Tag: yemen

The head of U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), General Raymond “Tony” Thomas III, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on May 4, 2017, and informed lawmakers and the public that the country’s elite special operations forces could not solve all of the world’s problems. “We are not a panacea,” said the Army General, former […]

The leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has claimed that members of his terrorist organization have fought alongside U.S.-backed forces in Yemen’s civil war. Qasim al-Rimi, the current leader of AQAP, who assumed the position after his predecessor was killed in a U.S. drone strike in 2015, said that his fighters have joined […]

Saudi Arabia could launch a land offensive in Yemen to crush its Iranian-aligned Houthi enemies but the cost in casualties would be heavy on both sides, the kingdom’s powerful deputy crown prince said on Tuesday.   Read the whole story from Reuters.

When U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis greeted Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister at the Pentagon last month, the first thing he did was joke about the time “the Iranians tried to murder you.” Mattis’ reference to a foiled 2011 plot, denied by Iran, was a telling sign of how much more aligned President Donald Trump’s administration […]

In his first trip to Saudi Arabia as Secretary of Defense, James Mattis is seeking to shore up relations between the U.S. and the Saudis, while sending Iran a message. Along with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the Trump administration is effecting a sort of ‘reboot’ with the Saudis, who had felt continually at odds […]

A Saudi Arabian Blackhawk helicopter crashed during military operations in Yemen on Tuesday killing 12 personnel on board. Saudi sources are stating that the cause of the crash was friendly fire. The four officers and eight non-commissioned officers were killed while on a mission to try to force out the dominant Houthi group and restore […]

A Saudi Arabian Blackhawk helicopter crashed during military operations in Yemen on Tuesday killing 12 personnel on board. Saudi sources are stating that the cause of the crash was friendly fire. The four officers and eight non-commissioned officers were killed while on a mission to try to force out the dominant Houthi group and restore […]

Despite taking the brunt of the operations in the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria while only being a fraction of the total force in the US military, the Special Operations forces are readying for even more responsibilities in the wars ongoing. General Tony Thomas on Wednesday was speaking to a large group at the […]

The UK announced plans on Monday to boost cooperation with Jordan in an effort to tackle Islamic extremism in the region as the first part of a trip that will also include Saudi Arabia. Prime Minister Theresa May visited the Jordanian capital city of Amman on Monday as a part of a three-day trip to […]

CENTCOM Commander General Joseph Votel says that Iran is the greatest threat to regional stability in the Middle East, and the U.S. should look to disrupt their activities through military or other means. General Votel gave testimony before the House Armed Services Committee yesterday, where Iran and its disrupting and confrontational presence in the greater […]

In a surprising move, the Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis has asked the White House to reverse the Obama Administration policy on restrictions on U.S. military support for Persian Gulf states engaged in a prolonged war against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. Mattis sent a memo to National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster and spelled […]

The flight from Dubai to Sana’a was a quiet one. Our team was travelling in the dead of night, partly for operational security concerns, partly to get the cheapest fare and save the Pentagon a few dollars. The plane was half empty and those on board were sleeping to the hum of the engines. Below […]