“Idée fixe” is a term that everybody should know. It means a viewpoint that will never change. One such idée fixe is that terrorist groups with opposing ideologies will never work together. This is false. Because they have converging interests, terrorists engage in “coopetition” or “cooperative competition.” I knew that Iran supported the Islamic State….
Extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary solutions
June 26, 2016
Today an angry man contacted me. He said that I have no right to post my theories about what Saudi Arabia is doing in the Middle East. Since he claims to be active-duty Saudi Special Forces, that would seem to give weight to his words. However, he’s wrong. Everybody who reads my posts knows that…
Kinetic phase of a major Arab League military operation
June 2, 2016
The US military uses the “Continuum of Military Operations” to describe American war-fighting. It has six phases, at least two of which involve kinetic or combat operations. Phase 0: Shape the Environment. This phase involves those joint interagency and multinational activities conducted on an ongoing, routine basis to assure or solidify friendly relationships and alliances…
The war is saving Yemeni lives
September 28, 2015
Yesterday I wrote a post titled “In Yemen No Evidence is Required.” It’s about how the press and NGOs slander the Saudi-led Coalition fighting Ansar Allah, the Iranian-backed Shi’ite terrorist group also called the Houthis. One such dishonest NGO is Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), which issued the entirely fraudulent report State of Crisis: Explosive…
Why I admire the Emiratis
September 18, 2015
The plan to take back Yemen was brilliantly unorthodox. Instead of invading, the Coalition—Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Senegal, and Pakistan—would protect two pockets of resistance: Little Aden and Crater. In those cities, people held out against tens of thousands of besiegers: Houthis, soldiers loyal to former dictator…
Why the Coalition will win in Yemen
September 15, 2015
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,…