Originally Posted by
ORAC
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbu...official-says/
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard On The Ground In Yemen To Assist Houthis, U.S. Official Says
In a bombshell revelation, a U.S. Navy official revealed on CBS News’ “60 Minutes” that Iranian Revolutionary Guard troops are working on the ground with Houthi rebels in Yemen, providing assistance to the group that has escalated attacks on U.S. military targets in the region and shipping vessels in the Red Sea, as U.S. forces step up counter-measures amid fears of an escalating Middle Eastern conflict.
U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Brad Cooper confirmed in an interview with “60 Minutes” correspondent Norah O’Donnell that members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps are on the ground in Yemen “serving side-by-side” with the rebel group and providing advice and target information….
1. Taking a page out of our book. (See Afghanistan in the 80's).
2. There were about 200 Iranian agents in Bosnia during the 90's. This overt support to the Houthis should not surprise anyone.
Iran, a predominantly Shia country, was one of the first Muslim countries to provide support for the Bosnian Muslims (Bosniaks, who are mainly Sunni Muslim) in the war. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) sent more than five thousand tonnes of arms to the Bosnian Muslims.[3] IRGC also supplied trainers and advisers for the Bosnian military and intelligence service.[3] Several dozen Iranian intelligence experts joined the Bosnian Muslim intelligence agency.[4] The Iranian Ministry of Intelligence-supported mujahideen units trained selected Bosnian army units.[5] The Hezbollah (Lebanese Shia), supported by Iran, also sent fighters to the war.[6] In 1992, Iran with the help of Turkey smuggled arms to the Bosnian Muslims.[7] Reports of "hundreds of tons of weapons" shipped from Iran over a period of months appeared in the media in early 1995.[8] Iranian arms were shipped through Croatia.[9]
Originally Posted by
artee
That certainly supports the case for aircraft carriers. Even "friendly" nations can have priorities that aren't aligned with "ours".
They are the host nation. Their sensibilities need to be taken into account in order to remain in their country. I remember a few operations where our aircraft were based out of Diego Garcia where we had to consult, in detail, with the Brits before getting a green light. That's been a while ago. Man, I am getting old. And yes, it's another point on the value of aircraft carriers (particularly of the CATOBAR kind), organic tanking assets, and organic EW assets.
(Tom Sharpe has a recent article in the Telegraph covering that general theme).