Is The Media Accurately Covering The Yemen War?

Tom Cooper, War Is Boring: Much of What You Think You Know About the Yemen War … Is Wrong

Let’s cut through the misinformation

With the latest spate of air strikes, civilian massacres and ballistic-missile attacks on Saudi Arabia and a U.S. Navy warship, the seemingly endless war in Yemen has worked its way back into the headlines.

Many foreign observers, however, remain frankly befuddled by the conflict. And for good reason. It’s … complicated. And misinformation abounds.

The truth is that Yemen’s government lacks popular support. Its military has largely sided with the insurgents. Iran probably plays very little role. And the terrorists in Yemen are, at best, a side show to the main fighting.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: My must read post for today. Hat tip to my many readers who gave me a heads-up on this story.

Saudi Arabia's Bombing Campaign In Yemen Is Worse Than The Russian Campaign In Syria

The Economist: The Saudi bombardment of Yemen. Worse than the Russians

The West is abetting vast loss of life.

NINETY years ago Britain’s planes bombed unruly tribes in the Arabian peninsula to firm up the rule of Abdel Aziz ibn Saud, the founder of the Saudi state. Times have changed but little since then. Together with America and France, Britain is now supplying, arming and servicing hundreds of Saudi planes engaged in the aerial bombardment of Yemen.

Though it has attracted little public attention or parliamentary oversight, the scale of the campaign currently surpasses Russia’s in Syria, analysts monitoring both conflicts note. With their governments’ approval, Western arms companies provide the intelligence, logistical support and air-to-air refuelling to fly far more daily sorties than Russia can muster.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: This war has been going on for over a year now .... and the civilian casualties are through the roof .... Airstrikes Cause Two-Thirds of Civilian Casualties in Yemen (VOA). And while U.S. and Western pilots are not pressing the bottom that drops the bombs .... they are doing everything else.

Will The Next Major Middle East War Start In Yemen?

Ben Cohen, Algemeiner/JNS.org: Could Yemen Be the Start of a Major Middle East War?

Back in Roman times, Yemen went by the name “Arabia Felix”—Latin for “Happy Arabia.” It’s hard to think of a greater misnomer for this Arab state on the southern tip of the Persian Gulf, a few miles across the water from the Horn of Africa.

The Romans actually had a pretty miserable time there. Aelius Gallus, who was the Prefect of Egypt in 26 BCE, tried to conquer the territory and was roundly defeated. Through the ages, Yemen maintained its warlike image, with its various tribes doing battle with the Ottoman Turks and the British Empire. The north won independence from the Turks on 1918, while the south remained under British rule. By 1967, there were two states in Yemen. In the north, you had the Yemen Arab Republic, and in the south you had the People’s Democratic Republic of South Yemen; the north was oriented towards the Arab states, while the south was a run by hardline communist government.

WNU Editor: A brief but good summary on the history of Yemen. As to the possibility that Yemen may be the start of a major Middle Eastern war .... I doubt it .... the war in Syria and Iraq is where the action is. But being apart of the greater Sunni - Shiite conflict .... definitely.

The Next Middle East Wars Are Beginning

Christopher Dickey, Daily Beast: America Loses No Matter Who Wins the Next Great Middle East War

It’s a potentially apocalyptic fight between some of the closest U.S. allies and the country America is desperately trying to court. Will Washington really join in?

A cataclysmic war is taking shape in Yemen, one that pits nearly all of Washington’s key allies in the Middle East against Iran and its proxies in a fight that could quickly spin out of control.

A Saudi-led bombing campaign already has begun and troops from Egypt and some other countries may soon intervene on the ground.

All of this was done, according to a Saudi source who is part of the inner circle in Riyadh, without significant American involvement. “We have done this on our own,” this source told The Daily Beast. While the U.S. has a handful of people in a Saudi operations center, the source noted, that this coalition was pulled together and went into action without the U.S. leadership that characterized, for instance, the Desert Shield/Desert Storm operations of 1990 and 1991. The Saudis have dubbed this operation “Decisive Storm.”

WNU Editor: Bottom line .... everyone is going to be a loser in this war .... including the U.S..

Winners And Losers In The Yemen Crisis

Lora Moftah, IBTimes: Yemen 'Coup' A Sign Of Expanding Iranian Influence In the Middle East

WNU Editor: The Saudis have thrown in the towel .... Saudi Arabia's new Yemen strategy: get behind a fence (Daily Mail/Reuters) .... but I expect this to be temporary. Yemen is a majority Sunni country that will not be looking favorably to what has transpired in the capital with Shiite Houthis in control. I will expect them to increase military/economic aid to the Sunni tribes in the rest of the country, and I will not be surprised if Al Qaeda starts to receive "more assistance" from their supporters in the Gulf States and elsewhere. As for U.S. policy .... time to tear up that playbook.

Yemen Is The Most Dangerous Country In The World.

Losing Yemen -- Gregory Johnsen, Foreign Policy

How this forgotten corner of the Arabian Peninsula became the most dangerous country in the world.

In the final presidential debate, more than 11 years after the Bush administration launched its global war on terror, President Barack Obama identified "terrorist networks" as the gravest national security threat facing America. But Yemen, which is home to the most dangerous al Qaeda affiliate, has attracted precious little attention from either of the candidates in this election. In the recent foreign-policy debate, for instance, Yemen was mentioned only once; compare that to Iran, which was name-dropped 47 times.

Read more ....

My Comment: A sobering analysis on how Al Qaeda came back. Read it all.

Is Yemen On The Brink Of Civil War?

Yemen On The Brink -- Bruce Riedel, Daily Beast

The country’s president, Ali Abdallah Saleh, has returned, and already he’s brutalizing demonstrators. Bruce Riedel writes that the power grab is about to lead to full-scale civil war.

Ali Abdallah Saleh’s return to Sana takes Yemen to the brink of civil war. Chaos on the Arabian Peninsula’s southern tip is dangerous for the Saudis and America and good news for al Qaeda. Saleh has licked his wounds in Saudi Arabia since he survived an assassination attempt in June. Now he’s back.

His sons and relatives have held on to parts of the capital and elements of the Army, waiting for this moment of return. Rival warlords have seized other parts of both the country and the Army, and peaceful demonstrators have grabbed other slices of the capital and the country.

Read more ....

My Comment: The country is on the verge of becoming a failed state .... coupled this with numerous factions jockeying for power and are unwilling to compromise .... yup .... Yemen is on the verge of civil war.