It is Iran’s war in Yemen and America’s problem
It is Iran’s war in Yemen and America’s problem
“The Senate voted on Thursday to end American military assistance for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen,” wrote the New York Times in a recent article that never mentioned Iran, thereby missing the entire point.
The Senate’s goal was to punish Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MbS, for the role he and his government reportedly played in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Khashoggi’s murder brought attention to “the fact that we have been led into this civil war in Yemen, half a world away, into a conflict in which few Americans that I know can articulate what American national security interest is at stake,” said one senator.
He should know better.
The mullahs of Iran have declared war not only on the West and Israel, but also on Sunni Islam. Saudi Arabia, home to Mecca and Medina near the Red Sea, and Egypt, home of al-Azhar University, are prime targets. Iran has been harassing shipping in the Persian Gulf — east of Saudi Arabia — for years. Iranian fast attack craft have charged U.S. Navy ships, their drones have buzzed American fighter jets, and lasers were directed at U.S. helicopters operating at sea. These efforts culminated in the capture of 10 American sailors in 2016.
Such harassment largely stopped in 2017, but Iran has been sailing warships in the Red Sea to the west of Saudi Arabia. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander, Qassem Soleimani, declared, “The Red Sea, which was secure, is no longer secure with the American presence.”
Our senators might want to consult a map.
Iran has no border on the Red Sea, but a base in the heel of the Saudi boot, i.e., in Yemen, would put it in a perfect position to encircle Saudi Arabia by water, and to also undermine Egypt, Jordan and Israel. It would allow access to overland routes through Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan — and directly into Egypt — for the purpose of arming rebels along the coast and the militias Egypt has been fighting in the Sinai desert.
Read more: Reddit
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