US increases military footprint in Yemen as part as post-Afghanistan withdrawal strategy

As the United States seeks to adapt to the ever-changing face of Islamic radicalism and growing anti-American sentiment in the Middle East, Washington is banking on its military to assert control, starting with Yemen.

Ever since Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai categorically refused to sign Washington’s Bilateral Security Agreement, which text provisions for a small US military contingent to remain in Afghanistan to monitor security development against the payment of a substantial aid package, Washington has been forced to review and reassess its position in the region, on the look-out for a fall-back military option.

In this realm, Yemen offers many advantages, one of which, a direct opening onto Bab Al Mandeb – the world oil route.

In the light of recent developments in Eurasia and the Middle East, the United States finds itself in a rather awkward position militarily, having lost much ground to both Iran and Russia in terms of influence, diplomatic sway and military deterrence, something Neocons are less than happy about. Keen to defend America’s military standing in the world and create a buffer to both Iran and Russian’s ever expanding zone of influence, the Pentagon has been pushing for a stronger military footprint in the Arabian Peninsula, and more specifically Yemen, aware that the impoverished nation’s geo-strategic location could very well tip the balance of power in its favour.

Back in January 2012 Debkafile revealed that sources close to US President Barack Obama confirmed to Washington’s plans to “to have secretly ordered US air, naval and marine forces to build up heavy concentrations on two strategic islands – Socotra, which is part of a Yemeni archipelago in the Indian Ocean, and the Omani island of Masirah at the southern exit of the Strait of Hormuz.”

Moreover, in a report published in April the US Department of Defense made clear that even though Washington will focus its attention to the Asia-Pacific region where it is military lagging, “the US military would retain an enduring presence in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf,” a remark which was understood as a confirmation of US President Obama’s plans for Yemen.

While of course the rise of Al Qaeda in the Middle East has been a source of concern, Washington’s military move in Yemen is to be understood within the parameters of its push for global supremacy. If US officials have been keen to use its war against terror narrative to justify foreign military operations, its main focus has always been to establish foreign military outposts to assert its global reach and prevent lesser powers to threaten US hegemony.

America’ soft powers foreign policy strategy has long been discarded; ever since US President George W Bush announced in his State of the Union address in 2002, he would actively seek to destroy what he calls the “axis of evil” through direct interventions as to impose American democracy onto unsuspecting Islamic nations.

If former President W. Bush first introduced the idea that the US could wage a never-ending war on terror – a rather elusive and all-encompassing term – it was President Barack Obama who turned his predecessor’s war on terror into the war of the Yemen with his drones. Only last week CNN commented, “The US drone campaign in Yemen is very much President Obama's war.”

At a time when the US has found its influence somewhat dwarfed by the Arab Spring Movement as more countries have chosen to look inwards and seek regional alliances in order to free themselves from the over-bearing influence of Washington, US officials have actively sought to re-address the balance of power through military expansionism – in perfect keeping with neoconservatives’ understanding of world dynamics,  the military will coerce nations into complying with America’s vision, bringing about the new world order President Bush senior so famously talked about at the UN  on September 11, 1990.

While the US has since 2011 greatly increased its presence in Yemen, mainly in the capital, Sana’a by invoking security issues to justify the mobilization of several platoons of US Marines, US officials have always rejected rumours Washington would ultimately set up a permanent military base in Yemen. Yemen is (one of) America’s staunchest ally against Islamic radicalism, and Washington has offered Yemen over the past three years unprecedented military, political and financial support; a strategy observers have often warned will ultimately serve the Pentagon’s interests more than it ever would Yemen.

Using aid packages as political incentives, US officials essentially bought out Yemen’s cooperation. Now more vassal than partner, Yemen has been turned into yet another American military outpost due to its geography. Sitting at a key crossroad, Yemen overlooks not only the Horn of Africa and the Middle East but it offers an opening onto the Persian Gulf and beyond Asia.

The first signs of Washington’s military strategy in the Arabian Peninsula became clear in September 2012, when the US announced it would send a platoon of US Marines to protect the ground of its US Embassy in Sana’a amid a wave of anti-American protests.

"Because of the split in the army and the security forces, we allowed a limited number of Marine forces to protect the American embassy only," Yemen's Prime Minister Mohammed Basendwa's media adviser Rajeh Bady told Reuters at the time, keen to downplay the tell-tale sign of US’ military expansionism.

Within weeks of the Platoon’s arrival, US officials decided to convert the Sheraton Hotel, which is located a stone throw away from the US Embassy, into what many regard a full-fledged military base, even though it still houses non-military personnel; invoking again issues of US national security. With 100 US Marines to cater for, Washington decided to simply assume control over the Hotel, hike up security by installing additional security cameras and place snipers on its rooftop.

In December 2012, over two months after Washington dispatched more military effectives, the Pentagon rationalized such “deployment” as a precautionary measure. In the words of Pentagon spokesman George Little, “The deployment is a precautionary step amid anti-US protests in the Middle East.”

Yemen Military naval base

Earlier in March a media site linked to the Houthis, a Shi’ite group organized under the leadership of Sheikh Abdel-Malek Al Houthi, published a report in which it alleged the US government is planning to set up a military naval base in the southern Yemeni province of Lahj, an area located directly in between the former capital of South Yemen, Aden, and Taiz, the country’ second most populous city.

Strategically positioned in the Gulf of Aden, directly overlooking Bab al Mandeb, the world oil route, the naval base would equate in terms of geo-strategic advantage that of the Fifth Fleet in the Persian Gulf.

Ansar Allah’s website claims the base will be located in Khor al-Umaira and will include a floating dock, a training centre and shooting ranges.

It is important to note that while it has been impossible to independently verify such information sources in Yemen have over the past three years often alleged that the US would ultimately look to rank up its military footprint in the Arabian Peninsula by securing strategic bases in Yemen. The idea is that Washington wants to better control al-Qaeda’s activities in the region and pre-empt any possible threats against its national security.

A prize to be had geo-strategically, Yemen holds the key to the region’ stability, something Washington is acutely aware of and might want to act upon more forcibly.

Ansar Allah’s website wrote, “US army corps of engineers have said the construction of the naval base can be completed in some 730 days and will cost the government around $5 million.”

Even though US officials have categorically labelled such reports as fallacious, journalists claim under cover of anonymity to have received explicit death threats should they attempt to further look into the matter or seek to obtain evidences.

Interestingly, the Houthis, a group rather well-known for its anti-American sentiments, is not the first to have sounded the alarm on Washington’s plan for Yemen.

In January 2013, the World Tribune, which carries no affiliation to Iran, wrote, “Yemeni sources said the administration of President Barack Obama intends to enhance defence and military cooperation in 2013 with a range of new projects. They said this would include arms deliveries and the construction of military bases in the Arab League state.” The key word being bases, plural!

Within days of such report, Yemeni daily Al Shaara concurred with the news, adding the Pentagon planned to build three military bases, one of which will be located in the island of Socotra.

At the time US Homeland Security Undersecretary Rand Beers remarked, “The United States has a profound interest in advancing Yemen’s security and prosperity … By enhancing collaboration with the government of Yemen, we reaffirm our commitment to more effectively secure our two countries against evolving threats and improve the trade and investment climate in Yemen.”