Warships move in key strait as airstrikes widen in Yemen

[inanna]

Source: Associated Press

Mar. 27, 2015 12:54 PM ET

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Saudi and Egyptian warships deployed Friday to the Bab al-Mandab strait off Yemen to secure the strategic sea passage, Egyptian military officials said, as a Saudi-led coalition widened its strikes on the second day of an air campaign against Shiite rebels and their allies, aiming to pave the way for possible ground operations.

A top priority after the air campaign has weakened the rebels is for coalition troops —likely Egyptians — to move into the southern port city of Aden, a main stronghold of supporters of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who was forced to leave the country as the rebels and their allies moved on the city, Yemeni and Egyptian military officials said. Hadi arrived in Egypt Friday, where Arab leaders will be meeting to discuss the crisis.

That could prove a tough prospect. On Friday, rebel fighters and their allies — military units loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh — were moving through southern Abyan province toward Aden, aiming to reinforce their fighters already in the city, Yemeni security officials said. At the same time, pro-Hadi military units and militiamen were fighting rebel forces in street battles in several southern cities on Friday.

<snip>

According to defense officials in Washington, the U.S. is providing refueling tankers and surveillance flights for the Saudi operations, and there are several U.S. troops working in the operations center. The White House said the U.S. was not taking direct military action.

Read more: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2015-03-27-ML--Yemen/id-084e0092a68041aab3f4f5af9ef05db7

[Larry Engels]

1. "The U.S. is providing refueling tankers and surveillance flights for the Saudis"

Did we put the Saudis up to these airstrikes, or is it something they would do anyway?

[Gore1FL]

6. This is them.

They don't want Iranian influence to their immediate south.

[geek tragedy]

2. Iran may have overreached here and enjoyed too much success for its own good nt

[Xithras]

5. It's a 3-way fight between Al Qaeda, an illegitimate president, and an Iranian proxy.

The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have taken the side of the illegitimate president, but the truth is that there are no good guys in this particular fight. This is a war for political influence, and nothing more.


FWIW, the Shia Houthi's supported the Arab Spring uprising that deposed the former military strongman government and want to impose a democratic government that gives women everything from the right to vote and hold political positions to the right to drive. Because they have allied with Iran (the only country in the middle east willing to deal with a potential Shiite government), they get the "bad guy" label. The Sunni President of Yemen, a former military guy with strong Saudi backing that takes a wahabbist view toward religion and equality, and who magically swept into power with 99.8% of the people voting for him (seriously, that's their claim), is the "good guy".

So where does that put the United States in this particular fight.

[TwilightGardener]

3. Why would we have a role at all in the Saudis' little war?

We were only in Yemen to fight AQ. I don't think we were there to fight Houthis/Iran, which is all SA is interested in doing. Are the Saudis going to bomb AQ for us, too, or leave them alone, like usual? BTW, does the Pentagon no longer have a chief spokesman who explains this stuff, like Admiral Kirby so ably did (until Assclown Carter inexplicably fired him)?

[daleo]

4. Makes me wonder if civil war will spread to Saudi Arabia, eventually

[jamzrockz]

7. So this is how it is

Sunni rebels allied with Al Qaeda rise up to fight the govt, the west and the Gulf states bombs the govt but if Shia rebels who allegedly allied with Iran does the same, the west and Gulf states starts bombing the rebels. These people are not raping women, using chemical weapons or cutting heads or using foreigners in their fight but that doesn't matter to the Saudis. They want total domination of the region and they are willing to use any means necessary to achieve it.