Category: Yemen

Propaganda: Houthis could cut undersea global internet cables, minister warns

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Yemen’s UN-recognized government has warned of the possibility that Houthi rebels could cut undersea internet cables off the country’s Red Sea coast, calling it “a serious threat to one of the most important digital infrastructures in the world.”

Houthis could cut undersea global internet cables, minister warns

1. Why would Ansar Allah jeopardize Palestinians’ lines of communication with the outside world? That’s a rhetorical question, by the way. 2. It originates from the Israeli propaganda outlet, MEMRI. 3. The Gulf International Forum is indirectly funded by the Qatari government. 4. Emily Milliken is a junior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council, which has been funded by the front organizations Scaife Foundations, the Smith Richardson Foundation, and the William H. Donner Foundation.

New SWOBOSS Wants More Directed Energy Weapons on Warships as Low-Cost Threats Expand

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)
Full video.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The new head of Naval Surfaces Force wants to accelerate the installation of directed energy weapons on surface warships, as the Navy grapples with low-cost, long-range attack drones proliferating widely in places like the busy commercial shipping lanes of the Middle East.

New SWOBOSS Wants More Directed Energy Weapons on Warships as Low-Cost Threats Expand

US Strikes Iranian Military Targets in Iraq and Syria

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)
Full video

The White House started its military operations against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and Shia militias in Iraq and Syria on Friday. The Biden administration pledged to strike Iranian targets in the Middle East after three US soldiers were killed by a drone attack in Jordan last week. The White House signaled that the campaign against Iran and Shia militias will involve several rounds of strikes.

US Strikes Iranian Military Targets in Iraq and Syria

Pentagon contradicts White House about US troop presence in Yemen

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

US defense officials claim they have no boots on the ground in Yemen, despite a recent acknowledgement that US forces are indeed present in the war-torn Gulf state, a 27 January report from The Intercept shows.

Pentagon contradicts White House about US troop presence in Yemen

Related:

Biden’s announcement on ending US support for the war in Yemen, explained

But that doesn’t mean the US will stop fighting in Yemen. Per the administration, it will continue to strike al-Qaeda and ISIS militants in the country to ensure they can’t use it as a base to hatch plots against America. The US has been targeting terrorists in Yemen, most of them against al-Qaeda, since 2002 and has killed around 1,000 people in strikes. Stopping that campaign, experts say, might give the terrorists more space to operate.

So ending support for the fight against the Houthis, and continuing the fight against America-threatening terrorists — that’s pretty straightforward. What isn’t as clear is what the second element, supporting Saudi Arabia’s defense, means in practice.

The biggest complication here is what defines an “offensive” versus a “defensive” move. Say the Houthis attack Saudi Arabia, which experts I spoke to expect they will continue to do. The rebels launched missiles at an airport and airbase in Saudi Arabia in 2019, and at Saudi oil stations last year. Under international law, Riyadh has the right to retaliate in a commensurate way.

With duplicity, the Philippines hot-headedly positions itself as the US’ cannon fodder + More

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

What does the Philippines want – a stable and conducive environment for its peaceful development, or to be trapped in the unpredictable game of geopolitics? Recently, the country’s actions and words have been filled with duplicity and complexity, but the trend is discernible – the Philippines is hot-headedly positioning itself as a vanguard, bridgehead, and even cannon fodder for the US.

With duplicity, the Philippines hot-headedly positions itself as the US’ cannon fodder

Related:

8th PH-CN BCM in the South China Sea: A Step Forward, But What Lies Ahead

Philippines to develop islands in South China Sea + More

Tonto Strikes Again: Preempts Task Force, DFA + and an update (Philippines)