هادي: إذا لم يتم إيقاف الحوثيين فسيصبحون «حزب الله» آخر

United States escalates role in Saudi bombing and naval blockade

By Abayomi Azikiwe
Syria 360°

On April 10 the Pakistan parliament voted to not join the Saudi Arabian and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) coalition now bombing Yemen.

This is the latest in a series of political struggles surrounding developments over who will control this impoverished but strategically significant state.

After the passing of this resolution calling for a diplomatic solution to the crisis, the Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif made a statement of his own prior to holding a high-level meeting with military officials. Sharif said that the parliamentary resolution was in accordance with government policy.

However, the prime minister suggested that Pakistan would oppose any threat to what he described as Saudi sovereignty. Such a move would provoke a strong response from his government.

Sharif stressed during his statement that Saudi Arabia remained an important strategic ally of Pakistan. He also emphasized that the stability and sovereignty of Saudi Arabia was a cornerstone of Pakistan’s foreign policy.

The meeting at the Prime Minister’s residence in Islamabad with leading military and political officials was attended by Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, Sharif’s Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, in addition to Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi, Foreign Secretary Aziz Ahmed Chaudhary, and others. Media reports indicated that the meeting was held to evaluate the military situation in the Middle East region with specific attention paid to Yemen within the context of Saudi Arabia’s appeal for military cooperation, following a joint Parliamentary resolution calling for Pakistan to remain neutral in the Yemen conflict. (Geo.tv, April 13)

In Egypt, where President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has proposed to deploy a ground force in support of Saudi objectives in Yemen, is facing growing criticism inside the North African state. Egyptians are recounting the five-year military campaign during 1962-67 under the former President Gamal Abdel Nasser who intervened against the monarchy resulting in the loss of thousands of troops.

A small demonstration was held on April 9 outside the Saudi embassy in Cairo. Even though protests are illegal in Egypt, the security forces did not seek to halt the action.

An article published by the state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper reported that “Mohamed Hassanein Heikal, a prominent intellectual and former confidante of President Gamal Abdel Nasser and an El-Sisi supporter, told a TV show this week that Egypt ‘never learned’ from the 1960s war in Yemen. ‘We shouldn’t jump to war … We need to know if Saudi Arabia is ready for the costs. Yemen is a sleeping volcano south of the Arabian Peninsula. If it erupts, it will sweep the entire region.’” (April 9)

Nonetheless, this same article stressed that Egypt is beholden to Saudi Arabia and the GCC due to its financial support since the coup against the ousted President Mohamed Morsi on July 3, 2013. The reports reveals that “Informed sources say Egypt is expected to receive bonds worth $US6 billion from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, in addition to possibly erasing Egypt’s debts to the Gulf States taking part in the Yemen campaign.”

Military Attacks on Yemen Escalate

Meanwhile Saudi warships have imposed a blockade of the southern port city of Aden where a humanitarian crisis is escalating every day. The military action is severely impacting the trade in oil and natural gas from the country.

A report in the Wall Street Journal said that “The Grace Acacia, a Bahamas-flagged liquefied natural gas tanker, was scheduled to load cargo at the Balhaf LNG terminal on Friday (April 10), but the loading has been delayed and the tanker is currently anchored at the Fujairah port in the United Arab Emirates, a trader said. The Yemen LNG plant has a capacity of 6.7 million tons a year and supplies a large portion of its output to Asian markets.” (April 13)

The naval blockade is placing further pressure on the residents of Aden and other areas of the country. Bombing operations led by Saudi Arabia utilizing United States supplied F-15 and F-16 fighter jets have been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of civilians.

Telecommunications and other infrastructural targets have also been a major focus of the airstrikes. Attacks carried out on April 13 hit substations and power lines knocking out electricity supplies and internet connectivity.

Large sections of the country have been left in the dark and without the capacity of communicating with the outside world. This is worsening the already aggravated humanitarian crisis where food supplies are dwindling due to the blockade.

On April 13, Yemen’s state energy firm revealed that it could not generate power due to inadequate fuel supplies. The company has requested assistance from international organizations to provide fuel “before the provinces plunge into darkness.” (sputniknews.com)

Also on the same day telecommunications towers in Sanaa were bombed by the Saudi Arabia-led aerial campaign. During the previous week a Yemen state television station was bombed.

Reports of Iranian naval vessels being deployed have also surfaced. Nonetheless, there have been no attacks on civilians by military forces from Tehran.

United States Role is Central to the War on Yemen

The U.S. is providing important intelligence and logistical coordination to the Saudi-GCC bombing campaign involving the refueling of bombers. Although the Obama administration announced that it had withdrawn its Special Forces from the country several weeks ago, the Pentagon’s reentry is designed to support the Saudi-GCC efforts aimed at halting the Ansurallah movement (Houthis) and re-imposing the regime of exiled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

Deputy Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinken announced to the international press on April 7 that Washington has established a “joint coordination planning cell” with the Saudi regime. This follows reports that the Pentagon is increasing its supply of weapons to Riyadh in efforts to bolster the war against the Houthi movement in Yemen. (New York Times)

Blinken praised the Saudis for carrying out the bombing operations and blockade of Yemen. He said that the actions taken by the monarchy and its allies are “sending a strong message to the Houthis and their allies that they cannot overrun Yemen by force.” (Reuters)

A Pentagon military official Army Col. Steven Warren pointed out that the U.S. came to the assistance of an F-15 fighter jet which was running into difficulties. Warren said “a handful of (U.S.) personnel are working in ‘a joint sort of fusion center’ run by the Gulf Cooperation Council, which is led by Saudi Arabia and also includes the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain.” (McClatchy Washington Bureau, April 6)

“We’re not providing targeting intelligence (for airstrikes), but we’re providing more broadly situational intelligence,” said Warren. Washington is concerned about any possible growing Iranian influence in Yemen and other regional states.

The Wall Street Journal reported on April 12 that “the U.S. Navy, backing a Saudi naval blockade of Yemen’s ports, has intensified a search for weapons on the seas near Yemen’s coast. Iran is trying to supply the Houthis with surface-to-air missiles, a senior U.S. defense official said.”

This same article goes on to note that “On April 1, sailors on an American destroyer in the Red Sea halted a Panamanian-flagged freighter suspected of delivering Iranian weapons to the Houthis and searched the vessel. Although the search came up empty, it marked the navy’s first boarding operation in an expanding campaign to thwart the Houthis.”

The State Department has issued a warning to Iran saying that Washington will not sit idly by and watch Yemen be overrun. However, as it relates to U.S. citizens of Yemeni descent they have been forced to take legal action to demand that Washington provide avenues for their evacuation from the embattled state.

A coalition of Arab American, Asian and Muslim organizations has filed a lawsuit against the government demanding the evacuation of Yemenis who have U.S. passports. The Obama administration has expressed concern that if they send troops in to evacuate its citizens they could suffer casualties. The administration has encouraged Yemeni Americans to seek other means to leave the country.

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