Day Two from Operation Decisive in the Middle East with lots of updates and news.
President Mansour Hadi arrived safely from Saudi Arabia to Sharm El-Sheikh.
On Saturday the Southern Sinai resort city will host another one of those historical Arab summits.In my life time I witnessed several of those historical Arab Summits including that one in Baghdad and what followed it from an Iraqi invasion to Kuwait. Of course this history is well known.
Anyhow it is expected that the Saudi King himself will attend the opening of the Summit and will address the nation. Riyadh had a busy Friday even more than Sharm El-Sheikh as Prince Mohamed Bin Salman met with a number of high ranking defense officials in the countries participating in the Yemen Legitimacy coalition.
The young minister of defense met from Egypt the General Intelligence chief Khaled Fawzy.
Now I am surprised that Egypt’s minister of defense or Chief of Staff did not go with Fawzy. I am even more surprised that the ministry of defense has not published a real statement about our military role. Instead the ministry of foreign affairs is doing this role.I do not know what to say.
Anyhow the Egyptian frigates have arrived on Friday to Ban El-Mandab strain. Till this moment the Egyptian media is repeating the claims that the Egyptian navy vessels made the Iranian vessels shit in their pants.
US department of state secretary John Kerry spoke with the GCC leaders and I think that he agreed with them on what is next in a way or another.
In a very interesting development Pakistan seemed to be reluctant to participate militarily like the rest of the countries in the coalition after it was announced that it would participate by ground troops. On Friday Pakistani minister of defense Khawaja Asif stated that Pakistan would not participate in the military operation in Yemen but would defend Saudi Arabia if it is in any danger facing its territorial integrity. Asif said in front of the Pakistani parliament that Pakistan “was not prepared to take part in any conflict that would divide the Muslim world on sectarian lines.” I really respect those words and respect the fact the minister of defense in Pakistan speaks to the parliament about that matter in the first place.
Of course Pakistan got its own Shiite population and does not to be dragged to the Arab Sectarian shit because it has its own domestic shit to deal with. By the way I think you should read this Washington Post’s piece about the history of the military relations between Pakistan and the Kingdom.
Interestingly I noticed that Saudi Newspaper Al-Madina published an infograph on its official twitter account included both Egypt and Pakistian as well the United States from the countries supporting the military operation in Yemen yet not participating.
Technically Egypt is only participating for real with its naval forces. We have not heard anything about our air forces.
The media has been less enthusiastic about the war in Yemen because may be it is Friday.
Anyhow on Friday the media went on fire when BBC Arabia claimed that it knew from its sources in Beirut that the one and only notorious General Qasem Soleimani was in his way to Yemen.
The Arab social media realm went on fire especially that this is the BBC.
The British network later said that it was trying to get a confirmation.
Soleimani was photographed too many photos as I have noticed to prove that he was not in Yemen.
The leader of Hezbullah Hassan Nasserallah spoke in another lengthy speech attacking Saudi Arabia and claiming that Iran has never gave him any orders.
Interestingly his speech was not broadcasted by Al-Jazeera or Al-Arabiya or Sky News Arabia but rather on Hezbullah’s Al Manar TV and Lebanese Al-Mayaden. Man I still remember how much popular this man was in Egypt.
On the ground the coalition continued to hammer down the defenses and military posts of Houthis. Nevertheless Reuters report that the Houthis advanced in the East and South of Yemen.
Did I say that Ali Abdullah Saleh appeared on Friday and called for a ceasefire as well talks ??
Now before some claim that Houthis are the product of the Arab Spring, I would like to hint out that Houthis have been there before the Arab Spring for a long time and actually according to the timeline I made from Ahram Online’s chronology of Houthis’ insurgency in Yemen they have been there since 2004.
By the way the dates in that embedded timeline are not accurate because there is not month option.
Anyhow as you can notice every couple of months there has been fight between Houthis and the government led Ali Abdel Saleh or tribes.
Of course nobody is paying attention to the fact that there hundreds of thousands of Yemenis displaced from their homes thanks to all those fights and wars.
President Mansour Hadi arrived safely from Saudi Arabia to Sharm El-Sheikh.
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| Egypt's President El-Sisi with President Mansour at Sharm El-Sheikh airport "Egyptian Presidency" |
Anyhow it is expected that the Saudi King himself will attend the opening of the Summit and will address the nation. Riyadh had a busy Friday even more than Sharm El-Sheikh as Prince Mohamed Bin Salman met with a number of high ranking defense officials in the countries participating in the Yemen Legitimacy coalition.
The young minister of defense met from Egypt the General Intelligence chief Khaled Fawzy.
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| Mohamed Ben Salman and Khaled Fawzy "SPA" |
Anyhow the Egyptian frigates have arrived on Friday to Ban El-Mandab strain. Till this moment the Egyptian media is repeating the claims that the Egyptian navy vessels made the Iranian vessels shit in their pants.
US department of state secretary John Kerry spoke with the GCC leaders and I think that he agreed with them on what is next in a way or another.
In a very interesting development Pakistan seemed to be reluctant to participate militarily like the rest of the countries in the coalition after it was announced that it would participate by ground troops. On Friday Pakistani minister of defense Khawaja Asif stated that Pakistan would not participate in the military operation in Yemen but would defend Saudi Arabia if it is in any danger facing its territorial integrity. Asif said in front of the Pakistani parliament that Pakistan “was not prepared to take part in any conflict that would divide the Muslim world on sectarian lines.” I really respect those words and respect the fact the minister of defense in Pakistan speaks to the parliament about that matter in the first place.
Of course Pakistan got its own Shiite population and does not to be dragged to the Arab Sectarian shit because it has its own domestic shit to deal with. By the way I think you should read this Washington Post’s piece about the history of the military relations between Pakistan and the Kingdom.
Interestingly I noticed that Saudi Newspaper Al-Madina published an infograph on its official twitter account included both Egypt and Pakistian as well the United States from the countries supporting the military operation in Yemen yet not participating.
اليمن: ارتياح شعبي واسع لضربات #عاصفة_الحزم لكسر غرور جماعة #الحوثي http://t.co/xfNHs3jlkG #الحرب_على_الحوثيين pic.twitter.com/aqot0NvUOw
— صحيفة المدينة (@Almadinanews) March 27, 2015
Both Pakistan and Egypt are said in the Infograph “ready to participate”. This is more than interesting. Technically Egypt is only participating for real with its naval forces. We have not heard anything about our air forces.
The media has been less enthusiastic about the war in Yemen because may be it is Friday.
Anyhow on Friday the media went on fire when BBC Arabia claimed that it knew from its sources in Beirut that the one and only notorious General Qasem Soleimani was in his way to Yemen.
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| BBC Arabic tweet that has been deleted later |
The British network later said that it was trying to get a confirmation.
نتأكد حاليا من خبر توجه اللواء قاسم سليماني إلى #اليمن. سنوافيكم بالتفاصيل.
— BBC Arabic بي بي سي (@BBCArabic) March 27, 2015
Hours later we found the most dangerous military man in the Middle East was sitting besides the Supreme leader of Iran Ali Khamini in a religious ceremony in Tehran. Soleimani was photographed too many photos as I have noticed to prove that he was not in Yemen.
The leader of Hezbullah Hassan Nasserallah spoke in another lengthy speech attacking Saudi Arabia and claiming that Iran has never gave him any orders.
Interestingly his speech was not broadcasted by Al-Jazeera or Al-Arabiya or Sky News Arabia but rather on Hezbullah’s Al Manar TV and Lebanese Al-Mayaden. Man I still remember how much popular this man was in Egypt.
On the ground the coalition continued to hammer down the defenses and military posts of Houthis. Nevertheless Reuters report that the Houthis advanced in the East and South of Yemen.
Did I say that Ali Abdullah Saleh appeared on Friday and called for a ceasefire as well talks ??
 |
| Ali Abdullah Saleh earlier Friday in Sana'a |
Now before some claim that Houthis are the product of the Arab Spring, I would like to hint out that Houthis have been there before the Arab Spring for a long time and actually according to the timeline I made from Ahram Online’s chronology of Houthis’ insurgency in Yemen they have been there since 2004.
By the way the dates in that embedded timeline are not accurate because there is not month option.
Anyhow as you can notice every couple of months there has been fight between Houthis and the government led Ali Abdel Saleh or tribes.
Of course nobody is paying attention to the fact that there hundreds of thousands of Yemenis displaced from their homes thanks to all those fights and wars.
A vessel of the Egyptian navy fired a warning shot over the bow of an Iranian ship, it was reported.
ReplyDeleteI certainly hope not only the Egyptian navy gets involved, but Egyptian air force and ground forces as well, because there is no substitute for war in honing military skills.
Besides, what business do Ali Abdullah Saleh and the Houthis have on the Arabian peninsula? They're not even real Muslims. Kick their abhorrent asses all the way to Persia.
Jason-
DeleteWhy are you trying to encourage sectarian hatred and divide the Muslim world? It seems you have ulterior motives in calling for war. The military attack on Yemen is a strategic disaster for Saudi Arabia. Egyptian blood is cheap for the Saudis, and apparently for Sisi too. Now we know the price the Sisi regime is willing to pay for the Saudi support in countering the Egyptian revolution. It is not possible to place Hadi back in power with a foreign military attack. Frankly, the Egyptian military should know better than to become involved. Honorable Egyptian air force officers in the 1960s opposed bombing innocent impoverished Yemeni villages. However, the Saudi Minister of Defense is a 20-something-year-old boy with 2-months military experience, and his uncle, Mohammad bin Nayef, the Minister of the Interior, is a spoiled power-hungry tyrant who believes the myth that his absolute authoritarianism brings stability. The Houthi are Zaidi Shia, not twelvers like Iran. They are a local Yemeni community with no historical ties to Iran. In fact, Saudi Arabia supported the Houthis in the 1960s when they sided with the Yemeni royalists against Egypt and the Yemeni Nassarites. Currently, the Houthi are aligned with the corrupt former president Ali Abdulllah Saleh in his bid to take control of Yemen from Hadi who has the support of the West and Saudi Arabia. This is a domestic issue in Yemen. It is a sin that the richest Arab countries are bombing the poorest Arab country in a pointless attack foolishly planned by the brutal Saudi Minister of the Interior. Everyone knows King Salman has dementia and Prince Mohammed bin Nayef is calling the shots there.
Due to increased global oil production from fracking, the price of oil will not recover to a level that sustains Saudi government spending. Saudi Arabia is wasting its precious cash reserves on a futile military action that will never succeed except in killing poor Yemenis. When the Saudi cash reserves are gone within the next several years, and Saudi Arabia is a poor Arab country again, it will learn that it does not have any true supporters. The Muslim world is sick of the al-Saud support of a militant intolerant ideology that has nothing to do with the prophet, and everything to do with the al-Saud's cooperation with the CIA in the 1980s to introduce a sick violent 'jihadi ideology' to get Muslims to fight a proxy war for the Americans in Afghanistan.
The Iranians will not get involved in Yemen. The Egyptian military will be fighting the poorest Arabs in a war that is pointless. There is no honor to be had in this military adventure, only shame.