U.S. reveals troops on the ground in Yemen

[GennGreymane]

http://www.militarytimes.com/story/m...emen/84024498/

A “small number” of U.S troops are deployed on the ground in Yemen to help fight the al-Qaida affiliate there that was controlling a major port city, a defense official said Friday.

A Pentagon spokesman declined to say how many U.S. troops are there supporting operations led by the Yemeni military and the United Arab Emirates around the port city of Mukalla.

“We have a small number of people who have been providing intelligence support,” the spokesman, Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, told reporters Friday.

The U.S. troops deployed about two weeks ago and are at a “fixed location” providing intelligence support as well as “airborne [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance], advice and assistance with operational planning, maritime interdiction and security operations, medical support and aerial refueling,” Davis said.

Militants with al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula seized the port city last year amid the chaos of Yemen’s civil war. With looted bank money and oil exports, AQAP transformed Yemen's southern coastline into a wealthy ministate.

“We view this as short term,” Davis said of the deployments, noting that AQAP has mostly withdrawn from the city after an attack in late April by about 2,000 Yemeni and Emirati troops.

“This is specifically about routing AQAP from Mukalla, and that has largely occurred,” Davis said.

The deployment marks the first time the Pentagon has publicly disclosed deployment of U.S. troops to Yemen in more than a year. In March 2015, the U.S. evacuated about 125 special operations troops amid the expanding civil war between government loyalists backed by a Sunni Arab coalition and Houthi rebels supported by Iran.

Additional U.S. support for the Mukalla operations is provided by the amphibious assault ship Boxer, which is staged off the coast of Yemen with about 4,500 Marines from the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit. The ship is providing medical support to the Emirate troops, Davis said.

The deployment of U.S. troops to Makalla is one of three operations the U.S. military has been conducting in Yemen.

In a separate operation, the U.S. military is providing support for a Saudi-led coalition that is backing the Yemeni government troops in the civil war against Iranian-backed rebels, specifically offering the Saudis intelligence, airborne fuel tankers and thousands of advanced munitions.

At the same time, U.S. aircraft continue to conduct occasional, unilateral “counterterrorism strikes” against specific AQAP militants who pose a potential threat to the Untied States. Since April 23, U.S. aircraft have launched four strikes on AQAP militants in Yemen, killing 10, Davis said.

AQAP was using the Yemeni port city as a “safe haven to plan future attacks against the United States and its interests,” Davis said. “They do remain a significant threat to the region and the United States.”

Davis said the mission in Yemen is not an “advise and assist” mission like those underway in Iraq and Syria. Instead it would “fall into the category of intelligence support.”

“This is really about the liaison to us for information,” Davis said.

[W1sp]

Suprise yet more "freedom" for the middle east Bet we will see another large influx of refugees to the EU soon

[Deleted]

Thats how they always do it, they deploy troops for training, support, intelligence, and other non combat activities. But what it usually means is special forces "help out" the locals.

[Theinquisition]

*looks at DD-214*

Whew, glad im not around for that mess.

Also inb4 Indignant Euros clutching their pearls whine about "imperialist" U.S. who's Military might helped liberate their countries from fascism and protected them from soviet communism.

[Cybran]

protected them from soviet communism.

Soviet communism wasn't as bad as you make it out to be. There was no poverty, segregation and violent crime as in America.

[Ulmita]

Spread that freedom and democracy i guess. Go team America, do your thing!

[ParanoiD84]

The Saudis could use some help, they have been mostly hitting civilians lately with their air strikes.

[Theinquisition]

Soviet communism wasn't as bad as you make it out to be. There was no poverty, segregation and violent crime as in America.

I know right!!

Who doesn't love bread lines, oppressive police states, and mass murder!

[Azadina]

Soviet communism wasn't as bad as you make it out to be. There was no poverty, segregation and violent crime as in America.

Hahahah I thought conspiracy theories weren't allowed...

[Cybran]

Hahahah I thought conspiracy theories weren't allowed...

Finland copied the soviet social model. They called it "Finlandization". Finnish schools in particular was modeled after East German schools. By shitting on Soviet socialism you are shitting on your own economic model.

Your countries would be socially conservative as the USA without Soviet progressiveness.

[W1sp]

I know right!!

Who doesn't love bread lines, oppressive police states, and mass murder!

Mass murder sounds a whole lot like the us with mass shootings every day of the year tbh

[Azadina]

Finland copied the soviet social model. They called it "Finlandization". Finnish schools in particular was modeled after East German schools. By shitting on Soviet socialism you are shitting on your own economic model.

Your countries would be socially conservative as the USA without Soviet progressiveness.

Yeah, and where are all the Finnish gulags then?

[Deleted]

Soviet communism wasn't as bad as you make it out to be. There was no poverty, segregation and violent crime as in America.

Do you even remember being under communist rule? How old are you? I was living in Germany when the Berlin wall came down and east Germany certainly did not look like paradise at the time.

[Theinquisition]

Mass murder sounds a whole lot like the us with mass shootings every day of the year tbh

That's not really state sanctioned murder of millions is it?

[luc54]

Soviet communism wasn't as bad as you make it out to be. There was no poverty, segregation and violent crime as in America.

You don't actually believe this shit, now do you?

[Deleted]

You don't actually believe this shit, now do you?

Dude, it's Cybran, he believes it alright... that's the scary part.
If it were up to him, Eastern and Central Europe would have join the Russian Federation by force.

[Manabomb]

Soviet communism wasn't as bad as you make it out to be. There was no poverty, segregation and violent crime as in America.

Between the starving people, the millions dead and a general apathy for life itself, Stalin is a perfect example why Soviet communism was doomed to fail from the very start.

[Deleted]

I know right!!

Who doesn't love bread lines, oppressive police states, and mass murder!

Hey man don't forget taking all the grain from Ukraine letting it's people starve to death ! It was all fun and games, no problem at all in Soviet.. nope

[GennGreymane]

Hey man don't forget taking all the grain from Ukraine letting it's people starve to death ! It was all fun and games, no problem at all in Soviet.. nope

Its all fun and games until the wall crumbles

[Deleted]

Soviet communism wasn't as bad as you make it out to be. There was no poverty, segregation and violent crime as in America.

did the Flash take you to another dimension where you learned the history of soviet communism