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Mattis: Pulling back US military support in Yemen would be misguided
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] US Secretary of Defense James Mattis has said that pulling American military support in Yemen  ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...and weapons sales to partners would be misguided. Mattis’ statement came during his meeting with US senators in a closed briefing at Capitol Hill on Wednesday. "It is in our interests to end the civil war, to counter Iranian influence and stop Iranian-supplied Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews... rocket and unmanned aerial vehicle attacks on UAE and Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... and their civilian populations," Mattis was quoted as saying. "Our withdrawal of limited military support would further remove any reason for the Arab coalition to hold up their operation against Hodeidah Port. Taken together, our disengagement and resultant loss of influence would have the opposite effect of mitigating the humanitarian crisis," Mattis added. Mattis cautioned senators that it took the US "too long to get here" and that a change in American approach would work against U.N. Special Envoy Martin Griffiths’ efforts by breathing new life into the Houthis' combat operations, "just when they are reluctantly engaging with the UN interlocutor," he said. Posted by: Fred 2018-11-29 |
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