“The spokesman summarized the operations of the Houthis and their allies in the past six years as follows:
- The Missile Force carried out 1,348 operations in which 1,348 ballistic missiles were launched. At least 499 missiles were launched at key facilities and military positions in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
- The Air Force carried out 12,623 operations with drones. 572 attacks hit targets of the Saudi-led coalition outside of Yemen and 578 attacks hit hostile targets within Yemen. The Air Force also carried out 11,473 reconnaissance operations. This year, 1,464 operations, including 124 attack operations and 1,340 reconnaissance operations, were carried out.
- The Yemeni Armed Forces carried out 12,366 combat operations, including:
-6,192 offensive operations, 167 of which were carried out this year.
-6,174 defensive operations, 113 of which took place in the last two months.
The spokesman noted that at least ten large-scale operations against the Saudi-led coalition and its proxies have not been revealed yet.
- The Sniper Units carried out 54,025 operations, including 2,502 in the last two months.
- The Engineer Units carried out 10,560 operations against fortifications, positions, vehicles and gatherings of Saudi-led coalition forces.
- The Anti-Armor Units carried out 6,385 operations in which scores of vehicles were destroyed.
- The Artillery Units carried out 59,852 fire support and targeting operations, 638 of which were conducting in coordination with the Air Force.
- The Air Defense Force carried out 1,534 operations, in which 454 warplanes and drones of the Saudi-led coalition were shot down.
- The Navy and Costal Defense Units carried out 34 attacks on Saudi-led coalition warships and naval facilities.” Houthi briefing
Comment: The Saudis, their Gulfie friends and their mercenary African soldiers have lost the Yemen War. Why are we supporting these losers who could not win against a fighting people armed with improvised weapons and a warrior spirit?
The text of the briefing lists the atrocious bombing of the Yemeni civilian population over the period of the war. This contemptible employment of the strategic bombing doctrine of intimidating civilian populations has been supported by the US with such benefits as targeting intelligence and air refueling. And we wonder why the Houthi/Yemen forces are shooting up air bases in Saudi Arabia? These are the bases from which the Saudi jets fly with US support to bomb Yemeni cities.
“I fear for my country when I think that God is just.” pl
The saudis have nothing to offer the world but control over a critical mass of the world’s most important resource – and for now that is good enough to get them a seat at any table.
The way I’ve always seen it, is that they make horrible friends but even worse adversaries. There is also value to maintaining an advising role there, as it seems like they are prone to making terrible and significant decisions. I suspect both the Yemen and Syria wars would have been nipped in the bud by engaged and competent us diplomacy.
They have to be managed and that’s best accomplished being in the room with them.
Dan –
Sometimes the managers get managed. It was the Saudis (plus Netanyahu & Erdogan) that got us sucked into supplying weapons and training to the Syrian rebels starting back in 2012(?). Dumbasses that we were. we seemed to think the Saudi Mukhabarat was telling the truth. They told us the Sunni Islamist factions fighting Assad were freedom fighters, instead of Wahhabi headchoppers.
Agreed that sometimes the dog gets wagged in this sense and its not an easy plan to execute even when we do have competent leadership.
But I’m not sure that the Saudis led us into Syria….I don’t know how much the Obama admin was listening to, or cooperating with them. Didn’t most people realize that Syrian opposition was mostly the Iraqi insurgency being co-opted for new purposes? I felt like Obama surrendered a lot of his middle east policy to the Pentagon, NSC, etc., in return for a free hand in Iran.
The US has ended all support to Saudi offensive operations in Yemen including weapons and munitions sales. I don’t know if we cut off intelligence support. Unfortunately, we’re still supporting the defense of Saudi airfields and oil facilities against Houthi missile and drone strikes. We’re also perfectly willing to go after al Qaeda jihadis in Yemen. I think we should do a lot more. We could aggressively break Saudi and Emirate embargoes and provide and protect the flow of humanitarian aid to Yemen. Alternatively, we could just get out of the region altogether, including our bases in Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
TTG
Yes, our position has improved somewhat but continuing support of SA is a terrible mistake. They are no tfriends at all and are using us to preserve their wretched society.
The administration fears abandoning the Saudis totally, leaving them to turn to Moscow or Beijing. That’s why they don’t do more to MBS as well. I’m with you on thinking our continuing support of SA is a terrible mistake. Let MBS turn to Moscow. If Putin decides to take him up on his offer, I think he’ll do a better job that we have. Then Putin may have the leverage to drive up oil prices. If Beijing moved in, they’ll certainly not be the pushover we have been.
TTG
What we need to do is realize that SA and Israel have distorted our foreign policy terrible through the use of Money and foreign agents here and through effective political power on the part of the Israelis.
While on the subject of al Qaeda in Yemen, I just saw a Tweet announcing this just up on Grayzone: “New leaks show CIA pressured Yemen to release al-Qaeda leader and agency asset Anwar al-Awlaki”
It wasn’t really a leak since it was a document released by the Houthi government of the country. It’s about a George Tenet phone call to President Saleh demanding an asap release of someone who was arrested in the wake of the USS Cole bombing who was apparently a CIA asset. Below is the link.
https://thegrayzone.com/2021/03/22/cia-yemen-al-qaeda-anwar-al-awlaki/
Ex PFC Chuck
Or we just wanted him released so that we could kill him with a drone attack.
Back in early February Biden committed to end all military assistance to the Saudi-led war in Yemen. Is it still ongoing? Other than helping to protect KSA from Houthi drones and missiles? AFAIK he has not backed off of that commitment.
He also reversed Trump’s designation of Houthis as terrorists.
At the same time he reinvigorated diplomatic efforts to bring that war to a negotiated end. It needs to end as it has been a humanitarian disaster for the Yemeni people. Biden appointed Tim Lederking as the US Special Envoy to Yemen to facilitate humanitarian assistance and revive efforts to resolve the conflict. Lederking already met with the KSA Foreign Minister and the KSA Ambassador to Yemen. Hasn’t done much good though as the RSAF keeps bombing Sana’a, and even Hodeida where relief supplies would be coming thru. And the Houthis keep retaliating, I don’t blame them.
But even if Biden can get the Saudis to back off, that still leaves the problem of the UAE and their Southern allies under General al-Zoubadi. Plus there is the UAE occupation of Yemen’s Socotra Island.
Mintpress has some really good articles on Yemen and cover it regularly
Here they discuss details of howAmericans and British provide targeting info to the Saudis on the ground/a>
Their description rings true. Basically, the Saudis throw a lot of money around in areas of Yemen like the Marib province to find locals to provide local intel on Houthi military assets and even residences to get coordinates for the KSA air force to hit. The recruits are sent to U.S. and/or British experts who vet them and give them equipment to get GPS coordinates.
I think they are wrong about one detail. They attribute this operation specifically to the CIA / MI6 but couldn’t the Saudis just hire some blackwater types to do this for them? It looks like they have had some success in hitting things like air defense systems a few times. I’ve been wondering how they were doing that.
Col.:
You’ve made your dislike of the Saudis pretty clear.
If the Saudis and the gulfies get into it with Iran, who would you root for?
TV
I would hold their coats and wait for the result.
IF Israel stays out of it, Iran would probably be the bettor’s choice.
A long time ago I met a man (a Brit) who had been a technical advisor to the Saudi Air Force.
He said that it was pathetic.
They covered a crack in a wing with grease and said “if God willing.”
ABSOLUTELY no mechanical ability, believed it didn’t make a difference as everything was “God willing.”
You and others here act like Iran are the good guys riding around in their white turbans on white camels. What rubbish. SA is a nation that has extremists on many fronts. While it is controlled by Royal Family, that control is not close the tyranny run by the Mullahs in Iran. Westerners and Muslim nations will never be in sync from a culture perspective. We need to agree to disagree. As for SA versus Iran, at the present time choosing SA is a complete no brainer on who I support. The greatest threat to the world between the two is Iran and it ain’t close.
Al Morris
Sounds like you are a Zionist following Israel’s lead.
Dear Colonel,
There is a saying about when one is in a hole, stop digging. Its hard to argue Saudi Arabia is not a hole.
We do not need their oil.
In any case, its unclear whether Russia or China will actually fill in for what the US provides for Saudi Arabia – which goes way beyond weapons – internalization of Saudi Foreign Policy, even though it mismatches US interests. I wish Biden calls that bluff.
Meanwhile Saudi sponsors Uighyur islamic radicalization.
https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/china-doesnt-mind-islamic-extremists-long-theyre-not-uighur
(note headline has minimal relationship to the article’s content)
“I fear for my country when I think that God is just.”
Mene Mene Terkel Parsin
Last night I went downtown,
To see a show of some renown,
It had run for years and years,
And sparkled like glory’s crown.
Mene mene tekel parsin,
Wrote my hand in bygone days;
I’m wielded by a jealous sovereign,
One I love in all his ways.
Mene mene tekel parsin.
“In God we trust”,
I heard you say.
“We’ll fire the roof
Of the world today.
Surely we’ll get our way!”
Mene mene tekel parsin,
In empire’s fiery furnace burned,
A spirit of fierce demeanour,
In a station to be turned ,
By almighty power’s hand,
Mene mene tekel parsin.
I’m the one of visage fierce,
In that furnace long ago,
And the one still there today
Eating rocks and shouting “woe!”
Mene mene tekel parsin,
The morning star was in your crown;
But now has come the time appointed,
The hour has struck—
Get down!
Brother Blue Iconoclast