Posted tagged ‘Houthis’

The Story Changes: The Pentagon Is No Longer Sure Yemen Fired Missiles At A US Ship

October 21, 2016

The Story Changes: The Pentagon Is No Longer Sure Yemen Fired Missiles At A US Ship

Source: The Story Changes: The Pentagon Is No Longer Sure Yemen Fired Missiles At A US Ship | Zero Hedge

Last Thursday, after two consecutive missile attacks on the US Navy ship USS Mason, which allegedly were launched by Houthi rebel forces in Yemen, the US entered its latest military engagement in the middle east, when the USS Nitze launched several Tomahawk cruise missiles aimed at radar installations located by the Bab el-Mandab straight, and which enabled the launch of at least three missiles against the U.S. ship.


The USS Mason (DDG 87), a guided missile destroyer

As Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said, “these limited self-defense strikes were conducted to protect our personnel, our ships and our freedom of navigation,” adding that “these radars were active during previous attacks and attempted attacks on ships in the Red Sea,” including the USS Mason, one of the officials said, adding the targeted radar sites were in remote areas where the risk of civilian casualties was low. That said, as we highlighted, the U.S. said while there growing indications, there was no official proof that Houthi fighters, or forces aligned with them, were responsible for the attempted strikes which targeted US ships. Still, the lack of concrete proof did not bother the US which, cavalier as usual, unleashed the missile assault on Yemeni territory, breaching the country’s sovereignty and potentially killing an unknown number of people.

However, today – four days after the US “counterattack” – the story changes. According to Reuters earlier today the Pentagon declined to say whether the USS Mason destroyer was targeted by multiple inbound missiles fired from Yemen on Saturday, as initially thought, saying a review was underway to determine what happened.

We are still assessing the situation. There are still some aspects to this that we are trying to clarify for ourselves given the threat — the potential threat — to our people,” Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told a news briefing.”So this is still a situation that we’re assessing closely.”

And yet, the US had no problem with “clarifying” the source of the threat on Thursday when it fired American cruise missiles at Yemeni targets.

At this point we refer readers to what we said on Thursday, when we once again put on the cynical hat, and voiced what those who have not been brainwashed by US media thought, to wit:

In retrospect one now wonders if the “cruise missiles” that fell close to the US ships were merely the latest false flag providing the US cover to launch another foreign intervention.To be sure, the Houthis, who are battling the internationally-recognized government of Yemen President Abd Rabbu Mansour al-Hadi, denied any involvement in Sunday’s attempt to strike the USS Mason.

A few days later, we have the closest thing possible to a confirmation that, even as the Pentagon itself admits, the “open and closed” case that Yemeni rebel fighters would, for some unknown reason, provoke the US and fire unperforming cruise missiles at a US ship, has just been significantly weakened. Of course, it if it wasn’t Yemen rebels, the only logical alternative is the adversary of Yemen’s rebels: Saudi Arabia. Although with the Saudis in the press so much as of late, almost exclusively in a negative light, we doubt that the Pentagon’s “assessment” would ever get to the point where it would admit that America’s Saudi allies launched missiles at US ships in a false flag attempt to get the US involved in the Yemen conflict by attacking the Saudi opponents and in the process aiding and abetting the Saudi execution of even more “war crimes.”

Iranian ships in Gulf of Aden: How far might Yemen escalation go? Op-Edge

October 16, 2016

Iranian ships in Gulf of Aden: How far might Yemen escalation go?

Source: Iranian ships in Gulf of Aden: How far might Yemen escalation go? — RT Op-Edge

The U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Mason © Blake Midnight / Reuters

With Iranian warships in the Gulf of Aden, political analyst and expert on American studies, Sayed Mohammad Marandi says the Iranians feel their presence is to facilitate trade and shipping while the American presence serves to create further chaos.

Iran has established a military presence off the coast of Yemen hours after Washington carried out its first direct strikes against Houthi forces. Two Iranian warships were sent to the Gulf of Aden reportedly to protect trade vessels from piracy.

The White House insists its strike was a defensive measure against a reported attempt by the Houthis to target a US navy vessel in the Red Sea.

Read more

FILE PHOTO Iranian navy warship © Stringer

RT: Now there are Iranian warships in the Gulf of Aden. How far might this escalation over Yemen go?

Sayed Mohammad Marandi: I don’t think this is all that important. The Iranians have a permanent presence in that part of the world because of the problems with shipping thanks to the American policies over the past few decades. There is a lot of instability in the Red Sea. And the Iranian ships are there basically to prevent pirates from boarding Iranian ships. They’ve been doing this for a number of years now. The Iranians have also protected the ships of other countries as well. The problem really is the US presence. Iranians are confident the Americans are lying about missile attacks on American vessels. They say this is a fabricated story that the US could enter the fray on behalf of Saudi Arabia to boost Saudi morale.

Because after all the Saudis after bombing weddings, funerals, schools and hospitals despite the fact that the Western media is completely silent about it and Western leaders like Boris Johnson don’t seem to care about the Yemenis who are being massacred in the country. But despite all that the Saudis are losing the war. They have lost the war. And the Yemeni resistance, the Houthis and Ansar Allah and the Yemeni army they have succeeded in defeating Saudi-backed forces and Saudi forces on the border between Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The Iranians feel that their presence is one to help facilitate trade and shipping while the American presence as in the past few decades is only serving to create further chaos.

Middle East affairs commentator Ali Rizk says the Americans and Saudis are guilty of double standards: “Some US figures who favor intervention are now saying: “Look, the Houthis are attacking the US navy vessels therefore we have to get more deeply involved. That is in a very contrast to Syria. I think it shows the clear double standards and that shows also very clearly that the US and Saudi Arabia in particular have no interest in democracy or anything else. What is going on is part of the geopolitical game.”

RT: Isn’t it a danger here that now both sides will see each other as a threat?I

MM: The Iranians believe that the Americans have already lost the war in Yemen. Their support for Saudi Arabia has failed. And the Americans are just as responsible for the atrocities in Yemen as is the Saudi regime. The American president has blood on his hands just like the Saudi King, Crown Prince and the Deputy Crown Prince. The Iranians feel the Americans are not really in a position to escalate further. What they want to do is put pressure on Ansar Allah so that the Saudis could negotiate from a stronger position. And also I think in order to increase pressure on the US after the Saudi regime deliberately targeted the funeral killing 150 people and injuring hundreds more. A lot of people in the West have been increasingly protesting in the media and otherwise against America’s support for the Wahhabi regime.

Read more

A still image from video released October 13, 2016 shows U.S. military launching cruise missile strikes from U.S. Navy destroyer USS Nitze to knock out three coastal radar sites in areas of Yemen controlled by Houthi forces. ©

This latest fabricated accusation by the US that Ansar Allah fired missiles despite the denials by Ansar Allah and the Yemeni army. This was basically to draw attention away from the killings in the funeral to ease pressure so that the US could continue supporting the Wahhabi regime in Saudi Arabia.

RT: Do you expect Washington to in any way review its co-operation with Saudi Arabia which it suggested it might do after Saturday’s carnage at the funeral in Sana’a?

MM: No, they are being completely dishonest. The Americans from the very beginning when the Saudis were using cluster bombs, they continued to give them weapons, when they bombed hospitals, they continued to support them, when they bombed weddings…The Americans have no problem with what the Saudis are doing on Yemen. It is uncomfortable so they every now and then, they complain about it…

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.