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Israel’s US-made THAAD fails again as Yemen targets key airport with hypersonic missile

Press TV – May 9, 2025

Yemen’s Armed Forces have again targeted the Israeli regime’s BenGurion airportnear the city of Tel Aviv, with a hypersonic ballistic missile.

The development took place on Friday, spreading chaos across the occupied Palestinian territories and forcing millions of the regime’s illegal settlers to run towards shelters, the forces said in a statement conveyed by spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree.

According to the official, the “qualitative military operation successfully achieved its goal.”

The projectile triggered sirens across Tel Aviv and “more than 200 other locations,” the Israeli regime’s media outlets reported.

The development had the Israeli military scramble to activate its missile systems, including the American-made THAAD air defense system, the regime’s Channel 14 reported.

According to the channel, the missile system, however, failed to intercept the projectile, marking the “second” time that the expensive apparatus was falling short in the face of incoming Yemeni fire.

Various Israeli outlets, meanwhile, reported explosions in eastern Tel Aviv and the holy occupied city of al-Quds, where the THAAD had been activated.

Yemen’s Armed Force have been enforcing a naval blockade on Israeli ships and vessels sailing towards the territories since October 2023. The blockade came in response to the regime’s launching an overwhelmingly deadly war of genocide on the Gaza Strip, and simultaneously escalating its already stringent siege of the Palestinian territory.

Earlier in May, the Yemeni servicemen began imposing a comprehensive aerial blockade on the regime too, warning international airlines to suspend flights to airports in the occupied territories to ensure passenger safety.

Saree said the Friday strike came “within the implementation of the no-fly zone imposed on the criminal Israeli enemy entity.”

“The interception systems failed to intercept it (the missile), halting airport operations for nearly an hour.”

Separately, “The UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) force of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a military operation targeting a vital Israeli enemy target in the occupied area of Yaffa,” the official said, referring to an area lying near Tel Aviv.

‘Repeated warning to airlines’

The spokesman asserted that the Yemeni servicemen would not stop short of enforcing the aerial blockade.

“The Armed Forces reiterate their warning to airlines that have not yet complied with the ban, that they must immediately halt their flights to occupied Palestine, as others have done.”

Saree finally reasserted Sana’a’s stance that such operations targeting sensitive and strategic Israeli targets would last until the regime ceased its war on Gaza and ended the siege.

May 9, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Defiant Trump advances US plans without Israeli approval: Report

The Cradle | May 8, 2025

US President Donald Trump has lost patience with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and will not wait any longer for Israel before advancing initiatives in West Asia, Israel Hayom reported on 8 May.

According to two senior sources in the US President’s entourage, Trump is interested in making decisions that he believes will advance US interests, particularly regarding Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, without waiting for approval from Netanyahu.

Regarding a potential US–Israeli agreement with Saudi Arabia, Trump believes Netanyahu is delaying making the necessary decisions. The president is not willing to wait until Israel does what is expected of it and will move forward without it.

During the presidency of Joe Biden, the US and Israel were involved in talks with Saudi Arabia that would see Washington enter a defense pact with the kingdom, provide it with civilian nuclear technology, and sell it advanced weapons – all in exchange for normalization with Israel.

As part of any agreement to normalize relations with Israel, Saudi Arabia expects an end to the war in Gaza and an Israeli declaration of a “horizon for a Palestinian state.”

However, senior ministers in Israel’s current government have vowed to never allow a Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank, while promising to “destroy” Gaza, ethnically cleanse its population under the pretext of promoting “voluntary migration,” and to build Jewish settlements there.

The sources added that Trump was furious at what he saw as an attempt by Netanyahu to use US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who has since been dismissed from his position, to push for US military action in Iran.

Netanyahu claimed in response to the publication of the affair in the Washington Post that he had only spoken to Waltz once. However, Trump was not convinced.

The president’s anger likely explains why Trump did not involve Israel in the ceasefire he announced with the Ansarallah-led government of Yemen.

Even after Trump announced the agreement with Yemen, Israeli representatives handling relations with the US were reportedly unable to receive information from White House officials about what was happening for a day, Israel Hayom noted.

Additionally, Trump is not currently scheduled to visit Israel as part of his visit to the region next week.

The disconnect between Trump and Netanyahu likely explains why the Israeli prime minister and his Defense Minister, Israel Katz, announced on Wednesday that they are prepared for a situation in which Israel will be left alone in the campaign against Yemen.

Defense Minister Katz said that “Israel must be able to defend itself on its own against any threat and any enemy. This has been true in the face of many challenges in the past and will continue to be so in the future.”

Trump has faced criticism for escalating the war against Yemen since taking office in January, including for withholding information about US military casualties resulting from a military campaign that has never received authorization from Congress.

The operation has involved over 1,000 US airstrikes against the Ansarallah-led Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) and killed hundreds of Yemenis, including many civilians.

Writing for Haaretz, Israeli journalist Aluf Benn notes that each time US presidents have been angered by Tel Aviv’s actions, “Israel stood its ground, deflected the pressure and over time got what it wanted.”

Benn stated that Trump is also pursuing a deal with Iran over its nuclear program that is contrary to Netanyahu’s position on the matter.

Trump pulled the US out of the Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018 amid encouragement from Netanyahu. However, the president has been trying to come to a diplomatic understanding with Iran to halt the development of its nuclear program during his second term.

Three rounds of talks have taken place, mediated by the government of Oman and involving Trump’s special envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff.

May 8, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Wars for Israel | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

US ceasefire in Yemen: Retreat masquerading as restraint

The US ends its Red Sea campaign not by victory, but by necessity – under relentless pressure from an underestimated Yemeni resistance

By Mawadda Iskandar | The Cradle | May 8, 2025

In a major recalibration of its year-long Red Sea military campaign, the US has agreed to a ceasefire with Yemen’s Ansarallah-aligned armed forces, brokered by Oman. After months of escalating attacks under the guise of “protecting international shipping,” Washington now finds itself calling time on a conflict it launched – but failed to control.

While Yemen’s leaders stress that operations in support of Gaza will persist, the US pivot signals more than de-escalation: It is a tacit admission that its campaign has collapsed under pressure, unable to achieve even its most basic strategic goals.

With over a thousand airstrikes launched since March 2024, Washington’s failure to contain the Yemeni threat in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden stands as a stark indictment of its military planning. The war devolved into a costly, high-stakes exercise in attrition – one Yemen emerged from stronger, not weaker.

A flawed campaign from the start

From its inception, the US-led campaign ‘Prosperity Guardian’ lacked clarity. The mission to “protect shipping lanes” quickly became an open-ended confrontation with no political roadmap. American officials misread both the battlefield and Yemen’s resilience.

Despite the might of its airpower, Washington failed to dent Sanaa’s capacity or will to fight. Instead, the bombardment accelerated Yemen’s military innovation, forcing Washington into a deterrence game it could not win.

Yemen’s unconventional warfare style, grounded in its topography and culture, posed immense challenges. Leaders operated from mountainous terrain fortified by tunnel systems, well beyond the reach of satellite surveillance.

The US had little intelligence penetration into Yemen’s military hierarchy and no functioning target bank. Sanaa’s leadership, experienced from years of prior war against the Saudi and UAE-led coalition and its proxies, held the advantage.

Speaking to The Cradle, Colonel Rashad al-Wutayri lists five key reasons for the campaign’s failure. First, Yemen’s use of low-cost, high-impact weapons – ballistic missiles and drones – pierced even US carrier strike groups.

Second, the campaign failed to protect Israeli or allied shipping. Third, Ansarallah exposed Israeli-American spy networks and clung to its demands: Namely, an end to the war on Gaza. Fourth, apart from Bahrain, Washington’s Arab allies declined to join the US-led coalition. Fifth, the financial cost spiraled, with the US spending millions on interceptors to counter drones built for mere thousands.

No coalition, no ground game

Washington’s diplomatic push to build a regional anti-Yemen coalition fell flat. Persian Gulf states, still stung from their own failures in Yemen, wisely kept their distance. Saudi Arabia refused to be drawn back into a war it has been trying to exit since 2022. The UAE, meanwhile, limited its support to logistics. Egypt stayed silent, unwilling to be sucked into another regional escalation.

This reticence was not without reason. Ansarallah leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi issued direct warnings to neighboring countries: Any cooperation with the US – via bases or troops – would bring immediate retaliation.

The threat worked. When Washington explored the idea of a ground assault using US special forces and Persian Gulf-backed militias, the plan quickly collapsed. Yemen’s terrain, its entrenched resistance, and the bitter legacy of previous Saudi-Emirati attempts made such a venture untenable.

Political analyst Abdulaziz Abu Talib tells The Cradle that Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have internalized the cost of further escalation. While both continue to bankroll proxy militias, they are steering clear of overt military entanglement. Yemen’s ability to withstand this trilateral aggression – and to land blows on US and Israeli interests – further eroded faith in Washington’s protective umbrella.

Bombs, billions, and blunders

Between March 2024 and April 2025, the US launched over 1,000 airstrikes on Yemen. Yet, rather than break its adversary, the campaign emboldened it. In retaliation, Yemen escalated steadily – from targeting Israeli vessels in November 2023, to US and UK ships by January, the Indian Ocean by March, and the Mediterranean by May.

By July, Ansarallah struck Tel Aviv with hypersonic missiles. A direct hit on Ben Gurion Airport followed, redrawing the region’s military balance.

The costs piled up. In the first three weeks alone, the US burned through $1 billion. Weapons like Tomahawk and JASSM missiles – costing millions apiece – were deployed against drones worth a few thousand dollars. Yemen’s own achievements mounted: 17 MQ-9 Reaper drones shot down, a $60 million F-18 fighter jet destroyed, and a declared aerial blockade of Israel.

Wutayri highlights that Yemen developed its arsenal domestically, without foreign technical assistance. That included the hypersonic missiles that bypassed Israeli and US air defenses, and drones capable of striking both military and commercial ships. Even as Washington intensified its bombardment, Yemen’s operational tempo and range only grew.

Erosion from within

Back in Washington, the cracks were showing. The Pentagon quietly expanded military commanders’ autonomy to strike targets without White House clearance – an effort to shield the administration from political fallout. But the costs, both financial and reputational, were impossible to ignore.

US media outlets began questioning the purpose and direction of the campaign. Public patience waned. There were calls for countries benefiting from Red Sea trade – namely Persian Gulf monarchies – to shoulder the burden of maritime security.

Wutayri says the US suffered further humiliation: a destroyer and three supply ships were sunk, and both the USS Abraham Lincoln and Harry S. Truman aircraft carriers were targeted. Despite spending another $500 million on interceptors, the results were negligible. The image of US warplanes crashing into the sea, and of exhausted troops – some 7,000 deployed – unable to break Yemen’s resolve, dented American prestige.

More than just a response to Red Sea attacks, the campaign was part of Washington’s broader effort to counter China’s regional influence, particularly Yemen’s emerging Belt and Road links. But the military track backfired, hardening local resistance and undermining US credibility.

Abu Talib notes that even stealth aircraft and strategic bombers failed to achieve deterrence. The Trump administration faced two options: retreat under the weight of defeat, or engage in talks under Ansarallah’s terms – chief among them an end to the Gaza war.

A war without an aim

From the outset, Washington struggled to manufacture a narrative of victory. The Pentagon released videos of jets launching from carriers – empty spectacle, absent substance. There were no “shock and awe” moments, no milestones to sell as success.

Yemen, meanwhile, delivered iconic images; among them, a father shielding his child during a bombing raid – a powerful symbol of national defiance. As civilian casualties mounted, so did public fury. Scenes of women and children pulled from rubble circulated widely, drawing uncomfortable parallels with past US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

According to Abu Talib, Yemen’s social cohesion and rugged geography undermined every attempt to break its lines. Far from fracturing under pressure, the public rallied behind Ansarallah. The more the US escalated, the more entrenched Yemeni resistance became – both militarily and socially.

Now, the Trump administration is shifting gears, seeking peace without admitting defeat. But Sanaa is not standing still. It promises continued operations, and with them, new strategic equations that could further upend the regional balance of power.

May 8, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Wars for Israel | , , , , , | 2 Comments

Collapsing Empire: AnsarAllah Defeats US Again

By Kit Klarenberg | Global Delinquents | May 8, 2025

On May 6th, Donald Trump made the shock announcement that the US was abandoning all hostilities against Yemen. A vast, multi-billion dollar naval and air campaign officials in Washington had pledged would last “indefinitely” has abruptly ended, in return for AnsarAllah pledging not to attack American shipping in the Red Sea. While the President has bragged the Resistance group “capitulated” to his administration’s renewed, much-intensified belligerence and “don’t want to fight any more”, the reality is that God’s Partisans have once again defeated the Empire.

As reported by the New York Times, it remains unclear whether the ceasefire will apply to other foreign shipping, “after a costly seven-week bombing campaign.” Meanwhile, AnsarAllah has “stopped short of declaring a full cease-fire, saying that they would continue to fight Israel,” while [portraying] the deal as a major victory for the militia and a failure for Mr. Trump, spreading a social media hashtag that read ‘Yemen defeats America’.” In other words, the Resistance campaign against the Zionist entity will endure, and could intensify.

Reinforcing the Empire’s trouncing, such was Washington’s desperation to extricate herself from the self-initiated conflict, Israeli officials apparently weren’t apprised of the deal, only learning the US was withdrawing from the Red Sea from TV news reports. Yet, the mainstream media has over recent weeks clearly been laying the foundations of the Empire’s surrender to AnsarAllah, for the second time in less than a year. A number of prominent Western news reports have been uncharacteristically critical of US performance in battling God’s Partisans anew.

For example, on April 28th, major media outlets became abuzz with news that the USS Harry S. Truman – which led the Trump administration’s effort to crush AnsarAllah’s anti-genocide Red Sea blockade – lost an F-18 fighter jet and tow tractor, while executing a hard turn to evade fire from the Resistance group. While a US Navy press release on the incident made no reference to Yemen’s assault, nameless American officials briefed several mainstream journalists that God’s Partisans were responsible.

Reporting on the disaster by dependably servile CIA and Pentagon propaganda megaphone CNN was extraordinarily candid. “US Navy loses $60 million jet at sea after it fell overboard from aircraft carrier”, its headline read. The outlet explicitly acknowledged this resulted from an AnsarAllah “drone and missile attack” on USS Harry S. Truman. CNN went on to note the aircraft carrier has “repeatedly been targeted in attacks” by Yemen, while suffering a series of shameful blunders since its deployment to the Red Sea in September 2024.

In December that year, a US fighter jet posted to USS Harry S. Truman was shot down while conducting a refueling mission over the Red Sea in a friendly fire incident. The USS Gettysburg, which was escorting the aircraft carrier, blasted the jet with a missile for reasons unclear. This gross misadventure remains subject to official investigation. Then, on February 12th this year, USS Harry S. Truman was extensively damaged after colliding with a commercial vessel near Egypt’s Port Said, at the Suez Canal’s northern end.

The aircraft carrier returned to service after a period spent in Greece’s Souda Bay for repairs. The US Navy refused to release details about the cost of these repairs, or the total damage USS Harry S. Truman sustained in the collision. Whether further repairs were required was also not clarified. However, the accident was apparently considered so catastrophic within the Pentagon, the carrier’s chief Dave Snowden was fired from his post on February 20th, “due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command”.

These humiliating developments were completely ignored by the media. Concurrently however, mainstream outlets were engaged in a concerted effort to rehabilitate Operation Prosperity Guardian, the embarrassingly failed Biden administration attempt to smash God’s Partisans and end the Resistance group’s righteous Red Sea blockade. Launched with much hype following the Gaza genocide’s eruption, a vast US flotilla led by USS Eisenhower spent nine months getting battered by a relentless barrage of AnsarAllah drones and missiles to no avail, before scurrying back home.

‘Defensive Systems’

Throughout Operation Prosperity Guardian, current and former US military and intelligence officials expressed disquiet at the enormous “cost offset” involved in battling God’s Partisans in the Red Sea. The US Navy squandered countless difficult-to-replace missiles costing hundreds of thousands of dollars – if not millions – daily to shoot down the Resistance group’s drones. As Mick Mulroy, a former DOD official and CIA officer, bitterly told Politico:

“[This] quickly becomes a problem because the most benefit, even if we do shoot down their incoming missiles and drones, is in [AnsarAllah’s] favor… We, the US, need to start looking at systems that can defeat these that are more in line with the costs they are expending to attack us.”

There were no indications of this “cost offset” having been remediated by the time Operation Prosperity Guardian fizzled out in July 2024. Official US Navy figures on the “unprecedented” engagement suggest the USS Eisenhower-led carrier group fired a total of 155 standard missiles and 135 Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles, while accompanying fighter jets and helicopters “expended nearly 60 air-to-air missiles and released 420 air-to-surface weapons” – 770 munitions in total – over the nine-month-long conflict.

Independent analysis suggests these figures are likely to be even higher. Moreover, the US Navy did not provide a breakdown of the costs involved in Operation Prosperity Guardian. Still, even if one accepts the official totals, a single Tomahawk alone costs around $1.89 million, meaning firing 135 cost a staggering $255,150,000. There is also the enduring question of whether this astonishingly expensive arsenal failed to protect USS Eisenhower from direct AnsarAllah attack.

In February 2024, a cruise missile fired from Yemen penetrated so many layers of the aircraft carrier’s defences it was seconds from impact, forcing USS Eisenhower to employ the Phalanx Close-In Weapon System – its “last line of defense”. It marked the System’s first ever recorded use in battle. Then in June that year, the USS Eisenhower inexplicably withdrew from its sphere of operations in the Red Sea at maximum speed, immediately after God’s Partisans announced they had successfully struck the carrier. The media was silent on this incident.

Still, as this journalist recorded at the time, multiple news reports painted a dire picture of Operation Prosperity Guardian in its aftermath. Associated Press revealed participating sailors and pilots had found the experience “traumatizing”, as they “weren’t used to being fired on.” Many had repeatedly come within seconds of being struck by “Houthi-launched missiles”, before they were destroyed “by their ship’s defensive systems.” The Pentagon was thus considering providing “counseling and treatment” to thousands of US Navy employees suffering from “post-traumatic stress”, and their families.

‘Supplemental Funds’

Fast forward to February 2025, and Business Insider published a curious article, claiming based on documents exclusively obtained by the outlet that in fact, the US Navy had successfully “fended off” AnsarAllah’s Red Sea blitzkrieg throughout Operation Prosperity Guardian, “without firing a shot”. Instead, “undefined” and “unspecified” methods and weapons of a “non-kinetic” variety were “successfully” employed to protect “Navy and coalition warships and commercial vessels.” This was of course at total odds with literally everything the mainstream media had hitherto reported on the debacle.

With hindsight though, the report’s propaganda utility seems clear. It served to rehabilitate the US Navy’s performance in its war on Yemen, at a time the Trump administration was preparing to kickstart hostilities against God’s Partisans again. So it was on March 15th, US airstrikes began raining down on Sanaa anew, while the USS Harry S. Truman-led carrier force thrust stridently into the Red Sea. US officials talked a big game about the fresh assault continuing “indefinitely”, while Trump bragged that AnsarAllah was being “decimated”.

The April 28th loss of an F-18 fighter jet due to Yemeni attacks amply demonstrated these boasts to be bogus. The anonymous briefings furthermore strongly suggest Pentagon apparatchiks wanted it publicly known AnsarAllah was responsible. In the meantime, on April 4th, the New York Times reported Pentagon officials were “privately” briefing Trump’s belligerence was failing to graze God’s Partisans, while costing in excess of $1 billion to date. This not only meant “supplemental funds” needed to be mustered from Congress, but doubts about continued ammunition availability gravely abounded:

“So many precision munitions are being used, especially advanced long-range ones, that some Pentagon contingency planners are growing concerned about overall Navy stocks and implications for any situation in which the United States would have to ward off an attempted invasion of Taiwan by China.”

We can surmise this report, and the subsequent flurry of critical mainstream reporting on the USS Harry S. Truman’s troubles, were indicative of the Pentagon’s determination to end Washington’s renewed malevolence against Yemen before AnsarAllah inflicted yet another historic defeat on the US Empire. In a larger than life, farcical full stop to this debacle, on the same day Trump announced the Empire had been crushed again in the Red Sea, the USS Harry S. Truman lost another F/A-18. You couldn’t make it up.

May 8, 2025 Posted by | Wars for Israel | , , , , | Leave a comment

Shelter in your bunkers or leave our region: President of Yemen’s Supreme Political Council to Israelis

Al Mayadeen | May 6, 2025

President of Yemen’s Supreme Political Council, Mahdi al-Mashat, vowed on Tuesday that Sanaa’s response to Israeli and US aggression would be “devastating and painful,” and beyond what either party could withstand.

His remarks followed Israeli airstrikes targeting civilian infrastructure in Sanaa, including the airport, power stations, and factories.

“From now on, take shelter in your bunkers or leave our region immediately,” al-Mashat warned the Israeli occupation. “Your failed government can no longer protect you.”

He reaffirmed Yemen’s firm stance in supporting Gaza, stressing, “Our strikes are effective, and they will continue. We will not be deterred from our rightful stance in supporting our brothers in Palestine until the aggression ends and the siege on Gaza is lifted.”

Trump says aggression on Yemen suspended

The remarks came shortly after US President Donald Trump declared a halt to American airstrikes on Yemen, claiming Sanaa had promised to end Red Sea attacks on ships.

However, Ansar Allah leaders denied any formal commitment, with senior official Mohammed al-Bukhaiti stating that operations against US warships might pause if American strikes ceased, but vowed that military actions in support of Gaza and against the Israeli occupation would continue unabated.

Al-Mashat: Escalation will endanger Trump during his visits to the region

Later, al-Mashat said that authorities in Sanaa indirectly informed Washington that the continued escalation in the region will only affect the visits of “the criminal Trump” to the region. He said that Yemen did not inform the US of anything else.

“If the criminal Trump wants to stop his aggression and compensate [for the destruction] he left behind, that is up to him,” al-Mashat emphasized.

Oman’s Foreign Ministry confirmed it had brokered a ceasefire agreement aimed at de-escalation between the US and the authorities in Sanaa, with both parties agreeing not to target each other moving forward.

Yet the US State Department later clarified that the agreement applies strictly to maritime operations in the Red Sea. “If the Houthis [Ansar Allah] commit to not targeting ships, we will also reciprocate,” a spokesperson said.

‘Israel’ bewildered by Trump announcement

Meanwhile, the announcement from Trump sent shockwaves through the Israeli political establishment. According to Channel 14, the Israeli occupation leadership was blindsided by both Trump’s remarks on Yemen and his promise of a “major announcement” during his upcoming Middle East tour. The channel described the political mood as one of “confusion and disbelief.”

Amit Segal of Channel 12 described Trump’s message as a regional signal: “If I were Iranian, I would understand it as: hit ‘Israel’ and leave us alone.”

Tsvi Yehezkeli, Arab affairs analyst for Channel 13, speculated that the US may be pursuing a quiet agreement with Yemen. “I don’t see another explanation for this declaration,” he said, warning that the US disengagement puts “Israel” in a difficult position, effectively leaving it alone to face Yemeni retaliation. “This is no longer just about Red Sea shipping; it’s now about direct fire on Israel,” he added.

However, despite Trump’s claims of a breakthrough, Ansar Allah denied that any such concession had been made. In an interview with Bloomberg, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the group’s Political Council, affirmed that military operations in the Red Sea and against “Israel” would continue until the aggression on Gaza ends and the siege on its people is lifted.

May 6, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Wars for Israel | , , , , | Leave a comment

Oman brokers US-Yemen ceasefire, Israelis in dark regarding deal

Al Mayadeen | May 6, 2025

The Omani Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday that it had successfully brokered a ceasefire agreement between the United States and the authorities in Sanaa, aimed at achieving mutual de-escalation.

According to a statement from Muscat, the agreement entails a commitment by both sides, Washington and the Sanaa-based government, not to target each other in future military operations.

“The Sultanate thanks both parties for their constructive approach that led to this welcome outcome,” the statement read, emphasizing Oman’s longstanding diplomatic efforts in mediating regional conflicts.

US President Donald Trump had earlier declared an immediate halt to US airstrikes on Yemen, claiming that Yemeni authorities had promised to cease attacks on vessels in the Red Sea.

‘Trump surprised us’

The declaration appears to have caught the Israeli occupation off guard, with Axios journalist Barak Ravid quoting a senior Israeli official saying, “We didn’t know about this. Trump surprised us.”

Despite Trump’s claims of a breakthrough, Ansar Allah denied that any such concession had been made. In an interview with Bloomberg, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the group’s Political Council, affirmed that military operations in the Red Sea and against “Israel” would continue until the aggression on Gaza ends and the siege on its people is lifted.

Support for Gaza will not cease

While al-Bukhaiti indicated that attacks on US warships may pause if American strikes cease, he stressed that “we will definitely continue our operations in support of Gaza,” underscoring that the movement’s military actions are directly tied to the Israeli regime’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip.

Ansar Allah “will not stop regardless of the consequences until the end of the aggression on Gaza and blockade on its people,” al-Bukhaiti stressed.

US to halt airstrikes on Yemen

Trump announced on Tuesday that Washington will halt its airstrikes on Yemen, claiming that his administration received a “promise” from Yemeni representatives to stop attacks on vessels in the Red Sea. Trump described the move as “good news” and a step toward de-escalation in the region.

Speaking during a press conference at the White House alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Trump said his administration trusts the Yemeni assurances despite the absence of a formal agreement. “The Yemenis don’t want to fight, and we’ll stop bombing them. We believe their word that they won’t target ships anymore,” he said.

He emphasized that the decision was made in light of what he described as a “genuine desire for calm” and reiterated that there is “no reason to continue the air raids as long as Yemen holds to its commitment to end naval operations.”

‘Israel’ conducts airstrikes on Yemen

Trump’s remarks came just hours after Israeli warplanes carried out airstrikes on the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, resulting in several casualties and injuries.

According to The Jerusalem Post, the Israeli occupation was not informed in advance about the US decision to halt its aggression on Yemen.

Al Mayadeen’s correspondent confirmed that Sanaa International Airport was targeted by a series of Israeli airstrikes.

Footage shared on social media platforms showed scenes of Israeli airstrikes reportedly targeting Sanaa International Airport.

May 6, 2025 Posted by | Wars for Israel | , , , , | Leave a comment

Ansar Allah triumphant: US facing Red Sea defeat again

By Kit Klarenberg | Al Mayadeen | May 3, 2025

On April 28th, Western media outlets became abuzz with news that the USS Harry S. Truman – which is leading the Trump administration’s effort to dismantle Ansar Allah’s anti-genocide Red Sea blockade – lost an F/A-18E fighter jet and tow tractor, while executing a hard turn to evade fire from the Resistance group. While a US Navy press release on the incident made no reference to Ansar Allah’s assault, nameless American officials have briefed several mainstream journalists that the losses were Yemen’s doing.

Reporting on the disaster by dependably servile CIA and Pentagon propaganda megaphone CNN was extraordinarily candid. “US Navy loses $60 million jet at sea after it fell overboard from aircraft carrier”, its headline read. The outlet explicitly acknowledged this resulted from an Ansar Allah “drone and missile attack” on USS Harry S. Truman. CNN went on to note the aircraft carrier has “repeatedly been targeted in attacks” by Yemen, while suffering a series of shameful blunders since its deployment to the Red Sea in September 2024.

In December that year, a US fighter jet posted to USS Harry S. Truman was shot down while conducting a refueling mission over the Red Sea in a friendly fire incident. The USS Gettysburg, which was escorting the aircraft carrier, blasted the jet with a missile for reasons unclear. This gross misadventure remains subject to official investigation. Then, on February 12th this year, USS Harry S. Truman was extensively damaged after colliding with a commercial vessel near Egypt’s Port Said, at the Suez Canal’s northern end.

The aircraft carrier returned to service after a period spent in Greece’s Souda Bay for repairs. The US Navy refused to release details about the cost of these repairs, or the total damage USS Harry S. Truman sustained in the collision. Whether further repairs were required was also not clarified. However, the accident was apparently considered so catastrophic within the Pentagon that the carrier’s chief, Dave Snowden, was fired from his post on February 20th, “due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command”.

These humiliating developments were completely ignored by the media. Concurrently, however, mainstream outlets were engaged in a concerted effort to rehabilitate Operation Prosperity Guardian, the embarrassingly failed Biden administration attempt to smash Ansar Allah and end the Resistance group’s righteous Red Sea blockade. Launched with much hype following the Gaza genocide’s eruption, a vast US flotilla led by USS Eisenhower spent nine months getting battered by a relentless barrage of Ansar Allah drones and missiles to no avail, before scurrying back to the US.

‘Defensive Systems’

Throughout Operation Prosperity Guardian, current and former US military and intelligence officials expressed disquiet at the enormous “cost offset” involved in battling Ansar Allah. The US Navy squandered countless difficult-to-replace missiles costing hundreds of thousands of dollars – if not millions – daily to shoot down the Resistance group’s low-cost drones. As Mick Mulroy, a former DOD official and CIA officer, bitterly told Politico :

“[This] quickly becomes a problem because the most benefit, even if we do shoot down their incoming missiles and drones, is in [Yemen’s] favor… We, the US, need to start looking at systems that can defeat these that are more in line with the costs they are expending to attack us.”

There was no sign of this “cost offset” having been remediated by the time Operation Prosperity Guardian fizzled out in July 2024. Official US Navy figures on the “unprecedented” engagement suggest the USS Eisenhower-led carrier group fired a total of 155 standard missiles and 135 Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles, while accompanying fighter jets and helicopters “expended nearly 60 air-to-air missiles and released 420 air-to-surface weapons” – 770 munitions in total – over the nine-month-long conflict.

Independent analysis suggests these figures are likely to be even higher. Moreover, the US Navy did not provide a breakdown of the costs involved in Operation Prosperity Guardian. Even if one accepts the official figures, a single Tomahawk alone costs around $1.89 million, meaning firing 135 cost a staggering $255,150,000. There is also the enduring question of whether this astonishingly expensive arsenal failed to protect USS Eisenhower from direct Ansar Allah attack.

In February 2024, a cruise missile fired from Yemen penetrated so many layers of the aircraft carrier’s defences it was seconds from impact, forcing USS Eisenhower to employ the Phalanx Close-In Weapon System – its “last line of defense”. It marked the System’s first-ever recorded use in battle. Then in June that year, the USS Eisenhower inexplicably withdrew from its sphere of operations in the Red Sea at maximum speed, immediately after Ansar Allah announced it had successfully struck the carrier.

As Al Mayadeen recorded at the time, multiple Western news reports painted a dire picture of Operation Prosperity Guardian in its aftermath. Associated Press revealed that participating sailors and pilots had found the experience “traumatizing”, as they “weren’t used to being fired on.” Many had repeatedly come within seconds of being struck by “Houthi-launched missiles”, before they were destroyed “by their ship’s defensive systems.” The Pentagon was thus considering providing “counseling and treatment” to thousands of US Navy employees suffering from “post-traumatic stress”, and their families.

‘Supplemental Funds’

Fast forward to February 2025, and Business Insider published a curious article, claiming, based on documents exclusively obtained by the outlet, that in fact the US Navy had successfully “fended off” Ansar Allah’s Red Sea blitzkrieg throughout Operation Prosperity Guardian, “without firing a shot”. Instead, “undefined” and “unspecified” methods and weapons of a “non-kinetic” variety were “successfully” employed to protect “Navy and coalition warships and commercial vessels”. This was, of course, at total odds with literally everything the mainstream media had hitherto reported on the debacle.

With hindsight though, the report’s propaganda utility was clear. It served to rehabilitate the US Navy’s performance in its war on Yemen at a time the Trump administration was preparing to kickstart hostilities against Ansar Allah again. So it was on March 15th, US airstrikes began raining down on Sanaa anew, while the USS Harry S. Truman-led carrier force thrust stridently into the Red Sea. US officials have talked a big game about the fresh assault continuing “indefinitely”, and Trump has bragged that Ansar Allah is “decimated”.

The April 28th loss of an F/A-18E fighter jet due to Yemeni attacks amply demonstrates such boasts to be entirely untrue. In the meantime, on April 4th, the New York Times reported Pentagon officials were “privately” briefing that Trump’s belligerence was failing to graze Ansar Allah, while costing in excess of $1 billion to date. This not only meant “supplemental funds” for the operation needed to be mustered from Congress, but doubts about continued ammunition availability gravely abounded:

“So many precision munitions are being used, especially advanced long-range ones, that some Pentagon contingency planners are growing concerned about overall Navy stocks and implications for any situation in which the United States would have to ward off an attempted invasion of Taiwan by China.”

The New York Times also noted the Trump administration had offered no explanation as to “why it thinks its campaign against [Ansar Allah] will succeed”. Almost a month later, clarity on this crucial point remains unforthcoming. We can perhaps surmise then that the flurry of mainstream interest over the USS Harry S. Truman’s recent troubles is indicative of a determination by the Pentagon to end Washington’s renewed malevolence against Yemen before Ansar Allah inflicts yet another historic defeat on the US Empire.

May 3, 2025 Posted by | Wars for Israel | , , , , | Leave a comment

Sayyed Houthi: Yemeni Armed Forces to Fight Along with Hezbollah against Any Israeli War on Lebanon

Al-Manar | May 1, 2025

Head of Yemen’s Ansarullah Movement Sayyed Abdul Malik Badreddine Al-Houthi stressed on Thursday that Hezbollah power is still the deterrence that prevents the Israeli enemy from invading and controlling Lebanon.

In a televised speech, Sayyed Houthi indicated that the feeble stance of the Lebanese authorities necessitates the only guarantor of Lebanon’s security is the Resistance.

Sayyed Houthi affirmed that the enemy’s move of constructing new posts in South Lebanon consecrates its occupation, highlighting the Zionist attacks and violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty.

The Yemeni leader extended greetings to Hezbollah and its command, praising the latest speech of Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem. “We will fight along with Hezbollah against any Israeli comprehensive escalation and aggression on Lebanon,” Sayyed Houthi affrimed.

On Gaza, Ansarullah leader hailed the latest military operations of the Palestinian resistance, expecting more Zionist losses if the enemy invades the residential neighborhoods of the Strip.

Sayyed Houthi emphasized that Palestinian resistance has surprised the enemy which is persisting in its crimes of killing, starving and displacing the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

Finally, Sayyed Houthi warned of the consequences of the US-Israeli conspiracies against the entire Umma, noting that the Israeli enemy is seizing lands in Syria in order to use it to attack the civilians there.

May 1, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Solidarity and Activism | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

U.S. Continues Strikes on Yemen: Objectives, Criticism, and Alternatives

By Viktor Mikhin – New Eastern Outlook – May 1, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump has confirmed that the United States will continue missile strikes on Yemen until the Houthis cease their attacks on Israel and ships in the Red Sea.

American officials have baselessly insisted that the attacks, which began on March 15, 2025, have achieved significant success. They claim to have allegedly destroyed personnel linked to the Houthis’ missile capabilities, as well as missile sites and weapons depots. However, many observers doubt the effectiveness of this campaign. While the Trump administration’s strikes have been less restrained than the bombings carried out under Biden, they have failed to eliminate Houthi leaders or undermine their missile production capabilities. Meanwhile, the Houthis continue to strike Israel and Israel-affiliated vessels, clearly demonstrating the limited effectiveness of the U.S. operation in achieving its stated goals.

Risks of Escalation and Humanitarian Consequences 

Many analysts argue that the U.S. should intensify its operation by targeting critical infrastructure tied to the Houthis’ military potential. The recent barbaric bombing of the port of Ras Isa, which killed over 80 civilians, including rescue workers, may signal the start of a new phase. But experts doubt the U.S. can sustain such an operation, which has faced bipartisan criticism for lacking strategic results and for its financial cost—estimated at $1 billion in just two weeks. Some Democratic and Republican lawmakers have also stated that the Yemen operation violates the War Powers Act, which prohibits prolonged overseas military deployments without congressional approval.

Pentagon officials have also expressed concerns over U.S. Central Command’s (CENTCOM) heavy use of long-range Tomahawk missiles in Yemen, warning that this could deplete U.S. stockpiles in the event of a future military confrontation with China.

For their part, the Houthis have a decade of experience enduring massive and sustained bombings—whether from the Saudi-led coalition since 2015 or directly from the U.S. under Biden. Neither side has achieved its primary strategic objectives. Moreover, prolonged strikes could create political pressure on the U.S. due to civilian casualties amid Yemen’s worsening humanitarian crisis. Since the beginning of the month, Trump administration strikes on Yemen have killed at least 160 civilians, including many children.

A Failed Military Approach and Pressure for Quick Results 

The military setbacks, combined with pressure on Washington to deliver quick results, point to another possibility—turning to the Yemeni army. In theory, local ground forces could engage the Houthis on multiple fronts, particularly in coastal provinces, with the goal of degrading the Houthis’ military capabilities in the region and securing Red Sea shipping lanes, including vessels carrying critical supplies for aggressive Israel.

Earlier this month, the Yemeni army’s chief of staff met with the commander of U.S. CENTCOM to discuss joint military objectives and efforts to counter the Houthis. CNN, citing regional diplomatic sources, reported that a ground operation against the Houthis is being prepared in southern Yemen. The coordinated attack would be supported by Saudi and U.S. naval forces and aim to push the Houthis out of the critical port of Hodeidah. According to Yemeni sources, up to 80,000 troops have been mobilized for this purpose.

So far, there has been no official confirmation that a U.S.-backed Yemeni army offensive is in the works. In reality, this option comes with several practical challenges, not least of which are structural issues within the military apparatus of Yemen’s internationally recognized government.

While the official Yemeni army has received significant military support in training and equipment since 2015, including the formation of local militias, it remains weak and ineffective due to outdated pre-war weaponry, limited air defense capabilities, ammunition shortages, and insufficient training and maintenance. Other problems include pay disparities among soldiers from different factions and the prevalence of “ghost soldiers”—names added to payrolls for embezzlement purposes.

The Yemeni army is deeply fragmented, composed not of individual conscripts but of political and tribal factions that often hold conflicting regional, ideological, political, and even foreign allegiances. This is the main reason for poor coordination and the lack of a unified command. A joint security and defense committee was established years ago to reorganize and centralize the armed forces, but key factions—particularly the Southern Transitional Council (STC)—have resisted such efforts, preferring to maintain autonomy.

The situation is further complicated by infighting within the Presidential Leadership Council, lingering separatist sentiments in the STC, and Yemen’s economic devastation after years of civil war. These issues would not only hinder a military campaign against the Houthis but could also derail the UN-backed peace process. Even setting aside these concerns, overcoming structural problems would require extensive military and financial support from regional and international forces, long-term training and equipping, and measures to address gaps in the sanctions regime.

Diplomatic Alternatives 

Reports suggest that U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations also touch on Iran’s role in the Middle East. In this context, Washington may pressure Tehran to convince the Houthis to halt attacks on Israel and Israel-linked ships in the Red Sea. This approach depends on Iran’s level of influence over the Houthis on one hand and progress on other issues—such as Iran’s nuclear program, missile capabilities, and sanctions—on the other.

A deal would benefit both sides. Iran wants to avoid a war that could cost it much of its remaining power and influence—especially after losing most of its military allies in the region—and could potentially lead to regime collapse. The U.S. wants to avoid further draining its military resources in the Middle East, preferring to conserve them for a prolonged conflict with China, which remains the current administration’s top priority. Still, the prospects of a negotiated solution to the Houthi problem remain uncertain, given its entanglement with other critical issues.

Each of the three options discussed has major drawbacks—yet none can be ruled out. The failure of one could lead to another, or two approaches could be pursued simultaneously. In the long run, Houthi attacks will likely stop. The question is how, under what terms, and what impact this will have on Yemen’s broader crisis.

If the Houthis are forced to halt due to a ground offensive, it would strengthen Yemen’s legitimate government, either compelling the Houthis to engage in peace talks or ousting them from Sanaa and restoring the official government. Conversely, if the Houthis relent due to a deal with Iran, it would solidify their control over northern Yemen.

The outcome hinges on whether the U.S. can break the Houthis or force them into peace on American-Israeli terms.

Viktor Mikhin, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, Middle East Expert

May 1, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes, Wars for Israel | , , , , , | Leave a comment

‘Prepare to face consequences’: Yemen warns UK after attacks on Sanaa

The Cradle | April 30, 2025

The Yemeni government issued a statement on 30 April warning the UK against its continued participation in the US campaign of deadly airstrikes against Yemen that began last month.

“In a display of typical British arrogance, the UK Ministry of Defense announced participation in a joint military operation with the US enemy against our country, targeting areas south of Sanaa … The Government affirms that the British enemy must carefully consider the consequences of its involvement and be prepared to face the repercussions,” the Sanaa government said.

“While we pledge to respond to this unlawful and unjustified aggression, we stress that this attack is part of ongoing Anglo-American efforts to support the Israeli enemy by attempting to block Yemen’s support for Palestine – enabling the Israeli enemy to continue its genocide in Gaza,” it added.

The government statement also said Yemen will stand against the “trio of evil,” referring to the US, UK, and Israel, as well as “those who orbit around them.”

The statement came hours after the UK announced its first joint attack against Yemen with Washington since US President Donald Trump entered office this year.

The UK Defense Ministry claimed the strikes targeted a “cluster of buildings” used by the Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) and Ansarallah movement for storing drones, adding that the attack came after “very careful planning” to avoid civilian casualties.

London played a primary role in the initial campaign against Yemen, launched in January 2024 by the former US administration of Joe Biden.

Yemeni forces targeted UK vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden a number of times last year in response.

The UK announcement came after at least six US airstrikes struck the Sanaa governorate on 29 April.

Two days ago, around 70 African migrants were killed in US strikes on a detention center in Saada governorate. Dozens of others were injured.

The Interior Ministry of the Sanaa government said the shelter, located in Saada’s reserve prison, was supervised by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Red Cross.

In response, the YAF said it targeted the USS Harry Truman in the Red Sea with missiles and drones, adding that it forced the aircraft carrier to retreat northward. It also said it targeted a “vital” Israeli site in the city of Ashkelon.

US warplanes have been launching deadly attacks against Yemen every day since 15 March, when Trump intensified the campaign that was started by the former administration last year.

The bombing campaign comes in response to Yemen’s reimposition of a ban on Israeli shipping in the Red Sea and elsewhere, as well as its renewal of drone and missile attacks on Israel after Tel Aviv restarted the war on Gaza last month.

Yemen has repeatedly targeted US aircraft carriers in response to Washington’s campaign, which has cost around $1 billion and has depleted weapons stocks, while failing to significantly impact the YAF and Ansarallah.

April 30, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes, Wars for Israel | , , , , | Leave a comment

Collateral Damage or Calculated Strategy? EU Feels the Heat from America’s Yemen Military Operation

By Henry Kamens – New Eastern Outlook – April 26, 2025

One must stop and ask that if the US was aware that its operations in Yemen would have such limited results, why would it undertake such a risky and expensive operation in the first place?

It is more involved than just opening up the straits of the Red Sea for international shipping, especially for the benefit of Israel or the United States.

In the fog of war and diplomacy, clarity often lies not in what’s said—but in who suffers. Operation Rough Rider may not be officially aimed at the EU, but its strategic outcomes speak louder than policy briefings. Ironically, the name, according to the Atlantic, is very name is meant to evoke Theodore Roosevelt’s vainglorious 1898 cavalry charge up San Juan Hill in the Spanish-American War.

As European trade chokes and Washington insiders mock their so-called allies, it’s fair to ask whether the Houthis were ever the real target—or merely a convenient excuse. Either way, the operation isn’t working as officially claimed. In the broader Great Game of global power, Yemen may be the battleground, but Europe looks increasingly like the economic casualty. The layers run deep, and we’re only beginning to peel them back.

Is the EU the Real Target of US Military Operations against Yemen?

Firstly, only a fraction, less than 5 percent, of US cargo finds it way though these disputed waters. This begs the question, why then would the US start an operation that has resulted in shutting down transit for all flags, not only those coming and going from Israel?

But motivations are different, and there is no having a small country doing the right thing, and at the right time. Yemen may go down in history as one of the few countries that were morally responsible enough to stand up for human rights, and for having taken a principled stance against genocide in Palestine when the real history is written.

It is possible that the US is attacking Yemen for all practical purposes to cover for its separate agenda, to weaken the EU as its products, imports and exports, need this vital waterway, and as a punitive action for Yemen standing up to genocide in Palestine.

A recent Mondoweiss article titled “Yemen is acting responsibly to stop genocide and the U.S. is bombing them for it” presents a perspective that Yemen’s actions in the Red Sea are legally justified responses to international law violations, especially in terms of the crisis situation in Gaza.

The piece presents a convincing position that Yemen’s blockade of ships destined for Israel through the Red Sea port of Eilat is a lawful measure aimed at preventing further human rights violations and genocide against the Palestinian people, which may soon expand to the West Bank.

Genocide, Geopolitics, and the Price Europe Pays

The Houthis have clearly stated that they will continue retaliating against shipping of any flag that supports Israel and turns a blind eye to blatant genocide. But who is really suffering, other than the US taxpayer?

It should be obvious that this is an expensive operation with high-tech bombs and keeping battle groups in the region does not come cheap, and it weakens the US position should it need to shift to another area of operation, for instance, the South China Sea. Likely, the operation has already exceeded 1 billion dollars for the US, and with little to show for it.

The Houthis are still able to launch attacks; the costs of the mission are mounting, which would require the Pentagon to ask for more funds from Congress. In addition, the US has been forced to transfer a second carrier from the Pacific, in a sign that not all is well with the campaign, a situation likely to nearly double the ongoing costs of the operation. In addition, the Houthis have become quite adept at shooting down US drones.

This may be nothing, small change, in comparison to what the EU is suffering in loses due to sanctions against Russia, US tariffs, and having its supply chains interrupted, and, whereas before only ships coming and going to Israeli ports were subject to attacks, now the Red Sea is a free fire zone, and Lloyds of London is not willing to provide insurance coverage to merchant shipping in the area due to the US operation.

America’s Bombs, Europe’s Losses: The Hidden War Behind Operation Rough Rider

One could even fathom that the US was well aware of this fact, and knew that there would be externalities, and this would hurt another one of its purported friends, and “real rival” who has gotten rich as a result of US trade policies over the years and the American taxpayer’s subsidy to the defense of old Europe.

One has to listen to the news, with a smile and tongue in cheek, how National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who inadvertently added a journalist to a group chat that discussed Yemen strike plans, speaks as he sits with U.S. President Donald Trump during an Ambassadorial Meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on March 25, 2025 in Washington.

This comes as close to Machiavellian as possible, due to the potential fallout, economic impact, and the fear it spreads to allies, and especially those most economically affected—as in the case of the EU.

While the operation is not explicitly targeted at the European Union (EU), at least openly, it has far-reaching implications for European interests. The Red Sea is a critical maritime route for global trade, including that of EU member states. Houthi attacks on shipping lanes have disrupted international commerce, affecting European economies which are too reliant on these trade routes. ​

Some U.S. officials have expressed concerns about the operation’s focus, suggesting that the benefits may accrue more to European allies than to the United States itself. For instance, a U.S. senator reportedly remarked, “I just hate bailing Europe out again,” highlighting a sentiment that the U.S. is bearing the operational costs while Europe reaps the benefits of secured trade routes.​

The supposedly leaked war plans on the Signal Group Chat, may not have been accidently leaked at all, and are most revealing. To put it simply, it not only exposed U.S. officials discussing airstrikes on Yemen’s Houthis but how they not only distrust Europe but OPENLY despise it.

We can glean how VP JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio weren’t just discussing military strategy, but were ranting about the freeloading of the Europeans, how they would be benefiting more from the planned US strikes, and how it was the Americans who were bailing out the Europeans.

Even Trump shared similar views a month ago, and in a nutshell, he claimed the EU was “formed to screw the United States.” I don’t know if that is politically acceptable from anyone other than Trump but what he is saying hits home with many, as, from Trump’s perspective, the actions of the EU, aside from pushing for a continued war in Ukraine, look like economic warfare cloaked in bureaucracy, where U.S. wealth is siphoned off through unfair trade practices.

Who is Screwing Who?

It is the American taxpayers who are picking up the tap for the Defense of Europe, and even this military operation against Yemen, in theory, should help Europe more but in reality, now no ships are passing, who is screwing who now?

Operation “Rough Rider” may be framed in the guise of protecting international shipping lanes and addressing regional instability, but its true impact—and likely intent—appears far more strategic.

Though publicly justified as a response to Houthi aggression, the disruption of Red Sea trade routes has hit the European Union hardest—not Israel or the United States. Israel had already suffered from earlier Houthi blockades. Whether by design or fortunate consequence, the operation has undermined a key economic rival under the guise of humanitarian aid and security enforcement.

As U.S. political elites openly mock European allies and leak plans with startling candor, the lines between defense, deception, and economic warfare blur further. If the goal was to punish the Houthis, it has failed. But if the deeper aim was to pressure Europe—economically, politically, and symbolically—then Operation Rough Rider may be succeeding more than it appears.

The real question is not why the U.S. is bombing Yemen, but who they really wanted to hit. Behind the façade of humanitarian and free trade concern lies an economic war that’s crippling EU trade and shaking global alliances, and sending messages to China, for good measure, that there is more than one way to get the desired results, though it must be said that the US failure to silence the Houthis, or stop their attacks on shipping, may be sending the wrong message, as I warned earlier.

While the U.S. chips away at a European rival, its struggle against the Houthis exposes the limits of American military power against a determined adversary. In the process, Washington may be weakening its own position. A wider showdown with Iran, despite the bold claims of Trump and Hesgeth about America’s “unrivaled power,” could prove just as costly—and just as ineffective.

April 26, 2025 Posted by | Deception, Economics, Militarism | , , | Leave a comment

‘A battle between right and wrong’: Houthi spokesman on confronting the US and Israel

The Grayzone | April 21, 2025

The Grayzone’s Max Blumenthal interviews Muhammad Al-Bukhaiti, senior political officer and spokesman for Ansar Allah (the Houthi movement), on Yemen’s direct confrontation with a US military machine which is hellbent on destroying its ability to resist Israel. In this third conversation between The Grayzone and Bukhaiti, the Ansar Allah spokesman explains why he believes his movement’s war with the US-Israeli axis is unlike any conflict that preceded it, and why he believes Yemen is engaged in a righteous battle despite the terrible toll its civilians have faced. This interview was translated by Hekmat Aboukhater. 

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April 22, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Video, Wars for Israel | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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