This is how weak the United States has become under the misrule of Barack Hussein Obama: another embassy is evacuated, and not only can Marines not prevent Iran-backed jihadis from seizing U.S. Embassy vehicles, but they’re so abject and hamstrung that they meekly hand over their weapons.
This is a major victory for Iran and the jihad against the U.S. “Official: Houthis seize U.S. Embassy vehicles, Marines’ weapons at airport,” by Greg Botelho and Hakim Almasmari, CNN, February 11, 2015:
Sanaa, Yemen (CNN)Houthi rebels took all U.S. Embassy vehicles parked at the Yemeni capital’s airport and wouldn’t let departing U.S. Marines take their weapons with them, a top Sanaa airport official said about the latest evidence of unrest in an Arab nation long seen as key in America’s fight against terrorists.
The actions come after the United States, along with Britain, suspended operations at their embassies and moved out staffers because of the instability in Yemen.
According to the official, the Houthis seized many U.S. Marines’ weapons at the airport, and the American troops also handed over some to random airport officials Wednesday.
The previous night, embassy officials burned tens of thousands of documents and destroyed weapons that were inside the Sanaa embassy’s storage warehouses, Yemeni employees of the embassy said.
Yemen has long been an important country to the United States as the home of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, one of the most feared, influential and operational terrorist organizations in the world. U.S. officials have had a long relationship with Yemeni leaders, working with them to target AQAP militants.
But now, Yemen’s latest leader, President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, is gone, having resigned after Houthi rebels seized control of key government facilities, dissolved parliament and placed him under house arrest.
All this movement has left the Houthis — Shiite Muslims who have long felt marginalized in the majority Sunni country — as the preeminent power in Yemen.
Their takeover hasn’t been smooth, however, and it’s not clear if it will ever be complete. There has already been resistance to their attempted takeover of national government institutions from different groups in Yemen, particularly in the south, where there’s a long-running secessionist movement, and in the oil-rich province of Marib to the east of Sanaa.
Then there’s the question of what it means for the United States and its anti-terrorism efforts.
As of last month, U.S. officials hadn’t engaged in talks with the Houthis, though there were discussions about whether to talk to them….
“They are a very dangerous group,” said Kirby. “They do want to threaten Western interests, including U.S. interests, and we do consider them a threat to the United States of America. We’re watching them very closely.”