links with al-Qaeda," Yemeni Minister of Transport Saleh al-Jabwani said in a Twitter post.
"The UAE uses these terrorist organizations to hit the Yemeni army in Shabwa and Abyan provinces," al-Jabwani added.
He urged the tribes in the provinces to determine their position regarding the UAE, otherwise, they would bear the consequences of backing the organizations' crime.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/yemeni-minister-accuses-uae-of-daesh-qaeda-links/1587397
and also https://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13980627001023
(A K P)
STC informs UN delegation on normalization of life in Abyan (Photos)
http://en.adenpress.news/news/13317
My remark: Separatist propaganda tells: Everything under our control.
(A K P)
Southern resistance launches fresh attacks on Islah militias in Shabwa
The southern resistance conducted two deadly attacks on Islah armed groups in Ataq and Mifa'a districts of Shabwa governorate.
The southern resistance carried out an intense mortar shelling on two Islah-run military camps in the west of Ataq City, the capital of Shabwa, in the early hours of Wednesday. The attacks followed by several loud explosions as flames were seen coming from the targeted camps, eyewitnesses reported
In a similar development, local sources reported that the southern resistance attacked on Tuesday a newly created checkpoint of Islah militia at the northern entrance to Joul al-Ridah city of Mifa'a district.
http://en.adenpress.news/news/13318
(A P)
Southern Activist Answer to the Islah Party
Activists on the social network Twitter called the hashtag "Bin Zayed Protector of the Children of Yemen" in response to an attack by the Islah Party activists against the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Brig. Gen. Khalid al-Nissi the military expert said, "You say the UAE is killing the children of Yemen? The UAE provided men before money and weapons to free you from terrorist groups. The UAE treated the wounded while you killed the children of the South in 94 and 2015 as well as the period in between both wars which carries on till today. You continue to kill the children and the youth of the south!".
Abdul Karim al-Issai said that the people of the Arab world are proud of the children of the Emirates for their efforts in helping the children of Yemen. Thanking the Emirates, a country of love and giving.
http://en.adenpress.news/news/13310
(* A K P)
Saudi-backed troops raid tribal homes in Hadhramaut
Islah leader al-Ahmar attacks al-Kathiri tribe
The forces of the so-called First Military Zone, which belongs to military commander in the Saudi-backed Hadi regime, Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar, have on Monday raided the homes of a number of members of the Al-Kathiri tribe in Hadhramaut province in eastern Yemen, local sources reported.
According to the local sources, the forces of the military zone stormed a number of houses of tribal members belonging to the Al-Kathiri tribe, on charges of sheltering al-Qaeda elements in the city of Seiyoun, injuring a number of them.
On Monday, fierce clashes broke out between tribal groups and Saudi-backed exiled Hadi’s forces in Yemen’s southern province of Hadhramaut.
The sources added that tanks and heavy arms were used during the confrontations between Hadi’s forces and Al Kathiri tribes in Seiyoun city.
https://www.uprising.today/saudi-backed-troops-raid-tribal-homes-in-hadhramaut/
(* A K P)
UAE-backed separatists reinforce Abyan positions
STC prepares for attack against Hadi forces planned for today
Southern Transitional Council militias, which funded by the United Arab Emirates on Monday have pushed large military reinforcements into the coastal city of Shaqra in the occupied Province of Abyan, southern Yemen, a military source reported.
According to the military source, The STC’s militias reinforced its elements in Abyan with a number of tanks, rocket launchers and infantry soldiers, as part of military preparations for new confrontations with the exiled Hadi’s forces backed by Saudi Arabia.
The source confirmed that the transitional militias promised to knock down the exiled Hadi’s forces camps in Abyan province in the coming hours.
https://www.uprising.today/uae-backed-separatists-reinforce-abyan-positions/
(A)
A GIRL DISAPPEARS IN AMBIGUOUS CIRCUMSTANCES IN ADEN
https://www.yemenpress.org/yemen/a-girl-disappears-in-ambiguous-circumstances-in-aden/
(A K P)
Breaking: Huge explosion rocks #Aden now. #Yemen. I wish that civilians including my friends are safe now.
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/1174119673761292294
(A K P)
Yemeni Parties Call for Eliminating Terror of Iran’s Proxies
Yemen's National Alliance of Political Parties has condemned in the strongest terms the attacks on two Aramco oil facilities in Saudi Arabia.
"This terrorist attack is a serious escalation targeting the security of the Kingdom and the entire region and global energy supplies,” it said in a statement.
My comment: Parties supporting the Hadi government. It’s war, no “terrorist attack“.
(A P)
Plots targeting the Republic. Statement by government leaders calls for an end to interference in the Yemeni decision and the UAE's participation in the coalition
The ministers of interior, transport and deputy speaker of the Yemeni parliament on Sunday called for an end to the UAE's participation in the coalition to support legitimacy, and that it is illegal foreign interventions and support the will of the independent Yemeni decision, and develop partnership with Saudi Arabia in the framework of bilateral cooperation.
The statement stressed that Yemen is being subjected to a conspiracy targeting its republican regime, unity and stability, due to the continued control of the Iranian-backed Houthis over Sana'a and the control of the UAE-backed southern transitional government over Aden.
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/171645
(A P)
Afra Alhariri, who is an activist based in #Aden, said she received threats to have her killed after criticizing the Southern Transitional Council (#STC).
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1173618192033439744
(A P)
Al-Jaadi: The legitimacy proves its ineligibility
Member of the presidency of the Southern Transitional Council, Fadl al-Jaadi said that the legitimacy proves every day that it is legally disqualified and not able to take control of some of its ministers who had been involved in a plot machinated by the regime of Qatar to tear the Arab Coalition apart.
Al-Jaadi wrote on his Twitter account "it's more obvious than ever that the Arab Coalition is subjected to fraud, extortion and conspiracy from within the government and the sponsors of terrorism and corruption."
http://en.adenpress.news/news/13302
My comment: Separatist leader blaming the Hadi government (labeled as “legitimacy”).
(A P)
SCMC distributes 11 tonnes of toys, school supplies to Socotra youth.
A delegation from the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, SCMC, currently visiting the Yemeni island of Socotra, distributed 11 tonnes of toys, gifts and school supplies to the island’s children, as gifts from Emirati youth.
The delegation, which was led by Al Reem Abdullah Al Falasi, Secretary-General of the SCMC, was welcomed by the local children
https://www.mofaic.gov.ae/en/mediahub/news/2019/9/16/16-09-2019-uae-scmc
My comment: This is a report by the UAE foreign ministry. It also demonstrates the close connection between the UAE (which certainly had paid for this) and southern separatists.
(A T)
This 12 year old child's name is Mabrook Alhazif. He was shot & killed today in Aden. He went to South Yemen looking for work to feed his family.
@UAE militias shot him 26 times on the street (photos)
https://twitter.com/FreeYemenNow/status/1173489789447757824
(A T)
4 members of the security belt killed and injured in attack by gunmen at checkpoint east of Aden
A member of the UAE-backed security belt forces was killed and three others were injured early Monday in an armed attack by unidentified gunmen at the Al-Rehab checkpoint near Aden International Airport, east of the southern city of Aden.
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/171647
(A T)
Abyan. Soldier killed in ambush by gunmen for ambulance carrying wounded army personnel in Al-Mahfad
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/171646
(A K P)
Abyan. Army launches anti-aircraft weapons on "Emirati" fighter flying in the sky of Shaqra
A military source told Al-Masdar Online that warplanes flew Saturday evening in the skies of the coastal town of Shaqra in the eastern province of Abyan in the south of the country, but units of the government army fired anti-aircraft missiles at them before they left.
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/171620
(A K)
4 soldiers killed and injured in Hadhramaut coast mine explosion
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/171621
(* A P)
Islah’s President sends influential messages to Yemeni people
Mohammed Al-Yadoumi, president of the party seized the party’s 29th establishment anniversary to send many significant messages during his speech he delivered last Thursday.
The speech came in a very critical time of Yemen’s history.
The Islah party’s president, Al-Yadoumi has voiced his party’s positions towards all ongoing key developments in the country and sent many influential messages to the Yemeni people, the party’s supporters, the legitimate government and the Saudi-led coalition.
The Islah party experiences brutal intimidation by both rebellion militants in Sana’a and Aden whereby Islah members and leaders were subject to horrific acts of murder, arbitrary arrests, forcible disappearance and its headquarters were vulnerable to systematic destruction.
However, the party’s president managed in his speech to reply rationally to all this continued intimidation:
We, at the Islah party, are aware that magnifying Islah’s share of the government is nothing, but clear signs of intentions to not only eliminate the party, but to devote conflict causes in Yemen and hinder success of any political solution. Islah rejects such allegations and affirms that the new rebellion [in Aden] has distracted Yemenis from the main battle against the Houthi’s coup. The rebels [in Aden] must be aware that their acts stabbed the legitimate government in the back and that such thing benefits only the Houthis in Sana’a. The old and new rebels (the Houthis in Sana’a and the UAE-supported separatists in Aden) and their supporters are merely powers that targeted the national project, harmed the Yemeni state and its institutions and consequently damaged citizens’ rights and their fundamental needs. They embodied mutiny, destruction and destabilization.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-33170
and also https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-33142
and
(* A P)
Chief of Islah party renews support for Saudi-led efforts to retrieve Yemeni state
“The Islah will not shake its supportive position to the President Abd Rabo Mansour Hadi and his brother leaders in the Saudi-led coalition,” said Al-Yadoumi.
He reaffirmed that the key goal for the party is to build a state for everyone in Yemen in line to democracy principles and liberties protection.
“The Islah had and still has a solid unshakable faith in the necessity of building the state institutions to have an effective state for every Yemeni citizen that should be a safe umbrella for everyone seeks reform and combat corruption,” said Al-Yadoumi.
He emphasized that his party still committed to peaceful power transfer and rejects any use of violence by any group to ascend the power.
“The Islah’s faith in peaceful power transfer is unshakable regardless of any circumstance,” he said.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-33115
(A P)
Shabwa governor to hire 500 new public teachers
The governor of Shabwa, Mohammed Saleh Bin Edeyo has instructed the Public Education office to recruit 500 new public teachers for one-year contract.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-33135
(A K T)
Bomb attacks and assassinations plague southern provinces
UAE-occupied southern territories see further escalation of violence
At least two UAE-backed security forces were killed and an officer injured on Sunday evening by an explosion and attack in Shabwah and Aden provinces, local sources reported.
A local source in Shabwah province said that unknown assailants detonated an explosive device as a security forces vehicle passed through the entrance to t
https://www.uprising.today/bomb-attacks-and-assassinations-plague-southern-provinces/
(A K T)
Saudi-led coalition-backed Yemeni security forces raided the home of an AQAP operative near Shibam town in Hadramawt governorate in southeastern Yemen on September 15. [3]
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
(A P)
Griffiths from Peace Mediator to War Advocate
It was as if the war broke out today for the UN special envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, who began his briefing to the Security Council by focusing on the Yemeni airstrike on the Saudi Aramco facilities in Abqaiq.
Griffith considered that the "Abqaiq" strike will drag Yemen into “a regional conflagration,” forgetting that Yemen has been living the scourge of a regional war under the supervision of the United States for nearly five years, where the number of civilian casualties exceeded 50,000 dead and wounded, and created the largest humanitarian tragedy in the world.
Observers believe that the UN envoy should have re-adjusted his sympathies with Saudi Arabia, before showing the lamenting attitude towards the Saudi regime.
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=8831
My remark: As claimed by the Houthis.
(* A K P)
Jemen: Zwischen Erzfeinden
Der Krieg im ärmsten Land der arabischen Halbinsel droht zu eskalieren. Der UN-Sondergesandte fordert ein "umfassendes Friedensabkommen".
Zum Anforderungsprofil für UN-Sondergesandte gehört unzerstörbarer Optimismus - und die Chuzpe, genau dann die Wendung hin zum Besseren zu suchen, wenn alle Vorzeichen auf Eskalation stehen. Insofern handelte der Jemen-Beauftragte der Vereinten Nationen folgerichtig, als er am Montag auf Twitter und in einem Meinungsbeitrag für die New York Times "informelle und strukturierte Gespräche" mit allen beteiligten Akteuren ankündigte. Martin Griffiths zielt dabei nicht auf Zwischenschritte wie einen Waffenstillstand. Er will mehr, "ein umfassendes Friedensabkommen". Gerade jetzt.
[und größerer Überblick]
https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/jemen-zwischen-erzfeinden-1.4604712
(A P)
Mwatana Participates in Human Rights Council and Met with High Commissioner
Mwatana for Human Rights participates in the events of the 42nd session of Human Rights Council during September 2019 held in Geneva.
http://mwatana.org/en/mwatana-participates-in-hrc42/
(A P)
Yemen's [Hadi government] representative to the Security Council: We refuse to arm and support any formations outside the state institutions under any justification
Yemen's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Abdullah al-Sa'adi has said the recent developments in Aden and other southern provinces since UAE- backed Southern Transitional Council's armed rebellion on August 8 requires serious stance and transparent review for overcoming this obstacle and solving its reasons.
"These developments have led to deviation of the basic aim track for ending Iran-backed Houthi coup," said al-Sa'adi in Yemen's speech he delivered before the Security Council Monday.
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/171680
(A P)
Jemen-Beauftragter der UNO fordert Friedensgespräche
Nach den Drohnenangriffen auf eine saudi-arabische Ölraffinerie hat der UNO-Gesandte für den Jemen, Griffiths, zu Friedensgesprächen für das Bürgerkriegsland aufgerufen.
(* A P)
Briefing Security Council on Yemen, Special Envoy Warns Oil Facilities Attack Could Threaten Regional Stability, Calls for Inclusive Process to End Fighting
The top United Nations official in Yemen called for advancing “with purpose and resolve” towards a political solution to end the conflict, now in its fourth year, as Security Council delegates today cautioned that the 14 September attack on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia could spark a regional conflagration.
Such prospects would be “terrifying”, said the Special Envoy for Yemen, briefing the Council from Geneva. They would also run counter to the many conversations he has had with the parties. The fact that Ansar Allah has claimed responsibility for the assault is a sign that Yemen is moving away from peace, he said, noting that, with each day that the war persists, the greater the threat to regional stability. “We need to take a bold move,” he said.
Against that backdrop, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator said “we seem no closer to the outcome we all say we want”. Two weeks ago, more than 100 people were killed in air strikes on a university-turned-prison in Dharmar Governorate, while on 13 September, shelling by Ansar Allah-affiliated forces in Hudaydah left 11 civilians dead, 7 of them children. In the south, clashes between the Government and Southern Transitional Council forces are undermining efforts to prevent and treat cholera and stave off extreme hunger.
Despite the Council’s repeated call for unimpeded humanitarian access, the operating environment for aid agencies has perhaps never been worse, he said. Those agencies reported 300 incidents that hindered aid delivery to 4.9 million people — most of them due to restrictions imposed by Ansar Allah authorities seeking to introduce regulations for international non-governmental organizations that would undermine humanitarian principles.
In the ensuing discussion, delegates broadly condemned the attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities, with the United Kingdom’s delegate calling them a clear violation of international law, the United States delegate stressing that Iran must stop arming the Houthis and the Russian Federation’s delegate saying it is too early to ascribe responsibility.
Many speakers called for a nationwide ceasefire
https://www.un.org/press/en/2019/sc13952.doc.htm
and full briefings here:
https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/briefing-special-envoy-security-council-16-september-2019
(A K P)
At a UN Security Council session, Kuwait denounces the cowardly attack on two Saudi oil facilities
At a United Nations Security Council session to discuss the situation in Yemen last Saturday, Kuwait's permanent representative to the United Nations Mansour Al-Otaibi denounced in the strongest terms the hostile attack on two Saudi Aramco oil facilities, depicting it as a flagrant violation of the international law as well as the UN charter, vowing his country's full support for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as well as all the measures being taken to preserve its security, stability and territorial integrity.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1970416
(A B K P)
Video with English subtitles): Item 2 Annual report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Date: Wednesday, September 11, 2019 Human Rights Council # Geneva Speaker: Ayman Mohammed Qaed Arab Rights Watch Association
https://www.facebook.com/aiman.garallah/videos/vb.100002425839973/2426978904059614/?type=2&theater
(* B K P)
Attack on Saudi oil refineries may be a chance to move the peace needle
In a perfect world, the drone attacks on Saudi oil refineries on Sep. 14 should underscore the risks of continuing the war in Yemen and drive efforts to de-escalate regional tensions. Oil remains the lifeblood of the kingdom and the attacks aptly illustrated Saudi Arabia’s vulnerability despite the billions spent on defence over the years.
The problem is, the attacks – for which Yemen’s rebel group, the Houthis, claimed responsibility – are just as likely to prompt the Saudis to double down on their current approach to Yemen.
They should think again. If nothing else, these attacks illustrate the folly of anyone contemplating war with Iran. If 10 drones can inflict that much damage on the kingdom’s oil infrastructure, just imagine what kind of destruction Iran’s much more sophisticated and lethal missile arsenal could do.
There is an opportunity here. The attacks may be the catalyst needed to move the peace needle. The attacks have resulted in a 50-per-cent reduction in Saudi oil production, which, if it is prolonged or repeated, will have global economic repercussions. They could, as a result, refocus international attention on the conflict in a way, to our collective shame, the massive humanitarian disaster Yemen has so far failed to do.
Crafting a peace agreement between the internationally recognized Yemen government and their Saudi allies (patrons) on the one hand and the Houthi rebel government and its tribal allies, on the other, will be difficult.
Finding a formula that addresses the key security concerns of all the main players will be tough, but dealing with the Iran issue will be key.
Addressing the internal issues in Yemen will be immensely challenging. It will take billions to rebuild and bribe all the various Yemeni parties who will need to be taken care of to support peace. Saudi Arabia will always have influence in Yemen, it is unavoidable. Iran has no equivalent core interest and the key to a peaceful future in Yemen lies in taking Tehran out of the equation – by Dennis Horak; he was Canada’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Yemen from 2015-18 and Head of Mission in Iran from 2009-2012.
My comment: Iran is a minor problem in this matter.
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
(* B E P)
Eine Oase für Fatima
Saudi-Arabien Auf den Arbeitsmarkt drängen immer mehr Frauen. Mancher Arbeitgeber versucht, sie von den Männern fernzuhalten
Das Luna-Werk ist nach Geschlechtern getrennt, seitdem Frauen vor acht Jahren in der Verwaltung anfingen und bald in die Fertigung durften, 40 zunächst. „Wir arbeiten härter als die Männer“, meint Elghamdi, als wir wieder in ihrem Büro sitzen. „Für mich ist es besser, getrennt zu sein. Würden wir auf Männer treffen, muss ich meine Abaya und meinen Niqab tragen – das ist nicht sonderlich bequem.“ Elghamdi ist vorrangig für die Arbeitssicherheit der Frauen zuständig. „Für die Kolleginnen ist es einfacher, mir zu sagen, was geschehen muss, damit sie sich sicher fühlen. Bei einem Mann fällt ihnen das schwer.“
Nicht alle Bürohäuser und Fabriken sind heute noch kategorisch nach Geschlechtern getrennt. Seit 2005 ist das nicht mehr gesetzlich vorgeschrieben, nur halten viele Arbeitgeber an der bis dahin üblichen Praxis fest, um die konservativen Werte einer oft mehrheitlich männlichen Belegschaft mit dem Wunsch der Regierung in Einklang zu bringen, mehr Frauen ins Berufsleben zu integrieren. Reine Frauenarbeitsplätze sind ein Symbol sowohl der Zukunft wie der Vergangenheit. Die Frage, ob sie ein notwendiger Schritt hin zu einer vollen Teilhabe von Frauen sind, bleibt vorerst unbeantwortet.
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/the-guardian/eine-oase-fuer-fatima
(A P)
Saudi prince in exile launches opposition movement, calls for constitutional monarchy
A Saudi prince living in exile in Germany has launched an opposition movement in a bid to change the ruling regime, establish a constitutional monarchy and cease human rights abuses in the repressive country.
“Over the past three years, the Saudi monarch (King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud) has turned into a sacred cow, who commands obedience,” Prince Khaled bin Farhan Al Saud, who escaped Saudi Arabia himself over a decade ago, said in a video posted on YouTube on Monday evening as he announced the formation of the opposition group, dubbed “the Freedom Movement of the Sons of the Arabian Peninsula,” Arabic-language al-Khaleej Online news website reported.
(A E P)
Saudi Finance Minister: still considering secondary options for Aramco IPO - Bloomberg
He also said there would be little impact on the economy from the attacks on Aramco facilities.
(B P)
UPDATE: 33 people at risk of execution in #SaudiArabia at various levels of litigation, according to #ESOHR latest statistics. The govt shrouds these cases in secrecy, using many ways to intimidate victims families to Blackout info. (images)
https://twitter.com/ESOHumanRights/status/1172626637759877120
(B P)
I urge @SecPompeo to get #American hostages held by #Saudi Monarchy out by Tomorrow. Hostages include Badr AlIbrahim, MD & humanitarian worker Abdulrahman AlSadhan.
https://twitter.com/AliAlAhmed_en/status/1174067899331469312
cp8a Jamal Khashoggi
(* A P)
Saudi Arabia sold consulate building where Khashoggi was killed: Report
The report claimed a Saudi security team had prepared a report saying they hadn't found all the bugs in the consulate, therefore a new building was needed
Saudi Arabia has sold its consulate building in Istanbul where Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed last year, a Turkish TV report claimed.
Haberturk TV said on Tuesday that the building located in Istanbul’s upscale neighbourhood of Levent was sold to an undeclared buyer 45 days ago for one-third of its value.
“A new building for the consulate had already been purchased in Sariyer district, which also hosts the US Consulate,” the report added, without providing any sources.
A Turkish foreign ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to diplomatic protocol, told Middle East Eye that they didn't have any information confirming the sale.
The Saudi Arabian government would have needed to seek permission from the foreign ministry for the sale and the reason would be security, according to the report.
“The Saudi security team who visited Turkey immediately after the Khashoggi murder had prepared a technical report that said they couldn’t discover all the bugs in the consulate and therefore a new building was needed,” the report said.
“The Saudis are also trying to sell the consul general’s official residence, which is located very close to the consulate. But they couldn’t find any buyer yet.”
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arabia-sold-building-where-khashoggi-was-killed
cp9 USA
Siehe b/ Look at cp1, cp1c, cp9a
(A P)
NYPL Cancels Event Co-Hosted By Saudi Crown Prince's Charity, Following Outcry
The New York Public Library has cancelled an upcoming forum organized by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s personal foundation, following public pressure from human rights advocates.
https://gothamist.com/news/nypl-cancels-event-co-hosted-saudi-crown-princes-charity-following-outcry
and
(A P)
Why is New York's most famous library getting into bed with the Saudi crown prince?
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is going to be sponsoring an event at the iconic New York Public Library. This reputation-laundering shouldn’t be allowed to happen
(* A B P)
How Dare Samantha Power Scrub the Yemen War From Her Memoir
Power backed the disastrous U.S. intervention in Yemen. But you wouldn’t know that from reading her much-lauded memoir.
Yet, in her recently-published memoir, The Education of an Idealist, Power downplays her role in the bloodshed that followed in Libya, and she goes as far as lamenting Obama’s inaction earlier in the Syrian Civil War. Though these interventions are certainly career-defining, they are also not the only foreign policy injustices by which Power should be remembered.
The most striking thing about Power’s memoir is her complete omission of her role in what became the world’s worst humanitarian crisis: the ongoing U.S. intervention in Yemen.
a coalition consisting of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other neighboring countries launched a surprise attack on Yemen, ostensibly aimed at restoring Hadi to power.
Ambassador Power supported this intervention.
Her support did not waver when evidence surfaced that the Saudis and Emiratis were fighting alongside members of al-Qaeda.
Years later, Power still prefers in her memoir to look away from Yemen rather than confront her role in enabling the Saudis to kill innocent Yemenis when she had the power to oppose such aggression.
Yemen is mentioned twice in her book, with neither reference having anything to do with the war in Yemen.
(A K P)
Bernie Sanders: @SecPompeo : An attack on Saudi oil is NOT an attack on America. If you want a war, come to Congress to make your case. We will not let you drag the American people into another catastrophe in the Middle East. Your job is to use diplomacy to resolve conflict—not incite more war.
https://twitter.com/SenSanders/status/1174388917715513344
(* A P)
Trump's deference to Saudi Arabia infuriates much of D.C.
Saudi Arabia is once again a radioactive political football in the U.S., and President Donald Trump can’t resist grabbing it.
In a series of tweets this weekend, Trump indicated that Iran is behind the recent attack on Saudi oil facilities and that the United States will respond after hearing from the Saudi government “under what terms we would proceed.”
His implication — that the royal family in Riyadh will dictate U.S. actions — prompted fury in Washington, where the Saudis have faced an increasingly hostile climate in recent years, especially in Congress and even among some of Trump’s fellow Republicans.
“Trump awaits instructions from his Saudi masters. Having our country act as Saudi Arabia's bitch is not ‘America First,’” Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, who is running for the Democratic nomination for president, tweeted on Sunday night.
Michigan Rep. Justin Amash, a Republican-turned-independent, noted that Congress is the body empowered to “commence war.” “We don’t take orders from foreign powers," he tweeted.
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/16/saudi-trump-oil-iran-1498147
and
(A P)
Gabbard: Trump doesn't have power to use US military for Saudi Arabia's interests
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) doubled down on her criticism of President Trump’s response to recent attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil supply, insisting that he doesn’t have the power to use the U.S. military to serve Saudi Arabia's interests.
“The Constitution does not give the president the power to unilaterally use our military for Saudi Arabia’s interests to go to war nor does it give him the power to do so without the express consent of Congress,” the 2020 White House hopeful told Hill.TV on Tuesday.
“If I were president now, I would make very clear that we will not use our military to further the interests of Saudi Arabia or any other country,” she added.
thehill.com/hilltv/rising/461759-gabbard-trump-doesnt-have-power-to-use-us-military-for-saudi-arabias-interests
and
(A P)
Gabbard ramps up Trump criticism: 'We are not prostitutes. You are not our pimp'
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), a 2020 White House hopeful, said President Trump is trying to “pimp out” the U.S. military after Trump tweeted that he’s waiting to hear from Saudi Arabia in considering a possible military attack.
“My fellow service members and I, we are not your prostitutes and you are not our pimp,” Gabbard, a member of the National Guard who served in Iraq, tweeted Tuesday.
Gabbard said that with his tweet, Trump “offered to place our military, my brothers and sisters in uniform, under the command of [Crown] Prince Mohammad bin Salman, the dictator of the Islamist Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/461729-gabbard-ramps-up-trump-criticism-we-are-not-prostitutes-you-are-not-our
(A P)
U.S. citizens warned over traveling to Saudi Arabia: State Department
The U.S. State Department called on American citizens to “exercise increased caution” while traveling to Saudi Arabia, a travel advisory posted on its website said on Wednesday.
(A E P)
U.S. senators urge Trump administration to end nuclear talks with Saudis
Two Democratic U.S. senators on Wednesday urged Trump administration officials to halt talks with Saudi Arabia on building nuclear reactors after weekend attacks that halved the country’s oil output and increased instability in the Middle East.
(* B K P)
The latest Iran-Saudi flare-up exposes Trump's bankrupt Middle East policy
End support for the war in Yemen, change the relationship with Saudi Arabia, and talk to Iran – the answers for the US are clear
The fact that the United States is up in arms over an attack with no reported casualties on an oil refinery in Saudi Arabia – while at the same time supporting Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen that has killed tens of thousands – tells us everything we need to know about how messed up US priorities in the Middle East are.
If anything, the latest round of tensions between the US, Iran and Saudi Arabia – and the debate over whether or not to retaliate militarily against Iran – illustrates the many ways US policy in the region is bankrupt, and how Trump crafts US policy based on the interests of other countries, not America.
The years-long struggle for regional influence between Iran and Saudi Arabia and their partners plays out in proxy wars that rip the region apart, such as the current humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen. The US has taken Saudi Arabia’s side in this regional conflict, in which there is no “good side”, and in the process only exacerbated the tensions and violence.
Iran is a bad actor, and the United States already takes serious steps to curb its support for terrorism, and to defend Israel. But Trump is making the threat worse by ending the Iran nuclear deal and provoking Iran. We now find ourselves in yet another edition of Trump’s deadly reality show: will he or won’t he strike?! Will he or won’t he risk the lives of American soldiers in an unnecessary war?! Or will he try to manufacture another photo-op summit that does nothing but mask the real problems?! Tune into Twitter to find out! Like everything he touches, Trump has turned America’s Iran policy into a farce, while increasing the likelihood of tragedy.
Saudi Arabia, America’s longtime supposed partner, is also a bad actor. For too long America has stomached Saudi Arabia’s support for extremist ideologies, destabilizing policies, and repression at home. But Trump takes it to an extreme by seemingly outsourcing US policy to Riyadh.
In partnering with autocrats to fight terrorism the United States has sacrificed other priorities. The Arab spring, the war in Syria, and myriad other calamities have illustrated how tyranny in the region is fueling – not supporting – stability. And now, ties between Saudi officials and businesses and the Trump family raise serious questions about whether Trump’s Middle East policies are being driven in part by efforts to line his own pockets.
Whatever happens in response to this latest flare-up, the answers for the United States are clear: end support for the war in Yemen – by Michael H. Fuchs
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/sep/18/trump-yemen-saudi-arabia-middle-east-iran
(B K P)
If the DC foreign policy establishment got as agitated by a school bus full of kids getting blown up as it does for an oil refinery, the Yemen war would be over.
https://twitter.com/mattduss/status/1173930166462099457
The problem is DC stablisment knows #SaudiArabia pays the money for these bombs (which used to blow up school bus & kids) from that refinery. The problem is many of these politicians already counted on the money comes from these refineris, not the kids
https://twitter.com/toomadj/status/1173972201726513154
(A P)
US House Speaker Pelosi calls for intelligence briefings on Saudi oil attacks
US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called for a briefing for all House members on the recent Yemeni drone attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil facilities.
A Pelosi spokesman said on Tuesday that House leaders asked for the intelligence briefings after the attacks on two Saudi Aramco oil facilities.
(* B K P)
With Oil Under Attack, Trump’s Deference to Saudis Returns
After oil installations were blown up in Saudi Arabia over the weekend, President Trump declared that the United States was “locked and loaded,” a phrase that seemed to suggest he was ready to strike back. But then he promised to wait for Saudi Arabia to tell him “under what terms we would proceed.”
suggest he was ready to strike back. But then he promised to wait for Saudi Arabia to tell him “under what terms we would proceed.”
His message on Twitter offered a remarkable insight into the deference Mr. Trump gives to the Saudi royal family and touched off a torrent of criticism from those who have long accused him of doing Riyadh’s bidding while sweeping Saudi violations of human rights and international norms under the rug.
It was hard to imagine him allowing NATO, or a European ally, such latitude to determine how the United States should respond. But for Mr. Trump, the Saudis have always been a special case, their economic import having often overwhelmed other considerations in his mind.
Whether, and how, to commit forces is one of the most critical decisions any American president can make, but Mr. Trump’s comment gave the impression that he was outsourcing the decision.
The fact that the other country was Saudi Arabia — a difficult ally that came under intense criticism for the killing and dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi, the dissident and Washington Post columnist — reinforced the longstanding criticism that the energy-rich kingdom buys American support.
“What struck me about that tweet was not just that it’s obviously wrong to allow Saudi Arabia to dictate our foreign policy, but that the president doesn’t seem to be aware of how submissive it makes him look to say that,” said Representative Tom Malinowski, Democrat of New Jersey and a former assistant secretary of state.
Since taking office, Mr. Trump has made Saudi Arabia his closest ally in the Middle East other than Israel, and has strongly supported its multifront struggle with Iran for dominance in the region. He has also left little doubt about the primacy of money in the relationship, openly citing the value of arms contracts in explaining why he would not criticize the Saudi government for Mr. Khashoggi’s killing.
Heather Hurlburt, a national security official under President Bill Clinton who is now at New America, a Washington-based research organization, said it would be perfectly normal for a president to consult an ally before taking action in such a circumstance.
“It’s not remotely normal for a president to talk publicly about that, to use language that sounds as if we aren’t making our own decisions about whether to use force — or trusting our own intelligence,” she said. “And it’s completely unprecedented with a country that is not a treaty ally.” – By Peter Baker and David E. Sanger
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/16/us/politics/trump-saudi-tweet.html
(* B K P)
US in delusional denial of Yemen’s military power: Analyst
A political analyst says the United States is in “delusional denial” of Yemen’s military power after Washington sought to pin the blame for recent Yemeni army raids on Saudi Arabia’s key oil facilities on Iran.
Syed Mohsin Abbas, commentator and journalist from London, told Press TV’s The Debate program on Monday that the Americans have done “nothing” to de-escalate the Saudi war on Yemen and rather “exacerbate” it.
“They want the war there. They want the Saudis to actually destroy Yemen and have no concern for the democratic rights of the Yemeni people,” the analyst said.
“The United States of America penned a $350 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia in 2017, $110 billion of which was payable immediately. Of course, Saudi Arabia has taken that as a license to continue bombing civilians, the infrastructure of Yemen and basically try to return it to the medieval times,” he noted.
The political commentator also stressed that it is hard for Washington to believe Yemen’s assertion that it has carried out the drone raids on Aramco’s facilities in Saudi Arabia,
“It is hard for them to believe it because they are in delusional denial. They still feel that they are the boss in the Middle East, but things have moved on. I mean, if you look at the situation in Lebanon, ... Syria,... Iraq ... [and] Yemen, they’ve lost in virtually every one of these theaters of war,” he said.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2019/09/17/606396/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-US-Iran
(A K P)
Sanders warns Trump against illegal Iran strike
The attack on the Saudi Aramco oil facility over the weekend and President Donald Trump’s subsequent tweet that the United States is “locked and loaded” immediately prompted presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to fire back.
Sanders and other progressive lawmakers stressed that Trump does not have the legal authority from Congress to launch an offensive strike against Iran.
“Mr. Trump, the Constitution of the United States is perfectly clear,” Sanders tweeted. “Only Congress — not the President — can declare war. And Congress will not give you the authority to start another disastrous war in the Middle East just because the brutal Saudi dictatorship told you to.”
(A K P)
Film by Tulsi Gabbard: @realDonaldTrump
Despicable. Offering to place our military assets under the command of a foreign country—Saudi Arabia—is a disgrace and betrayal of my patriotic brothers and sisters in uniform and to our Constitution. We are not your prostitutes. You are not our pimp.
https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1173723701373591552
cp9a USA-Iran Krise: Wachsende Spannungen am Golf / US-Iran crisis: Mounting tensions at the Gulf
Siehe / Look at cp1c
(A P)
Zarif: US Once Again Shows Sanctions Aimed at Iranian People
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has condemned a decision by US President Donald Trump to tighten economic pressure against Tehran, saying Washington once again proved that it deliberately seeks to target ordinary people.
Zarif said in a tweet on Wednesday that Trump's decision was meant to escalate the economic war against Tehran regardless of its consequences.
"It’s admission that US is DELIBERATELY targeting ordinary citizens: #EconomicTerrorism, illegal & inhuman," he said
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2019/09/18/606533/Iran-zarif-US-sanctions-up-trump-sanctions
(* B E P)
Die Angst an Bord
Iran: Die Spannungen in der Straße von Hormus belasten besonders die Schiffsbesatzungen
Es sind zunächst nur Großbritannien, Australien und Bahrain, die sich an der US-geführten „Operation Sentinel“ beteiligen. Zweifellos erreicht der Konflikt um die Straße von Hormus damit seine nächste Stufe auf der nach oben offenen Eskalationsskala. Der Marineeinsatz soll absichern, dass Handelsschiffe die Meerenge jederzeit ungehindert passieren können, was man als Reaktion auf die Geschehnisse im Sommer deuten kann.
Breit sind die Fahrrinnen nicht mehr als drei Kilometer und für Mitgliedstaaten der Organisation erdölexportierender Länder (OPEC) wie Saudi-Arabien, Iran, die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate, Kuwait und Irak unverzichtbar. Sie verschiffen über diese Route 90 Prozent ihres Rohöls.
Augenblicklich ist die internationale Besorgnis über die Lage in der Straße von Hormus enorm. Als der Tanker Stena Imperosamt Besatzung, darunter Seeleute aus Indien, Lettland, den Philippinen und Russland, im iranischen Hafen Bandar Abbas interniert wurde, erklärte die betroffene schwedische Reederei Stena Bulk, ihr CEO, Erik Hanell, habe sich in Stockholm mit dem iranischen Außenminister Mohammed Sarif getroffen und sei bei einem „konstruktiven Dialog“ für die Freilassung der Crew eingetreten (was teilweise zum Erfolg führte).
„extrem besorgt“ wegen der nachlassenden Sicherheit bei Schiffspassagen durch die Meeresstraße. Die ist auf Betreiben der Schifffahrtsgewerkschaft Nautilus International seit Anfang August als Gebiet mit erhöhtem Risiko eingestuft.
Demnach haben Crews das Recht, für die elfstündige Passage doppelte Löhnung zu empfangen. Wie Nautilus-Sprecherin Helen Kelly meint, würden die erhöhten Sicherheitsstandards auf den Schiffen zu „Furcht und Müdigkeit“ führen. Sie erinnere die jetzige Situation an den „Tankerkrieg“ während des bewaffneten Konflikts zwischen Iran und Irak von 1980 bis 1988.
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/tobias-mueller/die-angst-an-bord
(* B K P)
Locked and Loaded
Iran: Donald Trumps aggressive Haltung gegenüber dem Land und seine Unterstützung für Saudi-Arabien haben eine heikle Situation explosiv werden lassen
Wie ein tosender Strudel, der von entgegengesetzten Strömungen aufgewühlt wird, nimmt die Krise am Golf fast täglich an Intensität und destruktiver Kraft zu. Am Sonntag erklärte Donald Trump, die USA seien „locked and loaded“, bereit, auf die Angriffe auf die saudische Öl-Raffinerie zu reagieren, in die seiner Meinung nach der Iran involviert war. Doch Warnglocken, wie die, die auf See bei Nebel vor gefährlichen Felsen warnen, ertönen schon seit Monaten – und wurden weitgehend ignoriert. Nun wird die Rechnung für diese politische Unbekümmertheit fällig, die in Menschenleben und Petrodollars zu begleichen ist.
Es ist einfach und bequem, die Schuld allein beim Iran zu suchen, wie amerikanische und britische Vertreter dies für gewöhnlich ohne schlüssige Belege zu tun pflegen. Dabei sind es vielmehr wiederholte Fehleinschätzungen des Westens und der Regionalmächte, die uns unaufhaltsam in diesen Strudel hineingezogen haben.
Wie kann eine Katastrophe verhindert werden? Wer kann verhindern, dass es zu einem größeren Krieg kommt, der schnell Staaten der Region wie Israel und Saudi-Arabien erfassen und US-amerikanische, britische und vielleicht sogar russische Streitkräfte miteinbeziehen könnte? Hinweise lassen sich in den Fehlern finden, die an diesen Punkt geführt haben. Antworten, wenn sie existieren, wird nur eine besonnene Staatskunst liefern können, wie sie bislang noch nirgends zu sehen war.
Das bringt uns als erstes zu Trump und dem Iran. Das Regime in Teheran gilt in den USA seit der Islamischen Revolution von 1979 als Bedrohung. Aber Trump war es, mit seiner unübertroffenen Fähigkeit, schlechte Situationen noch schlechter zu machen, der am achten Mai des vergangenen Jahres das Atomabkommen mit Iran aufkündigte bzw. die Aussetzung von Wirtschaftssanktionen nicht verlängerte und damit die gegenwärtige Krise herbeiführte. Seine Feindseligkeit hat die iranische Bevölkerung getroffen – nicht aber dessen Regime.
Alte geopolitische Bruchlinien wurden fahrlässig vertieft und angeheizt. Jeder vernünftige politische Ansatz würde sich um einen Ausgleich der regionalen Ansprüche zwischen dem schiitischen Iran und den sunnitischen Saudis bemühen. Doch der Westen – der seit Jahrzehnten die Augen vor gnadenloser Autokratie, legalisiertem Frauenhass und religiöser Bigotterie verschließt – hat Riad und seinem verderblichen Reichtum unaufhörlich umworben – von Simon Tisdall
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/the-guardian/locked-and-loaded
(* B K P)
US Military Options in Iran
Now the question is what the United States will do in response.
The U.S. is in a difficult position. The attacks did not directly affect the U.S., save for the spike in oil prices, which actually helps the American oil industry. There is a temptation to let the attacks slip into history. But the United States has formed an anti-Iran alliance in which Saudi Arabia is a key (though weak) player. Saudi Arabia is under internal pressure from members of the royal family who oppose Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and low oil prices have undermined the kingdom’s political cohesion. Doing nothing would call the U.S.-sponsored coalition into question. Saudi Arabia is an important player in the Sunni Arab world – and that world is the main threat to Iranian expansion. Failing to respond to an Iranian attack on a vital Saudi facility could help Iran increase its power throughout the region. During Donald Trump’s presidency, the United States’ inclination has been to avoid initiating direct military action in favor of applying economic pressure instead. He has maneuvered to minimize and halt active military engagement. Military action against Iran, therefore, would both endanger the alliance structure and cut against U.S. strategy.
An alternative option would be to introduce new sanctions, but there are two problems with this move. First, sanctions do not have the psychological impact military action does. The psychological impact would be on both Iran and the Sunni world, and the logic of the situation requires it. Second, the U.S. has already imposed painful sanctions on Iran’s economy. Any further sanctions would have limited effect and insufficient heft.
There is one military option that would have a severe economic shock but would also limit U.S. exposure: imposing a blockade on Iranian ports, with a selective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. This strategy has three weaknesses. First, a large naval force of multiple carrier battle groups would have to be deployed for a potentially unlimited time. Second, the fleet could come under attack from Iranian missiles, and while we would assume that U.S. naval vessels have effective anti-missile capabilities, any mistake could cost the U.S. a major vessel. To counter this, anti-missile air attacks as well as defensive measures would be needed, creating a second potentially costly dimension to this operation. Finally, such a blockade is by definition without a terminal point. If Iran does not fold under the pressure, the blockade could continue indefinitely, since ending it without a successful outcome would be seen as a defeat.
Another possible response would be to launch strikes against Iranian targets. The most appropriate target would be the factories producing drones and cruise missiles, along with storage facilities and so on. Here, the problem is getting accurate intelligence – by George Friedman, he is an internationally recognized geopolitical forecaster and strategist on international affairs and the founder and chairman of Geopolitical Futures
https://geopoliticalfutures.com/us-military-options-in-iran/
My comment: Whow. This is a depressing look into a US ill brain thinking just in terms of US geopolitics, which should be achieved by any means.
And by the same author, also stressing Iran:
(* B K P)
The Geopolitics of Iran’s Refinery Attack
Diplomacy aside, Iran is close to the Houthis, has the capability of fielding the kinds of drones used in the Saudi attack and providing targeting information, and has the motive to act in this way.
Understanding its motivation is critical. Iran is a country under tremendous pressure. It has built a sphere of influence that stretches through Iraq, parts of Syria, Lebanon and parts of Yemen. From Iran’s point of view, it has been constantly on the defensive, constrained as it is by its geography.
The invasion of Iraq, followed by failed attempts at pacification, drove home the complexity of the problems to the Americans.
This has led the U.S. into something very dangerous in the region: a complex foreign policy, the kind that the region usually imposes on powerful outsiders. At the moment, the main concern of the United States is Iranian expansion. It is not alone. The Sunni world and Israel are in intense opposition to Iran.
U.S. strategy has moved away from large scale American military involvement, which defined its strategy since 9/11. It has shifted to a dual strategy of using smaller, targeted operations against anti-U.S. groups in the Sunni world and economic warfare against Iran
The sanctions strategy has badly hurt the Iranians
Iran now has two imperatives. It must weaken the anti-Iran coalition, protecting its allies in the region, and it must generate pressure on the United States to ease U.S. pressure on the Iranian economy. The weak link in the coalition is Saudi Arabia.
The strike at the Saudi oil refinery was well thought out on all levels.
The attack on the refinery was both operationally skillful and strategically sound. It made the Saudis’ vulnerability and their weakest point manifest. It imposed a price on the Saudis for their alliance structure that, if it continues, they cannot pay.
What is clear is that the Iranians are playing a weak hand as well as they can. But they are also playing a hand that could blow up in their face. The geopolitics of this clear. The intelligence capability of each side in follow-on attacks is the question – as is how lucky all the players feel they are y George Friedman
https://geopoliticalfutures.com/the-geopolitics-of-irans-refinery-attack/
My comment: This article was published one day before the one linked above. It seems it lays the base for the author’s warmongering dreams.
(* B P)
Trump-Pompeo: We hold Iran legally and ethically responsible for the acts of the Houthis in Yemen conflict. Trump-Pompeo: We absolve ourselves of responsibility for the acts of the Saudis, which the US arms to the teeth, provides intel and logistical support in Yemen conflict.
https://twitter.com/rgoodlaw/status/1173951846123261952
(* A K P)
Trump greift zu noch härteren Sanktionen gegen den Iran
Ist ein militärischer Konflikt in der Golfregion vom Tisch? US-Präsident Trump kündigte erst einmal neue Sanktionen gegen den Iran an. Die Führung in Teheran bestreitet jede Verantwortung für die Angriffe auf das Herzstück der saudi-arabischen Ölwirtschaft.
Nach den Angriffen auf wichtige Ölanlagen in Saudi-Arabien will US-Präsident Donald Trump die Sanktionen gegen den Iran "bedeutend verstärken".
Er habe Finanzminister Steven Mnuchin angewiesen, das in die Wege zu leiten, erklärte Trump am Mittwoch auf Twitter. Weitere Angaben machte er zunächst nicht. US-Außenminister Mike Pompeo hat den Iran direkt für die Angriffe verantwortlich gemacht.
Saudi-Arabiens Kronprinz und Verteidigungsminister Mohammed bin Salman bezeichnete den Angriff als einen Test des Willens der internationalen Gemeinschaft, auf solche Taten zu reagieren, die die internationale Sicherheit und Stabilität gefährdeten. Das berichtete die staatliche saudische Nachrichtenagentur SPA.
Irans Außenminister Mohammed Dschawad Sarif hat nach eigenen Angaben noch kein Einreisevisum für die Teilnahme an der UN-Vollversammlung in New York erhalten. Das gelte auch für seine Delegation, erklärte Sarif am Mittwoch und bestätigte damit Medienberichte. "Die Reise nach New York ist noch nicht fix, weil wir noch keine US-Visa haben", sagte Sarif der Nachrichtenagentur Tasnim am Mittwoch. Nach Angaben der staatlichen Nachrichtenagentur Irna sowie anderer Medien hat auch Präsident Hassan Ruhani noch kein Visum für die USA erhalten.
Die mehrtägige Generaldebatte der UN-Vollversammlung beginnt am kommenden Dienstag mit einem Bericht des UN-Generalsekretärs. Seit Wochen wird spekuliert, dass es am Rande der Generaldebatte auch zu Gesprächen Ruhanis mit US-Präsident Donald Trump kommen könnte.
https://www.volksstimme.de/topthemen/trump-greift-zu-noch-haerteren-sanktionen-gegen-den-iran/1568822100000 = https://www.morgenpost.de/politik/ausland/article227123879/Nach-Angriff-auf-Oelanlagen-Pompeo-trifft-bin-Salman.html
(* A K P)
Trump orders more Iran sanctions as Saudi displays attack evidence
U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a major increase in sanctions on Iran on Wednesday as Saudi Arabia displayed remnants of drones and missiles it said were used in a crippling attack on its oil sites “unquestionably sponsored” by Tehran.
Trump gave no explanation in a Twitter post announcing the order, but it followed repeated U.S. assertions that the Islamic Republic was behind Saturday’s attack and came hours after Saudi Arabia said the strike was a “test of global will”.
“I have just instructed the Secretary of the Treasury to substantially increase sanctions on the country of Iran!” he wrote.
(A K P)
UK's Johnson and U.S.'s Trump discuss need for united diplomatic response to Saudi attack
“They condemned the attacks and discussed the need for a united diplomatic response from international partners,” a statement said. “They also spoke about Iran and agreed that they must not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.”
(* A K P)
Iran kritisiert US-Politik im Jemen und fordert Ende des Krieges
Der iranische Aussenminister Mohammed Dschawad Sarif hat die US-Politik in Jemen scharf kritisiert und ein Ende des Krieges in dem Land gefordert. Die Amerikaner würden ihre Augen vor der Wahrheit verschliessen, wenn sie glaubten, dass die Jemeniten nach mehr als vier Jahren Kriegsverbrechen nicht zurückschlagen würden, so der iranische Chefdiplomat.
«Die USA sind nicht empört, wenn ihre Alliierten vier Jahre lang mit ihren Waffen und ihrer militärischen Hilfe gnadenlos Babys bombardieren, aber sie regen sich furchtbar auf, wenn die Opfer auf die einzig ihnen mögliche Weise reagieren - gegen die Ölraffinerien des Aggressors», twitterte Sarif am Dienstag.
(A P)
Ayatollah Khamenei: Enemies Have Fail to Sow Discord between Iran, Iraq
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says enemies have been struggling to drive a wedge between the Iranian and Iraqi nations but have failed as the two neighbors are bound together by commonalities, particularly faith.
“Enemies have been making considerable efforts to sow discord between the two nations, but thank God they have failed and will fail from now on too, because the main factors binding the Iranian and Iraqi nations are their faith in God and love for the household of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and [his grandson and the third Shia Imam] Imam Hussein (AS),” the Leader said.
(A P)
Pompeo to discuss efforts versus Iran with Saudi crown prince
The U.S. Secretary of State will meet with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince in Jeddah on Wednesday to discuss the attack on Aramco installations and coordinate efforts against “Iranian aggression”, the U.S. Mission to the United Arab Emirates said.
(* B K P)
‘Locked and Loaded’ for War on Iran?
The War Party is giddy with excitement over the prospect of war with Iran, while the nation does not want another war.
And, indeed, a direct assault on Saudi Arabia by Iran, a Pearl Harbor-type surprise attack on the Saudis’ crucial oil production facility, would be an act of war requiring Saudi retaliation, leading to a Persian Gulf war in which the United States could be forced to participate.
Tehran being behind Saturday’s strike would contradict Iranian policy since the U.S. pulled out of the nuclear deal. That policy has been to avoid a military clash with the United States and pursue a measured response to tightening American sanctions.
But according to The New York Times, some targets were hit on the west side, pointing away from Iraq or Iraq as the source. But as some projectiles did not explode and fragments of those that did explode are identifiable, establishing the likely source of the attacks should be only a matter of time. It is here that the rubber meets the road.
The real question now is what do the Americans do when the source of the attack is known and the call for a commensurate response is put directly to our “locked-and-loaded” president.
If the perpetrators were the Houthis, how would Trump respond?
For the Houthis, who are native to Yemen and whose country has been attacked by the Saudis for four years, would, under the rules of war, seem to be entitled to launch attacks on the country attacking them.
Indeed, Congress has repeatedly sought to have Trump terminate U.S. support of the Saudi war in Yemen.
If the attack on the Saudi oil field and oil facility at Abqaiq proves to be the work of Shiite militia from inside Iraq, would the United States attack that militia whose numbers in Iraq have been estimated as high as 150,000 fighters, as compared with our 5,000 troops in-country?
What about Iran itself?
If a dozen drones or missiles can do the kind of damage to the world economy as did those fired on Saturday — shutting down about 6% of world oil production — imagine what a U.S.-Iran-Saudi war would do to the world economy.
In recent decades, the U.S. has sold the Saudis hundreds of billions of dollars of military equipment. Did our weapons sales carry a guarantee that we will also come and fight alongside the kingdom if it gets into a war with its neighbors?
Before Trump orders any strike on Iran, would he go to Congress for authorization for his act of war?
Divided again: The War Party is giddy with excitement over the prospect of war with Iran, while the nation does not want another war.
How we avoid it, however, is becoming difficult to see.
John Bolton may be gone from the West Wing, but his soul is marching on – by Patrick J. Buchanan
https://buchanan.org/blog/locked-and-loaded-for-war-on-iran-137502
(* B P)
Iran Shows Trump That It’s Too Big to Be Crushed or Marginalized
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump warned that “it’s going to be a bad problem for Iran if something happens.” Something big has happened with an attack on Saudi oil infrastructure, and yet the administration in Washington looks like the one with the problem.
After leading voices in the Trump administration laid the blame squarely on Iran, it isn’t obvious how the U.S. can effectively retaliate against a country that is already under maximum economic sanctions. Iran is too big for the U.S. to invade even if there were appetite among U.S. voters for another Gulf war, and has demonstrated its ability to strike back hard should the U.S. decide to escalate.
My comment: US media simply take for granted the US propaganda Iran story. And based on this, they speculate on politics, by this constructing their own parallel universes. The latest attacks are a Yemeni and no Iranian affair.
(* A P)
Ayatollah Sayyid Khamenei: Iran will not negotiate with the US in any way
Leader of Iran demands return to nuclear deal before talks can be resumed
Leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei has said that Iran will not engage in negotiations with the United States “at any level,” and that Washington’s “maximum pressure” campaign against the Iranian nation has failed to achieve its goals.
Speaking on Tuesday, Ayatollah Sayyid Khamenei said entering talks with the US under the current circumstances would be tantamount to surrendering to Washington’s undue pressure campaign.
https://www.uprising.today/ayatollah-sayyid-khamenei-iran-will-not-negotiate-with-the-us-in-any-way/
(* A P)
Amnesty chief says US strike would worsen Mideast suffering
The head of Amnesty International warned Monday that a US military intervention in response to the attack on Saudi oil facilities blamed on Iran would only aggravate suffering in the Middle East.
The rights group's secretary general, Kumi Naidoo, said the world instead should redouble efforts to end the devastating violence in Yemen, where a Saudi-led air campaign has been striking Iranian-linked Huthi rebels.
"We need to stop the bleeding right now, and any talk of military intervention right now will only exacerbate a bad situation," Naidoo told AFP in an interview in Washington.
He warned of the lessons of Iraq, where the 2003 US invasion that cited intelligence findings "created the catastrophe we have, not just in Iraq but in neighboring countries."
"Certain political leaders could for opportunistic reasons choose to go to war because it might help them electorally," he said.
But he added: "I don't make any distinction about countries. I think far too many countries are comfortable with beating the drums of war at the moment."
https://www.france24.com/en/20190916-amnesty-chief-says-us-strike-would-worsen-mideast-suffering = https://news.yahoo.com/amnesty-chief-says-us-strike-worsen-mideast-suffering-194836828.html
(* A P)
Saudi Arabia joins US naval mission in Middle East amid tensions with Iran
Saudi Arabia has joined a US-led naval mission purportedly aimed at protecting shipping lanes in Middle Eastern waterways as Washington and Riyadh engage in another blame game against Iran following massive Yemeni drone attacks on key Saudi oil facilities.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2019/09/18/606477/Saudi-Arabia-Iran-Persian-Gulf-coalition
and
(* A P)
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Joins the International Maritime Security Construct
An official at the Saudi Ministry of Defense announced that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has decided to join the International Maritime Security Construct.
The IMSC aims to protect commercial vessels by ensuring the right of the freedom of navigation, provide safety for international trade, and protect the interests of allied countries.
The IMSC's area of operation covers the Straits of Hormuz and Bab Al Mandab, as well as the Sea of Oman and the Arabian Gulf.
The Kingdom's decision to participate is based on its declared support for regional and international efforts to deter threats to maritime safety.
The Kingdom will work with its allies to ensure the security of energy routes and the continued flow of supplies to the global economy, and to maintain international peace and security.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1970536
(A P)
https://twitter.com/VP/status/1173994440043704320
Comment: Someone is getting high.
https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1174089658642391040
(* B K P)
Iran and the Poisonous Fruits of ‘Maximum Pressure’
This is what happens when you unilaterally pull out of a nuclear deal and then try to smother another country.
The results of this “maximum pressure” campaign are now clear: growing instability in the Persian Gulf, including an unprecedented attack on Saudi oil installations that caused a bigger disruption of world oil markets than the Iranian Revolution, and an incremental but steady resumption by Iran of nuclear activities proscribed by the JCPOA. Iran has refused to negotiate a new agreement and has rebuffed repeated overtures by President Trump for a bilateral encounter on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. European efforts to salvage the JCPOA are in limbo.
Since the U.S. revoked waivers for even modest imports of Iranian oil, half a dozen tankers have been sabotaged or seized in the Persian Gulf, and America and Iran nearly went to war after Iran shot down an expensive American drone in June.
American policy has arguably killed many more Iranians, depriving them of medicine for cancer and other diseases because of U.S. sanctions on Iranian banks. Millions of other Iranians are eliminating meat from their diets; unemployment and inflation are rising. Still, Trump wisely pulled back from a military response to Iran that could have led to thousands of American and Iranian deaths.
The situation now is arguably even more serious. The attacks on facilities that process nearly 9 million barrels of oil a day have, according to the Saudis, taken 5.7 million barrels a day offline.
So what should the Trump administration do?
It may be too hard for the president to admit that quitting the JCPOA unilaterally was a giant mistake. However, the Trump administration could start by restoring waivers for limited Iranian oil exports or by green-lighting a French plan to extend Iran a $15 billion credit for purchases of food and medicine.
Trump could also give up his fantasy of a handshake with Rouhani at the UN and appoint a new Iran envoy with a proven track record of successful talks under a Republican administration
Like a couple that has gone through a painful divorce, it may never be possible for the U.S. and Iran to truly reconcile. But they can learn to co-exist in a less destructive manner for the sake of the “children.” Maximum pressure is a failure but maximum diplomacy is worth a try for war-weary Americans, long-suffering Iranians, and America’s Arab and Israeli friends – by Barbara Slavin
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/iran-and-the-poisonous-fruits-of-maximum-pressure/
(* B K P)
Film: Ali AlAhmed interviewed at TRT.
Saudis don't want a direct confrontation with Iran, drinking water facilities Riyadhis drinking water from are way closer to Iran than the oil facilities, it could be devastating. He also says per hit on Yemen costs a lot of money to them
https://www.youtube.com/embed/adgmzUl_W-o?rel=0
(* B K P)
Can this president be trusted to prevent a spiral into war?
It sounds like the prologue of a cheap military/political thriller you’d find in an airport bookstore. A group of rebels in a war-torn Middle Eastern country launch a surprising drone attack on a neighboring country’s oil facility, leading to upheaval in world energy markets, which heightens tension between regional powers and threatens to pull the United States into a war with catastrophic consequences.
Fortunately, it couldn’t happen that way in real life because the president of the United States is a calm, reasoned, careful decision-maker who would never do something rash or impulsive. He and his national security team are united and focused, all working together to avoid unnecessary conflict, restore stability and make sure the interests of the United States are protected.
Just kidding — that’s a fictional version of the U.S. government. Our actual government is consumed by incompetence and riven by internal divisions, with the president himself the least rational and worst equipped of anyone to handle a foreign policy crisis. We’re left with only one hope to avoid the situation spinning out of control: that the president will once again talk tough for a while and then back down.
"#Trump just spent day after day lying about the weather for Pete’s sake, and dragooned agencies of the government into lying about it on his behalf so he wouldn’t have to say he made a mistake. When he comes out and says “This is who’s at fault for the attack on the oil facilities,” who is going to believe him?
That’s if he and his administration can decide what they think at all. Trump is currently on his second secretary of state, his third secretary of defense and his fourth national security adviser (counting those who have held those positions on an “acting” basis). – by Paul Waldman
(* B E K P)
If You Think the Price of Oil Is Skyrocketing Now, Just Wait Until the War Starts…
Prices up 20 percent after the single largest outage in absolute terms the oil market has ever seen
And if this crisis in the Middle East stretches over an extended period of time, it could ultimately result in a phenomenon known as “stagflation” where we have rapidly rising prices and weaker economic activity simultaneously.
So whether the attacks originated in Yemen, southern Iraq or Iran itself, it is not going to be too difficult for U.S. officials to place the blame on the Iranians, and we should expect some sort of military response.
Of course U.S. airstrikes against Iran itself could ultimately spark World War 3, and most Americans are completely clueless that we could literally be on the precipice of a major war.
However, if a full-blown war with Iran erupts, nothing is going to be able to calm the markets. In such a scenario, the price of oil could easily explode to a level that is four or five times higher than it is today, and that would essentially be the equivalent of slamming a baseball bat into the knees of the global economy.
The times that we are living in are about to become a whole lot more serious, but most Americans are not even paying attention to these absolutely critical global events.
(* A K P)
Trump says he does not want war after attack on Saudi oil facilities
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday said it looked like Iran was behind attacks on oil plants in Saudi Arabia but stressed he did not want to go to war, as the attacks sent oil prices soaring and raised fears of a new Middle East conflict.
The United States was still investigating if Iran was behind the Saudi strikes, Trump said, but “it’s certainly looking that way at this moment.”
Trump, who has spent much of his presidency trying to disentangle the United States from wars he inherited, made clear, however, he was not going to rush into a new conflict on behalf of Saudi Arabia.
(* B K P)
Saudi Oil Attacks: Time to Back Off on the Threats
As is often the case, Pompeo strung together some lies and half-truths. That Iran was the culprit was and still is unproven and the attack was on Saudi Arabia, which has been subjecting the Houthis to brutal bombardment that has produced famine and introduced cholera to Yemen, not on the “world’s energy supply.” Pompeo’s language is intentionally seeking to broaden the conflict by depicting Iran as a rogue nation seeking to do damage to everyone and preparing the audience for a possible counter-strike.
U.S. and Saudi officials have indeed been investigating whether the attacks involved cruise missiles fired from Iraq or Iran and would love to come to that conclusion, whatever the actual facts might be.
The damage to the facilities comes at a particularly bad time for the Saudis, perhaps by design by whoever carried out the attacks. Aramco will soon be floating an initial public offering (IPO) that could be one of the world’s largest. Potential foreign investors in particular will inevitably be concerned about the long-term security of the country’s reserves from future attacks by rebels or neighboring states, to include Iran.
Officials in Iran both and Iraq have denied allegations that the attacks had come from their respective territories, but that would be expected in any case. What is certain is that the success of the attack, from whatever source, has changed the calculus for what is taking place in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia has been waging a pitiless war in Yemen, but it now finds itself far more vulnerable than it deemed to be possible.
Missile warfare has created a new reality. The presumed use by poorly armed Houthis of relatively cheap and available weapons to defeat multi-billion dollar defenses sends a message not only to the Saudis but also to Washington and Jerusalem, who have similar defensive configurations.
The final question has to be what will Washington and Riyadh do if they come to the conclusion, whether true or false, that Iran carried out the attack.
The correct response would be for the Saudis, the U.S. and Israel to realize that more adventurism in the Persian Gulf region could easily spin out of control. Iran or its presumed proxies have sent the message that the consequences of continued provocations could be devastating for all involved. Time to back off on the threats and it is past time for the U.S. to stop knee-jerk support of the reckless actions undertaken by both the Kingdom and Israel – by Philipp Giraldi
https://ahtribune.com/world/north-africa-south-west-asia/war-on-yemen/3486-saudi-oil-attacks.html
(* B K P)
Striking back — or not — involves trade-offs and risk
The Houthis are a Yemeni faction aligned with Iran. Indeed, Iran’s support runs deep
Diplomacy aside, Iran is close to the Houthis, has the capability of fielding the kinds of drones used in the Saudi attack and providing targeting information, and has the motive to act in this way.
Understanding its motivation is critical. Iran is a country under tremendous pressure. It has built a sphere of influence that stretches through Iraq, parts of Syria, Lebanon, and parts of Yemen.
The Iranians’ sphere of influence may be large, but it is also vulnerable.
It is difficult to see how the U.S. can respond without risking more attacks on Saudi Arabia. It is likewise difficult to see how the U.S. can avoid striking without losing the alliance’s confidence. Part of this will depend on how bad the damage to the refinery actually is. Part of it will have to do with the effectiveness of U.S. counterstrikes against drones in Yemen.
What is clear is that the Iranians are playing a weak hand as well as they can. But they are also playing a hand that could blow up in their face. The geopolitics of this clear. The intelligence capability of each side in follow-on attacks is the question — as is how lucky all the players feel they are.
My comment: This article is based on the US world view. It starts by the headline: The US could not “strike back”, as the US had not been hit; if there would be an US strike at Iran, it would not be “striking back”, as it’s not Iran which had attacked the Saudi oil installations.
(* B K P)
The Key To Stopping Attacks On Saudi Arabia Lies In Halting The War In Yemen
From the Yemeni perspective, the attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil jugular represent long-awaited reprisals for a Saudi-led bombing campaign that has killed thousands of Yemeni civilians since 2015.
Iran’s involvement has increased over time, with Tehran finding the Houthis a useful cat’s paw for access to the Arabian Peninsula, which includes oversight of a strategic oil chokepoint, the Bab al-Mandeb.
But Trump’s reneging on the Iran nuclear deal and re-imposing US sanctions has poured oil on the fire.
Washington direly needs a strategy for the Middle East, instead of devising a bespoke reaction each time there is a provocation.
For starters, the Trump administration should not join the Saudi-Iran proxy war, or attack Iran on Riyadh’s behalf.
Instead, Washington should leverage the attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure that have caused unprecedented outage to push for a resolution to the disastrous war in Yemen. Riyadh needs an exit strategy, now.
Solving Yemen won’t solve Iran. Trump realizes his sanctions are driving Tehran to desperation. We should expect Iran to continue disrupting the Persian Gulf oil business – and reviving its nuclear program– until Washington lifts those sanctions. The sooner United States gets back to the negotiating table the better.
Pinpointing a single source for the instability in the Persian Gulf is impossible. There’s a lot of blame to go around, and a long history of grievance.
(* A K P)
US military preparing response to Saudi oil attacks: Pentagon chief
The US military is preparing a response to the recent Yemeni drone attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil facilities, Defense Secretary Mark Esper has said.
Esper briefed US President Donald Trump in the White House on Monday following the attacks on two Saudi Aramco oil facilities on Saturday that knocked out more than half the kingdom’s production.
Yemen's Houthi fighters have claimed responsibility for the attack, but the United States has rejected their claim with Trump saying that Iran appears to be responsible for the strike.
Esper did not directly put blame on Iran for the attack but accused it of undermining international order.
"The United States military, with our interagency team, is working with our partners to address this unprecedented attack and defend the international rules-based order that is being undermined by Iran," he said in a tweet.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2019/09/17/606373/US-military-preparing-response-to-Saudi-oil-attacks
(A K P)
Trump says Iran appears to be culprit for Saudi oil attacks
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that it looked like Iran was responsible for attacks over the weekend on Saudi Arabian oil plants, but he was in no rush to respond and was still trying to find out who was behind the strikes.
(* A K P)
U.S. lawmakers blast Iran, wary of war, after Saudi oil attack
Members of the U.S. Congress blasted Iran after the attack on Saudi Arabian oil facilities, but expressed wariness about U.S. military action, especially before they have a clearer picture of who was behind it.
Many lawmakers stressed that Congress, not the president, has the right to declare war and warned against any quick military action.
Senate aides said the administration was expected to begin providing classified briefings on Saturday’s attack for congressional staff and members as soon as Monday.
Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat who is on the Senate Foreign Relations committee, noted that the United States has long been wary of getting involved in conflicts between nations in the Middle East. He noted that Washington does not have a defense treaty with Riyadh.
“Why should the United States get dragged into a conflict that has more to do with Saudi and Iranian power in the Middle East than American power?” Murphy, a critic of Saudi Arabia on rights issues including its role in the Yemen war, told Reuters.
Senator Jim Risch, the Republican chairman of the foreign relations panel, warned of U.S. retaliation in case of an attack on U.S. troops.
(A K P)
U.S. Senate leader McConnell wants consequences on Iran for Saudi oil attack
“I hope our international partners will join us in imposing consequences on Iran for this reckless, destabilizing attack,”
(A K P)
UK will work with international partners on response to Saudia Arabia attack
Britain will work with its international partners on the “widest and most effective” response to an attack on Saudi Arabia at the weekend, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Monday.
My comment: The second Western warmonger in the Yemen War cannot stay silent.
(A P)
FOX BUSINESS HOST BLASTS POSSIBILITY OF CONFLICT WITH IRAN: 'THAT'S NOT A GOOD IDEA'
ox Business host Lisa Kennedy pushed back hard against conservatives who are urging President Donald Trump to attack Iran, while also questioning why the president continues to support the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen.
"Now you have a bunch of people, particularly conservative hawks, who are trying to push him to escalate the situation militarily with Iran. That's not a great idea," Kennedy, who is registered as a Republican but identifies as a Libertarian, said during a Monday discussion on the Fox News talk-show Outnumbered. "What if this whole thing goes south?" she asked, suggesting that a military escalation would bode poorly for the president in the 2020 election.
(A K P)
Former 5th Fleet Commander: Iran Attacks on Saudi Oil a ‘Significant Escalation’
Retired Vice Adm. John Miller says the United States and Saudi Arabia should ratchet up the war in Yemen to hit back at Iran.
My comment: More warmongering. It’s not “Iran Attacks”. If it really would be, “ratchet up the war in Yemen” would make no sense.
(* B P)
Die unglaubliche Reise eines verrückten Supertankers
Seit Wochen verfolgt die Welt die Fahrt des iranischen Tankers “Adrian Darya 1”. Doch seine wahre Geschichte handelt nicht von Syrien oder EU-Sanktionen, sondern von amerikanischer Isolationspolitik
Die Geschichte vom iranischen Schiff, das europäische Sanktionen verletzt
Die unglaubliche Reise der Grace 1, in deren Verlauf sich das Schiff vom gewöhnlichen Öltanker zum Symbol des Konflikts zwischen Iran und dem Westen wandeln sollte, begann wahrscheinlich Ende Mai an einer Ölverladestationen des Persischen Golfes. Wohin und mit wessen Fracht sich die Grace 1 damals auf den Weg machte, ist bis heute nicht eindeutig geklärt.
Die Fahrt der Grace 1 war nicht völkerrechtswidrig, ihre Kaperung schon
Doch von Beginn an gab es Zweifel an dieser Geschichte: Wie kann ein iranisches Schiff gegen Sanktionen verstoßen, die dem Wesen nach das Verhältnis zwischen EU-Staaten und Syrien bestimmen sollen? Warum sollte die Grace 1 eigenständig ihre in internationalen Gewässern liegenden Fahrrinne verlassen haben und abseits ihres eigentlichen Kurses die Küste Gibraltars angesteuert haben?
Wieso hatte Gibraltar noch einen Tag vor der Kaperung der Grace 1 eine Verordnung geändert, die die Beschlagnahmung des Tankers nach nationalem Recht erst ermöglichte? Und wieso hatte es in den sieben Jahren, in denen das EU-Öl-Embargo bereits bestand, keinen einzigen Versuch gegeben, einen der Dutzenden iranischen Tanker mit Kurs auf Syrien festzusetzen?
Dass die Geschichte von der völkerrechtlich legitimierten Schiffskaperung nicht so ganz stimmen kann, erklärten nicht nur iranische Politiker umgehend. Auch der Wissenschaftliche Dienst des Bundestages kam kürzlich zu diesem Ergebnis.
Journalisten spinnen die unglaubwürdige Geschichte vom Tanker, der illegal Öl an Syrien liefert, jeden Tag weiter
Aus dem Motiv ihrer Politik haben amerikanische Politiker nie ein Hehl gemacht. Ziel der Sanktionen sei, die iranischen Ölexporte auf null zu bringen und das Land vom Welthandel auszuschließen. Dies hatte Donald Trump schon bei der Verabschiedung der Sanktionen im vergangenen November erklärt.
Die Behörden Gibraltars erscheinen in dieser Geschichte wie der nützliche Dumme und die EU-Syrien-Sanktion nur wie der Vorwand, unter dem sich die illegale Kaperung eines Schiffs als moralisch und völkerrechtlich legitim inszenieren lässt. Doch trotz zahlloser Hinweise darauf, dass das Unglaubliche an der Geschichte um den iranischen Tanker nicht auf seiner Route nach Syrien zu finden ist, spielen auch viele Medien bei dieser Inszenierung mit – von Fabian Goldmann
https://www.heise.de/tp/features/Die-unglaubliche-Reise-eines-verrueckten-Supertankers-4523505.html
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
(A K P)
Communities explain how ‘critical and important’ actions against the world’s largest arms fair are
Since 2 September, activists have taken direct action to try and stop the world’s largest arms fair – Defence Security and Equipment International (DSEI). And now, people and communities in some of the countries affected by the arms sold at the fair have responded. This shows just how important opposing DSEI is.
(A K P)
Film: The world's biggest arms fair is open in London. This Yemeni artist wants the world to know what the weapons industry have done to his country after years of attacks by the Saudi-led coalition.
https://twitter.com/ajplus/status/1173274548885741568
(A K P)
DIT perm sec launches investigation after department flouts Saudi Arabia military sales ban
Department for International Trade permanent secretary Antonia Romeo had launched an investigation after the department approved the sale of military equipment to Saudi Arabia, despite a pledge not to allow the export of goods that could be used in the civil war in Yemen
International trade secretary Liz Truss revealed the breach of DIT's undertaking in a letter to the House of Commons Committee on Arms Export Controls.
(A K P)
Liz Truss should resign over illegal Saudi arms sales, say MPs
Government granted licences in breach of court ruling, admits trade minister
The international trade secretary, Liz Truss, is facing calls to resign after admitting the government breached a court order banning the sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia.
On Tuesday, opposition MPs said her apology was insufficient and she should resign for breaking the law.
referring to
(A K P)
How is it possible for the government to claim it sold military equipment to Saudi Arabia ‘accidentally’?
The reality is that the UK government has always been far more concerned with arms company profits than it has with the rights and lives of Yemeni people
Everybody makes mistakes. That being said, not many of us have found ourselves breaching a Court of Appeal ruling put in place to stop the sale of arms to one of the most authoritarian dictatorships in the world.
Nevertheless, that is the position that the secretary of state for International Trade, Liz Truss, claims to have found herself in this week. On Tuesday evening, Truss was forced to admit that her department had “inadvertently” illegally approved two licences for the sale of military equipment to Saudi Arabia.
So how did it come to this? How did Liz Truss and her department “accidentally” end up breaking a court ruling to stop sales of military equipment?
A review has been ordered by the Department of International Trade to find out why these breaches occurred, and, just as importantly, whether there are other such cases. However, regardless of its findings, this surely discredits the government’s tired old mantra that the UK supposedly has some of the most “rigorous” and “robust” arms export controls in the world.
and
(* A K P)
UK apologises for Saudi arms sales in breach of court ruling
International trade secretary Liz Truss says she informed the Court of Appeal of 'inadvertent breaches'
The UK government has "unreservedly" apologised for authorising arms deals to Saudi Arabia in breach of a court ruling against the sale of weapons that could be used in the war in Yemen.
International trade secretary Liz Truss wrote to MP Graham Jones, chair of the Committees on Arms Export Controls, on Monday saying she informed the Court of Appeal of two "inadvertent breaches" to the 20 June ruling.
The sales to Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners include radio parts worth £435,450, according to the letter.
"During the course of this investigation, all decisions made on licences for the export of military goods to KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and its Coalition partners will be subject to additional compliance processes to ensure that no further licences are issued in error for possible use in the conflict in Yemen," Truss wrote.
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/whitehall-broke-court-order-exports-saudi-troops-yemen
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
(A K P)
Ruf nach unbefristetem Rüstungsexportstopp an Parteien im Jemen-Krieg
Ein Bündnis 56 zivilgesellschaftlicher Organisationen appelliert an die Bundesregierung, ein zeitlich unbefristetes Rüstungsexportverbot gegen alle Mitglieder der von Saudi-Arabien im Jemen-Krieg angeführten Militärkoalition zu verhängen. Dieses müsse gelten, "solange diese am bewaffneten Konflikt beteiligt sind oder die Gefahr besteht, dass auch deutsche Rüstungsgüter zu Menschen- und Völkerrechtsverletzungen im Jemen beitragen", hieß es in einer am Donnerstag veröffentlichten Mitteilung des Bündnisses. "Die jüngsten Eskalationen am Golf machen deutlich, dass die Region nicht mehr, sondern weniger Rüstung braucht." Die Organisationen fordern zudem die Abschaffung bestehender Ausnahmen für deutsche Komponentenlieferungen im Rahmen europäischer Gemeinschaftsprojekte und die Ausweitung des Verbots auf bereits erteilte Exportgenehmigungen.
(* A K P)
Rüstungsexportstopp für Saudi-Arabien verlängert
Die Bundesregierung hat den Rüstungsexportstopp für Saudi-Arabien um weitere sechs Monate bis zum 31. März 2020 verlängert. Das teilte ein Regierungssprecher mit. Damit werden weiterhin keine neuen Rüstungsgeschäfte mit Saudi-Arabien genehmigt, und die Auslieferung bereits genehmigter Exporte bleibt blockiert.
(A K P)
Linken-Politikerin: Waffenexportstopp nach Saudi-Arabien wird umgangen
Auch angesichts der Angriffe auf Ölanlagen Saudi-Arabiens sieht Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel keinen Anlass, das deutsche Rüstungs-Exportverbot in das Land aufzuheben. Die Linken-Europapolitikerin Özlem Alev Demirel fordert: "Wir brauchen klarere Linien, dass keine deutschen Waffen eingesetzt werden im Jemen-Krieg." Denn in der Vergangenheit sei der Exportstopp schon über andere Länder umgangen worden.
https://www.inforadio.de/programm/schema/sendungen/int/201909/18/372665.html
(A K P)
Greenpeace: KEINE PROFITE AUS KRIEGEN!
Der Rüstungskonzern Rheinmetall schlägt rücksichtslos Profite aus dem Elend des Kriegs im Jemen. Damit muss Schluss sein, fordern Greenpeace-Aktivist*innen vor der Firmenzentrale.
„Wie könnt ihr nachts schlafen?“: Diese Frage richten die zwanzig Greenpeace-Aktivisten und Aktivistinnen, die heute an der Rheinmetall-Zentrale in Düsseldorf protestieren, nicht nur an die Mitarbeiter und Mitarbeiterinnen des Waffenherstellers. Die Frage ist auch ein Appell an Politiker und Politikerinnen, von deren Entscheidung es abhängt, wie es mit dem Embargo auf Waffenexporte nach Saudi-Arabien weitergehen wird, das die Bundesregierung im Herbst 2018 beschlossen hatte
https://www.greenpeace.de/themen/umwelt-gesellschaft-frieden/waffenexporte/keine-profite-aus-kriegen
und
(A K P)
Greenpeace-Aktion gegen Waffenexporte in den Jemen-Krieg
Gegen Waffenexporte an die Parteien des Jemen-Krieges haben am Mittwoch Greenpeace-Aktivisten vor der Zentrale des Rüstungskonzerns Rheinmetall in Düsseldorf protestiert. Sie brachten ein Banner mit der Aufschrift "Rheinmetall-Bomben töten im Jemen! Wie könnt ihr nachts schlafen?" über dem Eingang der Firmenzentrale an. Greenpeace wirft Rheinmetall vor, trotz des bestehenden Rüstungsexportstopps über Tochterfirmen Waffen in den Jemen-Krieg zu liefern. Die Bundesregierung müsse diese Schlupflöcher schließen.
Rheinmetall kritisierte in einer schriftlichen Stellungnahme "falsche Behauptungen und unsachliche Parolen, die eine differenzierte Auseinandersetzung mit dem Thema verhindern". Mit den Produkten für die Bundeswehr schütze Rheinmetall "diejenigen, die sich in gefährlichen Regionen der Welt für Frieden und Sicherheit engagieren". Auf den Vorwurf des Waffenverkaufs an Kriegsparteien im Jemen ging ein Unternehmenssprecher nicht ein.
https://www.rtl.de/cms/greenpeace-aktion-gegen-waffenexporte-in-den-jemen-krieg-4406732.html = https://www.welt.de/regionales/nrw/article200516752/Greenpeace-Aktion-gegen-Waffenexporte-in-den-Jemen-Krieg.html = https://www.t-online.de/region/duesseldorf/news/id_86470812/greenpeace-aktion-gegen-waffenexporte-in-den-jemen-krieg.html
und ausführlicher: https://www.report-d.de/Duesseldorf/Aktuelles/Duesseldorf-Rheinmetall-Rund-20-Greenpeace-Aktivisten-protestieren-gegen-Waffenlieferungen-120430
(* B K P)
Waffen an Saudi-Arabien, welch ein Irrsinn!
Man fasst es nicht: In der Union gibt es Überlegungen, wieder deutsche Waffen in die saudische Klerikaldiktatur zu liefern. Das ist perfide.
Man fasst es nicht und glaubt es kaum. Wären solche „Normalisierungsbemühungen“ nicht sowohl perfide als auch infam, müsste das Publikum in lautes Hohngelächter ausbrechen. Menschenrechte? Saudi-Arabien? Vor fünf Monaten gab es dort die letzte Massenexekution. 37 Menschen, darunter ein 16-Jähriger, wurden zum Teil öffentlich hingerichtet. Die meisten kamen aus der schiitischen Minderheit des Landes.
Laut Nachrichtenagentur AFP wurde einer der Verurteilten gekreuzigt. Diese Hinrichtungsart ist für besonders schwere Verbrechen vorgesehen. Die Nachrichtenagentur AP berichtet, alle Verurteilten seien enthauptet worden. Das Köpfen mit dem Säbel ist die häufigste Hinrichtungsmethode in Saudi-Arabien.
Saudi-Arabien ist eine erzkonservative Klerikaldiktatur
(* B K P)
Deutsche “Stabilitätsinteressen”
Mehrere führende Abgeordnete im Deutschen Bundestag dringen auf die Wiederaufnahme deutscher Waffenlieferungen an Saudi-Arabien. Das sei nötig, da “der Selbstschutz Saudi-Arabiens … in unserem eigenen Stabilitätsinteresse” liege, behauptet nach dem jüngsten Angriff auf saudische Ölförderanlagen der außenpolitische Sprecher der CDU/CSU-Bundestagsfraktion, Jürgen Hardt. Während die Bundesregierung sich der Forderung noch verweigert, bildet die Bundeswehr saudische Offiziere aus; die Bundespolizei bereitet sich auf die Wiederaufnahme eines Trainingsprogramms für saudische Grenzbeamte vor. Schwierigkeiten bekommt unterdessen Rheinmetall. Die Düsseldorfer Waffenschmiede hatte darauf gesetzt, ihre Munitionslieferungen an Saudi-Arabien über ihre Produktionsstätten in Italien sowie in Südafrika abzuwickeln. Die Regierungen beider Staaten haben jetzt allerdings ihre Genehmigungen dafür zurückgezogen. Der von Riad geführten Kriegskoalition im Jemen werden mindestens 8.000 zivile Todesopfer bei direkten Angriffen auf nichtmilitärische Ziele zugerechnet…
https://www.german-foreign-policy.com/news/detail/8048/
(A K P)
Gegen Rüstungsexporte an Saudi-Arabien-"Wo Krieg geführt wird, keine deutschen Waffen hin"
SPD und Grüne lehnen CDU-Forderungen nach einer Wiederaufnahme der Rüstungsgeschäfte mit Saudi-Arabien ab. Der Union scheine der außenpolitische Kompass abhanden zu kommen.
"Es ist aberwitzig, angesichts der Eskalation im Golf die Risiken dort mit weiteren Rüstungsexporten noch mehr zu erhöhen", sagte die Grünen-Verteidigungspolitikerin Agnieszka Brugger. "Zugleich hat sich an der Menschenrechtssituation in Saudi-Arabien und dem blutigen Krieg im Jemen nichts geändert und damit gibt es erst recht keinen Anlass, Exporte von Rüstungsgütern nach Saudi-Arabien zu fordern."
und auch https://www.faz.net/2.1652/koalition-uneinig-zu-waffenlieferungen-an-saudi-arabien-16388339.html
(A K P)
FDP: Maas muss Jemen-Konferenz der Vereinten Nationen organisieren
Die ohnehin prekäre Sicherheitslage in der Golfregion um Saudi-Arabien, Iran, Irak und Jemen spitzt sich nochmal zu. Nach den Drohnenangriffen auf saudische Ölanlagen sieht FDP-Außenpolitiker Alexander Graf Lambsdorff die Spannungen in der ohnehin instabilen Region verschärft: "Der Regionalkonflikt bedroht die internationale Sicherheit insgesamt, da er zu eskalieren und auszuufern droht." Seiner Ansicht nach muss Bundesaußenminister Heiko Maas das Thema "umgehend auf die Tagesordnung des UN-Sicherheitsrats setzen und im Rahmen der Vereinten Nationen eine Jemen-Konferenz organisieren."
https://www.liberale.de/content/maas-muss-jemen-konferenz-der-vereinten-nationen-organisieren
(A K P)
Angela Merkel hält an Exportstopp für Waffen nach Saudi-Arabien fest
Die Kanzlerin sieht "keine Voraussetzung für eine veränderte Haltung" zu Waffenverkäufen an Saudi-Arabien. Ein CDU-Kollege hatte die Teilaufhebung des Embargos gefordert.
Eine Wiederaufnahme der Rüstungsexporte an Saudi-Arabien lehnt Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel (CDU) ab. "Ich sehe im Augenblick keine Voraussetzung für eine veränderte Haltung der Bundesregierung", sagte Merkel. Deutschland werde "immer auf der Seite der Deeskalation stehen und sehr deutlich machen, dass langfristige Lösungen nur politisch möglich sind", sagte die Kanzlerin nach einem Gespräch mit dem jordanischen König Abdullah II.
und
(A K P)
Merkel weiter für Rüstungsexportstopp gegen Saudi-Arabien
Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel sieht derzeit keine Grundlage für eine Aufhebung des Rüstungsexportstopps gegen Saudi-Arabien. „Ich sehe im Augenblick keine Voraussetzung für eine veränderte Haltung der Bundesregierung“, sagte die CDU-Politikerin auf die Frage, wie sie zu einer Verlängerung des in wenigen Tagen auslaufenden Exportstopps stehe.
(A K P)
Merkel suggests she wants to uphold halt in arms exports to Saudi
Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday suggested she wanted to stick to Germany’s halt in arms exports to Saudi, saying she did not see any reason to change the government’s stance and Berlin had tied its position to the development of the war in Yemen.
“At the moment I don’t see any prerequisites for the government to change its position,” Merkel told a news conference.
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
(* A K P)
Advocacy groups call on Canada to end arms sales to Saudi Arabia
As Canada formally acceded to the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) Tuesday, a coalition of Canadian civil society groups is calling on the federal government to cancel its multibillion contract to supply Saudi Arabia with advanced armoured vehicles.
The coalition, which includes Amnesty International, Oxfam Quebec and peace group Project Ploughshares among others, calls on Ottawa to “honour the spirit and intent of the ATT” by ending the export of Canadian-manufactured Light Armoured Vehicles (LAVs) to the oil-rich kingdom.
In addition, former Bloc Quebecois MP and University of Montreal law professor Daniel Turp is threatening legal action if Ottawa continues to sell weapons to Riyadh.
Justin Mohammed, a spokesperson for Amnesty International Canada, said continued arms sales to Saudi Arabia are inconsistent with Canada’s legal obligations under the ATT because there are reasons to believe that they could be used to commit serious human rights and international humanitarian law violations.
(A P)
The Yemeni community in the capital of Sweden, Stockholm, held a protest in front of the #UAE Embassy to condemn the crimes of Abu Dhabi in #Yemen.
https://twitter.com/BelqeesRights/status/1173670738173317120
(* A P)
He’s serious: Putin offers to sell air defense missiles to Saudi Arabia
at the recent Russian-Turkish-Iranian summit in Ankara, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Moscow was willing to sell Russian air defense missiles to Saudi Arabia.
“We are ready to help Saudi Arabia protect their people,” Putin said. “They need to make clever decisions, as Iran did by buying our S-300, as [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan did by deciding to buy the most advanced S-400 air defense systems. These kinds of systems are capable of defending any kind of infrastructure in Saudi Arabia from any kind of attack.”
Moscow may see the recent attack on Saudi Arabia as an opportunity to persuade the Saudis that the United States cannot adequately protect them, but that Russia can.
Further, while Putin undoubtedly does not want to see Washington retaliate militarily against Iran in response to the attack on Saudi oil facilities, his offer to sell air defense missiles to Riyadh signals that he does not want to see any further such attacks against the Kingdom either. While it is well known that Russia and Iran cooperate closely (especially in Syria), Putin has also sought to build good relations with Israel and Saudi Arabia—Iran’s main Middle Eastern adversaries.
Remark: Mark Katz, a specialist on Russia-Middle East relations, argues that #Russia's desire to sell an S-400 missile defence system to #KSA could be in US interests, as it could drive a wedge between Russia and #Iran. An interesting point.
https://twitter.com/SamRamani2/status/1174325895772946432
(* B P)
Mohammed bin Zayed: Abu Dhabi's crown prince plays a long game
Such criticisms, though valid in part, rather tend to overlook one simple fact about Mohammed bin Zayed: unlike the rash Saudi crown prince, he is prepared to play the long game and to weigh up consequences and likely outcomes.
Consider Yemen. When the Saudis and the Emiratis launched their war on the rebel Houthis, it was ostensibly to restore the internationally recognised government of Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi. That was the claim at any rate.
In fact, the Emiratis had - from the beginning - a different agenda to that of the Saudis. It was to create in South Yemen a client state with the city of Aden as a key link in a military and commercial port strategy stretching to the Horn of Africa and beyond.
Allying its forces with the secessionist movement in the south allowed the Emiratis to take control of Aden and the vital island of Socotra which sits in the Gulf of Aden and links maritime trade routes to the Far East and to Africa.
Meantime Mohammed bin Salman has made no headway against the Houthis while taking much of the blame, and rightfully so, for the near endless atrocities the bombing campaign has inflicted on the Yemeni people.
The Emiratis themselves stand accused of numerous war crimes, as do the Houthis, but to the great chagrin of the Saudis, it is they who are bearing the brunt of international opprobrium. It is the Saudis who are the target of US politicians in both houses and on both sides, while the Emiratis, skilfully piloted by their Washington ambassador Yusuf al-Otaiba, have faced little scrutiny.
Now, to the consternation of the Saudis, the Emiratis are drawing down their troops and seem poised for a near complete pullout from the Yemen war.
With Iran, events in the chaotic White House of Donald Trump look increasingly to have gone MbZ’s way.
MbZ’s critics portray him as someone who has bitten off more than he can chew. That underestimates how shrewd a player he is, one prepared to move away from hard power when it has served his aims, as it has in Yemen, or threatened his objectives as it is doing in Libya.
The pivot to soft power is not a retreat, it is a retrenchment by a leader who has proven himself more than able to learn from his mistakes, something his counterpart in Riyadh continues to show himself incapable of doing.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/abu-dhabis-crown-prince-plays-long-game
(* A P)
Egypt to expel Hadi clique minister
"Interior Minister" Ahmed al-Maisari asked to leave country within 72 hours
The Egyptian Deputy Interior Minister on Tuesday has called on the Saudi-backed self-professed Interior Minister Ahmed al-Maisari, to leave Egypt within 72 hours, sources said.
“I just received a call from the Egyptian Deputy Interior Minister, who asked me to leave the country within 72 hours,” the sources quoted al-Maisari’s message as saying.
The sources affirmed that the Egyptian decision came at a request from the UAE due to al-Maisari’s positions and statements that accused Abu Dhabi of supporting the Southern Transition Council militias in targeting state institutions in Yemen’s southern provinces.
https://www.uprising.today/egypt-to-expel-hadi-clique-minister/
and
(A P)
Egypt warns al-Maisari, al-Jabwani against any political activity
Egyptian authorities prevented holding a meeting called for by Yemen's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Ahmed al-Maisari, Minister of Transport, Saleh al-Jabwani, and deputy speaker of parliament, Abdulaziz Jabari, under the name the Yemeni National Front.
The writer and political Analyst, Hani Mas'hour tweeted that the Egyptian government is prevented the convening of the meetings of the so-called Yemeni National Front on its territory, confirming that it will take all legal measures against any encroachment on the United Arab Emirates.
http://en.adenpress.news/news/13316
My comment: LOL. Egypt against the Hadi government officials and supporters.
(A P)
Who first dropped bombs on Yemen?
Erdoğan said. And he added: “However, who first dropped bombs on Yemen? If the answer to that question can be found, I believe we will reach the conclusion that the current point is a provocation.”
Although he did not put it bluntly, he implied that he accuses Saudi Arabia and its partners of starting the war in Yemen. But then another question comes to minds: Who did support the Saudi-led attack on Yemen in 2015?
The Turkish government had announced that it supported the Saudi operation into Yemen only a few days after the intervention started.
Furthermore, Erdoğan announced that Turkey was ready to provide logistical and intelligence support to the coalition forces although it would not actively take part in the military operation.
One of the reasons for Turkey’s open support to Saudi Arabia at that time was its hopes to fix the broken ties with the oil-rich Gulf country after the toppling of Mohamed Morsi through a military coup in Egypt.
About five years after these words, Erdoğan seems to have changed his mind on who started the fire in Yemen and forgotten that his government supported the military campaign that brought about one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes to one of the world’s poorest nations.
The Yemen case is a strong evidence of the absence of sound foreign policy in the Turkish capital.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/opinion/serkan-demirtas/who-first-dropped-bombs-on-yemen-146652
and also https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190918-erdogan-hints-at-saudi-responsibility-over-oil-attacks/
(A P)
‘Serious’ support for Yemeni nation among achievements of Ankara Summit: Ashna
An advisor to the President Rouhani said that Iranian, Turkish, and Russian presidents’ support for the Yemeni nation and condemning Saudi aggression on the Arab country were among main achievements of the Ankara summit on Monday.
“Unified and firm stances of Iranian, Turkish and Russian presidents on Aramco attacks and their serious support for the Yemeni people and condemning the other side are among most important achievements of Ankara trilateral summit,” Hessam al-Din Ashna tweeted on Tuesday in Persian.
https://en.mehrnews.com/news/150150/Serious-support-for-Yemeni-nation-among-achievements-of-Ankara
(* B K)
Africa must help end the atrocities in Yemen, and start by ending its involvement
With several African states actively complicit in human rights atrocities in Yemen, it is clear the Horn of Africa will not get stability and security without accountability and peace in that country.
From the beginning, Africa was involved.
Sudanese forces have fought alongside Yemeni groups backed by the Saudi/UAE-led coalition.
By 2018, the Saudi state news agency was reporting that meetings of the coalition included representatives from at least five African Union states, including Sudan, Egypt, Morocco, Djibouti and Senegal.
These states have been sucked into what military experts agree is an unwinnable war.
The widespread violations against civilians by parties fighting in Yemen will cause further cynicism about human rights, unless governments around the globe, including African countries, take a stand to make these protections more than words on paper.
African states that are members of the coalition, particularly Egypt and Sudan, should withdraw. The clearest way to signal peace is a priority is refusing to fight.
African states, like Eritrea providing military support to the coalition – including the use of their territory – should refuse that support for attacks in and on Yemen. Failing to do so means risking complicity in future unlawful attacks.
Other states in Africa also have an opportunity now to push for the accountability needed to make peace in Yemen sustainable – By Radhya al-Mutawakel
(A P)
‘You became brothers by His grace’: Putin quotes Koran in appeal for peace in Yemen
Russian President Vladimir Putin raised a few approving eyebrows in Turkey by quoting from the Koran to urge an end to the war in Yemen that has been waged there for years by a coalition of Muslim countries led by Saudi Arabia.
https://www.rt.com/news/468950-putin-quotes-koran-yemen/
cp12b Sudan
(A K P)
Military leader of Sudan retracts statement on remaining part of Saudi coalition
Retraction of Lieutenant-General Burhan's statement may indicate willingness to withdraw from Yemen
The Chief of the Sudanese Sovereign Council, Lieutenant-General Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Burhan, has retracted his earlier statements on the continuation of Sudanese forces in Saudi-led war coalition against Yemen. The Sovereignty Council is the name of the provisional military government that took charge of Sudan following the ousting of President Omar al-Bashir.
Burhan said in an interview with Al-Jazeera on Monday that “Sudanese forces will remain in Yemen,”, adding that “the Sudanese forces’ withdrawal from Yemen will come when necessary.”
Burhan said in mid-last month that the decision to withdraw the Sudanese forces from Yemen, “will be taken by the civil competency government that was agreed to be formed last July,” before he changed his remarks on Monday.
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
Siehe / Look at cp1, cp10, cp11, cp12
(? B K P)
Europe Is at War Over Arms Exports
The EU must start enforcing its export controls, or else risk making conflicts around the world even worse.
Over the weekend, Saudi Arabia’s oil production was at least temporarily halved after drone attacks on some of its oil infrastructure. Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed credit for the strikes, although many observers suspected that Iran itself was to blame. Whatever the outcome, it is clear that the devastation in Yemen has been exacerbated by the European Union’s poorly coordinated arms export policy, which has also weakened Europe’s foreign policy and ist credibility as a principled power.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/09/18/europe-is-at-war-over-arms-exports/
(* B K P T)
Im Jemen liefert die NATO Daesch Waffen
Eine Untersuchung von Dilyana Gaytandzhieva, veröffentlicht von Arms Watch, stellte gestützt auf Dokumente fest, dass die NATO-Mission in Afghanistan (Resolute Support Mission) als Deckmantel für einen US-Waffenhandel dient, um Daesh im Jemen zu beliefern.
Die Untersuchung ergab nebenbei, dass die US-Spezialeinheiten (Task Force Smoking Gun in Kroatien) auch Waffen an Al-Qaida (Al-Nusra Front) in Syrien transportiert haben.
Viele Unternehmen sind daran beteiligt, darunter Sierra Four Industries, Orbital ATK, Global Ordnance und UDC in den Vereinigten Staaten, sowie die aserbaidschanische, serbische und saudische Regierung.
Vor zwei Jahren machte sich die bulgarische Journalistin Dilyana Gaytandzhieva einen Namen, indem sie Dokumente veröffentlichte, die den größten Waffenhandel der Geschichte, die Operation Timber Sycamore, bezeugen. [1].
https://www.voltairenet.org/article207662.html
(* A K P)
Film: Die Waffenexporte der europäischen Staaten
Im Jemen, in Syrien und in Bahrain werden europäische Waffen zum Begehen von Kriegsverbrechen eingesetzt. Beispiele mit niederländischen, deutschen, belgischen und italienischen Waffen. #FrenchArms ist eine Recherche, die vom niederländischen Investigativprojekt Lighthouse Reports, gemeinsam mit dem Investigationskonsortium Disclose, ARTE, Mediapart und Radio France initiiert wurde. Ihr Ziel: Investigativ Recherche, lediglich mithilfe von Computern und einer Internetverbindung.
https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/091513-005-A/die-waffenexporte-der-europaeischen-staaten/
cp13b Wirtschaft / Economy
(* A E P)
The dollar continues to cross the 600-riyal barrier. UN warns of continued deterioration of Yemeni currency (price list)
The exchange rate of the Yemeni currency exceeded 600 Yemeni riyals per dollar, which could exacerbate the humanitarian crisis and famine in Yemen as the country depends on imports, Lowcock said.
"We have not seen the rate of the Yemeni currency exceeding the 600 riyal barrier since last year," he said, adding that "the collapse of the currency is a major driver in pushing Yemen to the brink of widespread famine."
The national currency experienced an unprecedented decline in October 2018, when the exchange rate approached 800 riyals per dollar, causing a crazy rise in food prices.
The devaluation of the national currency followed the recent Aden rebellion, which led to the end of government control in the interim capital Aden, and the rule of armed formations loyal to the Emirate over the city and state institutions, including the central bank.
The central bank's leadership says the bank's work has not been affected by the recent situation in Aden, but at the same time calls on the parties to spare the bank conflict and maintain its independence and neutrality.
Since the takeover, the Bank has carried out several banking operations to purchase oil derivatives and strengthen banks in foreign currencies, using the Saudi deposit.
The government says that the transitional rebellion has negatively affected all the efforts it has achieved in the service and economic files
https://almasdaronline.com/articles/171728
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
Siehe / Look at cp1
(A T)
After Friday's prisoner swap with Houthis, #Yemen's #alQaeda is now killing them again. Claims its roadside bomb killed 2 yday Interestingly, AQAP has claimed no ops on #UAE-backed forces this Sept (after surge in August). Sept ops so far all in Bayda': 15 on #ISIS, 2 on Houthis
https://twitter.com/Dr_E_Kendall/status/1173890617031757824
(A T)
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) claimed to kill two al Houthi fighters with an improvised explosive device (IED) in al Bayda governorate in south-central Yemen on September 16. AQAP recently conducted a prisoner swap with al Houthi forces and released photos of the exchange on September 13.[1]
(* B T)
AQAP and Islamic State resume fighting in Yemen
Following sporadic raids against each other over the summer, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Islamic State in Yemen (IS-Y) have engaged in open warfare in Yemen’s Al Bayda since late August.
Since Aug. 27, the two groups have claimed a combined 29 attacks against each other in Al Bayda’s Qayfa region. This region has seen fierce fighting between the two in the past and has historically been a critical area for AQAP.
Both sides have said its men have taken and retaken territory, launched improvised explosive device (IED) attacks against one another, sniped opposing militants and attacked various positions via mortars and rockets.
AQAP has been responsible for the majority of claims (23), while IS-Y has mainly reported its men repelling AQAP assaults. The heaviest days of fighting have so far been Sept. 1 and Sept. 9, in which the majority of the claims were published.
Islamic State photo reports of the fighting appear to back up the claims that its men have repelled AQAP assaults. Many of the photos detail dead bodies and captured weapons.
The renewed fighting has mainly taken place in Qayfa area and its surrounding villages, including Al Hamida, Al Zoub, Sarar, Awaja, Liqah, Al Najd, and Abu Ghayth. FDD’s Long War Journal has attempted to map out the fighting above.
Interestingly, AQAP has accused IS-Y of working with Houthi militants, which have indeed historically operated in the Qayfa region, against its forces. In return, IS-Y has accused AQAP of working with Yemeni military forces against its men.
https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2019/09/aqap-and-islamic-state-resume-fighting-in-yemen.php
cp15 Propaganda
(A P)
How to Trump Iran
W hen it comes to stupidity, the mullahs of Iran have few rivals. They have used Yemeni proxies to attack the Saudi Arabian oil production facilities at Abqaiq in a carefully calibrated strike meant to spur a jump in global oil prices—a crap-shoot bid to bolster revenue for their teetering nation.
Note that this was not an all-out attack, but a measured one, blamed on Yemeni guerrillas (who are financed by the Iranians) so as not to get a full-on war response from Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States, the United States, and possibly even Israel.
The combination of missiles and aircraft tend to be placed mostly around their nuclear sites, oil production facilities and large cities.
The primary national vulnerability of Iran isn’t bombing raids, however. It’s cash flow. Given that Iran’s is a one-trick pony economy based on crude oil exports, shipping is Iran’s greatest vulnerability. The Iranians, knowing that the vast majority of oil supertankers belong to other nations who know that those vessels which ultimately bring the cash flow, will not be attacked.
Enter another one-trick pony, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who developed the “little green men” approach.
The trick is to attack an enemy with unmarked tanks and planes, with soldiers in unmarked camouflage uniforms, and without the enemy being able to prove who they are fighting.
The mullahs would be left wondering what to do as the clock runs out on their regime.
Perhaps they would like to divest themselves of their entire nuclear program and give back the billions in cash handed to them by the previous administration? Just a suggestion.
https://amgreatness.com/2019/09/18/how-to-trump-iran/
(A P)
from 2016: A Saudi Perspective
The Yemeni Civil War, and subsequent Saudi led military intervention, is a conflict whose foundations manifest in the current regional tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran. With the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and ensuing perception of a power vacuum left by the United States through its perceived withdrawal from the region and eagerness to work with Tehran, has helped frame a situation where Saudi Arabia feels obligated to take a hands on approach to its own foreign policy. Iranian interference into the traditional Saudi sphere of influence in Yemen, the growth of Sunni extremism in the form of Al Qaida and Islamic State within Yemen, and Yemeni civil war has moved Saudi Arabia into action in order to preserve the state against an existential threat. The Saudi response has been one of leadership amongst fellow Sunni regimes in the Arabian Peninsula and wider Sunni world, leading a united front both politically and militarily to counter the growing instability and conflict in Yemen in what is ultimately a pitted battle for regional dominance in the Middle East. This paper will attempt to address the Saudi Arabian reasoning behind its involvement in Yemen, the Saudi view on Iranian involvement in Yemen through the proxy Houthis, and how the Yemen issue reflects Saudi actions in the wider context of the current Sunni-Shiite power struggle in the Middle East – by Ezra Friedman
https://www.academia.edu/31720546/A_Saudi_Perspective?auto=bookmark
(A P)
Why Iran is risking war with Saudi Arabia and America
Shia Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia have engaged in a proxy conflict for years
Trump’s Iran policy of maximum pressure is working
Iran's belligerent moves are an attempt to gain leverage in advance of any renegotiation of the Iran nuclear deal
But why would Iran instigate a direct attack against Saudi Arabia and risk conflict not only with Riyadh, but possibly the United States as well? The attack seems especially irrational considering the timing. Just days earlier there was credible talk about a potential meeting between Trump and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani at the United Nations. Meanwhile, Trump fired his hawkish national security advisor John Bolton, indicating a willingness to ease some sanctions.
Perhaps Iran wanted revenge against Riyadh’s involvement in Yemen, a civil war that has claimed 90,000 lives, including tens of thousands of civilians, and caused widespread misery, poverty and disease? However, if Iran figured that disrupting Saudi Arabia’s oil revenues would push the Kingdom to retreat from Yemen, it was a serious miscalculation.
Maybe the attack highlights a power struggle within Tehran between reformists seeking engagement with the West and hardliners opposed to dialogue with the US under any circumstances. However, ultimately it is the unelected Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who makes the final decisions and any such attack would have to be approved either by him or his very close inner circle.
In order to understand Tehran’s motives, one must recognise the extent to which Iran is in trouble. Trump’s policy of maximum pressure is working. The regime is under so much pressure that it may not survive. Since May 2018, after Trump withdrew from the deeply flawed Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), designed to stymie Tehran’s nuclear drive, Iran’s economy has been teetering on collapse.
So Iran is trying to send a message to the West that there are consequences for pressurising Iran. One such consequence is for the safety of the world’s oil supplies at an affordable rate and its extraction via the Strait of Hormuz where tankers, including the British flagged Stena Impero, have been captured in recent months.
https://capx.co/why-iran-is-risking-war-with-saudi-arabia-and-america/
My comment: It’s Yemen, not Iran.
(A P)
Yemen: VP Calls for Deterring Iran’s Malicious Arms
Yemen's vice president Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar condemned the terrorist attacks on the facilities in a tweet, and said they revealed Iran's “destructive role in the region” and its use of Yemen to stage its plots.
“We condemn this blatant assault on economic security and stand with our brothers in the kingdom to deter Iran's malicious arms,” said Ahmar.
My comment: This old AlQaeda-affiliate lamenting about Houthi „terrorist attack.“ Reality is more grotesque than anyone could invent it. LOL.
(A P)
Retaliation Against and Negotiations with Iran
The unprecedented Sept. 15 attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities has complicated the Trump administration’s efforts to negotiate with Iran. The United States has provided intelligence assessments that show that the sophisticated attack, which reduced the kingdom’s oil output by half, and was claimed by al-Houthi rebels in Yemen, was launched from Iranian soil. However, even if this massive escalation had not occurred, the United States would still be facing a strategic dilemma in that negotiating with Iran undermines the position of its allies: Saudi Arabia and Israel. This was a key shortcoming of the 2015 nuclear deal that the Obama administration concluded with Tehran, which must be eventually addressed, but for now Washington must focus on finding a way out of the current escalatory environment.
Tehran Strengthens Its Position
As is the case with any talks between two adversaries, neither side wants to negotiate from a position of weakness. In this case, the Iranians are the ones with the weaker hand, given the immense financial pressure from reimposed U.S. sanctions. While the clerical regime struggles to contain the domestic fallout from these dire economic conditions, it continues its efforts to exploit the growing regional vacuum stemming from the nearly decade-old autocratic meltdown underway in the Arab world. The most noticeable advantage that the Iranians have gained is against their arch-rival Saudi Arabia, which has been embroiled in the war in Yemen — a move that has gone very badly for the Kingdom.
Tehran’s support for the al-Houthi-led faction enabled the Iranian proxy to not just resist Saudi Arabia’s war efforts in the country but also conduct dozens of missile and drone attacks on Saudi soil.
Retaliatory military action should be carefully calibrated so that it does not lead to greater escalation. That said, it should be potent enough to get the Iranians to realize that they will pay a huge price if they continue to engage in hostile actions. Put differently, the message that Tehran needs to hear is that this is as far as it can go before it risks greater conflict. Therefore, the only choice it has is to come to the negotiating table – by Dr. Kamran Bokhari, a Founding Director of the Center for Global Policy (CGP).
https://www.cgpolicy.org/articles/retaliation-against-and-negotiations-with-iran/
(A P)
Iran is playing a very dangerous game
The attacks on Saudi oil facilities are provocative and an act of economic terrorism
Let’s be clear — Al Houthis began their campaign of terror as a ragtag group. By overthrowing the legitimate government in Yemen, the militia embarked on a course of action that resulted in the United Nations Security Council to mandate an international Arab coalition to restore the legitimate government and bring stability to that nation.
And by providing sophisticated weaponry, such as missiles and technologically advanced drones to its proxies, Iran bears the ultimate responsibility for these destructive and reckless attacks on the global oil supply. Similarly, its actions in the Arabian Gulf and in neighbouring waters to interrupt and disrupt maritime traffic engaged in delivering petrochemical products is also an act of extreme provocation and economic terrorism.
Together, these incidents — attacks on tankers, the seizure of tankers, attacks on pipelines, and now a daring attack on oil processing installations — show that Tehran is intent on wrecking international norms and cause economic chaos by disrupting global oil supplies.
https://gulfnews.com/opinion/editorials/iran-is-playing-a-very-dangerous-game-1.66476856
My comment: The Houthi attacks are no Iranian game. – The Houthi attacks are not “terrorism”, but war. – There is no UN mandate at all for the Saudi coalition war in Yemen.
(A P)
Arab Parliament Calls for Protecting Yemeni MPs from Houthi Violations
Arab Parliament Speaker, Dr. Mishaal al-Salami, has rejected the farcical trials and the unconstitutional and illegal measures adopted by the Houthi terrorist militias against the Yemeni parliament speaker and MPs, who have rejected the coup.
My comment: This „parliament“ is a Saudi mouthpiece; and: „Parlament“ and „Saudi“ is a joke by itself.
(A P)
Attack on Saudi Arabia: Why Houthis undermine kingdom's oil industry?
The attack goes beyond the confrontation between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia in an armed conflict on the territory of Yemen and meets the interests of Iran. The United States has already announced this.
The tool of Iran
The Houthis called the attack "a natural response" to the ongoing aggression of Saudi Arabia and the blockade of Yemen. Saudi Arabia has been conducting a military operation against the Yemen Houthis since March 2015. Islamic extremists tried to overthrow the secular government in the Arab Republic and create an Iran-oriented theocratic state. Iran is perceived by the royal dynasty of Saudi Arabia and other secular regimes of the Persian Gulf as a threat to their existence and a competitor in the world oil market.
Iran Oil Wars
The Houthis attack on Aramco facilities is Iran’s spit in the face of the new Saudi Minister of Energy - Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.
Unable to compete freely with Saudi Arabia in the oil market due to sanctions, Iran acts like a dog in the manger. With the help of a terrorist attack, it expects to provoke a sharp jump in world oil prices and affect the reduction in procurement against this background.
(A P)
Trump must react to the attacks on Saudi Arabia. But a quick fix won’t be enough – by Dennis Ross
Comment: If the @washingtonpost is going to continue publishing op-eds by Dennis Ross, those pieces should include a disclosure that Elliott Broidy paid him $10,000 to write anti-Iran and anti-Qatar op-eds
https://twitter.com/BazziNYU/status/1173733490917093376
(A P)
Saudi Arabia's Iran dilemma
Attack by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels on Saudi Arabia's oil infrastructure forces the question of how best to respond
Should Riyadh counter the Iranian regime’s act of terror through an escalation of its proxy wars in Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq and Syria or does Saudi Arabia embark on a new long-term strategy to this existential challenge by supporting the people of Iran who pose the greatest threat to the theocratic dictatorship?
As one of the consequential countries of the world, Saudi Arabia’s decision on how best to respond to this attack matters not only to its own economic well-being but also to the health of the global economy because the kingdom is the world’s most important anchor of energy security.
These trends inside Iran favor a robust Saudi policy of deploying every non-military lever of soft-power to demonstrate to the people of Iran that the kingdom is fully supportive of their aspirations for freedom. At a minimum Saudi leadership should consider the following options.
First, King Salman or MBS should deliver an address to the people of Iran in which they expresses their deep desire for Iran being restored to its rightful place in the community of nations.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/sep/16/saudi-arabias-iran-dilemma/
(A P)
More Saudi coalition “We are benefactors” propaganda
http://en.adenpress.news/news/13322
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1970863
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=1970861#1970861
http://en.adenpress.news/news/13315
http://www.wam.ae/de/details/1395302787291 (Deutsch)
https://www.mofaic.gov.ae/en/mediahub/news/2019/9/16/16-09-2019-uae-yemen
http://en.adenpress.news/news/13305
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
(* B K P)
'The destiny they deserve': Yemen's funeral attack survivors wait on justice
The possibility of UK and US investigations into the 2016 bombing in Sanaa leaves those left behind with mixed feelings
No one has ever been held accountable.
But this week, a team of lawyers representing the Rowaishan family on behalf of a relative who was killed in the attack have asked UK and US police to investigate what happened and look specifically at a list of Saudi and Yemeni suspects they say were at the highest level of responsibility in overseeing the strikes.
Evidence gathered since the attack, the lawyers say, shows that the officials responsible committed war crimes, unlawful killings and torture. Under universal jurisdiction, both countries can try any national accused of committing serious international crimes in another country.
News of the legal action was met with a bittersweet reaction among the relatives of those killed and injured.
Qaed Abdullah al-Jawfi, 28, lost his father, Abdullah, and his brother, Hani, in the bombing, which he described as a massacre that had brought grief to every household in the area. It's a day the colonel in the Yemeni army said he would rather not discuss.
Jawfi acknowledged the complaints filed with the UK's Metropolitan Police and the US Department of Justice this week with a shrug – and then anger. After five years of war, he and other Yemenis, he said, no longer have any faith in the international community.
“We lost confidence in the international system of justice and in bringing justice to the oppressed,” he told Middle East Eye. “The world has become a hypocrite with leaders prioritising making money over bringing justice to the people over war crimes.”
“Nothing will heal our glory but the death sentence of the killers,” he said. “Our martyrs’ bloods will not go in vain.”
(* B K pH)
[Sanaa] Ministry of Education: US-Saudi Aggression Destroyed 2500 Schools, Displaced 2 million Students in Yemen
Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education, Abdulkareem Al-Jandari, confirmed that the US-Saudi aggression destroyed more than 2500 educational facilities in various Yemeni governorates. He reported that at the inauguration of the new academic year 2019-2020 on Sunday in Dhamar governorate under the slogan "Education First."
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=8814
(A K pH)
More Saudi coalition air raids recorded on:
Sep. 18: https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=8859 Saada p., Hajjah p.
https://sabanews.net/en/news3069180.htm Saada p.
https://sabanews.net/en/news3069178.htm Jawf p.
Sep. 17: https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=8840 Jawf p., Saada p., Asir
Sep. 16: https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=8820 Jawf p., Hajjah p., Asir
https://sabanews.net/en/news3068459.htm Hajjah p.
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
Siehe / Look at cp1b, cp1c, cp6
(A K pH)
In Sa'ada, a civilian was injured with Saudi border guards' gunshots in Razih district
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=8859
(* B K)
Iran, Yemen, and the Strikes on Saudi Arabia: The Changing Nature of Warfare
The recent series of unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) and cruise missile strikes on Saudi Arabia may well signal yet another “revolution” as a result of advances in military technology, tactics, and war fighting. At a minimum, the strikes show that the strategic threat from relatively inexpensive conventionally armed weapons can be as serious, or more serious, than massive uses of strategic airpower were in World War II and Vietnam.
The full level of progress they represent does remain unclear.
These gaps are all key issues in judging the lessons such strikes provide on the future of war. Only a small handful of air defense systems – like the Russian 9K331-Tor-M1-SA-15 Gauntlets supplied to Iran — have so far been deployed that are even intended to deal with advanced, low flying UCAV and cruise missiles that can fly complex, long-range profiles; the method of “hugging” the ground with terrain avoidance systems to evade radar and other forms of detection; and the ability to home in remotely with great precision on key point targets that can include the most expensive fixed industrial, infrastructure, and military targets and use comparatively small amounts of explosives to destroy key components.
Every moderately advanced state in the world already knows how to do this kind of targeting
As the slow and uncertain U.S. and Saudi response to the current strikes show, this makes UCAVs and cruise missile systems natural weapons for hybrid and gray area warfare – By Anthony H. Cordesman
https://www.csis.org/analysis/iran-yemen-and-strikes-saudi-arabia-changing-nature-warfare
(A K pH)
Yemeni forces, allies shoot down Saudi-led surveillance drone in Ta’izz
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2019/09/18/606517/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-drone-Taizz
(* B K)
Yemen's Houthi Rebels Have Missiles That Could Sink a Navy Warship
And some of those weapons came from China.
The attacks apparently involved either cruise missiles or far-flying drones firing small guided munitions. Thanks in part to support from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Houthis possess both types of weapons.
The Houthis also have produced an array of land-attack ballistic missiles. The militants reportedly have converted old Soviet- and North Korean-made Scud rockets, which once belonged to the Yemeni military, into longer-range “Burkan” ballistic missiles.
Similar efforts resulted in an arsenal of anti-ship weapons. In 2015 and 2016 the Houthis repeatedly targeted ships sailing near Yemen.
Aviation expert Tom Cooper in a 2016 article explained the origin of the Houthi anti-ship force. “As the Yemeni civil war escalated in the period from September 2014 to March 2015, as much as two-thirds of Yemen’s armed forces defected to the Houthi side,” Cooper wrote. “The defectors included the crews of three Chinese-made Type 021 missile boats armed with C.801 anti-ship missiles.”
The missiles boats were destroyed or left idle. But not so their missiles. Yemeni sailors recovered a number of the C.801s and their launchers. The sailors installed the missiles on several trucks, coupled them with various surface-search radars — and began firing back at the Saudi-led coalition that intervened in the civil war starting in May 2015.
Nevertheless, the Yemenis kept on trying. On Oct. 25, 2015, they fired another C.801 and claimed a third Saudi warship as “destroyed,” this time releasing a video implying that the ship in question was actually either a corvette belonging to the United Arab Emirates navy or an Egyptian navy frigate.
The Houthis reported seven additional ship-attacks in November and December 2015, each time claiming to have sunk a Saudi warship near Bab Al Mandeb Strait. In each instance, the Saudi-led coalition — which has benefited from U.S. logistical support — denied any ship was damaged.
Following a longer break — probably the result of extensive but fruitless negotiations between the Houthis and the Saudi coalition — the Yemenis resumed their anti-ship operations on Oct. 1, 2016.
Although the Houthis denied any role in the attacks on the American warships, Washington was quick to implicate the militant group.
My comment: Without real evidence, the authors just adopt the US propaganda claims that the Houthis had attacked US warships off the Yemeni coast.
(A K pH)
YEMENI OLD WOMAN INJURED BY AGGRESSION’S BOMBARDMENT ON SAADA {VIDEO+IMAGES}
An old woman was injured on Monday in US-Saudi aggression forces’ missile and artillery bombardment on populated villages in Razih district of Saada province, northern Yemen.
(A K pH)
In Sa'ada, Saudi missiles and artillery shells targeted several areas of Razeh district.
https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=8820
(A K pH)
Yemeni missile hits gathering of mercenaries in Saudi Arabia’s Asir province
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2019/09/16/606352/Yemen-missile-asZelzal1-Asir-Marib-Hajjah-oil-drone
cp18 Sonstiges / Other
(-)
Daghethour Dam in #Shabwa Province is one of the most spectacular natural wonders in my country #Yemen. (photos)
https://twitter.com/Alsakaniali/status/1174505077035425793
(A)
Film: Watch how Yemeni people in the capital Sana'a gathered to celebrate a #Syrian groom wedding after many posts in fb asking people to attend his wedding party. He is from #Syria and he is studying at the faculty of medicine in Sana'a.
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/1174325366095265793
(* B D)
SAUDI ARABIA DENIES ITS KEY ROLE IN CLIMATE CHANGE EVEN AS IT PREPARES FOR THE WORST Rising temperatures have exacerbated water shortages in Yemen, where some 19 million people already lacked access to clean water and sanitation due to mismanagement and drought. Saudis have weaponized this water scarcity in their war in Yemen, targeting areas for their proximity to fertile land and destroying water infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is also facing some of the worst risks from soaring temperatures. This summer, the temperature in Al Majmaah, a city in central Saudi Arabia, reached 131 degrees Fahrenheit, while rapid desertification was reported throughout the Arabian peninsula.
Meanwhile, Saudi Aramco, which is the most profitable corporation in the world, released more than 40,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases between 1992 and 2017. The company, closely held by the Saudi royal family, is now confronting the challenges of climate change in ways that mirror many western fossil fuel giants: by launching a rebranding effort that positions the firm as an environmental leader.
In stark contrast to its current splashy greenwashing campaign, Saudi Arabia has played a quiet yet powerful role in thwarting proactive climate policy at United Nations conferences and U.S. domestic policy battles alike.
For nearly thirty years, the Saudi delegation has played a deft role in obstructing global efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
“The Saudis have been very good in making sure only weak measures have been adopted,” said Joanna Depledge, editor of the journal Climate Policy, who has written about Saudi obstructionism – by Lee Fang and Sharon Lerner
https://theintercept.com/2019/09/18/saudi-arabia-aramco-oil-climate-change/
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-575-yemen-war-mosaic-575
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-575a-yemen-war-mosaic-575a
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-575 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-575:
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
http://yemenwarcrimes.blogspot.de/
Liste aller Luftangriffe / and list of all air raids:
http://yemendataproject.org/data/
Untersuchung ausgewählter Luftangriffe durch Bellingcat / Bellingcat investigations of selected aur raids:
Was ist Ihre Meinung?
Kommentare einblendenDiskutieren Sie mit.