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<div class="gmail-inner-article-top"><h1 class="gmail-">The US dangles Yemen bait, but Ansarallah doesn’t bite</h1><p class="gmail-">The
US has secretly offered a stunning array of concessions to Ansarallah
to halt its naval operations in support of Gaza – to no avail.</p><div class="gmail-another-name"><p><a href="https://thecradle.co/authors/khalil-nasrallah" style="color:rgb(164,4,4)">Khalil Nasrallah</a></p></div><div class="gmail-another-name" style="margin-top:16px"><p><span>APR 11, 2024 - </span><font size="1"><a href="https://thecradle.co/articles/the-us-dangles-yemen-bait-but-ansarallah-doesnt-bite">https://thecradle.co/articles/the-us-dangles-yemen-bait-but-ansarallah-doesnt-bite</a></font></p></div></div><div class="gmail-inner-article-img"><img src="http://thecradle-main.oss-eu-central-1.aliyuncs.com/public/articles/612c135a-f81c-11ee-be90-00163e02c055.jpeg" alt="" width="408" height="193" style="margin-right: 0px;"><span>(Photo Credit: The Cradle)</span></div><div class="gmail-inner-article-content"><div class="gmail-row"><div class="gmail-col-md-8 gmail-col-sm-7"><div class="gmail-article-content"><span><blockquote><p>We favor a diplomatic solution. We know that there is no military solution.</p></blockquote><p style="text-align:right"><span style="color:rgb(153,153,153)">– US Special Envoy for Yemen Timothy Lenderking</span></p><p>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 <a href="https://www.state.gov/digital-press-briefing-with-timothy-lenderking-special-envoy-for-yemen/">diplomatic solutions in Yemen</a> instead of the military ones his government has been loudly advocating for months. </p><p>Lenderking’s stance contrasted sharply with Washington’s <a href="https://thecradle.co/articles-id/15955">announcement</a> 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 <a href="https://thecradle.co/articles-id/17195">naval blockade</a>. </p><p>But as tensions heighten and regional allies have <a href="https://thecradle.co/articles-id/16790">hesitated</a>
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.</p><p>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.</p><p><strong>‘Stop your Gaza support, and we will give you everything’</strong></p><p>Informed Yemeni sources reveal to <i>The Cradle</i> that the US offered Sanaa – in exchange for its neutrality in the ongoing Gaza war – “an acknowledgment of its legitimacy.”</p><p>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. </p><p>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.</p><p>In terms of reconstruction, the sources say: </p><blockquote><p>[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.</p></blockquote><p>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 <a href="https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/04/05/723080/Yemen-United-States-Israel-war-Gaza-Houthi">continue operations</a> as long as Israeli aggression against Gaza persists.</p><p><strong>Ansarallah’s ‘military negotiation’</strong></p><p>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<a href="https://www.france24.com/en/video/20231101-yemen-s-houthi-rebels-claim-attacks-on-israel-s-eilat"> Eilat</a>.</p><p>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.”</p><p>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 <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/gulf-news/2023/11/14/yemens-houthis-vow-to-attack-israeli-ships-in-red-sea/">vowing</a> to obstruct Israeli ships in the Red Sea. </p><p>This strategy was actualized days later on 19 November, when Yemeni naval commandos stormed an Israeli-linked vessel, the <a href="https://thecradle.co/articles-id/13112">Galaxy Leader</a>, and its crew, redirecting the ship to Yemeni shores.</p><p>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. </p><p>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 <a href="https://thecradle.co/articles-id/24003">Indian Ocean</a> – to cut off Israel’s “alternative long route” shipments.</p><p>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.</p><p>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. </p><p>This included the sinking of the <a href="https://twitter.com/TheCradleMedia/status/1762534928682565699">British cargo ship</a> 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.</p><p><strong>Yemen’s military checkmate</strong></p><p>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.</p><p>Its stunning achievements of the past six months include Sanaa’s ability to disrupt the <a href="https://thecradle.co/articles-id/14235">Israeli economy</a> 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. </p><p>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. </p><p>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. </p><p>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’ <a href="https://thecradle.co/articles-id/7822">Unity of Fronts</a> strategy.
All, while drawing British and American naval assets into vulnerable –
and unwinnable – positions and successfully hindering Israel’s shipping
connections with the world.</p><p><strong>A rising regional power </strong></p><p>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 <a href="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.">34 operations</a> conducted only between 4–5 March using 125 ballistic and winged missiles and drones.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p></span></div></div></div></div>
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