Joe Biden ignited what could be a regional war in MENA: The Guardian
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Foreign presence in the Red Sea only escalated tensions, with Yemeni threats against any action taken against its territories steadfastly increasing.
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President Joe Biden exits the stage after speaking at a campaign event at Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell, Pa., Friday, Jan. 5, 2024 (AP)
Joe Biden's call to attack Yemen has laid grounds for backfire against his very own policy of avoiding regional war in the Middle East, The Guardian reported.
Biden's allies claim that an attack was inevitable as the US leader was running out of options amid tensions in the Red Sea, but the possibilities of an escalation in the face of any Western-led aggression in the vicinity was laid out - plain and clear - by Yemen's Ansar Allah.
The US-led maritime coalition, Prosperity Guardian, was disguised as an operation that counters Yemen's actions in the Red Sea to allegedly "bring back stability to the global supply chain", and deflate costs of crude.
Instead, Biden has piled up costs from intercepting Yemeni drones, jeopardized his economy, inflated crude prices, and cognitively paved the way for a regional war.
Prosperity Guardian: Biden's imperial baby
Prosperity Guardian was never meant to secure maritime routes in the Red Sea, it has, since its genesis, served its imperial purpose of protecting "Israel's" interests.
Maritime shipping companies and vessels crossing the Red Sea have, on several occasions, revealed that the presence of military power in the Red Sea, referring to the US-led coalition, does not secure trade routes as claimed by the US.
Foreign presence in the Red Sea only escalated tensions, with Yemeni threats against any action taken against its territories steadfastly increasing.
The US, on its part, took the matter to the UN Security Council which established a resolution that demands the cessation of Yemeni actions in the Red Sea. Notably, foreign violence by Prosperity Guardian was not considered.
Prosperity Guardian is a tool created to militarize the Red Sea. Late Thursday, US Air Forces Central stated in a press release that airstrikes in Yemen targeted over 60 sites associated with the Ansar Allah movement across 16 locations.
"At the direction of US Central Command, US Air Forces Central, CENTCOM’s Joint and Combined Air Component Command, executed deliberate strikes on over 60 targets at 16 Iranian-backed Houthi militant locations, including command and control nodes, munitions depots, launching systems, production facilities, and air defense radar systems," the release said.
The Guardian also reported that Biden sought to expand the maritime coalition and prepare for defensive measures against Yermen's response.
What goes around, comes around: A lesson in Western aggression
Before Thursday's attack on Yemen, Biden insisted that a warning be issued to the Yemenis. The statement said Yemen would “bear the responsibility of the consequences” of any attacks if persisted, alluding that a response would be certain.
Regardless, the Yemeni forces launched one of their colossal against the US naval force. On Tuesday, three missiles and 20 drones were launched, marking the "initial response" of the Yemeni Armed Forces following the US attack on Yemeni Forces earlier, which resulted in the martyrdom of 10 members of the Yemeni Navy.
“As soon as the attack was defeated, the president again convened his national security team and was presented with military options for a collective response together with close partners,” a senior US official said.
Defense Secretary Austin Lloyd attended the meeting virtually and was given the green light by Biden to kickstart aggression against Yemen in the following 48 hours.
Initially, the White House did not reveal the specific number of munitions fired against Yemen but estimated a figure of over 100 precision-guided munitions of diverse types had been struck in the offensive.
According to Gregory Johnsen, a non-resident fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, Ansar Allah is accustomed to fighting even if it is faced with heavy aggression. Reiterating his remark, Johnsen “Saudi Arabia and the UAE bombed Yemen for several years and were unable to bring the Houthis to their knees."
Echoing his claims, Nadwa Dawsari, a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute, said the UK and US attack on Yemen gives Ansar Allah the chance to confront the US and "Israel", as it has been meaning for two decades. "Since 7 October, they recruited 45,000 fighters for the ‘battle of promised conquest and holy Jihad," she said.
An unbothered and undeterred Yemen counters Western threats
Following the joint US-UK aggression against Yemen overnight, the spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces Brigadier General Yahya Saree announced that the aggression won't go unpunished.
"The American-British enemy has perpetrated a heinous attack on the Republic of Yemen, as an extension to its continued support for Israeli crimes in Gaza, with seventy-three airstrikes targeting the capital Sanaa, and the provinces of Hodeidah, Taiz, Hajjah, and Saada," Saree announced.
"These airstrikes resulted in the martyrdom of five individuals and the injury of six others from the ranks of our armed forces," he added.
"The American and British enemies bear full responsibility for their criminal aggression against the Yemeni people, and it will not slide without retaliation and punishment. The Yemeni Armed Forces will not hesitate to target sources of threat and all hostile targets on land and sea, defending Yemen, its sovereignty, and independence."
This heinous aggression, Saree said, will not deter Yemen from proactively supporting the Palestinian people's struggle for liberation. The spokesperson reaffirmed the Yemeni Armed Forces' commitment to preventing Israeli-linked ships from navigating the Arabian and Red seas en route to the ports of occupied Palestine.
Proving once more that Yemen will not be threatened by perpetrators of violence, and will remain Gaza's reliable ally and a devoted defender of justice.
Read more: All UK, US interests in region are legitimate targets: Yemeni Council
The West's frailty against Iran and the Resistance
Beyond Yemen's resilience and defensive threat against the US naval coalition, fear of possible confrontations with Iran has risen following last night's attacks.
The West claims that Iran has been actively involved in providing Ansar Allah with intelligence and material support that enabled Yemen's defensive action.
To avoid direct confrontation, a US senior administrative said the economic isolation strategy the US has been imposing against Iran should be furthered as pressure, as well as stopping the sailing of Iranian ships to Yemen which are thought to carry military cargo. Thinking this is a two birds one stone scenario, the US claims this would deter the Yemenis in case of persistent confrontations, and pose a threat to Iran simultaneously.
Their claims are far-fetched as Iran insists that any act conducted by the Resistance is purely its own and does not rely on Iranian approval or assistance.
The White House previously revealed what they claim is proof that Iran provided drones, missiles, and tactical information to Ansar Allah.
According to Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani, "The resistance has its own tools... and acts in accordance with its own decisions and capabilities."
He told Mehr news that the fact that Israeli and US powers are suffering due to the strikes should "in no way call into question the reality of the strength of the resistance in the region."
Previously, and repeatedly, Nasser Kanaani asserted that Iran does not command the Resistance factions in the region nor does it have any forces or proxies under its direction, as opposed to the United States, which governs its allies.
