[News] The US dangles Yemen bait, but Ansarallah doesn’t bite

[Anti-Imperialist News]

 The US dangles Yemen bait, but Ansarallah doesn’t bite

The US has secretly offered a stunning array of concessions to Ansarallah
to halt its naval operations in support of Gaza – to no avail.

Khalil Nasrallah <https://thecradle.co/authors/khalil-nasrallah>

APR 11, 2024 -
https://thecradle.co/articles/the-us-dangles-yemen-bait-but-ansarallah-doesnt-bite
(Photo Credit: The Cradle)

We favor a diplomatic solution. We know that there is no military solution.

– US Special Envoy for Yemen Timothy Lenderking

In a special briefing on 3 April – nearly six months after Yemen launched
its far-reaching naval operations to debilitate Israel’s ability to conduct
war on Gaza – US Special Envoy for Yemen Timothy Lenderking touted the
importance of seeking diplomatic solutions in Yemen
<https://www.state.gov/digital-press-briefing-with-timothy-lenderking-special-envoy-for-yemen/>
instead
of the military ones his government has been loudly advocating for months.

Lenderking’s stance contrasted sharply with Washington’s announcement
<https://thecradle.co/articles-id/15955> in December of a multinational
coalition against Yemen’s Ansarallah-led forces, aimed at safeguarding
international shipping in the Red Sea and effectively protecting
Israeli-linked trade from Yemen’s sweeping naval blockade
<https://thecradle.co/articles-id/17195>.

But as tensions heighten and regional allies have hesitated
<https://thecradle.co/articles-id/16790> to join the US–UK coalition in
fear of direct Yemeni retaliatory strikes, the US and its allies have
quietly sought to entice Sanaa into negotiations through offers conveyed by
Omani and other international mediators who maintain ties with Yemen’s de
facto government in Sanaa.

Lenderking’s position may, in fact, reflect an astounding set of private US
promises made via intermediaries to Ansarallah behind closed doors –
pledges that essentially tick every box on the resistance movement’s wish
list.

*‘Stop your Gaza support, and we will give you everything’*

Informed Yemeni sources reveal to *The Cradle* that the US offered Sanaa –
in exchange for its neutrality in the ongoing Gaza war – “an acknowledgment
of its legitimacy.”

This would involve severely reducing the role of the Saudi-backed
Presidential Council led by Rashid al-Alimi and accelerating the signing of
a roadmap with Riyadh and Abu Dhabi to end the aggression against Yemen.

The sources further reveal that the Americans pledged to immediately
release withheld Yemeni public sector salaries from the National Saudi
Bank, lift the country’s siege entirely, reopen Sanaa Airport, ease
restrictions on the port of Hodeidah, and facilitate a comprehensive
prisoner exchange agreement with all involved parties.

In terms of reconstruction, the sources say:

[Washington] pledged to repair the damages, remove foreign forces from all
occupied Yemeni lands and islands, and remove Ansarallah from the State
Department’s ‘terrorism list’ – as soon as they stop their attacks in
support of Gaza.

Despite these tempting offers, which have been the subject of negotiations
between Sanaa and Riyadh for over two years, the Yemenis remained
steadfast. Ansarallah leader Abdel Malik al-Houthi’s consistent position,
as reiterated in his speeches, has been to continue operations
<https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/04/05/723080/Yemen-United-States-Israel-war-Gaza-Houthi>
as
long as Israeli aggression against Gaza persists.

*Ansarallah’s ‘military negotiation’*

>From the outset, marked by Israel’s declaration of a state of war following
the 7 October Al-Aqsa Flood operation, Sanaa threw its weight behind the
Palestinian resistance, launching comprehensive drone and ballistic missile
attacks against the southern Israeli-occupied port city of Umm al-Rashrash,
known as Eilat
<https://www.france24.com/en/video/20231101-yemen-s-houthi-rebels-claim-attacks-on-israel-s-eilat>
.

In response to the Yemeni salvos and interception attempts by US warships,
Washington initiated a campaign of threats against Sanaa, which in turn
demanded an immediate cessation of aggression against Gaza as a
precondition for halting its military operations. Their exact words to the
Americans were: “We are not within the circle of those you dictate to.”

Matters only intensified as Ansarallah began deploying previously unused
naval strategies – not even utilized against Yemen’s aggressors, Saudi
Arabia and the UAE, in nine years of battles – with al-Houthi vowing
<https://www.thenationalnews.com/gulf-news/2023/11/14/yemens-houthis-vow-to-attack-israeli-ships-in-red-sea/>
to
obstruct Israeli ships in the Red Sea.

This strategy was actualized days later on 19 November, when Yemeni naval
commandos stormed an Israeli-linked vessel, the Galaxy Leader
<https://thecradle.co/articles-id/13112>, and its crew, redirecting the
ship to Yemeni shores.

This daring naval action prompted the US to pursue dual strategies: the
first, involving intimidation and preparation for a naval coalition to
support Israel, and the second, encouraging diplomatic engagements through
Arab and international mediators to halt Sanaa’s impactful naval
operations.

Sanaa’s leadership not only dismissed these overtures but expanded the
naval blockade to include non-Israeli vessels en route to Israeli ports and
extended their theater of operations as far as the Indian Ocean
<https://thecradle.co/articles-id/24003> – to cut off Israel’s “alternative
long route” shipments.

Yemen’s firm refusal to succumb to either enticement or intimidation led
the US and the UK to initiate aggressive military operations against the
war-torn Persian Gulf state three months ago, aiming to neutralize the
Yemeni threat and halt maritime attacks in support of Gaza under the guise
of protecting maritime navigation freedom.

As a countermeasure, Sanaa escalated its military response by expanding
operations to target not only US and British ships but also introducing
advanced weaponry into its arsenal.

This included the sinking of the British cargo ship
<https://twitter.com/TheCradleMedia/status/1762534928682565699> Rubymar,
attacking other vessels, and broadening the theater of operations to the
Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean – a strategic move to ramp up pressure on
those executing the brutal war on Gaza.

*Yemen’s military checkmate*

In light of the current situation, where the US has acknowledged the
futility of its military strategy and is clamoring to devise a diplomatic
solution, Sanaa has clearly demonstrated its relevance to any and all West
Asian geopolitical calculations.

Its stunning achievements of the past six months include Sanaa’s ability to
disrupt the Israeli economy <https://thecradle.co/articles-id/14235> by
cutting off or lengthening trade routes for Israel’s essential imports.
This can be seen most notably in Eilat, where the operational disruption of
Israel’s southernmost port has led to significant job cuts by the port’s
operating company and paralyzed shipping entirely.

Ansarallah has also thwarted retaliatory measures by the west’s most
celebrated naval forces, made a mockery of their ramshackle “coalition,”
and created complex challenges for US hegemonic ambitions in the Persian
Gulf, both presently and in the long term.

Moreover, Yemen has showcased remarkable political and military
maneuverability, demonstrating that a single resolved Arab state can
provide the Palestinian resistance with a potent negotiating tool.

Importantly, through its military operations in the region’s waterways,
Sanaa has solidified its position within the Axis of Resistance,
transforming into one of the most effective forces in the Axis’ Unity of
Fronts <https://thecradle.co/articles-id/7822> strategy. All, while drawing
British and American naval assets into vulnerable – and unwinnable –
positions and successfully hindering Israel’s shipping connections with the
world.

*A rising regional power *

According to al-Houthi’s most recent count, Yemen’s numerous military
operations have launched over 520 missiles and drones to target naval
assets and areas in southern Israel. Ninety vessels have been targeted to
date, with 34 operations
<https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/houthis-say-37-killed-hundreds-us-uk-strikes-yemen-2024-04-04/#:~:text=Al%2DHouthi%2C%20in%20a%20televised,125%20ballistic%20missiles%20and%20drones.>
conducted only between 4–5 March using 125 ballistic and winged
missiles and drones.

In contrast, the US and UK have launched nearly 500 raids since their
ill-conceived naval coalition began ops, resulting in the martyrdom of
nearly forty Yemenis.

Six months into the war, Yemen continues to demonstrate its strategic
capabilities on land, in regional waterways, and even in the world’s
oceans. Yemeni officials hint at further military “surprises” still to
come, which they may deploy depending on Israeli actions in Gaza and the
broader region, as well as the actions of its US enabler, which Sanaa views
as the most destructive and destabilizing force for West Asia’s security
and stability.
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