Tag: middle east

Tensions in the Red Sea Setting the Stage for WWIII

In recent weeks, there have been 15 attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea as the Houthis of northern Yemen threatened to attack any vessel heading to the Israeli port city of Eilat.

These attacks caused imports to the port to drop 85% and prompted the formation of a 10-nation coalition led by the US to secure maritime trade. News reports surfaced that Spain and France pulled out of the naval task force, stating they would protect their ships and only accept orders from NATO, not CENTCOM.

On December 23, an Indian-flagged cargo ship was struck in the Arabian Sea 200 nautical miles from the Indian port city of Veraval, and less than an hour later, the Israeli and US governments were claiming they had intelligence the drone was fired from Iran.

The US, EU, and Israel have all accused Iran of having a command ship disguised as a cargo vessel anchored in the Red Sea off Yemen’s northwest coast named the MV Saviz that is identifying ships linked to Israel and handing that information off to the Houthis. In 2021, it was reported that Israeli commandos bombed the Saviz using limpet mines. Iran claims the Saviz is a logistical ship to help protect the region from piracy.

The USS Laboon, a guided missile Destroyer, patrolled the waters around Yemen as part of Operation Prosperity Guardian over the weekend. Meanwhile, the country exploded in a planned protest to show support for Gaza, where an estimated 2.2 million Yemenis marched through Sanaa.

Many people waved Palestinian flags and banners that read, “Your coalition does not intimidate us!” The Supreme Leader of the Sanaa government, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, addressed the crowd via a large screen and loudspeakers, stating that if the US or the UK interrupted their operations on Israeli-linked ships, they would directly target “American and British ships in the region.”

Hours later, CENTCOM announced that the USS Laboon shot down four drones fired from Houthi-controlled northern Yemen that were “inbound to the USS Laboon.” The USS Laboon reported no damage or injuries and continued its mission, guiding a US cargo ship through the Bel el Mandeb Strait to the Suez Canal. Reports then began to surface about a secret plan between the US and the UK to attack Houthi missile sites in northern Yemen with Reaper drones from Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti.

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Iran Dispatches Warship To Red Sea, Houthis Warn Of “Repercussions” After US Forces Kill Rebels During Maersk Ship Attack

Regional instability risks mount in the Red Sea following the Iran-backed Houthi attack on a Maersk container ship on Sunday. US Forces responded with attack helicopters that eliminated three small boats and ten rebels.

After the skirmish, a spokesperson for the Yemeni militia group warned of “consequences and repercussions” for the US aggression. 

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea confirmed on the Yemeni TV channel Al-Masirah that US forces killed ten of its fighters. 

“US enemy forces attacked three boats belonging to the Yemeni Naval Forces, which led to the martyrdom and the loss of ten people from the Naval Forces,” Sarea said.

The spokesman said its fighters were “performing their humanitarian and moral duty” to deter Israel-related commercial vessels from transiting the Red Sea “in solidarity and support for the Palestinian people.”

He said the US “bears the consequences” for attacking and killing ten of its fighters, adding that the “military movements in the Red Sea to protect Israeli ships will not prevent Yemen (Houthi militia) from performing its humanitarian duty in support of Palestine and Gaza.”

Perhaps even more problematically from a global escalation perspective, Iran dispatched a warship to the Red Sea.

The Alborz destroyer traversed the Bab El-Mandeb strait, a narrow choke point between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, on Monday, Iranian state media said, adding that Iran’s naval fleet has been operating in the area “to secure shipping lanes, repel pirates, among other purposes since 2009.”

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Newly Formed Operation Prosperity Guardian To Protect Red Sea Shipping

During his visit to the Middle East next week, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will announce the formation of Operation Prosperity Guardian, a new international effort deal with Houthi threats, a U.S. military official told The War Zone. That information comes as U.S. and British warships shot down drones the Houthis launched in a wave from Yemen early Saturday morning local time, marking the latest escalation of attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

The Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer USS Carney downed 14 drones today, a U.S. military official told The War Zone. The Type-45 destroyer HMS Diamond downed one drone targeting merchant shipping in the Red Sea with a Sea Viper missile, U.K. Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said in a statement. It was the first time the Royal Navy shot down an aerial target in anger since the First Gulf War in 1991 when the Type 42 Destroyer HMS Gloucester destroyed an Iraqi Silkworm missile bound for a U.S. warship.

The two destroyers, which were in constant communications, shot down the drones during a 45-minute attack wave near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the official told us, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss operational details.

While the British say the drones were attacking a merchant ship, the Carney engaged the drones because there were so many at once they were deemed a threat to the ship, the official said.

The official declined to say what weapons the Carney used because the U.S. does not want the Houthis to be able to figure out its munitions stocks.

In a Tweet, CENTCOM stated the drones “were shot down with no damage to ships in the area or reported injuries. Regional Red Sea partners were alerted to the threat.”

Houthi spokesman Yahya Sare’e said today that the Iranian-backed Yemeni rebels launched a wave of drones toward Israel, but did not mention either warship.

Today’s drone intercepts come a day after the Houthis set two cargo ships in the Red Sea ablaze and threatened a third vessel. Two of the world’s largest shipping companies, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, told us they were temporarily pausing transits into the Red Sea as a result of the Houthi attacks. You can read more about those incidents in our story here.

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America’s War Economy and the Urgent Call for Peace in the Middle East

On September 19, 2001, eight days after 9/11, as the leaders of both parties were already pounding a frenzied drumbeat of war, a diverse group of concerned Americans released a warning about the long-term consequences of a military response. Among them were veteran civil rights activists, faith leaders, and public intellectuals, including Rosa Parks, Harry Belafonte, and Palestinian-American Edward Said. Rare public opponents of the drive to war at the time, they wrote with level-headed clarity:

“We foresee that a military response would not end the terror. Rather, it would spark a cycle of escalating violence, the loss of innocent lives, and new acts of terrorism… Our best chance for preventing such devastating acts of terror is to act decisively and cooperatively as part of a community of nations within the framework of international law… and work for justice at home and abroad.”

Twenty-three years and more than two wars later, this statement reads as a tragic footnote to America’s Global War on Terror that left an entire region of the planet immiserated. It contributed to the direct and indirect deaths of close to 4.5 million people, while costing Americans almost $9 trillion and counting.

The situation is certainly different today. Still, over the last few weeks, those prophetic words, now 22 years old, have been haunting me, as the U.S. war machine kicks into ever higher gear following the horrific Hamas massacre of Israeli civilians and the brutal intensification of the decades-long Israeli siege of civilians in Gaza. Sadly, the words and actions of our nation’s leaders have revealed a staggering, even willful, historical amnesia about the disastrous repercussions of America’s twenty-first-century war-mongering.

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These Are The Top Middle East Exports By Country

The Middle East is widely recognized for its significant role in the global energy market. However, countries in the region also foster other substantial industries, including metals, chemicals, and agriculture.

Visual Capitalist’s Niccolo Conte and Sabrina Lam created the graphic below, using 2021 exports data from The Observatory of Economic Complexity, to help explain the economy of the Middle East.

In 2021, the Middle East’s exports reached a total value of $1.27 trillion. While the region lags behind Asia, Europe, and North America in global exports, it outpaces Africa and South America.

Despite many countries undertaking efforts to diversify their economies and reduce their oil dependence, most of the exports still come from fossil fuels.

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US To Cut Special Forces In Pivot From Mideast To ‘China Threat’ Readiness

The US military’s recruiting struggles have been no secret, having been reported widely for years, at a moment Washington hawks look for “new enemies” following two decades of the so-called global war on terror (GWOT) and the deeply unpopular ‘forever wars’ Iraq and Afghanistan. 

On Thursday The Wall Street Journal has learned that the Pentagon is set to significantly cut its fighting force among special operations units. But the controversial plan is already receiving significant pushback among top brass overseeing special warfare and training of foreign allied forces.

While special operators’ heyday was the type of counterterror operations that defined the GWOT era of elite forces, the thinking on Capitol Hill is that the future will involve potential conflicts with large powers like Russia or China. 

The Journals’ sources spell out that the cut is motivated by a shift in strategic priorities away from the Middle East and especially toward the “China threat”. 

“The Army is cutting about 3,000 troops, or about 10% from its special-operations ranks, which could include so-called trigger-pullers from the Green Beret commando units who have conducted some of the nation’s most dangerous and sensitive missions around the world, from the jungles of Vietnam to the back alleys of Baghdad,” writes the WSJ.

US military officials listed out the types of Army jobs on the chopping block as follows: psychological warfare, civil affairs, intelligence operators, communications troops, logistics and other elite support roles, with all of these related to special forces.

The report tallies that in total Special Operations Command would be reduced by about 3,700 troops since last year. But this has resulted in pushback from senior officers who argue that the training of partner forces – such as in Ukraine or Taiwan – could be negatively impacted by the cuts.

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US Will Boost Military Presence in the Middle East

Washington announced a plan to deploy additional fighter jets to the Middle East to prevent Iran from seizing ships in the Persian Gulf. The Pentagon is additionally evaluating proposals to send more military equipment into the region to address Russian aircraft operating in Syrian skies. 

According to the AP, a defense official told reporters that the US would deploy F-16s to the Middle East to stop Iran from hijacking ships. The official, who spoke to the reporters on the condition of anonymity, said the aircraft would provide cover to vessels traveling in the region. 

The US seized a ship carrying Iranian oil to China in April, kicking off a new tanker war. Iran retaliated, in the Persian Gulf,  by seizing two ships. In response, the US said it increased the number of patrols its personnel were conducting in the region but stopped short of sending additional military equipment to the Middle East. 

The lack of new military deployments angered Washington’s allies in the region, including the UAE. Abu Dhabi halted its involvement with a Washington-led coalition aimed at preventing Iranian ship seizures in May. 

Last week, Washington claimed it prevented Iranian forces from seizing two ships with the presence of a guided missile destroyer. The F-16s sent to the Middle East will support A-10s in conducting patrols over the sea. 

The official additionally told reporters that the Department of Defense is looking to confront the Russian air force in Syria. Over the past several months, the White House and the Kremlin have accused each other of conducting provocative sorties in the skies above Syria. The official claimed that Moscow, Tehran and Damascus were working to drive US forces from Syria. 

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Israel Killed Civilians, Targeted Hospitals in Jenin With US Weapons and Support

From July 3-4, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) — using weapons funded by the United States — mounted the most violent military assault in the occupied West Bank in two decades.

In what Israel dubbed “Operation Home and Garden,” more than 1,000 ground troops invaded the Jenin refugee camp. Assisted by helicopter gunships and armed drones, the IOF killed 12 Palestinians — including six civilians (five of them children) — and wounded more than 120 others (including 14 children), according to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. The IOF partially destroyed 109 houses, extensively damaged the infrastructure, leveled the streets and created a power outage. About 4,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced from their homes.

While the IOF has used armed drones against Gazans, they are now using them against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank as well.

Meanwhile, the U.S. government, as usual, issued no criticism of the brutal IOF assault on Jenin. Instead, the White House declared that the United States “supports Israel’s security and right to defend its people against Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other terrorist groups.”

Under international law, the occupying power (Israel) is not entitled to self-defense against the people it occupies (the Palestinians). A UN-appointed Commission of Inquiry determined last year that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory is illegal and called on the General Assembly to seek an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice.

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HOW AN “AVERAGE” YOGA COACH MANAGED TO BECOME A HEAD OF THE CIA DIVISION RESPONSIBLE FOR ARMS TRANSFERS TO MILITANTS IN AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST

“America is the land of opportunity” – this phrase fully describes our nation. America gives an opportunity for every person not only to achieve anything they put their mind to, but also reach a mighty power and get filthy rich. Despite the fact that it is not customary to speak about it, but in most cases people assume such power through deception and hypocrisy. They serve as heads of serious departments, using their post to manipulate the American taxpayers’ money.

Today we’d like to tell you a dizzying story about a yoga teacher, Chanda Creasy, whose enlightenment path took her to a top-secret CIA unit responsible for weapons supplies to militants in Africa and Middle East, receiving millions of dollars in kickbacks.

But first let’s start our story with Chanda’s yoga personal website where she tells fascinating fairy-tale about her meeting with yoga while serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia. You probably didn’t know that Ethiopia is the best place to experience yoga, as well as meditations under scorching African sun without a hat will make you reach Satchidananda in a fastest way.

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Omnibus Spending Bill: $410M for Border Security — in the Middle East

The $1.7 trillion year-end omnibus spending bill uses hundreds of millions of dollars of American taxpayer money to fund border security initiatives overseas as the United States, at its own border, is projected to set illegal immigration records next year.

The spending bill includes $410 million “for enhanced border security” in Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, and Oman. At least $150 million of the funding is to be used to help Jordan secure its borders.

The hundreds of millions of dollars for border security thousands of miles away from the U.S. comes after Republicans and Democrats negotiated a similar plan in March that saw about $370 million go to border security initiatives in the Middle East and North Africa.

In June of last year, Congress authorized nearly a billion dollars in border security initiatives for Middle Eastern and North African countries.

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