#It's the Houthis who are attacking commercial ships

[silverfox66]

Uhh, the "imperialist powers" are not "punishing yemenis by cutting them off from the world food program." The food distribution has been halted due to limited funding and disagreement with the local authorities. You should blame the Houthi for that.

Yemen, a country that had to endure a genocide at the hands of Saudi Arabia and America for over a decade, and one of the poorest countries in the WORLD- has singlehandedly applied more pressure on israel than any other exisiting force. In just 2 weeks they have cost israel 2 BILLION in lost revenue by forcing their ships to go around africa instead of passing through the red sea.

Already, the imperialist powers are punishing yemenis by cutting them of from the world food program. More than 17 million Yemenis – over half the population – don't know if or when they'll eat another meal. With multiple threats closing in from all sides, untold numbers of innocent people could starve.

If you can, please donate so yemeni families can have something to eat:

https://www.launchgood.com/campaign/emergency_food_baskets_for_yemen#!/

[secular-jew]

The Iranian-backed Houthi Islamists, attacked and sunk a Belize-flagged commercial ship in the Red Sea. The ship was carrying 21,000 metric tons of Ammonium Phosphate Sulfate, and untold quantities of heavy fuel oil, which is now polluting and destroying the diverse ocean and coral life.

This cynical Iranian Islamic attack on global shipping increases all our costs, and is an affront to our natural environment.

The Islamists could care less who they kill, hurt, or how they damage our fragile ecosystems.

[kaapstadgirly]

US Senate unveils $118bn deal on border, aid for Israel and Ukraine

"The United States Senate has unveiled a $118bn bipartisan deal that would boost border security and provide wartime aid for Israel and Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden and Democratic and Republican leaders in the Senate have been pushing to resupply Ukraine with wartime aid but have faced resistance from conservative Republicans who have insisted on measures to tackle illegal immigration at the border with Mexico.

The bill announced on Sunday would provide $60bn in aid to Ukraine, whose efforts to push back Russia’s invasion have been hampered by a halt in US shipments of ammunition and missiles.

The deal would also provide $14.1bn in military aid to Israel: $2.44bn to address security in the Red Sea, where Yemen’s Houthi rebels have launched dozens of attacks on commercial shipping, and $4.83bn to support partners in Asia where tensions have spiked between China and Taiwan."

[argyrocratie]

(...)

"What is the Houthi movement?

The Houthi insurgency is a Zaydi Shiite Islamist political movement established in 1992 to challenge Yemen’s longtime, and increasingly corrupt, leader Ali Abdullah Saleh. Following massive street protests, Saleh resigned his post in 2011. After the resignation, a national unity dialogue was held in Yemen’s capital Sana’a to try to resolve a host of Yemeni political conflicts. However, those talks eventually broke down, prompting the Houthis to advance on Sana’a with the goal of taking power. This sparked Saudi Arabia’s deadly US-backed air, ground, and naval invasion of Yemen, which lasted for seven years and killed an estimated 9,000 civilians, as well as significant numbers of Houthi forces, in repeated airstrikes. Despite the overwhelming force used by Saudi Arabia, however, the Houthis gained control over roughly a third of Yemen’s land—and two-thirds of its population—over the course of the war.

In April 2022, Saudi Arabia and the Houthis negotiated a truce that has nearly eliminated the fighting in Yemen. The truce halted offensive military operations, allowed fuel ships to enter Yemeni ports, and restarted commercial flights from Sana’a airport. However, it did not offer a comprehensive political settlement, leaving open the threat of renewed hostilities.

How have the Houthis become involved in the war?

After Israel began bombing Gaza on October 7th, the Houthi movement—which has long held what Yemen expert Helen Lackner called a “fundamentalist foreign policy position against the US and Israel”—announced that it was ready to intervene in solidarity with Palestinians. “There are red lines in the situation related to Gaza, and we are coordinating with our brothers in the jihad axis and are ready to intervene with all we can,” the Houthis’ leader said. As part of this effort, the movement has carried out 27 attacks in the Red Sea between November 19th and January 11th, most of them on commercial ships linked to Israel (although some of the attacks have targeted ships without a clear connection to Israel). The movement has also tried to fire on American warships and on Israel itself.

In the attacks on commercial ships, the Houthis have mostly fired missiles at them, though on November 20th, the group’s fighters seized a cargo ship and detained the crew members onboard. These attacks have discouraged shipping companies from traversing the Red Sea, the fastest route from Asia to Europe; many are instead sailing around the Horn of Africa, which adds $1 million to the typical cost of a roundtrip. On January 11th, the White House cited this trade disruption as a key motivating factor for the US’s bombings in Yemen, noting that “more than 2,000 ships have been forced to divert thousands of miles to avoid the Red Sea—which can cause weeks of delays in product shipping times.”

The Houthi movement’s attacks in the Red Sea, as well as the retaliation the attacks have generated, have revitalized the group’s power within Yemen. Prior to October 7th, the Houthis were facing discontent due to their authoritarian rule, their failure to pay salaries, and their control of aid in the face of spiraling poverty. Their confrontation with Israel, however, has seen “their popularity suddenly skyrocket, including in areas in Yemen where they don’t rule and in stark contrast to other Arab [states] who are at best being silent, or at worse, helping the enemy,” Yemen expert Helen Lackner told Jewish Currents. After incurring significant losses in their conflict with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the Houthis’ firm opposition to Israel has also helped them to recruit more young men to their military who believe they will have the opportunity to fight in Palestine, according to Lackner.

In this context, experts say it is unlikely the spate of Western bombings will end the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea—and such attacks could even contribute to the group’s bolstered popularity. “They’re willing to live with some level of retaliation because they can then position themselves as having been targeted by this Western alliance that is serving the interests of Israel,” said Mohamad Bazzi, director of New York University’s Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies. Other experts have also warned that the US strikes risk provoking further escalations: For instance, the Houthis could decide to attack Saudi Arabia in a bid to up the pressure on American allies.

(...)

What is Iran’s role in the regional escalation?

While the groups responding to Israel’s bombing of Gaza—Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and the Iraqi and Syrian paramilitaries—are spread out across the region, they are all supported by Iran, which has armed and financed them as part of an overall strategy to contest US and Israeli hegemony in the Middle East. This Iran-supported network is often called the “axis of resistance,” and the alliance’s close collaboration reflects an approach developed by Qassem Soleimani, who was a key Iranian military leader until he was assassinated by the US in January 2020. “A big part of his strategy in the region was for the groups to get to know each other, and to share training and expertise—and that continued after the assassination in Baghdad,” said Bazzi.

Experts emphasize that Iran does not have full control over the groups it funds and arms, which often pursue their own agendas. For example, the relationship between the Houthis and Iran, according to Lackner, “is a bit like Netanyahu’s relationship to Biden. If they agree, and they want to do the same thing, then they do it. But they are not afraid to diverge either,” said Lackner. For instance, the Houthis ignored Iran’s orders to halt their advance on Sana’a in 2014, which sparked the years-long civil war and the conflict with Saudi Arabia. In the current conflagration, Bazzi said, Iran is unlikely to be directing the various forces to pursue “specific attacks,” but Iranian military leadership is “probably involved in larger-scale conversations about the division of responsibilities of different parts of the axis of resistance.”

According to Bazzi, at this moment Iran is carefully calculating how to maintain regional credibility by showing support for Hamas, while not going far enough to provoke a war with powerful foes like the US and Israel. “The primary Iranian calculation is about regime survival, and they don’t want to do anything that seriously jeopardizes their survival,” said Bazzi. Parsi said that so far, Iran has benefited from avoiding risky moves—in contrast to Israel, which has diminished its own “global standing” with its operations in Gaza. “Israel’s pariah status globally—at least outside of the West—is something that the Iranians are drawing benefits from. But that only works to the point that this doesn’t escalate into a larger conflict,” he said.

How is the US responding to the regional conflict?

Since October 7th, the US has repeatedly said that it wants to prevent more fighting in the region. Early on, the US dispatched warships and fighter jets to the Mediterranean to deter Hezbollah from entering the fray. Biden administration officials have also ramped up diplomatic efforts to halt a regional conflagration: The president sent envoy Amos Hochstein to Lebanon to try to negotiate a solution to the fighting around the blue line, and reportedly warned Israel against escalation with Hezbollah in private conversations. In October, when Israel had made plans to pre-emptively strike Lebanon, President Biden called Netanyahu to tell him to “stand down” on the attack plans, and ultimately, Israel did not launch a wide scale attack, according to a December Wall Street Journal report. “The priority for the Biden administration is to limit or prevent the broadening of the conflict,” said Schenker.

At the same time, the US has carried out repeated bombings in Iraq, Syria, and now Yemen, even as officials continue to talk about de-escalation. “We’re not looking for conflict with Iran. We’re not looking to escalate and there’s no reason for it to escalate beyond what happened over the last few days,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said last Friday, after the first US bombings of Yemen. But yesterday, the US military again bombed Houthi targets for the third time in a week, and then designated the Houthis as a terror organization, blocking the group’s access to the global financial system. By targeting Yemen, experts say the US is significantly expanding the regional war—“escalating regional tensions and adding fuel to a conflict,” as Bazzi wrote in a recent column published in The Guardian. “The conflagration could spiral out of control, perhaps more by accident than design,” he noted.

Many Middle East analysts say the Biden administration’s attempt to avert regional war is failing for one main reason: its refusal to couple a plea for de-escalation with advocacy for a ceasefire in Gaza. “Seeing the wider regional conflict as something that can be managed separately from Gaza is the source of the dissonance [in the administration’s strategy],” Bazzi told Jewish Currents. “You can’t prevent the wider regional war effectively without addressing the core immediate issue, which is the Israeli assault on Gaza. It’s just wishful thinking in the Biden administration that somehow it can separate the two.”

[beardedmrbean]

Infamous arms dealer Viktor Bout is reportedly back to his old ways less than two years after his release from U.S. custody in a prisoner swap for WNBA star Brittney Griner.

The Wall Street Journal reported that, when emissaries from Yemen’s militant Houthi movement visited Moscow in August to negotiate a $10 million arms purchase, they encountered the man known as Vladimir Putin’s “Merchant of Death.”

The polyglot former Soviet intelligence officer turned to arms dealing after the Cold War, buying up enough surplus Soviet-era military equipment to seed his gun-running into a global enterprise that brought in hundreds of millions in revenue by selling to militant groups in Africa, Asia, and the Americas.

His alleged former clients include terrorist group al Qaeda and the guerrilla Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), as well as Western governments. He won the moniker “Sanctions Buster” for his ability to get around restrictive trade measures and his story even inspired a middling 2005 Nicolas Cage movie, for which a sequel is in the works (mercifully, Cage did not try to put on a Russian accent).

One of the world’s most wanted men, Bout was arrested in 2008 in Thailand in a sting by the Royal Thai Police and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. In 2012, he was convicted in a Manhattan federal court of trafficking arms to terrorists and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Citing a European security official and others familiar with the August meeting in Moscow, the Journal reported that the Houthis’ arms purchase is a relatively small one, consisting of automatic weapons including AK-74s that could begin delivery as early as this month under the guise of food shipments.

However, the Houthi members who visited Moscow also inquired about other weapons Russia would be willing to sell, including anti-tank missiles and anti-aircraft weapons, the Journal’s sources said, noting that there’s no evidence Bout would be involved in those deals.

Nevertheless, even the smallest shipment will raise ire in Washington, as the Iran-backed Houthis were put back on a U.S. list of “global terrorist” groups in January.

That followed dozens of attacks by the group on merchant and commercial ships in the Red Sea, which the Houthis say is in protest of the Israel-Hamas war, in which the U.S. government has sent billions in arms to the Israeli Defense Forces.

The Houthis also recently claimed responsibility for attempted drone attacks on Israeli cities that were thwarted by Israel’s air defenses.

Russia, the Journal noted, has limited its involvement in the Middle East conflict, and arming one of the belligerent parties would constitute a notable escalation.

Bout, who said he kept a picture of Putin in his prison cell and is a fervent supporter of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, was elected to a seat in a local legislature last year.

After his release from U.S. custody, he expressed sympathy for Griner, who was sentenced to nine years in a labor camp by Russian authorities for cannabis oil cartridges found in her luggage, in what was seen as a deliberately harsh punishment.

“Of course, I feel, you know, bad or sorry for any person who’s going to be used as a pawn, despite whether they committed something or not,” Bout told ESPN, following his 2022 release in the prisoner swap for Griner.

[usafphantom2]

The aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt is leaving the Middle East

Sep 12, 2024 at 11:41 AM

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon’s rare move to keep two Navy aircraft carriers in the Middle East over the past several weeks has now finished, and the Theodore Roosevelt is heading home, according to U.S. officials.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had ordered the TR to extend its deployment for a short time and remain in the region as fellow carrier Abraham Lincoln was pushed to get to the area more quickly.

The Biden administration beefed up the U.S. military presence there last month to help defend Israel from possible attacks by Iran and its proxies and to safeguard U.S. troops.

U.S. commanders in the Middle East have long argued that the presence of a U.S. aircraft carrier and the warships accompanying it has been an effective deterrent in the region, particularly for Iran. Since the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip began last fall, there has been a persistent carrier presence in and around the region — and for short periods they have overlapped to have two of the carriers there at the same time.

Prior to last fall, however, it had been years since the U.S. had committed that much warship power to the region.

The decision to bring the Roosevelt home comes as the war in Gaza has dragged on for 11 months, with tens of thousands of people dead, and international efforts to mediate a cease-fire between Israel and the Hamas militant group have repeatedly stalled as they accuse each other of making additional and unacceptable demands.

For a number of months earlier this year the carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower remained in the Red Sea, able both to respond to help Israel and to defend commercial and military ships from attacks by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen. The carrier, based in Norfolk, Virginia, returned home after a more than eight-month deployment in combat that the Navy said was the most intense since World War II.

U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss troop movements, said the San Diego-based Roosevelt and the destroyer Daniel Inouye are expected to be in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s region on Thursday. The other destroyer in the strike group, the Russell, had already left the Middle East and has been operating in the South China Sea.

The Lincoln, which is now in the Gulf of Oman with several other warships, arrived in the Middle East about three weeks ago, allowing it to overlap with the Roosevelt until now.

There also are a number of U.S. ships in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, and two destroyers and the guided missile submarine Georgia are in the Red Sea.

@DefenseNews.com

[thebrightestwitchofherage]

Why is Israel attacking in Syria and Lebanon and misleading news coverage

A\N: I'm genuinely asking- Are people here not aware that Israeli civilians are currently being attacked by 4 different countries/ terrorist organizations?? From every side of the country???

Find a comfy reading position, this is going to be a long post. Dedicated to the person who said they "hate my long ass posts no one wants to read".

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There's a long Historical background for this attack

There’s a long history of Arabic countries in the Middle East banding together and initiating a multi-front war against Israel. It’s a reoccurring pattern in almost every war since the founding of Israel -For the first few decades since Israel was founded, wars were between the Israeli army and the armies of various Arabic countries (usually Jordan. Egypt, and Syria). Nowadays, it's between the Israeli army and various terrorist organizations from surrounding Arabic countries. ***Before anyone jumps me for saying this- these are all facts...Please read further.

So what is happening right now?

Hamas- I'll keep this brief since I'm sure you know by now: On October 7th, Hamas invaded Israel and massacred 1500 people, injured thousands, and kidnapped 250 people (and some bodies). Hezbollah- ("Party of god" in Arabic :Hezb- party, Allah-god) A Lebanese Shia-Islamist terror organization and Iran’s terror proxy in southern Lebanon, Founded during the Lebanese Civil War in the early 1980s.

What is their goal? The eradication of Israel: From the inception of Hezbollah to the present, the elimination of the State of Israel has been one of Hezbollah's primary goals. Some translations of Hezbollah's 1985 Arabic-language manifesto state that "our struggle will end only when this entity [Israel] is obliterated.

Hezbollah's connections with Iran

Hezbollah, much like other terrorist organizations in the Middle East, is a terrorist organization founded and controlled by Iran: In 2016, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah explained that the organization’s budget, supplies, and weapons all come from Iran. Captured on tape, Nasrallah confirmed that the organization regards itself as a “soldier” of Iran’s supreme spiritual leader.

Only today it was reported that Iran has given Hezbollah permission to attack Israel in case the military operation in Rafah continues:

https://www.iranintl.com/en/202402291130

**For further reading, I suggest you read about the 1st and 2nd Lebanon- Israel wars, and the Lebanese civil war.

Hezbollah and the Northern Front: Following the events of October 7th, Hezbollah was quick to join the war - on the Israel- Lebanon border.

That's right, they're back! After being one of the main threats to Israel from the mid-80s - mid-2000s, they want in on the fun. And by fun, I mean shooting RPG rockets at civilians. And their homes.

And just in case you were wondering about their intentions- here's their symbol:

Houthis: A Yemeni Shia-Islamist terror organization founded in the 90s. Nowadays, they're mostly known for attacking ships and navy outposts: Since the October 7 massacre by Hamas, the Iranian-backed Houthis have launched a series of attacks on ships in the Red Sea, as well as launching drones and missiles targeting Israel. In a major escalation, Houthis struck three commercial ships in the Red Sea on December 3. A U.S. warship near Yemen also shot down three drones in self-defense during the assault.  The Houthis's Goal: The Houthis claim they've joined this war as an act of solidarity with the Palestinian people. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

The Houthis' slogan:

yep, not exactly a "peaceful resistance movement" that cares about "freeing Palestine from occupation". The Houthis aim to govern all of Yemen and support external movements against the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. Because of the Houthis' ideological background, the conflict in Yemen is widely seen as a front of the Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy war.

Can you guess their inspiration?

In 2003, influenced by the Lebanese Shia political and military organization Hezbollah, the Houthis adopted their official slogan against the United States, Israel, and the Jews.[87]

The Houthis' are also backed by Iran...

*I can't write about them without thinking about all the memes Israelis made about them... I'd add them, but I'm trying to keep things -professional- here ...

There are hundreds of thousands of evacuees, rockets constantly shot at civilians and fuc**** aircrafts trying to invade us regularly.

**Further reading- They have a long (and violent) history including the Yemeni revolution in 2011, I suggest you read about that and the current situation in Yemen.

The double standard strikes again

It seems like no one here (and globally honestly) bats an eye when Israeli civilians are being constantly attacked. The reasoning is often that since we’re Israeli, we immediately all deserve whatever is coming our way… I was literally told that on multiple occasions.

But god forbid when we strike back- everyone’s outraged! We’re all evil genocidal murderers!

Are we supposed to just let them kill us all??

Anti-zionists ignore like Jews being attacked but have an issue with us fighting back.

---

I'm not completely surprised by Anti- Zionists' ignorance, considering the way Western news outlets cover terror attacks in Israel:

Lack of news reporting and innapropriate coverage

It is important to also note that most attacks on Israeli civilians aren't even reported in western media and news.

Oftentimes, when rocket sirens or terror attacks are reported, the wording chosen for the headling is very misleading and donwplays what happened. *This is usually done by British news outlets such as the BBC or Sky News.

It's never a terror attack / shooting / stabbing- it's a strike

It's never X civilians murdered in a terror attack for being Israeli - it's X were killed.

Here's one example:

Can you guess what happened here? Did the Israeli forces just shoot a random Palestinian in a bar? .... No.

Between March-May of 2022, there was yet another wave of terror attacks all across Israel: shootings, stabbings, car-ramming, and running over you name it. Overall, 21 were murdered and 97 were injured. These headlines describe a shooting attack in a Tel Aviv bar, where 2 were killed and 14 were injured. In a time when there was a terror attack every few days.

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Sources:

https://www.ajc.org/news/hezbollah-hamas-and-more-irans-terror-network-around-the-globe

https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/s1ilus3xc#autoplay

Twitter accounts of BBC World News & Reuters World

Wikipedia for specific dates and images.

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So that's it for this time, feel free to add anything I've missed. And as always- don't be a dick.

-Mika

[girlactionfigure]

*ISRAEL REALTIME* - "Connecting the World to Israel in Realtime"

HAPPY CHANUKAH !!! Chanukah night 7 TONIGHT 🕎🕎🕎🕎🕎🕎🕎

◾️MORE SHIP ATTACKS BY THE HOUTHIS… a Marshall islands-flagged chemical tanker reported an "exchange of fire" with a speedboat 55 nautical miles (around 102 kilometres) off Yemen.  A speedboat with armed men aboard approached two vessels transiting off the coast of Yemen's Red Sea port of Hodeidah.  (AP) the Houthis launched two missiles at a commercial ship in the Bab al-Mandab Strait but missed, according to US officials. An American vessel intercepted another drone launched by the Houthis. (The ship that the Houthis tried to hit is the Ardmore Encounter tanker that carries the flag of the Marshall Islands.

Also reports of a shipping attack on the other Yemen coast near Oman.  Quickly becoming a major disruption to world shipping.

◾️THE TOLL… we previously reported on 8 lost in battle, two more are reported killed yesterday as well - the worst day since the first day of the war.  https://www.timesofisrael.com/ten-soldiers-including-two-senior-officers-killed-in-gaza-fighting-and-deadly-ambush/

◾️JENIN… (Arab city, West Bank, terror center)  Firefights with IDF forces still going on, day and half continuous.

◾️FALSE ALERT - MODI’IN MACCABIM REUT… siren alert malfunction.  Homefront Command is working to fix.

◾️INCREASING RESERVE AGE… the Ministry of Defense distributed a memorandum of law to increase the exemption age from reserve service to be raised in order to prevent damage to the IDF's combat capability in the midst of war. According to the plan, the exemption age will be increased by one year for regular soldiers, officers and certain positions. 

◾️GAZA, WEAPONS EVERYWHERE (no innocent / civilian spaces)… Lt. Col. Oz, Nahal's 931st Brigade: We entered about 500 houses in Jabaliya. In 90% of them we found weapons, inside wardrobes, in the kitchen, in UNWRA sacks and under babies' beds. There were grenades, weapons, guns, rifles, RPGs and many other weapons.  We arrived at the mosque, which apparently looked innocent. When we broke the door on the third floor, we were surprised to discover an advanced combat space there: they built a training facility there, like we train in the bases, they managed to build it in the mosque! We killed more than ten terrorists there.

◾️SOLDIERS MOTHER’S SAY… ( https://m.facebook.com/Mothers.Soldier ) "Our sons in battle, not Biden's son or Blinken's son - our soldier's life comes before the enemy's citizens.”  Ilanit Dedosh, mother of a commander in Golani "Don't be influenced by foreign considerations - bomb from above.” 

“We are in the most just war, against a cruel enemy who slaughtered, raped, massacred babies, women and hundreds of our brothers and sisters. We must trample him, and kill them to the last - and not stop until victory! We call on the IDF and the government - do not endanger our soldiers without a real operational need, do not put before your eyes any other consideration, not legal, not humanitarian or international pressure, Our sons are the ones in battle, not Biden's son nor Blinken's son, tell everyone in a clear voice - the lives of our soldiers come before the citizens of the enemy. We as mothers will not accept any risk to our soldiers that is not from operational considerations only. Loving, trusting, and strong - we are behind you! Fight until victory!" added the mothers.  “You promised that you would not surrender and that you would not change the plan of action, do not endanger fighters in vain!”

[catdotjpeg]

Al Jazeera’s Mohammed al-Attab, reporting from Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, said: “I heard these explosions and many people talked on social media that they had heard powerful explosions in the capital Sanaa.” “Houthi media sources mentioned that the UK and the US had, once again, bombed the capital Sanaa.” “This comes just after a series of bombings that took place yesterday night.” “According to the spokesperson of the Houthis’ military, he said over 73 bombings have been carried out over the past 48 hours that resulted in the killing and injury of a number of people. At least five people have been mentioned as dead.” “The Houthis have threatened that they will continue their operations in the Red Sea in order to prevent the passage of the Israeli ships toward Israel’s seaports.”

-- "Explosions heard as Yemen’s capital bombed for second night" by Kevin Doyle for Al Jazeera, 12 Jan 2024 2:04 GMT

Reuters news agency has reported that a radar site was the target of the latest attack on Houthi forces in Yemen. The US official who provided the information gave no further details, Reuters said. US officials told the Associated Press news agency that the site attacked was deemed to be “putting commercial vessels in the Red Sea at risk”. Another US media outlet has reported that the attack was carried out unilaterally by US forces and was launched from a US Navy ship.

-- "Radar site reportedly targeted in latest US attack on Houthis in Yemen", 2:30 GMT

[mariacallous]

A non-Fox News source for the aid delivery the Houthis attacked:

Greek ship attacked in Red Sea by Houthis arrives in Aden with cargo

LONDON/ADEN/ATHENS, Feb 20 (Reuters) - The Greek-flagged bulk cargo vessel Sea Champion arrived in the southern Yemeni port of Aden on Tuesday after being attacked in the Red Sea in what appeared to have been a mistaken missile strike by Houthi militia, shipping and military sources said.

Shipping risks have escalated due to repeated drone and missile strikes in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait by the Iran-aligned Houthis since November. U.S. and British forces have responded with several strikes on Houthi facilities but have so far failed to halt the attacks.

The U.S. military's Central Command said late on Tuesday that the Houthis had fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles at the Sea Champion, a U.S.-owned bulk carrier. It said one of the missiles detonated near the ship causing minor damage.

The Sea Champion, which was ferrying corn from Argentina to Aden, the seat of Yemen's internationally recognised government, was attacked twice on Monday, with a window damaged but no crew injuries, Greek shipping ministry sources said.

The U.S. Central Command said the Sea Champion has delivered humanitarian aid to Yemen 11 times in the past five years.

A port source in Aden and a separate shipping source said the vessel was unloading part of its cargo of some 9,229 tonnes of corn in Aden, before it heads to the northern Yemeni port of Hodeidah, an area controlled by the Houthis, where it was meant to discharge the remaining load of some 31,000 tonnes.

The port source in Aden, who declined to be identified, said the attack on the vessel was a mistake. A separate port source in Hodeidah, who also declined to be identified, said the Houthis informed them that the attack was not intentional.

Houthi officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

The vessel's Athens-based operator Mega Shipping and Greek shipping ministry officials declined to comment on the vessel's arrival.

The Sea Champion was anchored in Aden port with its last position updated at 1211 GMT, according to data from ship tracking and maritime analytics provider MarineTraffic.

The Houthis, who control Yemen's most populous regions, have attacked vessels with commercial ties to the United States, Britain and Israel, shipping and insurance sources say.

CONCERNS GROW OVER RUBYMAR

Despite retaliatory Western attacks on them in Yemen, the Houthis have vowed to continue striking ships linked to Israel in solidarity with Palestinians until Israeli forces stop their war in the Gaza Strip.

So far, no ships have been sunk nor crew killed from the Houthi attacks in a sea lane accounting for about 12% of global maritime traffic.

Nonetheless, concerns were mounting over the fate of the Rubymar ship, which was hit by missiles in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday, despite the crew evacuating onto another vessel.

In a maritime advisory seen by Reuters, commercial ships were cautioned to stay away from the area of the abandoned vessel amid fears it might sink.

A U.S. defense official said the vessel had not sunk.

Stephen Cotton, General Secretary of the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), the leading union organisation for seafarers, said the Rubymar attack should be a wake-up call "to immediately prioritise seafarers' safety, before we see human lives lost on the Red Sea".

He said an immediate, permanent ceasefire in the war between Israel and Gaza's ruling Palestinian Islamist group Hamas was a critical step towards guaranteeing safe transit through the Red Sea.

There was also alarm that commercial ships could face new perils including the possibility of sea mines being deployed, maritime security sources said.

The U.S. military's Central Command (CENTCOM) conducted strikes on various targets on Monday and Tuesday, including what was believed to be the first unmanned underwater vessel (UUV) used since Houthi attacks began.

"These actions will protect navigational rights and freedoms and make international waters safer," CENTCOM said.

While many ships are diverting around southern Africa to avoid the Red Sea, some have continued to sail through.

French container shipping group CMA CGM said on Tuesday its Jules Verne vessel had transited the Red Sea under French naval escort, after suspending crossings for security risks earlier this month.

The European Union on Monday launched a naval mission to the Red Sea to "safeguard freedom of navigation" there amid hopes of more protection and support for commercial shipping.

France has provided navy escorts in recent weeks for some shipping traffic including French-linked vessels

[head-post]

Houthis hit two merchant ships in two days, CENTCOM says

Yemen’s Houthi group damaged two commercial vessels in missile strikes in the Gulf of Aden over the past 24 hours as part of an ongoing campaign against international shipping, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Sunday.

Iranian-backed Houthis struck the Liberian-flagged, Swiss-owned container ship Tavvishi with an anti-ship ballistic missile. The vessel was damaged, but none of the crew was injured, CENTCOM reported.

Two rockets fired by Houthis hit the German-owned, Antigua and Barbados-flagged cargo ship Norderney. The vessel was damaged, but none of the crew was injured and the ship continued on its way, CENTCOM said.

The Houthis had earlier said they had hit the Tavvishi and Norderney vessels and claimed to have set the latter on fire.

On May 31, Yemeni Houthis launched a missile attack on the US aircraft carrier Dwight Eisenhower in the Red Sea. Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement of Yemeni Houthis struck the US ship Largo Desert and the Israeli ship MSC Mechela in the Indian Ocean in late May.

The Houthis, who control the most populated parts of Yemen and are backed by Iran, have been attacking ships off their coast for months, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians fighting Israel in the Gaza Strip.

The Houthis have carried out drone and missile attacks in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden, forcing ship owners to take longer and more costly routes around southern Africa since November.

The US and UK have struck Houthi targets in response to the attacks, but this has only worsened the situation in the Red Sea.

Read more HERE

[libertariantaoist]

News Roundup 12/6/2023 | The Libertarian Institute

Here is your daily roundup of today's news:

News Roundup 12/6/2023

by Kyle Anzalone

US News

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has hit out at Americans who prefer a less interventionist foreign policy, smearing them as isolationists who want to see the US “retreat from responsibility.” AWC

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has scheduled a vote for Wednesday to advance President Biden’s massive $106 billion emergency spending request that includes military aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, as well as additional funding for the border, POLITICO reported. AWC

Adm. Christopher Grady: US Can Handle Middle East, Russia and China All at Once. YouTubeThe Institute

China

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo called for tighter export controls on advanced technologies going to China and labeled Beijing “the biggest threat we’ve ever had.” AWC

Russia

White House Will Run Out of Funds to Arm Ukraine By the End of the Year. FTAWC

US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey Pyatt explained that Washington was plotting a decade-long economic war targeting Moscow. The US has maintained sanctions on Russia since the 2014 Washington-backed coup in Ukraine sparked Moscow’s annexation of Crimea. Following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the economic war on the Russian economy was significantly intensified. The Institute

Bulgarian President Blocks Weapons Transfer to Ukraine. Newsweek

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is turning Ukraine into an authoritarian state as public criticism of Ukrainian leadership is becoming more common. AWC

Zelensky Cancels Address to US Senate. Forbes 

Israel

Biden Admin Says US Intel Had No Knowledge of Hamas Battle Plans for October 7. Axios

The UK announced on Saturday that it would begin surveillance flights in the skies above Gaza in search of captives held by Hamas. Over the past month, the US has conducted drone operations seeking hostages. Both Washington and London have engaged in a military buildup in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea in support of Tel Aviv. The Institute 

UN Warns Israel Against Exacerbating the Already Catastrophic Humanitarian Situation in Gaza. VOA

Israel Hayom reported last week that some members of Congress have reviewed a plan to condition US aid to Arab countries on their willingness to accept refugees from Gaza, which would facilitate the Israeli goal of cleansing the territory of Palestinians. AWC

Israel intensified airstrikes in southern Gaza on Monday and bombed areas where it told Palestinians to seek shelter, Reuters reported. AWC

Amnesty International: “US-made Weapons Facilitated the Mass Killings of Extended Families” in Gaza. Press ReleaseThe Institute

Polling continues to show that the majority of Americans favor a lasting ceasefire in Gaza, a position the Biden administration has rejected. AWC

The IDF Ignored Warnings Hours Before October 7 Hamas Attack. Haaretz 

The House on Tuesday passed a resolution that says “anti-Zionism is antisemitism,” the chamber’s latest piece of legislation conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism. AWC

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed on Tuesday that he wants Israel’s military to maintain an open-ended occupation of the Gaza Strip after the current war. AWC

 Middle East

Officials Tell Politico that US Ships Under Threat in Red Sea and Persian Gulf. Politico 

The US Approves Arms Sales to UAE and Saudi Arabia. MEE

US officials are considering forming a Red Sea task force with other nations after a series of attacks by Yemen’s Houthis against commercial shipping that’s come in response to the Israeli onslaught in Gaza. AWC

Read More

[sataniccapitalist]

BREAKING | Yemeni Armed Forces spokesman publishes on X excerpts of a statement by Ansarallah leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi: ○ Any American aggression will not remain unanswered.

○ The response to any US will be powerful.

○ Whoever wants to get involved and attack our people and target the naval forces is actually risking his commercial ships.

○ Whoever wants to attack our people will pay the price.

○ Our people do not evade any confrontation with any enemy, regardless of its capabilities.

○ We advise all countries not to get involved with Americans, but rather sit back and watch. But let the UK get involved with the US.

○ Our people have the ability to withstand major confrontations.

○ The loser is the one who involves himself in the attack on our people in order to serve Israel and its crimes against the Palestinian people.

○ I advise all Arab and Islamic countries not to partner with the Americans in their efforts to protect Israeli ships.

[stele3]

These are straight-up lies.

The UN has said that their aid programs around the world are underfunded and have cut back, including in Yemen. They’ve also been trying for years to establish agreements with the Houthi rebels that will guarantee the aid will reach the people who need it, instead of being hoarded.

Houthi rebels aren’t attacking Israeli ships in the Red Sea, they’re attacking everyone. They’re attacking ships from Norway and Liberia, and they’re doing so in order to disrupt international trade.

Stop falling for and reblogging disinformation.

yemen is the poorest nation in the arab world. but in two weeks time, it did what no oil or gas- rich arab nation could do. by seizing three ships and costing i****l more than 2 billion by forcing its ships to go around africa, yemen showed up.

[beardedmrbean]

U.S. officials confirm to ABC News that two missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen toward a commercial tanker vessel in the Red Sea Wednesday, with the projectiles missing the ship.

The tanker had just entered the Red Sea on its way toward the Suez Canal, an official said. During the incident, a U.S. warship shot down a drone launched from Yemen, the officials said.

The drone was heading in the direction of the USS Mason, which is the warship that shot down the unmanned aircraft, three U.S. officials told ABC News.

"The drone was heading directly at it," one of the officials said.

The Navy has not yet been able to assess whether the USS Mason was the drone's target, according to U.S. officials.

When such a ship detects an incoming drone or projectile heading its way, the commander will generally order it to be shot down in self defense, as happened in this case, an official said.

The Mason shot the drone down while responding to reports the Houthis were attacking the Motor Vessel Ardmore Encounter, using skiffs and then firing the two missile that missed, according to the official, who said this occurred at approximately 8 a.m. local time.

On Monday night an anti-ship cruise missile fired from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen struck another commercial vessel in the Red Sea, the MT STRINDA, casing a fire, but no casualties, according to Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder.

During an on-camera briefing Tuesday, Ryder remarked on the threat posed by Houthi attacks in the region, and efforts to stand up an international maritime task force to address the problem.

"We're continuing to take the situation in the Red Sea extremely seriously, there should be no doubt about that," Ryder said. "The actions that we've seen from these Houthi forces are destabilizing, they're dangerous, and clearly a flagrant violation of international law. And so this is an international problem that requires an international solution. We do continue to consult closely with our international allies and partners on implementing a maritime task force."

[usafphantom2]

USMC AV-8B Harrier jet pilot shot 7 Houthi drones in the Red Sea

Slaughter ended up generating debate about the status of ace in aviation.

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 02/13/2024 - 15:33in Military, War Zones

An AV-8B Harrier II attached to the Marines Middle Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 162 (Reinforced), 26ª Marine Expeditionary Unit (special operations capable) (MEU (SOC)), takes off from the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5). (Photo: Sgt. Matthew Romonoyske-Bean / U.S. Marine Corps)

In the skies above the currently tense Red Sea, Captain Earl Ehrhart V of the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) became a possible ace of aviation by shooting down what he claims to have been seven kamikaze drones of the Houthi rebels.

In a BBC report, Captain Earl Ehrhart, pilot of the AV-8B Harrier II jet with the Marine Middle Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 162, attached to the elite of the 26ª Marine Expeditionary Unit (with special operations capacity) (MEU (SOC)) claimed to have shot down the seven Houthi kamikaze drones during operations in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, conducted from the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5).

Captain Earl Ehrhart V of the USMC, an Ado V-8B Harrier pilot attached to the Marines' Middle Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 162 (Reinforced), 26ª Marine Expeditionary Unit (special operations capable) (MEU (SOC)), receives signals during flight operations aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5). (Photo: Sgt. Matthew Romonoyske-Bean / U.S. Marine Corps)

The operations highlighted the adaptability and innovation involved in responding to Houthi threats. "We toot a Harrier jet and modified it for air defense. We carried it with missiles and so we were able to respond to drone attacks," Ehrhart explained to the BBC. This tactical adjustment was crucial to effectively combat the drone attacks of the Houthi rebels, which Ehrhart described as "a robust and capable force". The success of these missions highlights the technological and strategic advances made by the U.S. military forces to maintain superiority in increasingly complex combat environments.

The AV-8B Harrier II are agile aircraft, with vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capabilities, which offer unparalleled flexibility and fast response in the region's complex airspace.

An AIM-9M Sidewinder is loaded on an AV-8B during flight operations aboard the USS Bataan. (Photo: Sgt. Matthew Romonoyske-Bean / U.S. Marine Corps)

When the Houthi of Yemen began firing missiles and piloting drones against commercial ships in the Red Sea, the crew of the USS Bataan sent the jets to try to shoot them down.

"I never imagined that I would do this when we left," says the main pilot, Captain Earl Ehrhart. "They are shooting us all the time, so we need to be even more focused. Our systems need to be prepared so that we can stay safe."

An AV-8B armed with an AIM-9L/M Sidewinder missile aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan.

Captain Ehrhart and his fellow pilots Harrier play a crucial role in safeguarding maritime traffic and deterring the Houthi aggression that operates within the area of responsibility of the U.S. Fifth Fleet. Its count of neutralized drones underlines the effectiveness of naval aviation in combating emerging threats and maintaining regional stability.

Although the details of specific missions remain confidential, Captain Ehrhart's achievements speak for themselves. With seven drones victims of the accuracy of their Harrier, Captain Ehrhart's name is engraved among the ranks of those who guard the skies. Although the traditional definition of "ace" may be evolving in the era of drones, his achievements speak a lot about his exceptional talent and courage.

Armed with an active AMRAAM missile and a Litening pod, an AV-8B takes off from the USS Bataan during flight operations.

If this is confirmed, Ehrhart would be recognized as the first American "ace" since the Vietnam War, a title prestigiously reserved for pilots who won five or more victories in air combat.

The United States Air Force has criteria for granting air victory credits that cover the destruction of enemy air vehicles, manned or not, armed or not. This policy indicates a recognition of the evolutionary nature of air threats and combat, extending the possibility of achieving "ace" status to combat with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). Historically, there are precedents for the attribution of the status of ace in unconventional contexts. During World War II, Lieutenant Frank Luke, known as the "Arizona Balloon Buster", was credited for the destruction of 14 German observation balloons before his death in combat.

Tags: Military AviationDronesMcDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier IIUSMC - United States Marine Corps/U.S. Marine CorpsWar Zones - Middle East

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Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. He uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

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