- A lesson for Trump’s security team in deadly Yemen raid
Special operations like this have always been risky for presidents to approve. Trump and some of his advisers have already promised to give the military greater rein in authorizing such missions as part of their desire to wipe out extremist threats. But the president has also said he is leery of getting entangled too deeply in costly operations overseas. – Washington Post’s Checkpoint
Political Airpower, Part III: Boots Off the Ground
From Mike Benitez & Mike Pietrucha, War on the Rocks: “The playbook has become well-worn, mainstream, and almost mundane in repetition: Collect intelligence, work the way up the hierarchy of leadership, then use an airstrike to decapitate some lieutenant, shadow governor, or other high value individual. On a tactical scale, we succeeded in removing some valuable and capable pieces from the board. These minor victories serve a critical nonmilitary purpose — allowing leadership and the public to view the Long War though “victory-tinted lenses” that tend to keep the politics of warfare (and the metrics of success) within the news cycle. However, from a strategic viewpoint, even an effort that we declare to be tactically successful may not have been effective at all in inching closer to victory in battle or resolution of conflict.”
From Mike Benitez & Mike Pietrucha, War on the Rocks: “The playbook has become well-worn, mainstream, and almost mundane in repetition: Collect intelligence, work the way up the hierarchy of leadership, then use an airstrike to decapitate some lieutenant, shadow governor, or other high value individual. On a tactical scale, we succeeded in removing some valuable and capable pieces from the board. These minor victories serve a critical nonmilitary purpose — allowing leadership and the public to view the Long War though “victory-tinted lenses” that tend to keep the politics of warfare (and the metrics of success) within the news cycle. However, from a strategic viewpoint, even an effort that we declare to be tactically successful may not have been effective at all in inching closer to victory in battle or resolution of conflict.”
Female fighters were among the roughly 14 Qaeda militants killed in an American commando raid in central Yemen over the weekend, the Pentagon said on Monday, seeking to explain a number of reports that civilians died in the nearly hourlong firefight. – New York Times
Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched a rare suicide attack on a Saudi frigate in the Red Sea on Monday, killing two crew members and leaving three others wounded, according to the Saudi Arabia-led military coalition fighting against them. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
The Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen and Houthi Shiite rebels may have committed war crimes in the conflict that is wracking the Middle East's poorest nation with no end in sight, U.N. experts said in a new report. – Associated Press
Yemen has lost a decade's worth of gains in public health as a result of war and economic crisis, with increasing numbers of children succumbing to malnutrition, the United Nations' Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday. - Reuters
Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched a rare suicide attack on a Saudi frigate in the Red Sea on Monday, killing two crew members and leaving three others wounded, according to the Saudi Arabia-led military coalition fighting against them. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
The Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen and Houthi Shiite rebels may have committed war crimes in the conflict that is wracking the Middle East's poorest nation with no end in sight, U.N. experts said in a new report. – Associated Press
Yemen has lost a decade's worth of gains in public health as a result of war and economic crisis, with increasing numbers of children succumbing to malnutrition, the United Nations' Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday. - Reuters
RSS Feed