MoA - The MoA Week In Review

September 22, 2019

The MoA Week In Review - OT 2019-55

Last week's posts at Moon of Alabama:

September 16 - Damage At Saudi Oil Plant Points To Well Targeted Swarm Attack
September 19 - The Crisis Over The Attack On Saudi Oil Infrastructure Is Over - We Now Wait For the Next One
September 21 - U.S. Ships More Air Defense Systems That Do Not Work To Saudi Arabia

Related:
Fake news and pure war propaganda from the Wall Street Journal:
Yemeni Rebels Warn Iran Plans Another Strike Soon
The information has been passed along to the Saudis and the U.S., according to people briefed on the warnings

>BEIRUT — Houthi militants in Yemen have warned foreign diplomats that Iran is preparing a follow-up strike to the missile and drone attack that crippled Saudi Arabia’s oil industry a week ago, people familiar with the matter said.
Leaders of the group said they were raising the alarm about the possible new attack after they were pressed by Iran to play a role in it, these people said.<

The only named source in the piece is the Houthi spokesman who fully denies the above nonsense.

September 17 - How Russian And Iran Beat Their Opponents' Strategies

September 18 - 14,000 Words Of "Blame The Pilots" That Whitewash Boeing Of 737 MAX Failure

September 20 - 30+ Afghans Killed In Drone Strike While CIA Celebrates 18 Years Of War On Afghanistan

Related:
One of those U.S. generals who are borderline lunatics:
Former SEAL, SOCOM boss McRaven says we’re going to be in Afghanistan ‘for a very long time’ - Military Times

>“I’ve said we have to accept the fact — I think we do — that we’re going to be there for a very long time,” he said. “Is it forever? I don’t think anything’s for forever. But does that mean that we will lose more young men and women? Does that mean we’re going to spend another billions of dollars? I think it does.”
...
“And people have asked me before, ‘Well, we can’t be the policemen of the world.' The hell we can’t,” he said. “I think this is what American leadership is about. You have to recognize that our interests are no longer just in the borders of the United States.”<

Other issues:

A corpocrat marketing campaign is trying to sell us some Swedish girl as a savior. But its real purpose is to further enrich the 0.1%:
Just Say No to Fake Action - Art for Culture Change - Wrong Kind Of Green
The Manufacturing of Greta Thunberg – for Consent: The Behavioural Change Project “To Change Everything” [Volume II, Act V] - Cory Morningstar - Wrong Kind Of Green

Immigrants as a Weapon: Global Nationalism and American Power - Yasha Levine

PROGRESSIVE REGRESSION Metamorphoses of European Social Policy (pdf) - Wolfgang Streek - new left review

A long but important read:
“World at a Crossroads and a System of International Relations for the Future”
by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for “Russia in Global Politics” magazine, September 20, 2019

>The West’s unwillingness to accept today's realities, when after centuries of economic, political and military domination it is losing the prerogative of being the only one to shape the global agenda, gave rise to the concept of a “rules-based order.” These “rules” are being invented and selectively combined depending on the fleeting needs of the people behind it, and the West persistently introduces this language into everyday usage. The concept is by no means abstract and is actively being implemented. Its purpose is to replace the universally agreed international legal instruments and mechanisms with narrow formats, where alternative, non-consensual methods for resolving various international problems are developed in circumvention of a legitimate multilateral framework. In other words, the expectation is to usurp the decision-making process on key issues.<

Use as open thread ....

Posted by b on September 22, 2019 at 13:58 UTC | Permalink

Comments

karlof1

Economic, cyber, information warfare ect does not bother the US voter.

Re the various countries that after visits from the US enforcers come out and say 'Iran dunit' are not much to worry about. More time yet before we see where they are at.
Iran's president has stated that he believes US is after full control of Saudi oil. The Arab oil kingdoms have got to be getting thoughts along these lines also.

Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 26 2019 23:12 utc | 401

Peter AU 1 @428--

Yes, I agree with your assessment. Iraq stressed its independence most forcefully, yet is clearly on the same page as Rouhani regarding the collective security/peace/development proposal. Including Qatar and Turkey, that makes 4. Syria would make 5. If Yemen had a say, that would likely make 6. Oman seems rationale, so lets now call it 7 leaving UAE, Bahrain and Saudi, while Kuwait seemed amenable but not yet included. If Lebanon were included, that would make 8. So, my straw poll provides a majority in favor of Iran's proposal; but, it must be unanimous to succeed. I'll chew on this more while I attend my weekly Thursday night class and resume our discourse later!

Posted by: karlof1 | Sep 26 2019 23:23 utc | 402

UAE have been making a few approaches to Iran and Syria so they could go either way.
Saudi Arabia, I think, is history. It has 9 11 hanging over its head. Be easy for the US to make enough of a case against them that the US voter would be unanimously baying for Saudi blood.

Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 26 2019 23:38 utc | 403

karlof1, Peter AU 1

Saudi-USA bombing of Yemen is a rejection of peace. Practically begging for another strike on Saudi Arabia.

When that happens, it might be augmented (like the first?) to be more than it was - and it'll be blamed on Iran.

We've already been prepared for Trump's decision to strike back by Bolton's "leaking" that all Trump's advisors wanted to strike Iran when the drone was downed. Only Trump held back. What a guy! (NOT)

<> <> <> <> <> <>

BoJo 'porogued' Parliament (but apparently didn't expect it would be challenged and overturned in UK Supreme Court). Trump/Deep State tied Congress in knots with impeachment bullshit. Netanyahu has 40.5 days to convince his former Defense Minister to join Netanyahu's coalition.

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Sep 27 2019 0:41 utc | 404

I should explain that in the run-up to Obama's intended bombing of Syria in 2013, Western democracy proven to be a stumbling block as the UK Parliament refused to approve bombing Syria.

That was unexpected. The Parliament had approved the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and was expected to rubber-stamp the 2013 attack as well.

TPTB know that a war on Iran would be unpopular. Democratic debate is not wanted.

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Sep 27 2019 2:34 utc | 405

The hypocrisy, ignorance, hubris of it all....

I post it here as a record, before they deleted my posts like before.

https://theconversation.com/hong-kong-protesters-dont-identify-as-chinese-amid-anger-at-inequality-survey-suggests-122293

Posted by: denk | Sep 27 2019 5:35 utc | 406

Jackrabbit

I guess there won't be a lot happen for a bit, at least until the Israeli's get their act together.

Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 27 2019 9:40 utc | 407

Many of the speeches I've listened to and read transcripts of contain the issue of Terrorism as a main topic. Lavrov's UNSC speech on the 25th's topic was Terrorism and the mechanisms through which the SCO, CIS and CSTO were using to deal with it in conjunction with relevant UN agencies. This sentence of his, "It is unacceptable, I must emphasize this specifically, to use terrorist associations for selfish political goals. There can be no excuse for this," I cited earlier ought to have the additional context leading to it cited as well, context I didn't have earlier:

"In 2015, President of Russia Vladimir Putin proposed an initiative here to form a broad international anti-terrorist front which would rely on the UN Charter, the norms and principles of international law, without political motivation or preconditions. This initiative is gaining an even greater relevance today. The double standards applied by some states are complicating the response to modern threats, including terrorism. Deviating from the principles of a consistent collective action against international terrorism is fraught with dire consequences." [Emphasis Mine]

There ought to be no question as to who the "double standards" nations are. For decades, the Outlaw US Empire has used terrorists and terrorism as tools to wage its unilateral attempt to control the world. Without it being named as the ultimate adversary in the anti-terrorism war, it is nonetheless going to see its ability to use those tools diminish, hopefully very rapidly as the states pooling their resources have come up with methods to thwart the Empire's plans. This ought to be seen for what it actually is: the opening of a vital front in the ongoing Hybrid Third World War aimed at defeating a prime Outlaw US Empire asset it's used to great extent since declaring its War OF Terror in 2001.

Probably more so than at any other time since the Cold War's end we can decidedly see the two primary opposing camps and those remaining somewhat neutral through the speeches given at the UNGA. I'll close by providing the trascript of Saudi's speech, which is full of lies and falsehoods that were only topped by those of the Zionists and Trump. Indeed, the first sentence after the speaker's salutations inform the reader of the mockery to come.

Posted by: karlof1 | Sep 27 2019 17:25 utc | 408

Today, the children asked their parents authrozation to leave school and demonstrate on "climate strike"....Meanwhile in "ecologically" managed Spanish Balear Island of Menorca...where on the alibi of "environmental protection" there are restricted quotas of citizens to go to its little beautiful beaches....

NATO to hold war games in fall on the Spanish island of #Menorca with participation of 24 allies

Why in Menorca, one would ask itself?
What other location at "opponents"´s land could resemble menorca a bit? Crimea?

May be this could be related to the restarting of shelling of Donbass reported yesterday...

Posted by: Sasha | Sep 27 2019 19:53 utc | 409

Both China and Russia have now spoken at the UNGA and their transcripts are linked.

China states its goals and values and then states what it believes to be the top threats to the world today: Unilateralism and Protectionism:

"We will be resolute in upholding the stature and role of the United Nations, the international system underpinned by the UN, and the international order anchored upon international law....

"It is not legitimate or justifiable for any country standing from a position of power to impose unilateral sanctions or exercise long-arm jurisdiction over other countries, as such practice has no basis in international law. To put one own's interests above the common interests of all other countries is a typical bullying practice that finds no support of the people."

It would be all too easy to cite most of the remainder as the words are well chosen and heavy with meaning. The proposals are brief, succinct and sincere. That they present a direct challenge to the Outlaw US Empire ought to be obvious. IMO, China will back Rouhani's HOPE proposal; it also specifically highlighted the Palestinian's plight and demanded its resolution. Curiously, the word terrorism was absent from the speech, but its relatives were mentioned and their sponsors implied. Most certainly, "China will not ever be cowered by threats, or subdued by pressure."

Lavrov spoke for Russia and opened his speech that suggested the theme of his recent paper:

"[T]he realization of the need for a collective mechanism to maintain international peace and security" was never arrived at after the end of WW2 as the Cold War "prevented this tremendous creative potential from being unleashed....

"New most acute challenges emerged--international terrorism, drug trafficking, climate change, illegal migration, the growing gap between rich and poor. It is getting harder to address these and many other challenges from year to year. The fragmentation of international community is only increasing.

"in our view, the reasons for the current state of affairs lies, first and foremost, in the unwillingness of the countries which declared themselves winners of the Cold War to reckon with the legitimate interests of all other states, to accept the realities of the objective course of history....

"Leading Western countries are trying to impede the development of a polycentric world, to recover their privileged positions, to impose standards of conduct based on a narrow Western interpretation of liberalism on others. In a nutshell, 'We are liberals, and we can do anything.'"

All done in order to overthrow International Law and establish a whatever I say at the time "rules based order."

"Attacks on international law are looming large. The US withdrawal from the JCPOA endorsed by USNC Resolution 2231 is broadly discussed. Washington not just repudiated its obligations enshrined in this Resolution but demanded from others to play by American 'rules' and sabotage its implementation."

It then set about the destruction of the established UN Resolutions for the settlement of the Palestinian issue, thereby jeopardizing the security of the whole region. Undoubtedly, the logic of the "rules based order" was followed while NATO illegally bombed Libya. And so with terrorists and their organization, the list is long and pre-dates Trump.

"The key principles of the UN Charter--non-interference in internal affairs non-use of force or the threat of force--are also undergoing durability tests....

"Like the overwhelming numbers of the UN members, Russia is rejecting the attempts to return the 'rules' dating back to the Monroe Doctrine to Latin America, to change from outside regimes in sovereign states descending to the methods of military blackmail, unlawful coercion and blockade as it happens in relation to Cuba in violation of UN Resolutions."

The above is only a short recap. Lavrov explains further threats to peace and orderly development. In its attempt to defuse these, Russia has proposed new arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation draft resolution to the UNGA in hopes its ready for next years NPT Review Conference. Lavrov references his UNSC Speech which is linked above dealing with terrorism. And he brings up the escalating issues of cyber-security and cyber-crime.

"We need to step up efforts to facilitate the settlement of numerous crises and conflicts in all regions of the world. The main point is to seek compliance with already existing agreements from parties without allowing them to invent pretexts to refuse from implementing obligations already taken during negotiations. [My Emphasis]

Lavrov closes by saying the UN system "is a kind of a safety net which guarantees--if the UN Charter is respected--a peaceful development of mankind through finding a balance of sometimes rather contradictory interests of various countries." [My Emphasis]

If given the chance to work while obeying the fundamental principles of the UN Charter and international law, the UN System can work and its "creative potential" might finally be fulfilled. But the rogue nations must change their ways for that to happen.

Posted by: karlof1 | Sep 27 2019 21:48 utc | 410

Some things you just can't make up:

"Video: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron attempt to persuade Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to meet Trump, but to no avail."

Not too long after those same men falsely accused Iran of bombing the Saudi Aramco facilities. Lucky Rouhani's civilized or he would have spat in their faces as they so richly deserved.

Posted by: karlof1 | Sep 27 2019 22:27 utc | 411

Some things you just can't make up:

"Video: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron attempt to persuade Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to meet Trump, but to no avail."

Not too long after those same men falsely accused Iran of bombing the Saudi Aramco facilities. Lucky Rouhani's civilized or he would have spat in their faces as they so richly deserved.

Posted by: karlof1 | Sep 27 2019 22:27 utc | 412

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-iran-prisoners-idUSKBN1WC2IR
"The United States rejected a request by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to visit Iran’s United Nations ambassador in a New York hospital where he is being treated for cancer, the U.S. State Department and Iranian U.N. mission said on Friday."

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/eu-may-be-forced-to-withdraw-from-nuclear-deal-iran-told/ar-AAHV5V9?li=BBoPRmx
"The warning to Iran, pre-agreed by the three EU signatories to the 2015 deal, was made at a meeting on Wednesday, and makes clear that the agreement is now on life support.

The EU told Iran that it would put the issue of Iranian non-compliance into the agreement’s formal dispute mechanism if the next Iranian move away from the deal is significant."
....

US is now going to use the snapback provisions in the nuke deal to try and isolate Iran from Russia and China. With the euro twits US now has the votes to do so.
This will also give a better backing to the US strike on Iran as the UNSC sanctions are to prevent Iran obtaining nuclear weapons.
Iraq WMD 2.0 US nuclear posture revue has it that nukes can be used on non nuclear countries that a pursuing of have WMD's. Iran was specifically named as one of these countries.

Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 27 2019 23:27 utc | 413

Peter AU 1 @413--

Thanks for the news on Iran's UN Ambassador; I wasn't aware of that aspect of Trump's inhumanity. Can't really say his immorality is worse than Hillary's anymore.

IMO, Lavrov has an excellent of where world opinion stands regarding the Outlaw US Empire, and his sentiments are shared far and wide. His remark about the Neocon's disregard for the "continuities of history" was an explicit shot at neocon academics. His short preamble echoes my own thesis for what's transpired, and must admit I'm pleased my outlook's shared by him. Did Lavrov divorce Russia from "the West" when he wrote "It's hard for the West to put up with its weakening centuries-long dominance in world affairs"?

China's approach was more business-like/pragmatic in a Chinese manner, but still on point. Given the response to its BRI, China also seems to have a large majority of nations on its side in harmony with Russia. When the EAEU, CSTO, SCO, CIS, and ASEAN nations are grouped together, Asia becomes essentially one bloc absent Australia, New Zealand and Japan, and the latter's most basic interests lie with Asia--Australia and New Zealand too if they have any sense.

I don't think Trump, Pompeo or the rest cares that most of the world resent them and their policies, so they'll just keep hammering that nail until it bends over unable to pierce the massive knot of global nations.

Posted by: karlof1 | Sep 28 2019 1:09 utc | 414

karlof1

A good portion of the US political class are simply dangerous lunatics that believe their own propaganda.
Trump though is more like a mafia boss, equally capable of both white collar crime and armed robbery.
No difference though in morality and ethics between the Trump types and the lunatics believing their own propaganda.

Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 28 2019 1:19 utc | 415

'Snap back' explained:

The deal ... creates an eight member panel, called the “Joint Commission” to serve as a dispute resolution mechanism. The members of the panel are the five veto-wielding members of the Security Council, plus Germany, Iran and the European Union. There are eight members total. If a majority (5) finds Iran to be cheating, the issue is referred to the Security Council. No single country has a veto.

And here is where things get interesting... the vote in the Security Council would not be to reimpose sanctions. Rather, the Security Council must decide whether or not to continue lifting the sanctions. And if they fail to do so, the old sanctions are snapped back into place. This framing obviates the prospect of a Russian veto, and it all but assures that if the Western countries believe that Iran is cheating, sanctions will automatically be re-imposed.

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Sep 28 2019 1:25 utc | 416

Peter AU 1

I think the msn link about "snap back" is wrong on this issue:

Once the deal’s dispute mechanism is triggered, both sides have 30 days to prove significant non-compliance, and if necessary a world-wide sanctions snap-back occurs.

AFAIK, sanctions are re-imposed automatically in 30 days if the UN hasn't voted to stop it.

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Sep 28 2019 1:35 utc | 417

Jackrabbit

UK, France, Germany plus the EU. France, Germany and UK are basically the EU.
Iran, Russia and China slipped up letting that one through.

Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 28 2019 1:37 utc | 418

Lavrov's post-UNGA speech presser is detailed, but likely omits some Q&A.

Posted by: karlof1 | Sep 28 2019 1:37 utc | 419

Jackrabbit

I looked it up recently at the UN site. It works like a US impeachment. Only the votes count. Evidence is meaningless. No veto power by any party.

Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 28 2019 1:43 utc | 420

Important up-coming dates

October 31: BREXIT
. . . . . . . . . . . unless extended for UK elections/vote (expect an extension)

November 6: Last day for Netanyahu to form a government (28 days + 14 day extension)

November 7: Iran's scheduled "fourth step" away from the JCPOA
. . . . . . . . . . . . which is likely to cause EU to request re-imposition of UN sanctions

November 11: Armistice Day / Veteran's Day (important propaganda opportunity)

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Sep 28 2019 1:50 utc | 421

Wildcard: A new Houthi attack on Saudi Arabia

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Sep 28 2019 1:57 utc | 422

This move to trigger the snapback provisions may well be the end of the UNSC and UN for awhile.

"At its greatest extent from 28 September 1934 to 23 February 1935, it had 58 members. After some notable successes and some early failures in the 1920s, the League ultimately proved incapable of preventing aggression by the Axis powers in the 1930s. The credibility of the organization was weakened by the fact that the United States never joined the League and the Soviet Union joined late and was soon expelled after invading Finland.[5][6][7][8] Germany withdrew from the League, as did Japan, Italy, Spain and others. The onset of the Second World War showed that the League had failed its primary purpose, which was to prevent any future world war. The League lasted for 26 years; the United Nations (UN) replaced it after the end of the Second World War and inherited several agencies and organisations founded by the League."

It is only technology that changes. Most of the time its only a matter of looking at history to see what man will do in the future.

Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 28 2019 1:57 utc | 423

Another little piece on the move to trigger the snap back provisions was a Saudi being 'elected', a week or two back, to the board that oversees the nuclear inspections. I posted a link to the piece a few days back.

Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 28 2019 2:25 utc | 424

Below is an article in full from Xinhuanet about the ongoing perfidy of Occupied Palestine
"
GAZA, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- At least 63 Palestinians were injured on Friday during the weekly anti-Israel protests in eastern Gaza Strip, close to the border with Israel, medics said.

Ashraf al-Qedra, spokesman of the health ministry in Gaza, said that among the injured, 32 were shot and wounded by Israeli soldiers' gunfire in eastern Gaza.

Earlier on Friday, hundreds of Palestinian demonstrators went to the eastern area of the Gaza Strip to join the weekly anti-Israel protests and rallies, better known as the Great March of Return, which has been going on since late March last year.

The demonstrators waved Palestinian flags, chanted anti-Israel slogans and threw stones and home-made percussion bombs at the Israeli soldiers, stationed on the borderline with the Gaza Strip.

Eyewitnesses said that the soldiers fired tear gas canisters, rubber bullets and live gunshots at the demonstrators to keep them away from reaching the fence of the borders between the coastal enclave and Israel.

The Health Ministry had said earlier that since the start of the Great March of Return in late March last year, the Israeli army shot and killed 310 demonstrators and wounded more than 17,000 people by live gunfire.
"

This is another front in the ongoing WWIII war that doesn't get the visibility it deserves, IMO

Posted by: psychohistorian | Sep 28 2019 3:55 utc | 425

Some articles/gatherings in debunking the fake "Climate Strike"...they make a good summary of the facts provided by Cory Morningstar´s huge job in research, and as well reflect on the same conclusions any sane citizen would have taken from all this..

Establishment & media sympathize with Greta’s ‘Fridays for Future’ movement… So how is that a ‘protest’ exactly?

Greta Thunberg wants you to be afraid, and big business will make a killing off it

Top Pundits: Weaponizing Greta Thunberg is Nothing Short of Political PEDOPHILIA!

Posted by: Sasha | Sep 28 2019 11:46 utc | 426

Another essay which says it all on the reason of this sudden "Green Movement", and which makes a summary of almost all my points, including answering some requests made by some considered thoughtful estelar commenters here to me...and which got without answer...

Who can kill a child? The Greta Thunberg phenomenon as a manual of political passions

You must use a translator, since it is written in Spanish, but I strongly recommend you to do it, as it has no waste....

I had posted a comment with what I see some "pearls" transalted by me, but got banned...as usually my translations...which take me a while to do...

Posted by: Sasha | Sep 28 2019 12:59 utc | 427

Report Sheds Light On The Rockefeller Family’s Covert “Climate Change” Plan

Posted by: Sasha | Sep 28 2019 13:10 utc | 428

Below is a posting at Reuters that I have not seen anywhere else yet

Yemen's Houthis say attacked Saudi border frontline, no immediate Saudi confirmation

The take away quote
"
Houthi-run Al Masirah TV quoted the spokesman as saying the Iran-aligned movement had captured “thousands” of enemy troops, including many officers and soldiers of the Saudi army, as well as hundreds of armored vehicles.
"

This is Reuters of course so they would report "Iran-aligned movement" instead of Houthi of Yemen.....
If this is true then I would think it will be very hard for the axis of evil to claim that Iran did it

Posted by: psychohistorian | Sep 28 2019 16:01 utc | 429

"Venezuelan VP @DRodriguez_en puts the number of US unilateral coercive measures (sanctions) at 8000. She notes that one third of humanity is living under US sanctions."

Posted by: arby | Sep 28 2019 16:09 utc | 430

Below are quotes from an unlinked Reuters article

"
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Syria’s Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem on Saturday demanded an immediate withdrawal of all U.S. and Turkish troops from his country and warned that Syrian government forces had the right to take countermeasures if they refused.
"

"
“Any foreign forces operating in our territories without our authorization are occupying forces and must withdraw immediately,” al-Moualem said during an address to the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations in New York.

“If they refuse, we have the right to take any and all countermeasures authorized under international law,” he said.
"

Posted by: psychohistorian | Sep 28 2019 18:55 utc | 431

Tis amazing in all the chatter that no-one has mentioned the Greta phenomenon is a echo of "The Shinning". Her performance was superb, reflecting months of rehearsal, the delivery impeccable, the discovery of another star of stage, screen and TV at a mere sixteen years of wisdom. And the world becomes even more fearful of its own shadow. This performance serves well the marker to turn off all political interests until 2021, nothing good will emerge from the political swamp.

Posted by: Formerly T-Bear | Sep 28 2019 19:10 utc | 432

psychohistorian

Nothing at the Houthi news site.

Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 28 2019 19:22 utc | 433

Houthi site https://english.almasirah.net/index.php

Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 28 2019 19:23 utc | 434

Houthi announce huge victory over Saudis:

"Thousands of mercenaries and large numbers of Saudi army commanders, officers and soldiers captured during #Victory_from_Allah ( #Nasser_min_Allah) military operation."

Several other related tweets on the twitter source page.

"Thousands" is indeed a huge number if accurate.

Posted by: karlof1 | Sep 28 2019 19:59 utc | 435

Looks like the Houthi's have had a good win along the Saudi border.

Article at the Houthi news site. https://english.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=9016&cat_id=1

The Wahhabis are between a rock and a hard place now. Houthi chopping pieces out of them from one side, and US on the other side refusing to let them make a piece deal.

Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 28 2019 20:19 utc | 436

@436 It's even on the BBC. It won't be easy for Pompeo to blame Iran this time..

"The operation was the largest of its kind since the conflict began, the spokesman said.

Colonel Yahiya Sarea said Saudi forces had suffered "huge losses in life and machinery".

All those captured would be paraded on the Houthi-run Al Masirah TV network on Sunday, he added."

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-49866677

Posted by: dh | Sep 28 2019 20:32 utc | 437

I ran onto something the other day about Houthi being backed not just by Iran, but by another, or other countries. Although it began mainly due to Saudi visions of conquest, with the Trump moves on Iran, this has become very much a proxy war, with other countries backing the Houthi to block Trump moves.

Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 28 2019 21:25 utc | 438

@438 Let me guess. The Houthis are being armed by China and Russia, they have Iranian advisers and mercenaries from North Korea and Venezuela.

Posted by: dh | Sep 28 2019 22:31 utc | 439

dh
After four years of war Houthi have distilled into a very tight nit group. Excellent guerilla fighters. Their rebellion began by simply wanting a voice in government. They were very reasonable on this (not fanatical nutters), then came the Saudi attack. They would have hardened up a good deal since then, but they strike me as a group that can and would work in with a larger strategy involving other players.
They are very smart fighters, give them some leading intel and tech that can be provided by larger players, an overall strategy that is good for all players and you have an unbeatable combination.
If China has no skin in the game then they are fools as Trumps moves in the Middle east are directed at them. I dont think the Chinese are fools. This also affects Russia directly, as Russia has declared Iran its ally and indirectly, if Iran and China are brought down, Russia is on its own facing the US.

Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 28 2019 22:52 utc | 440

To add to 440, military strategy must be based around geo-political strategy. Strategy Houthi are following now will be built around the geo-political strategy of Iran, Russia and China.

Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 28 2019 23:09 utc | 441

I think Russia and China are treading very carefully in Yemen. There is no overt assistance to the Houthis (but I wouldn't put it past the Saudis to produce some). On the other hand I'd be very surprised if Iran isn't helping them.

So a lot depends on the outcome of the conflict. Russia and China are both sympathetic to Iran so they will gain some advantage if the Houthis are victorious.

Posted by: dh | Sep 28 2019 23:16 utc | 442

Below is a posting from the BBC confirming the recent action of the Houthi

Yemen war: Houthi rebels claim mass capture of Saudi troops

The report states that the troops were captured near the Saudi town of Najran and a Houthi spokesman claims 3 brigades were captured with significant loss of life and equipment loss. Those that were captured are reported to be paraded on the Houthi-run Al Masirah TV network on Sunday.

The BBC report goes on to obfuscate the players in the conflict and the reasons for it as you would expect from the BBC of late empire.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Sep 29 2019 0:40 utc | 443

@441 Peter AU 1

Agreed. Yes, this is an alignment - or maybe better for the time call it an "accordance" - that will grow. Ansarullah has its own objectives, and while it was struggling to lift the jackboot from its face it would have been somewhat locked into its own pure vision of what this required.

But now that the bootheel has been cast off, and the Houthi have started working their way up the leg to the heart and the throat of their attacker, they become more able to lift up and look around, and join in discourse with others in the region.

They can begin to plan for being a nation, and one with a position.

All of this is said a little metaphorically, but I suspect the history of the times will offer roughly this sense of things when all the details of the pains and campaigns have been gathered into one narrative.

Once again I can only admire the tactical brilliance of the Houthi. Everyone expected another airborne strike. No one expected this.

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAn7baRbhx4

;)

Posted by: Grieved | Sep 29 2019 0:48 utc | 444

Ships are sabotaged, so everybody moves in to protect shipping.
While watching the shipping, the oil facilities are hit.
Houthi's warn more drone strikes to come.
Everybody securing oil and whatever from drone strikes so Houthi's hit the land forces.

Good stuff.

Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 29 2019 3:29 utc | 445

@ Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 29 2019 3:29 utc | 445 with Good stuff....yep

The Houthi have deflated the "Iran did it" meme and have negotiating collateral now.

What I am worried about is that Trump will send US troops to fight this Saudi aggression under the cover of Whistleblower-gate kabuki.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Sep 29 2019 3:46 utc | 446

psychohistorian

Possible, but a few things may rule that out. The average wahhabi doesn't like having the US military in Saudi Arabia. South Yemen locals may hostile to US military with plenty of al qaeda and ISIS types plus local militias garding their turf. Then there is the resolution passed by congress and vetoed by Trump on US ending involvement.
And finally, I believe Trump has his eyes on Saudi oil.

Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 29 2019 4:03 utc | 447

A thought on oil prices.
Opec and Russia reach agreements on oil prices and how much they will each pump. The Americans do not enter any of these agreements. While the money is there they drill and pump flat out.
Prices have been holding at around the sixty to seventy dollar mark for a long time now, no matter Trump blocking Venezuelan and Iranian oil. A good chance OPEC and Russia are holding prices at or just below US fracking break even price, but where OPEC and Russia are making money.

Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 29 2019 4:14 utc | 448

@ Peter AU 1 who wrote
"
And finally, I believe Trump has his eyes on Saudi oil.
"
I agree but how does that work with what you wrote about the locals?

Does the US install a new Clown Prince? In doing that, does the US do an Afghanistan attempt of pacifying the locals?....war is good for the MIC

Interesting times...

Posted by: psychohistorian | Sep 29 2019 4:17 utc | 449

Depends on how ruthless trump is I guess. The version I think most likely is that forces other than US create quite a bit of destruction (after Trump has milked them dry), and US companies have to go in to get the oil industry going again.
Then there is the good old mafia protection racket standby. Create an example of one country and then demand the profits of the other countries as protection money. This would also give US complete control as to who they sell to and so forth but this version would only work if Russia and China just standby rather than stepping in to protect the country that is going to be used as the example.

Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 29 2019 4:32 utc | 450

The Yemeni knife and belt.
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94979969

Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 29 2019 5:26 utc | 451

It's a good time to remember that although the Houthi forces are a significant part of the forces resisting Saudi aggression, they are by no means the only forces and probably not even the largest contingent.

The Yemen military are most likely the biggest chunk, but you won't read that in western media, or even some so-called arabic media.

When I first heard about this capture of Saudi troops & material, early this a.m. on AJ english TV news, the reporter made that point by adding that the Yemen self defense force that is resisting Saudi aggression is comprised of close to 100,000 soldiers from all over that country.
Yet when I checked the AJ Online article it mouths pretty much the same tendentious tosh as aunty beeb.

Remember back in 2017 when the Yemeni people came out against the Saudi aggression in such vast numbers that western media had to run the images. They never bothered to mention that the demo at Sana'a one of the oldest continuously populated sites of humanity and Yemen's capital, more than 1 million Yemenis protested against Saudi attacks, yet Sana'a isn't a center of Houthi activity, it is populated by a diverse range of Yemenis none of whom wanted a return of the saudi puppet prez, Mansour Hadi.

I mention this because many of us including myself, tend to describe the resistance as Houthi when they are from all over Yemen -North and South, East and West, the bulk of indigenous Yemenis support the resistance, to the point that dodgy groups like al Qaeda Yemen branch, or Daesh Yemen, plus the so-called 'Southern separatists' who aid UAE in the theft of Yemen's ports, are in fact, imported foreign mercenaries.

Posted by: A User | Sep 29 2019 5:30 utc | 452

A User

Re the military. There was a split when the war started with some of the military going south with Hadi, and some loyal to Saleh staying in the north. Then with the killing of Saleh, much of the military went with Saleh's son to the south.
I was thinking earlier, that prior to the last split, the Houthi Saleh group was firing mostly ballistic missiles into Saudi Arabia. Since the killing of Saleh, what I now call the Houthi's have moved to mostly, if not all drones.
I suspect there is very little of the original military component left, though many of the Yemini civilians would have also served in the military at some point.
A good point though on Houthi being part of the north Yemini population.

Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 29 2019 5:54 utc | 453

The link from Krollchem's post on the other thread.

Videos and pcs showing the Houthi spoils of war. Worth scrolling through.
https://twitter.com/Sunkway_China

This one was interesting. A press TV video on the Houthi drones.
Includes video from one of the drones over an oil facility.
https://twitter.com/PressTV/status/1177544004541583362

Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Sep 29 2019 6:41 utc | 454