Posted on 11/19/2015 4:17:59 AM PST by markomalley
In the wake of the Islamic State's (IS) attacks in the Sinai Peninsula, Beirut and Paris, there is an urgent need to mobilize resources to deal with the threat, especially resources in the Arab world. Instead, Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies are devoting their resources and efforts to a floundering and expensive military campaign in Yemen.
There has been no formal or public announcement of the stand-down. The Arab governments all reiterate their strong opposition to IS. This week, Riyadh's skyscrapers were lit in the French colors to express solidarity with Paris. King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud told President Barack Obama in Ankara that Saudi Arabia will play a major role in Syria. But in practice, American military officials report the war in Yemen has drained Arab air power away from the fight with the terrorists in Syria and Iraq. Yemen is the priority even if some token operations occasionally are taken to strike IS targets.
The absence of Arab air forces creates a political — not military — void, even though Russia, France and America are fully capable of waging an air war against IS. The coalition is missing the Muslim answer to the self-proclaimed "Caliph Ibrahim." This is a waste of symbolically important resources.
The war is also expensive. No official estimates of the cost have been released, but it must now be running into the tens of billions in armaments, maintenance and other expenses.
For example, this week the Pentagon announced the sale of $1.29 billion in air-to-ground munitions and associated equipment to restock RSAF bombs used in the Yemen campaign. The sale provides close to 20,000 new munitions to replace those used already. The United Kingdom, another major source of the RSAF's inventory of aircraft, is also replenishing Saudi stocks. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have raised questions about the use of these weapons and possible war crimes.
Saudi Arabia has itself been targeted by IS repeatedly, as IS has carried out suicide bombings in both Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. It promises to overthrow the House of Saud and raise its black flags over Mecca. Hundreds of Saudi citizens are fighting with the terrorist group in Iraq and Syria, while Jordan has been a target of IS, with one of its pilots locked in a cage and burned to death. These states have a stake in this war.
But Riyadh's attention and resources are focused on Yemen as the war there has come to a stalemate. After some successes over the summer, the Saudi-led coalition had promised to capture Sanaa, Yemen's capital, this fall. That looks unlikely today. The war is also a humanitarian catastrophe for 25 million Yemenis, as the blockade prevents the supply of food and medicine.
Even worse is that the major beneficiaries of the war so far are al-Qaeda and Iran. Al-Qaeda has seized control of large parts of southeastern Yemen since the war began. Its black flags fly in Aden, the temporary capital of the pro-Saudi government. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has grown stronger in the months since it attacked Paris in January, not weaker. That is a disturbing portent for those now promising to defeat IS.
Iran is fighting to the last Houthi, laughing at the Saudis and Emiratis as they spend resources in what Tehran hopes will be an endless quagmire. Iran gains in Iraq and Syria from the Sunni forces' diversion to Yemen.
Washington and Paris have both indulged Riyadh's Yemen mission, as both have hosted Saudi Defense Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman — the 30-year-old architect of the Yemen war — and have done far too little to bring an end to this disaster. They have the leverage, along with London, since they control the pipeline of military resupply to the RSAF and its allies, but their half-hearted attempts to start a political process need much greater urgency. Both sides have accepted UN mediation and the UN Security Council resolution for a cease-fire, but the conflict drags on without pause.
After the Charlie Hebdo massacre in January, there were promises that the terrorists in Yemen who launched the attack would face a global response. Instead, they are stronger than ever and Yemen has become another battleground in the sectarian Sunni-Shiite war that is devastating the Islamic world.
Um... just a guess here... providing covert funding?
...to ISIS.
Why would the Arab’s oppose ISIS when they are assisting them on completeing their goals? People often confuse Arab’s love of American money as love for America. They don’t love us. They only cooperate with us because we are their biggest consumer.
They are laughing
To the sunni rebels the Russians are bombing
Iran has facilitated a two front war by raising the Houthi rabble in Yemen
Toking on the Nargilla (Hookah)...
Where are the “moderate” Muslims condemning the actions in Paris.
CAIR appears to have slithered back underneath its rock until the heat is off.
moslems don’t fight against moslems. The arabs are on ISIS’ side.
The sooner we wake up to the fact that we are fighting a war against islam, the sooner we can start making some progress in it.
This is not a war against terrorism (as all moslems are terrorists). It is not a war against the middle east (as all moslems are not from the middle east).
This is a war against an evil ideology masquerading as a religion. islam must be eradicated (or quarantined in a few countries) for there to be peace. No moslem should ever be allowed in the civilized world.
Obama has a basic problem...he does not want the facts to get in the way of his reality. IMO, he sees Muslims as one homogeneous group. Obviously they are not. Some are motivated by money, some by ideology, some by political power. The only thing they seem aligned with is a hatred or dismissal of all things western or culturally evolved. They live in the 14th century mindset mentally encased in a world they believe was foisted upon them by the west. It is akin to our inner cities wherein the inhabitants blame the suburban residents for their plight.
Here's the evidence and proof
Dubai and the tallest building in the world
Riyadh Skyline
Kuala Lumpur Skyline with second tallest buildings in the world
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