Report: U.S. Military Retaliated Against Yemen Rebel Attack on USS Mason

Report: U.S. Military Retaliated Against Yemen Rebel Attack on USS Mason

The Obama Administration’s foreign policies have lit fires all over the world. Mid-2015, we covered the civil war in Yemen. As a reminder:

The fighting in Yemen pits the Houthis and allied troops loyal to Saleh against southern separatists, local and tribal militias, Sunni Islamic militants and loyalists of exiled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. The rebels seized the capital, Sanaa, in September.

Now, one U.S. Navy ship has become the target of a missile attack for the second time in four days.

…The attack was again aimed at the USS Mason, a guided-missile destroyer that also came under fire Sunday night, said Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook. The coastal defense cruise missile was launched at about 6 p.m. from south of the coastal city Al Hudaydah, in an area of western Yemen held by the Houthis. The rebel group pushed the central government out of power in the capital city of Sanaa in 2014, and has resisted U.S.-backed efforts by Saudi Arabia to restore President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to power.

U.S. military officials were seeking additional details about the latest attack on Wednesday afternoon. One defense official said that the missile fell short of the Mason. The ship deployed countermeasures, but it was not immediately clear whether they had an effect.

Reports are coming in that the U.S. military has retaliated:

Pentagon: US struck 3 radar sites in Houthi-controlled Yemen, sites involved in the recent missile launches threatening USS Mason & others.

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) October 13, 2016

In early 2015, Obama touted his approach to Yemen as a success. Current conditions indicate otherwise.

This week, a Saudi air attack hit a funeral procession [filled with high-ranking Shiite Houthi rebels] in Sana, killing 140 and raising an outcry around the world. Fingers were pointed not only at the Saudi-led coalition, which has committed several such atrocities in recent weeks, but also at America.

After the Iran nuclear deal raised anger at Washington across the Sunni Mideast, President Obama sought to appease the Saudis by selling them a new bundle of warplanes, tanks and other war toys. Now many in the region and beyond accuse us of complicity in war crimes in Yemen.

Perhaps this should trouble Americans more: The U.S. is becoming embroiled in a war without our media covering the events in much detail.

… Chris Murphy, a Democratic senator from Connecticut, says the U.S. is becoming an indispensable partner to Saudi Arabia and its bombing campaign there.

“The United States provides the bombs. We provide the refueling planes in mid-air. We provide the intel,” Murphy tells NPR. “I think it’s safe to say that this bombing campaign in Yemen could not happen without the United States.”

Yet Murphy says U.S. involvement in the Yemen conflict is getting very little notice.

“It’s wild to me that we’re not talking more about this,” he says. “The U.S. is at war in Yemen today, there’s no doubt about it.”

That’s because the American press has more important work to do: Get Hillary elected. Also, it looks like we will be paying for Obama’s treasured Iran Deal with more than money.

File this story under SmartPower!

Save

Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.