Saudi-led planes bomb Sanaa airport to stop Iranian plane landing

[Jesus Malverde]

Source: Reuters

Jets from a Saudi-led alliance destroyed the runway of Yemen's Sanaa airport on Tuesday to prevent an Iranian plane from landing there, Saudi Arabia said, as fighting across the country killed at least 30 people.

Yemeni Vice President Khaled Bahah had called on the Houthis on Monday to heed a U.N. Security Council demand for an end to fighting, which the Red Cross says has pushed Yemen into a humanitarian catastrophe.

Houthis seized the capital Sanaa last September, demanding a more inclusive government and crackdown on graft. Talks with President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi collapsed and he fled into exile. Chaos set in as the Iran-allied Houthi forces swept southwards, fighting loyalist army units, regional tribes and al Qaeda militants.

Top world oil exporter Saudi Arabia, rattled by what it sees as expanding Iranian influence in the region, has been leading a Gulf Arab coalition in waging air strikes on Houthi targets since late March. Riyadh said the campaign moved to a new phase last week, but fighting has intensified again since Sunday.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/saudi-led-coalition-bombs-yemen-runway-stop-iranian-165553593.html

[delrem]

1. PNAC

Thank you so much, PNAC, for all that you've given to the world.
I bless you every day, PNAC, as I take my daily bread.

[newfie11]

3. +infinity

[leftynyc]

5. Seriously?

Blaming PNAC for Shiites and Sunnis killing eachother? Well, I guess that must make sense in the minds of those who think the US is the scourge of humanity. Obviously makes perfect sense to blame Americans for Sunnis and Shiites killing eachother since long before there was a US.

[bemildred]

11. Are you really trying to defend PNAC here?

The Bush Usurpation and it's pitiful bad results? This mess in the Middle East is the New American Century and we should all be proud? Sorry, not a chance.

[leftynyc]

13. Spare me the bullshit

The US has nothing to do with Sunnis and Shiites killing eachother right now. You can blame us all you want - that is, if you want to totally ignore 1400 years of history and start with the year 2000. I think that's ridiculous but whatever - knock yourself out.

[bemildred]

14. LOL. OK. nt

[Jesus Malverde]

26. Neocons "forget" we removed the secular glue in Iraq and Libya

and are trying the same in Syria with predictable results.

[bemildred]

29. I think they want us to forget.

The "reality based community" you know, is the enemy of those who want to make their own reality.

[Sunlei]

18. At least IS has turned their face toward Saudi Arabia as their 'target' these past 2 weeks.

was remarkable diplomatic work to have Saudi Arabia finally step-up into the lead position.

[bemildred]

19. Everybody wants that oil. nt

[Sunlei]

22. everyone (war contractors and hired mercs) want Saudi $$) Their crude oil, its not like the old days

There is more shale oil(unmined, thank god) in Utah then the entire of Saudi Arabia.

IS is angry at the Saudis because they are killing them, totally wiping out places of refuge like Yemen and also disrupting, killing any IS people who manage to set foot in Saudi Arabia.

That's why Saudis hired the Mercs 'Blackwater' , to crush any hint of protest or IS trouble in their country.

[bemildred]

24. Yep, I'm sure Blackwater will settle things right down, they will. nt

[Sunlei]

25. I bet those mercs have a 'field day' keeping Saudi Arabia free of 'trouble makers'

can you imagine the power-trip.

[leftynyc]

4. Are you seriously

blaming ANYONE in the US for Sunni and Shiite's killing eachother - something they've been doing since long before the US ever existed?

[delrem]

21. Yes.

[24601]

27. Because Jefferson invented a time machine, went back over 1000 years and started the sectarian

conflict? Or was it some fantasy scenario?

[delrem]

31. No, because the US is pursuing a destabilization/regime-change program

in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen,... and will not stop.

PNAC.

But I'm not going to argue against exonerating clichés like the trite "those arabs have been warring for 1000's of years", as if "the west" has not.

shee.

[madokie]

32. Spot on

[Nihil]

33. Exactly right with everything you said in that post.

> the US is pursuing a destabilization/regime-change program
> in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen,... and will not stop.
> PNAC.
>
> But I'm not going to argue against exonerating clichés like the trite
> "those arabs have been warring for 1000's of years", as if "the west" has not.

Impressive summary of the ongoing disaster areas of the ME - well done!

[KansDem]

2. The Saudis seem to have a problem with flying airplanes...

Either their own or someone else's.

[bemildred]

6. Yemen air force falls into grip of Houthis

One of the reason things are now falling apart.

Two military aircraft took off on March 25 from Sanaa’s al-Daylami air base, which is under Houthi control, to launch an attack on the Yemeni president’s residence in the al-Maasheeq district of Aden. Hours after the operation, the Saudi-led military intervention began with multiple attacks that announced the start of Operation Decisive Storm. Though the operation officially came to an end 25 days later, airstrikes are continuing.

The Yemeni air force, established in 1934, is the oldest military unit in Yemen. This is the first time, however, that the air force has been involved in a direct political conflict, and it is also the first time a party other than the Yemeni state has called on it. Former President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his opponents relied on different forces in conflict situations in the past.

The involvement of the Yemeni air force was not the only thing that provoked direct military intervention by Saudi Arabia. The fall of the most organized and efficient Yemeni military force into Houthi hands put millions of dollars of US military aid for the air force at their direct disposal. How did this happen, and what are the consequences of the fall of the Yemeni air force into the hands of militias?

Al-Monitor learned that in the days after President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi’s escape from the Houthis in Sanaa to Aden, the Houthis ordered the leader of the Yemeni air force, Maj. Gen. Rashid al-Jund, and his chief of staff Abdul Malik al-Zuhairi to prepare to launch different attacks on Marib governorate and on Hadi’s residence in Aden.

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/04/yemen-houthis-air-force-al-qaeda-advance.html

[bemildred]

7. Exclusive: Saudi Arabia trains Yemeni tribal fighters in war against Houthis - sources

DOHA/CAIRO (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia is providing military training for hundreds of Yemeni tribesmen to fight the Iranian-allied Houthi militia, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

A Saudi-led alliance has been bombing the group from the air for over a month, but it remains Yemen's dominant force.

The kingdom announced last week it would rein in its strikes to give aid and reconciliation efforts more space, but the warring sides have made no visible progress toward talks.

"You cannot win a war against the Houthis from the air - you need to send ground forces in, but now there's a program to train tribal fighters on the border," said a Doha-based military source familiar with the matter.

http://ca.reuters.com/article/idCAKBN0NK1PH20150429?rpc=401

[Sunlei]

9. kind of a good thing Saudi money will pay the training contractor businesses, instead of our Gov.

They are ruthless though, very similar to the old bush 'shock and awe' days.

[jamzrockz]

12. Yea, its a good thing Saudi is pounding the hell out of Yemen

Its sorta like seeing a woman being raped and then saying "its a good thing the rapists is not my son". American involvement or not, what is happening in Yemen is not a good thing. They are being punished by the Saudis for taking back their country and that to me is not a good thing

[Sunlei]

15. I see your point. They bombed the people of yemen right into the sea. Now their new 'trained' ground

troops will purge the rest of Yemens people.

In only the past 20,000 or so years the global population has increased 1000+%, humanity are still forever mostly, barbarians at heart.

[Sunlei]

8. actually that part of the world is a bit lucky Saudis and Iran are not friends.

[Comrade Grumpy]

10. The Saudis bombed the only landing strip for humanitarian relief.

Because of an Iranian plane.

The Iranians said it was a Red Crescent flight carrying relief supplies.

The Sanaa airport was waiting for it to arrive when the Saudis bombed the airport.

And we're helping the Saudis.

[Sunlei]

16. sorry, putin already used that relief supplies, 'trick' & Iran is russias big customer.

[Comrade Grumpy]

17. Do you support the bombing of the airport and the blocking of access to relief supplies?

You do realize there is a humanitarian crisis in the country? And it's largely perpetrated by the Saudis?

Drunken sounding non sequiturs about Putin don't cut it.

[Sunlei]

23. I think the Saudis do not care at all about humanitarian aid or collateral damage.

Once Obamas Admins diplomatic work got the Saudis to take lead position in bombing, bomb they will and thousands will die.

[Kurska]

34. If you think Iran of Saudi Arabia cares one lick about the people of Yemen, you're wrong.

Saudi Arabia will bomb the crap of it, Iran will continue to try and sneak in whatever weapons they can, which only fuels the fire.

Yemenis are just pawns in a regional power struggle.

[bemildred]

20. How the US Contributed to Yemen’s Crisis

As a Saudi-led military coalition continues to pound rebel targets in Yemen, the country is plunging into a humanitarian crisis. Civilian casualties are mounting.

With U.S. logistical support, the Saudis are attempting to re-instate the country’s exiled government — which enjoys the backing of the West and the Sunni Gulf monarchies — in the face of a military offensive by Houthi rebels from northern Yemen.

None of this had to be.

Not long ago — at the height of the Arab Spring in 2011 — a broad-based, nonviolent, pro-democracy movement in Yemen rose up against the U.S.-backed government of dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh. If Washington and Saudi Arabia had allowed this coalition to come to power, the tragic events unfolding in Yemen could have been prevented.

http://www.lobelog.com/how-the-us-contributed-to-yemens-crisis/#more-29023

[roamer65]

28. One year or less to the "Great ME war" or possibly World War 3.

It's coming, folks...very sad to say.

[bemildred]

30. U.S. Seeks Iran's Help To Forge Political Settlement In Yemen

The United States sought Iran's help to bring Yemen's warring parties into talks on a political settlement when U.S. and Iranian foreign ministers met on April 27, U.S. officials said.

Iran is allied with the Houthi militias that took the Yemeni capital Sanaa in September, demanding a more inclusive government. The Shi'ite Houthis have since swept south, unsettling Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia, which has led a deadly bombing campaign against them.

A U.S. State Department spokesman confirmed that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had asked Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to use its influence to get all sides into talks.

An anonymous U.S. official specified that this meant seeking Iranian help to get the Houthis to negotiate.

http://www.rferl.org/content/iran-yemen-settlement-talks/26986238.html

[Litvin]

35. Iranian role in this conflict is hugely exaggerated

"Iran-allied Houthis" any evidence? Iranian role in this conflict is hugely exaggerated