My latest in PJ Media:
Isn’t great that America is back and the adults are back in charge? America is back, all right: all the way back to 1979, the last time we had a president so weak that enemies of the United States stormed one of our embassies and took hostages. On Thursday, the Yemeni media outlet Al-Masdar Online reported that Houthi jihadis in Yemen, which are backed by the Islamic Republic of Iran, stormed our embassy in Sana’a, seizing “large quantities of equipment and materials.” Just days before that, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), they “kidnapped three Yemeni nationals affiliated with the U.S. Embassy.” Biden’s team promised America would be back, but didn’t say anything about Jimmy Carter coming around again as well.
A State Department spokesman confirmed the Yemeni report, saying: “The United States has been unceasing in its diplomatic efforts to secure their release. The majority of the detained have been released, but the Houthis continue to detain additional Yemeni employees of the embassy.” They are being “detained without explanation and we call for their immediate release.” The U.S., the spokesman continued, is “concerned about the breach of the compound” and is calling “on the Houthis to immediately vacate it and return all seized property.”
Yeah, I’ll bet the Houthis are shaking with fear now. Because Biden’s handlers are really going all out on this one: deploying the Navy? Sending in the Marines? Immediately imposing crippling sanctions? Come on, man! The Biden team, said the State wonk, “will continue its diplomatic efforts to secure the release of our staff and the vacating of our compound, including through our international partners.” That’ll show ‘em.
Contrast that weak and uninspired response with what is going on among the Houthis themselves. Last June, according to MEMRI, the Houthis’ Al-Eman TV featured an Islamic scholar, Dr. Ahmad Al-Shami, telling a room full of children that “the scam of 9/11 was a theatrical show produced by the Jews and the Americans. They killed a group of their own people so that they could have a pretext.… All of this is done under the pretext of fighting terrorism, which ‘emerged from your midst of Muslims and Arabs.’” Al-Shami declared: “When we say ‘Death to America,’ it means life for all the nations that America is killing. When we say ‘Death to Israel,’ it means life for all the people, around the world, in whose killing and corruption Israel is taking part.”
The students then began chanting “Allahu akbar! Death to America! Death to Israel! Curse be upon the Jews! Victory to Islam!”
Charming. Yet when Donald Trump had the Houthis designated as foreign terrorists, the Leftist political and media establishment was (as always regarding anything and everything Trump did) outraged. No fewer than twenty-two aid groups that were operating in Yemen demanded that the designation be revoked “immediately,” and when his handlers gained control of the presidency, Old Joe Biden did just that. Trump was right again. If any group deserves to be considered foreign terrorists, it’s the Houthis.
There is more. Read the rest here.
Infidel says
For some reason, I’m not rooting for any Americans in Yemen to be rescued, given what a bang-up job we did in Afghanistan. If they did the same thing again, we’d have planeloads of Yemenis headed for America, more American troops being removed from military bases to accommodate them, and then in addition to the Afghans already at large, we’ll have a bunch of Yemenis at large as well
Wellington says
Agreed, Infidel. And I have to wonder what in the Hell are any Americans doing in a place like Yemen minus the most absolutely minimal amount necessary for diplomatic/military reasons—and perhaps not even for these.
Infidel says
Not just that, but in Sana’a! Yemen, which had reunified in the 90s from the Cold War era North and South Yemens, had de-facto divided again, but this time, instead of islamic vs communist as it was then, it’s zaidi vs sunni now. The US recognized government of Yemen – the one backed by the Saudis and the Emirates – is based in Aden, so that’s where one would have expected the US embassy to be. What the f*(& was it doing in Sana’a?
gravenimage says
Infidel, the US *does* have an Embassy to Yemen in Aden.
https://ye.usembassy.gov/
They also have–r had–and Embassy in Sana’a:
https://ye.usembassy.gov/embassy/sanaa/
I’m not sure of the official differences–hedging their bets, I would assume…
Infidel says
It isn’t uncommon for a country to have an embassy in the capital of a country, and consulate in other major cities. Just like a lot of countries have their embassies in DC and consulates in places like New York, Chicago, Houston, San Francisco…
What makes this case unusual is that Sana’a is the official capital of Yemen, but as a result of the civil war, it’s under Houthi control, so the de-facto capital has been Aden, while they struggle to reconquer what used to be North Yemen from the Houthis. Since the US does officially recognize the Yemeni government in Aden, one would think that that’s where they’d have their embassy, and since they have no relations w/ the Houthis, they would have shut down Sana’a, and only reopened it once the civil war got resolved and if it remained Yemen’s capital.
In the absence of that, it’s ridiculous to find out that they have an embassy there. Where else do we have active embassies now? Teheran? Mogadishu? Kabul?
gravenimage says
Oh, I agree, Infidel. Everything you say is commonsense.
And I looked it up–apparently we *do* have an Embassy in Mogadishu–madness.
https://so.usembassy.gov/embassy/mogadishu/
Although it does look as though the Embassy in Kabul ceased operation on August 31st. As for Iran, we use the Swiss Embassy for any official communications there.
I didn’t know about Mogadishu, though–I had assumed we formally left there in the 1990s–that would have made too much sense, though.
And what about Libya–the attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi was horrifying–and deadly. We pulled out of Libya altogether in 2014. But now? Take a look:
“Nearly a decade after Benghazi, the U.S. is quietly returning to Libya”
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/nearly-decade-after-benghazi-u-s-quietly-returning-libya-n1268671
Looks like the Embassy in Tripoli in Libya is back open:
https://ly.usembassy.gov/
Del says
There used to be both N & S Yemen. Separate entities, and quite a few countries had embassies in each country. I was in both the British & American embassies in Sana’a. What bizarre “civilizations”. EXTREMELY poor. For the most part, the people in Sana’a were great. Their Christmas decorations were more extensive and brighter than any Canadian city, and when we went downtown, we were greeted with Merry Christmas from almost every shopkeeper.
Immigration and Customs are as corrupt as hell.
gravenimage says
Infidel, I take your point–but I *do* want to see these Americans rescued, I don’t want to see any more victims of Jihad. (This saying, we never should have had an Embassy there in the first place).
mortimer says
Put all of the Muslim refugees in Biden’s district.
gravenimage says
Group Biden Removed From Terror List Storms U.S. Embassy in Yemen, Takes Hostages
…………………
Has Biden indicated that he thinks they are terrorists *now*? I rather doubt it…
mortimer says
His handlers will tell him to continue saying that everything is the fault of the previous administration and naïve followers will believe it.
The are trying to sell their Dem followers the calumny that all Republicans are ‘terrorists’ worse than Al Qaeda, Hezbollah and ISIS combined.
gravenimage says
Grimly true, Mortimer. And I have not heard Biden say *anything* about this attack on our embassy and taking our diplomatic staff hostage–which may officially make him even worse than Carter. At least Carter didn’t pretend that the taking of our Embassy in Tehran in 1979 didn’t happen.
tgusa says
Perfectly understandable give bidens history
Former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates stated in his memoirs that Joe Biden “has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.”
That makes things easy. If biden does it you know it is the wrong thing to do. No thinking involved.
mortimer says
Islam is NOT benign. The naïve Biden handlers don’t realize Islam is nitroglycerine.
Reading the comments of young Muslims in the article above is very revealing. Their hatred is not just open, but genocidal and totally off the wall.
When Muslims calumniate the ‘other’, it is mostly psychological projection of what they are doing themselves.
Western globalist elites REFUSE to learn the core, canonical hate teaching of Islam, which is AL WALAA WAL BARAA.
Muslims who hate non-Muslim KAFIRS are ‘good’ Muslims.
Eleanor says
Just off topic — but you couldn’t make this up. UK sends troops to Belarus border to support Polish forces amid growing migrant crisis — all the while UK assists up to 1000 illegal migrants arriving on it’s shores via the Port of Dover, EVERY DAY. It is unbelievable.
gravenimage says
Glad to hear–and surprised!–that the UK is doing the right thing re Poland. You are right that this is ironic given the ongoing Muslim invasion of Britain…
Walter Sieruk says
This is still more terrible policy action of Joe Biden and his crew.
They therefore Biden and his team with their terrible judgments are either completely incompetent or totally treasonous.
roberta says
Someone let R.S. know this could not be true. I havnt seen jack about this on TV.
gravenimage says
Roberta, is this sarcasm?
“Iran-backed Houthi rebels detain Yemenis working for US Embassy, compound breached”
https://www.foxnews.com/world/iran-backed-houthi-rebels-detain-yemenis-working-for-us-embassy-compound-breached
“Yemen’s Houthi forces breach U.S. Embassy compound, detain local employees”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/11/11/us-embassy-yemen-houthi-rebels/
“Iran-backed fighters raid US diplomatic facility in Yemen”
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/iran-backed-fighters-raid-us-diplomatic-facility-in-yemen
“Iran-backed Houthis holding US Embassy staff in Yemen: State Department”
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/11/11/Iran-backed-Houthis-detain-25-Yemenis-working-for-US
There *should* be more coverage of this, no doubt–but there is no reason to doubt the veracity of these reports.
Kenneth J Johnson says
No 1 Afghanistan
No 2 Yemen
No 3 ?? KEN