Joziah Thayer joins to show to discuss some of the work he’s done digging into the many factions and groups within Yemen and the foreign powers working to pull their strings. Scott and Thayer drill in on Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, and explore how the group’s standing in Yemen has changed and how the country is likely to evolve going forward.
Discussed on the show:
The CIA, AQAP, and the Never-Ending Excuse to Bomb Yemen
How the IMF & World Bank Destroyed Yemen
5/11/23 Joziah Thayer on AQAP’s Standing in Yemen
Tag: AQAP
The US Is Making Billions Being Warlords in Yemen
One of Biden’s promises during his presidential campaign was to immediately move to end all support for the Saudi-led coalition’s war in Yemen. In February 2021, Biden stood at a podium at the State Department and proclaimed that the war in Yemen must end. Biden underlined the humanitarian crisis as the key reason the United States withdrew support. An investigation (PDF) by the Government Accountability Office found that the United States is training the Saudi-led coalition, and the US has troops on the ground in Yemen. Biden confirmed that the United States has troops in Yemen in a letter to Congress in June last year. Biden lied to the American people when he claimed that the United States was withdrawing US support for the war in Yemen in 2021.
The US Is Making Billions Being Warlords in Yemen
American-Saudi Agreement on Two-State Solution in Yemen, Dispute over Fate of Islah
Biden Admitted US War in Afghanistan Isn’t Really Ending – It’s Becoming a Somalia-Like Drone War
The Oil Interests Behind the War in Yemen
Biden administration is seeking to impose direct military presence in Yemen
Biden administration is seeking to impose direct military presence in Yemen
“America is the Great Satan, and we are not optimistic about the American’s speech, and certainly the new administration has a policy that is different from its predecessors, which is to impose a direct political and military presence in Yemen, as happened in both Iraq and Syria,” Erlo said in a tweet on Friday evening on his Twitter account. .
H/T: The Free
Related:
Biden Says He Will End ‘Offensive Support’ For Saudi War in Yemen
US Expanding Military Presence in Saudi Arabia With Eye on Iran
Biden Says He’s Ending the Yemen War—But It’s Too Soon to Celebrate
Biden Says He’s Ending the Yemen War—But It’s Too Soon to Celebrate
Unfortunately, qualifiers like “offensive” and “relevant” do not signal a clear commitment to ending all forms of support for the U.S. war in Yemen, which includes targeting assistance, weapons sales (the U.S. is the largest supplier of arms to Saudi Arabia), logistics, training, and intelligence sharing with the Saudi-led coalition. Labeling Yemen’s Houthis as “Iranian supplied forces,” and making a commitment to defending Saudi Arabia’s “sovereignty,” echoes President Obama’s initial pretense for entering the war on Yemen in 2015. The White House statement that signaled Obama’s illegal entry declared, “In response to the deteriorating security situation, Saudi Arabia, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members, and others will undertake military action to defend Saudi Arabia’s border and to protect Yemen’s legitimate government.” In other words, from the outset, this onslaught was framed by the U.S. as defensive.
Related:
Biden to End US Support for Saudi Offensive Operations in Yemen
Biden to End US Support for Saudi Offensive Operations in Yemen
Biden to End US Support for Saudi Offensive Operations in Yemen
While announcing Biden’s plan, Sullivan said it would not include US operations against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). “It does not extend to actions against AQAP,” he said. “It extends to the types of offensive operations that have perpetuated a civil war in Yemen that has led to a humanitarian crisis.”
Framing the move as an end to support for “offensive” operations could give the US some wiggle room to continue some support for the Saudi-led coalition. And since the coalition is more capable now than it was in 2015, when the Obama administration first backed the Saudis in Yemen, operations could still continue.
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 