Thomas Wictor

Here’s a report from the Marib Front in Yemen. I tried to translate it from Arabic, but I couldn’t. Hopefully a speaker of Arabic will translate it for me, and I’ll update this post.

Journalist Yaheya Swaree says that the Coalition ground forces have surrounded the Houthis on three sides at Marib.

On August 3, 2015, hundreds of Emirati tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, light armored vehicles, mine resistant ambush protected vehicles (MRAPs), and self-propelled artillery pieces broke out of Aden and fought their way to Marib.

On August 4, 2015, a ground force of Yemeni mechanized infantry, Saudi tanks, and Saudi Special Forces crossed into Yemen at the border post of al-Wadiya. They headed for Marib, where they created an encampment. On September 7, Qatar sent 1000 troops, 200 tanks, and 30 Apache helicopter gunships to Yemen. Their destination was Marib.

Back to the report by Yaheya Swaree.

He says that the Houthis at the Marib Front are surrounded on three sides, and a fourth Coalition force will cut off the single supply line. The goal is to not kill the Houthis but to take them prisoner.

Why?

Three reasons: One, the Saudis DON’T have imperial ambitions. They genuinely want an inclusive Yemen, if that’s at all possible. Two, the Saudis are thinking long term. They don’t want to create generations of Houthis who will spend the next century carrying out revenge attacks. And three, the Coalition are some of the best warriors on earth. Their ethos prevents them from butchering drunk, khat-chewing losers who flap their arms like apes and stumble around wearing only one sandal.

Yemenis who are sick and tired of war and oppression have asked me, “Why don’t the Saudis just wipe them all out?”

Well, I’m not the right guy to ask. My impulse is to wipe them all out. I’m a very unforgiving person. But I’m not a warrior. The Coalition is fighting with great honor, humanity, and practicality. Why slaughter those who don’t have to be killed?

Here’s the cause of every single problem in the Middle East.

The one on the far right has already died, but the rest need to join him. When they’re gone, the Houthis, the Syrian Arab Army, Hezbollah, Hamas, al-Qaeda, and the Islamic State will no longer have access to the weapons, training, and funding that Iran now provides. These organizations will wither on the vine.

So the Coalition doesn’t see the need to kill all the Houthis. It would be counterproductive. Saudi Arabia has said that the Arabs need a Marshall Plan, reconstruction on the scale that the US undertook in Europe after World War II. And the Saudis, Emiratis, Bahrainis, Qataris, and Omanis say they’ll foot the bill. I believe them. If the Coalition plans on paying to rebuild Yemen, why destroy it?

An Israeli pointed out something in this photo.

Look at the the glass in the building next to the bombed-out structure. It’s intact. The Coalition was so precise in this air strike that the glass in the building next door wasn’t even broken.

The Saudis have said without equivocation that they plan on overthrowing the Iranian mullahs. They’ve also said that Bashar al-Assad has to go. This next video shows that the Coalition war against Iran and Syria will be easily won. I can tell you honestly that I’ve never seen worse soldiering than in this footage. The Syrian unit commander had to stand on the building and micromanage his tanks and infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs). He had to tell them exactly where to go, as well as when and where to fire. Even with the endless shouted instructions, the tanks and IFVs kept accidentally shooting at each other.

Also, they didn’t bother to secure the battlefield. Any one of those cars or trucks could’ve been a suicide bomb full of explosives.

The Syrians use Russian and Iranian fighting methods. On the other hand, the Coalition assault units have been trained by the armed forces of every industrialized nation, including China and India. The specialized Arab assault units are now the most highly trained forces on earth. Every nation has its own method of fighting. By learning from literally almost everyone, the Arabs have prepared themselves for every possible contingency.

All the news outlets are screeching about the Russian military buildup in Syria.

So what? If it comes to a confrontation between Russia and the Arab Coalition, the Russians will lose. Badly.

These are shock troops of Russia’s 76th Guards Air Assault Division. They’re the cream of the Russian army. Watch how they panic as UNARMED, singing Ukrainian airmen march toward them.

The embarrassed commander of the Russians has to tell his morons to calm down.

This chunky idiot is holding his rifle sideways, the way he’s seen in movies.

Over on the side, another imbecile aims a rocket at his own men.

The commander is depressed by the entire circus, while his sidekick is trying to think, the effort causing his mouth to hang open.

These men are the best that Russia has to offer. Below is a video that may upset you, but it shows the Russian approach to fighting. OMON special forces in Chechnya get themselves surrounded and simply pile up their dead without bothering to cover them.

Those are their friends. Their brothers-in-arms. But they treat their bodies with no respect. Since individual lives are worth nothing in the Russian army, ineffective tactics are used. Men are thrown away, like broken equipment.

In comparison the Arab Coalition is sparing the lives of Yemeni civilians and combatants and also carefully protecting its own troops. Some would argue that the only reason that the Coalition doesn’t squander the lives of its forces because they cost so much to train.

Really?

Although I’ve studied the Arab armed forces for over forty years, I don’t know much about the cultures. It’s not possible to really get to know a people unless you have lots of contact with them. On Twitter, the Houthi supporters are going after me the same way that the Hamas supporters did, but it’s actually reassuring in a way. The attacks aren’t alien. They’re stupid, not freaky-weird. Ordinary. Mediocre and knowable.

I’m very confident that the Coalition will prevail and then rebuild the Middle East. There’s no reason for me to doubt the promises that the Coalition is making, because its actions are proving that a new way of doing things is already entrenched.

My guess is that by this time next year, we won’t even recognize the region.