Saudi Arabia uses banned white phosphorus in Yemen genocide; US takes modest steps to reign in the Saudi

White Phosphorus is the most pernicious of all weapons of war.

It is placate time for the United States to withhold its support for the Saudi genocide in Yemen; its standing in the international community is seriously damaged by its continued complicity in genocide.

The Obama administration is to be commended for withholding cluster bombs -- a minor victory for sanity; and the Congress is to be commanded for deciding to delay a $1 billion arms deal to Saudi Arabia.  Hawaii's Senator Brian Schatz was one of the authors of the delay.
resolution.

The Washington Post

Checkpoint

Saudi Arabia appears to be using U.S.-supplied white phosphorus in its war in Yemen

By Thomas Gibbons-Neff September 19 

An 81mm white phosphorus mortar round bursts on impact during a live-fire exercise involving elements of the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division. (Spc. Barbara Ospina/1st Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs)

Saudi Arabia appears to be using U.S.-supplied white phosphorus munitions in its war in Yemen, based on images and videos posted to social media, raising concerns among human rights groups that the highly incendiary material could be used against civilians.

Under U.S. regulations, white phosphorus sold to other countries is to be used only for signaling to other troops and creating smoke screens. When the munition explodes, it releases white phosphorus that automatically ignites in the air and creates a thick white smoke. When used against soldiers or civilians, it can maim and kill by burning to the bone.

It is unclear exactly how the Saudis are using the munitions, but the government has already received widespread condemnation for its indiscriminate bombing in civilian areas since its campaign against rebel forces in Yemen began in 2015.

U.S. officials confirmed that the American government has supplied the Saudis white phosphorus in the past but declined to say how much had been transferred or when. After reviewing a social media image taken from the battlefield that showed a white phosphorus mortar shell, a U.S. official said it appeared to be American in origin but could not trace it to a particular sale because some of the markings were obscured.

“The United States expects any recipient of U.S. military assistance to use those items in accordance with international law and under the terms and conditions of any U.S. transfer or sale,” said a State Department official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss politically sensitive issues.

The official said the department was looking into reports of Saudi forces’ improperly using U.S.-supplied white phosphorus munitions. “If a country is determined to have used U.S.-provided weapons for unauthorized purposes, the U.S. will take appropriate corrective action,” the official said.

The United States has grown increasingly wary of its material support to the Saudi military. In May, the Obama administration halted the sale of roughly 400 cluster bombs to the Saudis after human rights organizations documented the weapons’ use in civilian areas. This week, lawmakers on Capitol Hill moved to delay a $1 billion arms deal that would replace some of Saudi Arabia’s U.S.-supplied tanks that have been damaged in the conflict

The most interesting parts of this article are emphasized.

WEATHER, AMMAN

Today, September 19, 2016

27 c° / Sunny

Today, 

US forrces deploy to Syria to back Turkey

Commandos to help Turkey and ‘vetted’ Syrian rebels

By AFP - Sep 17,2016 - Last updated at Sep 17,2016

 This file photo taken on May 25, 2016 shows armed men in uniform identified by Syrian Democratic forces as US special operations forces riding in the back of a pickup truck in the village of   (AFP photo)

WASHINGTON — Dozens of US Special Operations commandos have been deployed to northern Syria to help Turkey and "vetted" Syrian rebels fight the Daesh terror group, the Pentagon confirmed on Friday.

But as footage emerged of the rebels hurling insults and threats at the American special operators, US officials were forced to play down reports that the troops did not receive a warm welcome to the frontline.

Last month, Ankara launched an offensive into northern Syria dubbed "Euphrates Shield", ostensibly designed to cut a major Daesh supply line but also to counter the advance of US-backed a Kurdish militia.

US forces are working alongside the Syrian Kurds of the YPG in the fight against Daesh, but Turkey regards the group as terrorists and allies of the PKK separatist group fighting within its own borders.

In Syria, Turkey prefers to work with Arab and Turkmen fighters such as those of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), which is opposed to Syrian leader Bashar Assad's regime but has also clashed with the Kurds in the past.

Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis told reporters that US commandos, at Turkey's request, had joined the Turkish military and "vetted Syrian opposition forces" fighting Daesh near Jarabulus and Al Rai.

But footage widely shared online by Syrian groups and experts appears to show US commandos in Al Rai insulted by FSA fighters, who call them "pigs" and "infidels" in Arabic, demanding they leave Syria.

A US defence official admitted there had been a "misunderstanding", but insisted the troops were still deployed and that the matter had been cleared up.

"There's been no violence, no one is hurt and we are still there," the official said. "I have no report of a hostile or violent action."

The special forces contingent includes several dozen troops, he added.

America's top general, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford, met with his Turkish counterpart General Hulusi Akar on the sidelines of a NATO chiefs of staff meeting in Croatia on Friday to discuss the anti-Daesh fight.

His assistant, Captain Gregory Hicks, said the generals met "to advance discussions on the way forward in the fight against ISIL [Daesh], and recommitted to the close military-to-military and strategic relationship the US has with Turkey".

Meanwhile, in another incident underlining the four-way tensions between Kurds, Turks, Americans and Syrian Arabs on the battlefield, Kurdish YPG fighters again flew US flags near Syria's border with Turkey.

An AFP photographer saw the stars and stripes flying over a YPG base in Tal Abyad. The use of US flags is seen as a provocation by some in Turkey and the Pentagon repeated its request for them to be taken down.

"We would call on our partner forces not to fly the American flag on their own," Cook said. "I would imagine that that would be communicated if indeed that's taken place in this instance."

There was some good news for the coalition, however.

Cook said that senior Daesh propagandist Wa'il Adil Hasan Salman Al Fayad, known as "Dr. Wa'il", was killed in a precision strike on September 7 near Raqa, the Syrian city that is the group's de facto capital.

Kurdish participation in the Syrian Peace Talks

The view from Erbil, capital of Iraqi Kurdistan:

From the article:

Russia stresses importance of including Syrian Kurds in Geneva peace talks - ARA News 

Kurds [who are the most effective fighting force opposing  the Islamic State and who have been excluded from the Geneva please talks] should be included in the intra-Syrian peace talks in Geneva, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said on Friday.

• • •

“Some   members [of the ISSG] exert strong pressure, because they consider the PYD to be terrorists’ supporters or an unnecessary element, as Kurdish representatives from other political groups [Kurdish National Council] are taking part in the Geneva talks,” he said. 

• • •

Although Russian-Turkish relations have drastically improved after the failed military coup on July 15, Russia did not change its stance towards the Syrian Kurdish forces that have been the most effective element against ISIS. 

According to Akhmetov, there are several reasons Russia is still supporting the Kurds despite of Moscow’s new relations with Turkey. 

“First to not lose their support completely, and secondly to not provoke them to make any reckless steps like announcing secession from Syria,” he said. 

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The United States has taken contradictory positions on the YPG's joining the peace talks.  It formally opposes participation, out of deference to Turkey; and it funds YPG's fighters is Syria, over fierce Turkish objection. 

Erdoğan's government does not currently deserve international recognition, because of gross human rights violatio ns. Saudi Arabia's dream of a Wahhabi state in Syria is a pipe dream -- to Syrians, it and to most people it is a nightmare. 

The United States should join Russia in supporting the YPG's inclusion in the Geneva peace talks.

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After many months of work and cooperation with many Kurds both inside and outside Syria, YASA, the Kurdish Center for Legal Studies & Consultancy, has created a map of Western Kurdistan.YASA Releases Syrian Kurdistan Map 'Western Kurdistan': First stage

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Syrian Kurdish fighters

War is bad -- except when it is fought by an oppressed people against a brutal oppressor. 

Then, whatever the cost, the human spirit sings at Heaven's gate.. . . .  While the joyous high lasts.

Blocking United States arms sale to Saudi Arabia

I am pleased to announce that Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz has joined  Senators Rand Paul, Chris Murphy, Al Franken, and Mike Lee to block the  $1.15 billion arms to Saudi Arabia.

I have a call in to Hawaii Senator Mazie Hirono's office to see if she has also co-sponsored the resolution.

The article below reports on significant House support for blocking the sale.

The article is authored by Rachel Stohl with the Stimson Center,, previously unknown to me.  The Center has an impressive board of directors, including Hillary Clinton, soon to the President of the United States.

The analysis of reasons for and against the sale to Saudi Arabia , below, is well-reasoned.

Please call your senators to see if they have joined the bipartisan group against the sale.  A simple phone call will give you that information.  If you send what you find out, to me, I will publish it.

Block U.S. Arms Sales to Stop Indiscriminate Bombing in Yemen

By RACHEL STOHL and SHANNON DICKon September 16, 2016 at 4:01 AM

F-15s among weapons sold to Saudi Arabia

Last week, a bipartisan quarter of senators — Rand Paul, Chris Murphy, Al Franken, and Mike Lee — introduced a joint resolution to block the $1.15 billion sale of Abrams tanks and other major defense articles to Saudi Arabia in light of concerns about the kingdom’s actions in Yemen.

In the House, more than 60 representatives signed a letter by Rep. Ted Lieu to President Obama requesting a delay in U.S. arms sales to Riyadh. With opposition to arms sales to Saudi Arabia growing, the administration should use its leverage to encourage the Saudi government to cease its indiscriminate bombing campaign and delay future U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia until such change occurs.

The 18-month Saudi-led campaign in Yemen is believed to have resulted in over 3,800 civilian deaths and more than 6,700 injuries. US-manufactured weapons are being used to carry out the Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen, and strikes have hit civilian targets, destroying schools, markets, hospitals, and factories.

The United States is Saudi Arabia’s largest weapons supplier and it has provided logistical and intelligence support to the kingdom, along with billions of dollars in heavy conventional weapons. The Obama administration has prioritized Saudi Arabia’s special relationship with the United States and has requested a nominal $10,000 per year for International Military Education and Training (IMET) assistance so that Saudi Arabia can remain eligible for discounts on Foreign Military Sales. Since 2009 alone, the administration has authorized over $115 billion in sales of major conventional weapons to the Kingdom –including munitions, tanks, and fighter jets.

While proponents of continued sales to Saudi Arabia provide numerous justifications, many of those do not hold up. Indeed, the oft-heard refrain, “if we don’t sell, someone else will” is used repeatedly – but just because we can doesn’t mean we should. Complicity in contributing to human rights abuses and a massive humanitarian crisis is not in the U.S. interest, even if the U.S. could lose sales (itself a specious argument). If the Chinese or Russians want to sell weapons that they know will be used to kill civilians, let them. The United States holds an estimable position and a certain moral authority when it comes to the global arms trade – in both its robust (and restrictive) arms transfer control system and its attentiveness to potential risks – and should not negate its core principles when confronted with potential competition.

Congress rarely offers such a public critique of potential U.S. arms transfers, particularly to a close ally. The last time Congress successfully stopped an arms sale to Saudi Arabia was in the early 1990s, when fallout from the Gulf War led lawmakers to oppose a $20 billion arms package to the kingdom (the sale was eventually broken into smaller pieces; the transfer of some systems was postponed indefinitely).

The administration already has the tools it needs to encourage the Saudis to act. The use of U.S. weapons in Yemen runs counter to the laws and regulations that underpin U.S. arms transfers – such as the Arms Export Control Act and Foreign Assistance Act, Presidential Policy Directive 27, and its obligations as a signatory to the Arms Trade Treaty.

Congressional opposition shines a bright light on Riyadh’s conduct and increases pressure on the Obama administration not to accept “business-as-usual” for U.S. arms sales. The public display of disapproval takes important steps toward condemning and shaming the Saudi government’s behavior and encouraging a change to the air campaign.

Moreover, if given the choice, governments want to purchase U.S. weapons and systems, as they are better and more effective systems. It’s also possible that munitions manufactured by other countries may not work in U.S. systems – as they were not designed for interoperability. Saudi forces have historically relied upon U.S. systems and are not trained on systems from other countries.

Concerns that delayed U.S. weapons may impede Saudi Arabia’s ability to defend itself also fall short. The United States has sold billions of dollars in weapons to the Kingdom and has a long record of working with the Saudis to ensure security for the Kingdom and the region. That friendship and cooperation should not justify continued U.S. complicity in prosecuting a war that is harming civilians indiscriminately.

As President Obama and his advisors consider their legacy, it is time to stand up to those that violate human rights with impunity. Without a concerted and public effort to delay future sales, the United States effectively legitimizes the Saudi government’s actions. Ultimately, the administration will need to make a political decision to utilize its leverage to influence Saudi behavior and better adhere to its own values and principles.

Rachel Stohl is director and Shannon Dick is research associate of the Conventional Defense program at the Stimson Center.

An mountain land of beauty in deseparate desolated Ymen

Not all of Yemen has been destroyed.  The Huffington Post has a report, with remarkable photographs, of Yemen’s Jafariya district, where no bombs fall.

The great sand desert of Western Yemen is also mostly unscared by Saudi Arabian air strikes, though the are many unacknowledged United States done strikes on those thought to be enemies of the United States or of Saudi Arabia.  For one unforgiven drone strike on the edge of the desert,  see A Refusal to Mourn the Death, by Fire, of a Child in Yemen | Newspaper Spoon.


Thanks, Rik, for the heads-up.

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WORLDPOST

Yemeni Villagers Build New Life High Above The Conflict Destroying Their Country

Up in the mountaintops, villagers are safe from the raging violence below.

 09/13/2016 04:10 pm ET

Jesselyn Cook World News Reporter, The Huffington Post  

ABDULJABBAR ZEYAD/REUTERS

Young boys sit on the roof of their home in the mountains of Yemen’s Jafariya district on May 31, 2016. Yemeni villagers have built an isolated community in the mountaintops, far beyond the conflict below.

High in the remote mountains of Yemen’s western Jafariya district, villagers remain safe from the vicious battle for power below that has pushed their country to “the edge of civil war.”

A year and a half ago, clashes erupted between forces loyal to President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and Yemen’s Houthi rebels, a Shiite militia that forced the embattled leader out of the nation’s capital in February 2015. A Saudi-led coalition of Gulf Arab states then launched an airstrike campaign against the Houthis.

The devastated country has also come under fire from so-called Islamic State militants, who killed 137 people in major suicide bombings targeting mosques in March of last year. 

The scale of civilian suffering in Yemen is immense. Millions have been displaced by the crisis, and thousands more have been wounded or killed. One year into the deadly conflict, UNICEF statistics revealed that children accounted for one-third of all civilian deaths.

Yemenis seeking refuge up in the mountaintops are far from the raging violence, but life in the isolated community is extremely challenging as many basic services are simply inaccessible. As Reuters reports, food is cooked over a fire, there is no electricity or running water, goods are imported uphill on foot and by cable cars, and medical specialists are hours away.

“Despite the difficulty of life, we’re still living here, just as our fathers and our ancestors did,” 65-year-old Mohammad Yahya Haidar told the news service. “We grow coffee and grain like they did, and we’ve grown accustomed to this life with all its cruelty and extreme hardship.”

Take a look at these extraordinary photos of Yemen’s mountaintop villagers.

ABDULJABBAR ZEYAD/Reuters

Boys swim in a pond in the mountains, in the Jafariya district of the western province of Raymah, Yemen, on June 2, 2016.

ABDULJABBAR ZEYAD/Reuters

A cable car carries supplies to Dhalamlam Mountain on May 20, 2016.

ABDULJABBAR ZEYAD/Reuters

A man rides a cable car that carries people and supplies to the mountaintop on May 31, 2016.

ABDULJABBAR ZEYAD/Reuters

A woman walks along an uphill path in the region on June 2, 2016.

ABDULJABBAR ZEYAD/Reuters

A girl sits on the roof of her house on June 1, 2016.

ABDULJABBAR ZEYAD/Reuters

A girl plays on a swing near her house in the mountains on June 3, 2016.

ABDULJABBAR ZEYAD/Reuters

A cable car operator uses a vehicle engine to run the cable car on May 20, 2016.

ABDULJABBAR ZEYAD/Reuters

Houses are pictured in the mountains on May 20, 2016.

ABDULJABBAR ZEYAD/Reuters

A man and a child walk along a path on May 20, 2016.

ABDULJABBAR ZEYAD/Reuters

Workers build a house in the mountains on June 2, 2016.

ABDULJABBAR ZEYAD/Reuters

A beekeeper checks his beehives in the mountains on May 21, 2016.

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The XX District is in the Eastern Mountains of Yemen.  In the West lies the largest sand setin the old, and in i is one of the world's most astonishing attcitctural amchivenmltents:

• ArchDaily
• News
• y

The 'Manhattan of the Desert': Shibam, Yemen's Ancient Skyscraper City

• 09:30 - 2 August, 2015
 
• by Finn MacLeod

© 

Walking through narrow chaotic alleys dwarfed by soaring towers, few would estimate the age of Yemen's city of Shibam at nearly 1,700 years. Located in Yemen's central Hadhramaut district, Shibam has roots in the pre-Islamic period, and evidence of construction dating from the 9th century.

Shibam is known as the first city on earth with a vertical masterplan. A protected UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1982, the city is home to densely packed buildings ranging from four to eight storeys, beginning in 300 AD but now mostly built after 1532. Thanks to a fortified ring wall, the city has survived nearly two thousand years despite its precarious position adjacent to the wadi floodplain. 

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Shibam Hadhramaut is also called the "the Manhattan of the desert", and is one of the oldest and best examples of urban planning based on the principle of vertical construction. — javarman / Shutterstock.com

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For a brief history of  Shibin see  Shibam - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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The sand desert of Western Yemen, largest in he work and some f its inhabitants

Rub al Khali 002 - Rub' al Khali - Wikipedia

From Worldrecordtour, Asia, Middle East, Yemen, Sana'a, Aden, Mukhalla, Hadramawt, Picture, Guinness Book of World Records, Toyota, LandCruiser, Emil Schmid, Liliana Schmid

The joint US-Russia cease-fire in Syria

For those of you who are interested in the long-oppressed, now free and ultra-democratic Syrian Kurds:  the view of the cease-fire initiative from Iraqi Kurdistan.

US: Syrian truce applies to Turks, Kurds

 Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG) walk in the Ghwairan neighborhood of Hasaka, Syria, Aug. 22, 2016. (Photo: Reuters/Rodi Said)

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – The United States Department of State said the Russo-American ceasefire plan for Syria that began at sundown on Monday applies to Kurdish forces and the Turkish army.

The US State Department Spokesperson John Kirby made the comments in a Washington daily press briefing shortly after the Syrian ceasefire – or “the cessation of hostilities” as dubbed by American officials – came into effect.

“We don’t want to see violence or clashes between Turkish forces and Kurdish forces,” said Kirby according to an online transcript of the briefing received by Kurdistan24.

“What we’ve said, and I’ll say it again today, is that we want them, as members of the counter-Da’esh coalition, to fight Da’esh, that that’s where their – we want their energies to be applied,” he added, using the Arabic abbreviaion for the Islamic State (IS).

Sporadic clashes have taken place between Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the Turkish Army.

In late August, the Turkish Army entered the town of Jarabulus to obstruct Kurdish territorial expansion in northern Syria and fend off IS from its southern border.

Turkey is supporting the Free Syrian Army (FSA) units and “moderate” Islamist groups on the ground and from the air in its incursion into a 90-kilometer corridor that stands between the Kurdish cantons of Kobani and Afrin.

The US-backed YPG and its multi-ethnic surrogate alliance of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) already announced they would abide by the ceasefire.

They added they would refrain from offensive operations against all the warring factions except for IS and al-Qaeda affiliates.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry called on the Turkish-supported FSA to stop fighting Kurdish units in the run-up to the truce in Syria, according to international news agency Reuters. 

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany

(Reporting by Ari Khalidi)

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For general information about the  Hasakah region, see Al Hasakah - Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia



Images of  Hasakah from google images, last week

SYRIA Hasakah_ Armenian Christians united with Kurds in the fight against Turkey’s interference_files

Kurdish YPG in Hasakah Province. Photo: AFP/file

Al Hasakah, (also spelled as Al Hasakeh), is a city in the north eastern part ofSyrian Kurdistan (also known as Rojava). Al Hasakah is the capital city of the Al Hasakah Governorate, and part of the Cizre (Jizira) Canton.

The population of Al Hasakah is around 200,000, and is made up of a majority of Kurds and Arabs, while its minorities are Syriacs, Assyrians, Chaldeans and Armenians.