Saudi Arabia to begin operations in Yemen

[Priory_of_Sion]

(Washington, DC) --  Today, the Saudi Ambassador to the United States Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir hosted a press conference at the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia and issued the following statement:

“Saudi Arabia has launched military operations in Yemen, as part of a coalition of over ten countries in response to a direct request from the legitimate government of Yemen. The operation will be limited in nature, and designed to protect the people of Yemen and its legitimate government from a takeover by the Houthis. A violent extremist militia. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries tried to facilitate a peaceful transition of government in Yemen, but the Houthis have continuously undercut the process by occupying territory and seizing weapons belonging to the government. In spite of repeated efforts by the GCC, G10 countries and the Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary General to seek a peaceful way to implement the GCC initiatives and the outcomes of the national dialogue that define the political transition in Yemen, the Houthis have reneged on every single agreement they have made and continue their quest to take over the country by violent means. They captured the capital city of Sana’a, they placed the legitimate president, prime minister and cabinet members under house arrest, they seized the security services and they continue to expand their occupation of the country.”

“In a letter dated March 7, 2015, President Hadi of Yemen made a request of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz to convene a conference under the auspices of the GCC to which all Yemeni political factions seeking to preserve security and stability in Yemen would be invited. The Houthis rejected this invitation and continued their violent onslaught in Yemen to the point where they were threatening to occupy the city of Aden, which had become the temporary capital for the legitimate government of President Hadi after he was able to escape from Sana’a. In a letter, dated March 24, 2015, President Hadi requested, based on the principle of self-defense, enshrined in Article 51 of the U.N. Charter, as well as in the Arab League charter’s collective defense mechanism, a request for immediate support – by all means necessary – including military intervention to protect Yemen and its people from the continued Houthi aggression and to support it in fighting al Qaeda and ISIL.”

“Based on the appeal from President Hadi, and based on the Kingdom’s responsibility to Yemen and its people, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, along with its allies within the GCC and outside the GCC, launched military operations in support of the people of Yemen and their legitimate government.”

“May God Almighty protect the brave soldiers and may He grant them success in their noble mission.”

 

Source

[LostCosmonaut]

The Saudis are still assholes, but this is a good development.

[Belesarius]

About time they started carrying their own weight.

[Priory_of_Sion]

-fingers crossed that Iran doesn't feel the need to get involved-

[Jeeps_Guns_Tanks]

So, can they fight?

[xthetenth]

About time they started carrying their own weight.

 

The Saudis as always have a very firm grip on the fact that coalition partner and ally are not the same thing and that they are acting in their best interests.

 

And I doubt Iran is going to get involved, the geography doesn't work well at all.

[Priory_of_Sion]

America's take:

The United States strongly condemns ongoing military actions taken by the Houthis against the elected government of Yemen.  These actions have caused widespread instability and chaos that threaten the safety and well-being of all Yemeni citizens.

The United States has been in close contact with President Hadi and our regional partners.  In response to the deteriorating security situation, Saudi Arabia, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members, and others will undertake military action to defend Saudi Arabia’s border and to protect Yemen’s legitimate government.  As announced by GCC members earlier tonight, they are taking this action at the request of Yemeni President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

The United States coordinates closely with Saudi Arabia and our GCC partners on issues related to their security and our shared interests.  In support of GCC actions to defend against Houthi violence, President Obama has authorized the provision of logistical and intelligence support to GCC-led military operations.  While U.S. forces are not taking direct military action in Yemen in support of this effort, we are establishing a Joint Planning Cell with Saudi Arabia to coordinate U.S. military and intelligence support.

At the same time, the United States continues to closely monitor terrorist threats posed by al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula and will continue to take action as necessary to disrupt continuing, imminent threats to the United States and our citizens.

We strongly urge the Houthis to halt immediately their destabilizing military actions and return to negotiations as part of the political dialogue.  The international community has spoken clearly through the UN Security Council and in other fora that the violent takeover of Yemen by an armed faction is unacceptable and that a legitimate political transition – long sought by the Yemeni people – can be accomplished only through political negotiations and a consensus agreement among all of the parties. - NSC spokesperson B. Meehan

[Donward]

I guess that's one of the benefits of having a gaggle of incompetent amateurs in the White House who have the foreign policy savvy of a gold fish. It sort of reminds folks across the world how thin the walls are that keep out the wolves.

Any news when John Kerry and James Taylor will be on the scene to broker negotions?

...

...

End political rant.

...

For now.

[Sturgeon]

Changed to more readable font and size.

[Priory_of_Sion]

Changed to more readable font and size.

I just copied & pasted and it kept format. I was too lazy to edit it. Thank Lucifer I have you to do that for me. I love you just as much as the Saudis hate those Houthi rebels. This is why we had Walter get us married. 

 

Back to the Yemen thing, an insightful comment from J.M. Berger "Seriously, what's the best case outcome that realistically proceeds from backing Hadi at this stage?"

 

I really don't know what outcome this will bring to Yemen, but at least Yemen was already a hell-hole so its just SNAFU.

[xthetenth]

I guess that's one of the benefits of having a gaggle of incompetent amateurs in the White House who have the foreign policy savvy of a gold fish. It sort of reminds folks across the world how thin the walls are that keep out the wolves.

 

Considering the calamitous decline in US force projection capability caused by the sucking chest wound in the budget that sandbox 2 has been, if we don't need to be doing things that our coalition partners can be doing we should let them (something that frankly we should have been remembering more in general). If we're honest the two crisis criterion was dubious before that, now it's wishes and floss holding it together.

 

The walls are very very thin right now. We're about to be putting two of the Supply class in the reserves for crying out loud (leaving us two fast combat support ships out of eight that we started that war with), and there was serious talk about switching out carrier battle groups for surface action groups before Iraq 2, maintaining capable CVBGs, especially in CENTCOM's Area of Responsibility, is going to be very difficult and very expensive in terms of limited resources. It takes something like five CVBGs to have one off there.

 

At least the British had very serious concerns that the French would fold, leaving them with an existential threat, and a very strong feeling that the French wouldn't stay coalition partners without land help (especially given the French's low opinion of sea power after the Franco-Prussian War) when they decided to break their hegemony by getting stuck into a land campaign.

[Donward]

The sucking chest wound is bailouts and entitlement spending along with the normal graft and growth of federal spending. Even during the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and even with the ridiculous waste involved therein, the amount of Defense appropriations are fractions of the total Federal budget. Usually something around 14-20 percent depending on how you slice the pie. It's one of those lies that get bandied around without people even thinking about it.

[EnsignExpendable]

I just copied & pasted and it kept format. I was too lazy to edit it. Thank Lucifer I have you to do that for me. I love you just as much as the Saudis hate those Houthi rebels. This is why we had Walter get us married. 

 

Back to the Yemen thing, an insightful comment from J.M. Berger "Seriously, what's the best case outcome that realistically proceeds from backing Hadi at this stage?"

 

I really don't know what outcome this will bring to Yemen, but at least Yemen was already a hell-hole so its just SNAFU.

 

Copy as plain text extensions are your friend (they fight for freedom).

[Xlucine]

Or paste into notepad

[Belesarius]

http://news.nationalpost.com/2015/03/26/order-imminent-for-egyptian-saudi-troops-to-invade-yemen-as-fighter-jets-pound-rebel-positions/

 

 

Saudis getting ready to send in 150K troops to fuck with Yemen

[Donward]

Over/under on the number of beheadings committed? 

[Priory_of_Sion]

Over/under on the number of beheadings committed? 

AQAP thinks the beheadings are barbaric. Strange World. I'm pretty sure the Houthis aren't big on beheading either. 

 

It wouldn't surprise me if the Saudis behead the leader of the Houthis(Abdul-Malik al-Houthi) if he is captured, but they have varying ways to execute people if they decide to do that. 

 

I'll go with 1, until ISIS shows up to the party. 

[Donward]

Hmmm. Learn something new every day.

 

Sorry to go squirrel here but per the article Belasarius linked.

 

Is that a Rasheed rifle being brandished four militants back from the front row, near the middle right? Or some similar variant?

 

 

I wouldn't have given it a second look were it not for the TFB article I just watched.

 

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2015/03/25/tfbtv-swedish-roots-egyptian-steel-rasheed/

 

Or is it just a humble Tokarev?

[Sturgeon]

It's a Hakim.

 

 

I also spy a No. 4 Enfield, M16A1, and Vz. 58 in that photo.

[Donward]

Hey! I was in the same ballpark. I'll count that as a victory given the circumstances.

[Priory_of_Sion]

I see some guy with a stick.

[Donward]

New news.

Saudi Ambassador to U.S. won't rule out building nukes

 

Old news.

 

Saudi nuclear weapons 'on order' from Pakistan

[Belesarius]

Oh fucking great.  Extremists that like to fund terrorism all over the fucking world with nukes.

[Belesarius]

http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/second-air-war-erupts-in-middle-east-with-wide-ranging-1694268668

[Belesarius]

http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/saudis-fear-iranian-control-of-yemen-due-to-this-strate-1694709328

 

 

Rundown of the strategic reasons why the Saudis are flipping out about Yemen.