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The UAE and Israel are planning a joint base in the Socotra archipelago. It's reasonable to assume Israel already has a military presence due to this project.

by cess11 2y ago

The UAE and Israel are planning a joint base in the Socotra archipelago. It's reasonable to assume Israel already has a military presence due to this project. The Ansar Allah hasn't been particularly sectarian for many years, opting instead for establishing a non-sectarian government and maoist-like people's army, which they've mostly achieved. Due to the imposed starvation policies from the US, UK and allies they also aim to replace qat production with food. There's a lot to not like about them, don't need to make things up.

tptacek 2y ago
The entire purpose of Ansar Allah is the restoration of the Zaydi Imamate. They have spent the last several years destroying Sunni mosques and laying siege to Sunni-majority cities (as they continue to do in Taizz and Marib). They are an explicitly and exclusively sectarian movement. This is not a thing you need to take my word on; you can get it from UNHCR (if you must), HRW, or literally any history of the movement. If you do take the time to read up on this, I strongly recommend you learn how the Imamate worked. It is not an abstract thing, like "the caliphate" so many other Islamist movements seek to restore; it was the governing structure of Yemen until the 1960s. If I wanted simply to trash Ansar Allah, it would be easy enough to do; they are currently the world's largest employer of child soldiers.
- cess11 2y ago
  Maybe that's their secret goal. They've formed a government with representatives from other groups and explicitly draw politics and rhetoric from historic socialist anticolonial movements, including the socialist South Yemen. al-Bukhaiti is the most outspoken of their leaders in this regard. Old Saleh loyalists have during the last year warmed up to the Ansar Allah-led regime as well. If my homeland was under attack by the US and Janjaweed I'd expect many local kids to join the effort.
  - tptacek 2y ago
    I don't understand how you can read anything about Ansar Allah and conclude that Zaydi revivalism is their "secret" goal. The kids get sent to kill Sunnis, for what it's worth; there aren't US and Israelis there for them to kill. Not that it would matter! They're children!
    - cess11 2y ago
      How does this idea of an imamate vision inform your view on the Ansar Allah treatment of the Hadi government? Why has the movement assembled a sort of unity government now? How come they've made deals with and stopped fighting some sunni salafi militant groups? Why have they recruited fighters much more broadly than along sectarian lines? What the saudis, americans and british have done in Yemen is much worse than what the Ansar Allah has done. They're repressive for sure and they'll likely never agree with me on issues like queer people, but that's not unexpected after large amounts of colonial and later genocidal violence, it tends to see to it that only the hardest, least compromising people can survive and rise to leadership positions. The yemeni army under the Sana'a government has managed to drive away US ships, so they very much try to kill americans that are there to protect US occupation and genocide. Eventually they'll likely get good at it, like they got good at building mobile radar systems and taking down MQ-9 drones.
      - tptacek 2y ago
        I wrote a long comment here but I don't think detail is helping. So: * There is no unified government of Yemen, no central organization controls all Yemeni territory, Ansar Allah continues to fight for territorial control, particularly in Marib and around Taizz. * There are no Americans in Yemen for Ansar Allah to fight, there are no Israelis there to fight, and the British haven't been in Aden for over 50 years. * Ansar Allah adopted the Khomeinist "Death To America" chant to galvanize supporters for their Zaydi Rivalist movement, but their actual military targets are all Yemenis inside of Yemen. Far from unifying the different factions in the areas they control, they make government employees sign pledges to support the revival of the Imamate and its Sada caste system. (also: an MQ-9 is a slow-moving turboprop)
Rebelgecko 2y ago
Is there evidence of that, or is it always safe to assume that if a government has plains then they've already come to fruition successfully?

by cess11 2y ago

tptacek 2y ago

The entire purpose of Ansar Allah is the restoration of the Zaydi Imamate. They have spent the last several years destroying Sunni mosques and laying siege to Sunni-majority cities (as they continue to do in Taizz and Marib). They are an explicitly and exclusively sectarian movement. This is not a thing you need to take my word on; you can get it from UNHCR (if you must), HRW, or literally any history of the movement. If you do take the time to read up on this, I strongly recommend you learn how the Imamate worked. It is not an abstract thing, like "the caliphate" so many other Islamist movements seek to restore; it was the governing structure of Yemen until the 1960s. If I wanted simply to trash Ansar Allah, it would be easy enough to do; they are currently the world's largest employer of child soldiers.

cess11 2y ago
Maybe that's their secret goal. They've formed a government with representatives from other groups and explicitly draw politics and rhetoric from historic socialist anticolonial movements, including the socialist South Yemen. al-Bukhaiti is the most outspoken of their leaders in this regard. Old Saleh loyalists have during the last year warmed up to the Ansar Allah-led regime as well. If my homeland was under attack by the US and Janjaweed I'd expect many local kids to join the effort.
- tptacek 2y ago
  I don't understand how you can read anything about Ansar Allah and conclude that Zaydi revivalism is their "secret" goal. The kids get sent to kill Sunnis, for what it's worth; there aren't US and Israelis there for them to kill. Not that it would matter! They're children!
  - cess11 2y ago
    How does this idea of an imamate vision inform your view on the Ansar Allah treatment of the Hadi government? Why has the movement assembled a sort of unity government now? How come they've made deals with and stopped fighting some sunni salafi militant groups? Why have they recruited fighters much more broadly than along sectarian lines? What the saudis, americans and british have done in Yemen is much worse than what the Ansar Allah has done. They're repressive for sure and they'll likely never agree with me on issues like queer people, but that's not unexpected after large amounts of colonial and later genocidal violence, it tends to see to it that only the hardest, least compromising people can survive and rise to leadership positions. The yemeni army under the Sana'a government has managed to drive away US ships, so they very much try to kill americans that are there to protect US occupation and genocide. Eventually they'll likely get good at it, like they got good at building mobile radar systems and taking down MQ-9 drones.
    - tptacek 2y ago
      I wrote a long comment here but I don't think detail is helping. So: * There is no unified government of Yemen, no central organization controls all Yemeni territory, Ansar Allah continues to fight for territorial control, particularly in Marib and around Taizz. * There are no Americans in Yemen for Ansar Allah to fight, there are no Israelis there to fight, and the British haven't been in Aden for over 50 years. * Ansar Allah adopted the Khomeinist "Death To America" chant to galvanize supporters for their Zaydi Rivalist movement, but their actual military targets are all Yemenis inside of Yemen. Far from unifying the different factions in the areas they control, they make government employees sign pledges to support the revival of the Imamate and its Sada caste system. (also: an MQ-9 is a slow-moving turboprop)

Rebelgecko 2y ago

Is there evidence of that, or is it always safe to assume that if a government has plains then they've already come to fruition successfully?