“A Breach of Yemeni Sovereignty”: Biden Becomes Fourth U.S. President to Bomb Yemen
“A Breach of Yemeni Sovereignty”: Biden Becomes Fourth U.S. President to Bomb Yemen
The United States and Britain launched dozens of military strikes on Yemen on Thursday, raising fears of an escalation of conflict in the region. The strikes, launched in response to Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea that have disrupted global trade, left at least five people dead. The Houthi m...
They got a pass for taking pot shots at Israel, because that's an internal regional conflict. Shooting at civilian trade ships in one of the most important shipping lanes on the planet is a completely different thing. We're not watching gas prices skyrocket, a resurgent Russia, a global economic downturn, etc. just because some religious fanatics are throwing a temper tantrum.
The Houthis were warned repeatedly to cut that shit out, and they didn't listen. These are the consequences.
As Germany and Japan can tell you, "Don't fuck with the boats"
Houthis attacking ships is probably the consequence of the west fucking up with them to steal their territories and money.
Ansar Allah have said explicitly that they are attempting to enforce a Naval blockade in the Red Sea against Israel. They have also stated that they believe under international law they are obligated to do whatever they can to prevent genocide.
I don’t see any reason why they can’t be negotiated with. Calling them “religious fanatics” that are “throwing a temper tantrum” is just a silly way to dismiss non violent solutions to the conflict.
Biden’s decision to threaten and subsequently bomb them is just plain arrogant belligerence. The US backed campaign to bomb and starve out the Houthis didn’t work previously so why does Biden think it’ll work now?
Firstly, the Houthi flag includes the words, “Death to America.” These are not rational actors. They are fanatic jihadis and all attempts to reason with them have failed. Acting like the Houthis are the same as a regular nation state is borderline intellectually dishonest.
If they have a problem with Israel, keep firing at Israel. If they want a problem with the rest of the world, keep firing at our CIVILIAN ships. Firing at those ships is an act of war, and it was going to provoke a response.
Biden waited a very long time to act, which emboldened Iran to take an oil tanker. That move virtually guaranteed a response, and it’s good that the response was limited to Yemen. Biden is playing the cards he’s been dealt, and he’s playing them reasonably.
Also, it should be mentioned that the Houthis themselves said the casualties were ~5 dead and 6 wounded. Warming was given far in advance so they could evacuate and minimize casualties. If Biden had wanted to play dirtier, he could have. A deliberate decision was made to minimize civilian casualties. If the positions were reversed, the Houthis would nuke Tel Aviv, DC, and every other major city in both the US and Israel.
Can someone explain to me how this is "A Breach of Yemeni Sovereignty"? It seems like these actions are supported by the internationally recognized government in Yemen. (I'm not asking about the validity of these actions, or the horrendous effects of them. Just the sovereignty question)
Also, is this the interviewee? It appears she is a language and literacy assistant professor who happens to be Yemeni American, not an expert on the Yemen war, international law, or anything else relevant to these events.
It is in no way a breach of Yemeni authority. th government has no control over the territory in question, and it is being used to make repeated military strikes against US military and international civilian targets. This is entirely legal and justified under both US and international law. I’m just surprised it took this long.
these actions are supported by the internationally recognized government in Yemen.
Do you mean the US attacks are supported by tye Yemen government? Do you have a source for that handy?
And great investigation into the interviewee, that kind of critical thinking is extremely important.
The internationally recognized government does not have control over the populated regions of the country. It’s a farce to pretend they represent the Yemeni people.
That's not really an answer to my question. "Control" does not get you sovereignty, and neither does "representing the people". It comes down to governance and international recognition. Mexican cartels control large areas of the country, but no one is arguing they have sovereignty. Similarly, there are many repressive regimes in the world that do not represent their people, but they maintain their sovereignty.
This is the same "international recognition" that doesn't consider Taiwan to be a legitimate government?
International recognition isn't worth shit. Ansarallah has de facto control over the vast majority of Yemen's territory. Just as the ROC is the government of Taiwan, Ansarallah is the government of Yemen.
Thank you for providing a good example! I'm really not sure what the status of Taiwan's Sovereignty would be, but it's definitely something to think about.
Sovereignty carries with it responsibilities, these include exerting conrol over territory claimed, and maintaining territorial integrity. If some external or internal force operates with impunity in your territory, you lose sovereignty over that territory. It doesnt nessecarily mean they gain sovereignty though, although that can be one posdible outcome.
The Houthis do not care about Palestine. They are incited by Iran and Russia to disrupt global trade, but are saying they're defending Palestine just for PR points.
The Houthis... Who have been bombed for literally a decade by US-backed and US-funded forces with US weapons in the Arabian Peninsula...
Are we talking about the same Houthis?
Yeah sure bro. It's all a giant PR stunt. In fact the Houthis are the ones orchestrating israel to commit genocide on the Palestinians. Most of those kids beneath the rubble are just photoshopped in there. They have Michael Bay on the special effects!
Actions speak louder than words. While you pay lip service to Palestine the Houthis actually undertake action.
Israel: bombs and invades Palestine
Palestine fighting back is wrong.Yemen: bombs ships serving Israel
America fighting back is... right?I feel bad for American voters. The last time military action was taken without congressional approval it led to a 20 year war resulting in a million dead Iraqis and the Taliban government back in power in Afghanistan (among other completely preventable atrocities, like this).
The hypnotism of American exceptionalism is requiring an almost lethal dose of ignorance to continue to work.
Edit: Wrong. Congress approved military action against Afghanistan and Iraq. They were lied to by the Bush administration but they did in fact approve both.
Wrong. Congress approved military action against Afghanistan and Iraq. They were lied to by the Bush administration but they did in fact approve both.
That's right, thanks for correcting me.
Who is arguing that Israel fighting back is wrong? Almost everyone recognizes that Israel has the right to self defense, but most people who think that also believes their response is at least disproportionate.
Who is arguing that Israel fighting back is wrong?
Most of the world thinks that. They would also take issue with you characterizing what Israel is doing as "fighting back" and "self defense". Self-defense is when you steal land, ethnically cleanse the inhabitants, force them into a small area, then besiege them there for decades, and then blow the whole place up. Because some of them dared take up arms and broke out. You know, self defense!
Yemen hasn't gotten a single Israeli ship so far...
Let me guess what the other 3 were: W Bush, Obama, Trump. This is hardly surprising.
Almost like the US has a hard on for the Middle East. Coinciding with the end of the Cold War.
I wonder why...
maybe if yemen actually did something about the houthis.....
Oh people tried to do something about the Houthis. In fact, they starved Yemeni children to death to hurt the Houthis. Turns out that only made them more popular.
Ansarallah is, for all intents and purposes, as legitimate a government of Yemen as the ROC is of Taiwan.
which is my point
What kind of solution are we talking?
"Yemen has been targeted by U.S. military action and bombings over the last four American presidencies — of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, now Joe Biden."
Red and blue are the same party, stop voting for them.
stop voting for them
What awful advice. So don't vote and continue the slide, or vote for a third party sock puppet like the Greens?
No idea who the greens are, vote for someone that isn't a fascist or a genocide supporter, do not give them your support, they feed on your vote.
If they're not supporting this tier of "not even hiding it" genocide it's better to vote for a cum sock.
The American Overton Window is certainly fairly narrow, voting for change is the way to go. Join the Democrats and vote in the primary.
Push the window left.
This thread is about a blue president doing exactly what the 3 presidents before him have done and two of them were red. How exactly is keeping vote for either red or blue going to change anything? If you want anything to change at all the best option to do it within the system is to vote for a third party or to not vote at all, the more votes red and blue lose the more they will have to adapt and change their policies. Voting for fascists or genocide supporters who are pushing the window right by increasing military spending and enriching the rich is not pushing the window anywhere toward justice.
Red wants my friends dead, I have little choice but to ensure blue wins the presidency while I work for local change. Not voting is not an option.
Voting might ensure that the situation might not get worse. You need to change the voting system to actually make a meaningful difference.
Edit: wtf are the downvotes for?
I don't know, that sounds like hard, thankless work that will take years of consistent effort, dealing with countless setbacks and losses but not giving up, before finally achieving our goals of making real and meaningful change. What if instead if that I just don't buy Starbucks, will that work?
That's a way to look at it.
But what options are there? Would we rather invade like Afghanistan?
The alternative is to first pressure Israel to end the genocide they’re carrying out in Gaza. Second, negotiate with Ansar Allah to ensure shipping not associated with Israel can safely pass through the Red Sea.
I mean, we could give it a shot