Yemen Crisis/Conflict & the "Decisive Storm" Coalition
- Thread starter Jeff Head
- Start date
SinoSoldier
Colonel
A disgusting, cowardly attack by Yemeni/Houthi militants on a civilian-operated ship that was slated for humanitarian purposes. The Swift was allegedly bringing medical aid to the besieged city of Aden.
Additionally, I highly doubt that the vessel was "totally destroyed" as per the Houthi claim; the UAE Navy denied that there were casualties and it is unlikely that a single C-802 missile could put the entire vessel out of commission (an analysis done by Henri K. purports that the AShM struck the upper decks of the vessel rather than the waterline). Furthermore, it was reported that Saudi forces managed to rescue the civilians from a "damaged" (rather than sunk) ship.
Jura The idiot
General
... since you quoted me and seemed to comment on "ethics" of whom the US often calls Illegal Combatants, and Russia often calls Gang Formations, I point out this:
- on occasions (I could put links here), US-backed Saudi Air Force recently bombed hospitals in Yemen, and
- on occasions (I could put links here), Russia-backed Syrian Air Force recently bombed hospitals in Syria
SinoSoldier
Colonel
I acknowledge that US and Russian operations are not perfect, or even agreeable, to some extent, but there is a fine line that separates accidental/negligent use of force from the deliberate targeting of a humanitarian vessel. The same type of line demarcates manslaughter from, let's say, murder.
Jura The idiot
General
I think those (now I'll use WWTwo German designation) Banditen just hit anything they're able to hit, so I would've thought all vessels should've been convoyed in the area where Banditen might operate (I don't know if it's feasible, am just armchair-admiralling
SinoSoldier
Colonel
I think those (now I'll use WWTwo German designation) Banditen just hit anything they're able to hit, so I would've thought all vessels should've been convoyed in the area where Banditen might operate (I don't know if it's feasible, am just armchair-admiralling
A convoy would make sense from a wholly military perspective, but I'd doubt that a vessel embarked on a pacifist mission, under a civilian pretext, would want a military convoy to undermine its peaceful image.
Jura The idiot
General
LOL Banditen don't seem to care about peacuful imagine ... another problem is they tend to be suicidal and could try to slam it into an escorting warship ("to show they're brave")! I mean just establishing convoys probably wouldn't scare them off (as generally is the case with Pirates)
How would the Houthies know it was a humanitarian vessel? If it was it should have been inspected by Red Cross or other reliable organization that could have informed them. The say so of UAE cannot be sufficient. Indeed do we know that it was a humanitarian vessel?
Since the UAE is an intervening party in the Yemeni civil war, its word can't be accepted at face value without independent verification. Even if it was on a verified humanitarian mission this has to be communicated to the other side, such as with clear markings which did not appear to be present in this case. Any and all sides in a war deliberately targeting dual-use facilities such as a transports is really not out of the ordinary either.
Jura The idiot
General
it'll be interesting to watch what happens next (soon I mean):
- escorting vessels in the area (now I briefly checked and the UAE Navy has nine Corvettes, and the Saudi Navy seven Frigates, with a hangar);
- no escorting, Partizans hit another vessel;
- none of the above