Yemen warfighting today, British military involvement?

[Hangarshuffle]

Good evening fellows,back again to this. Thread was deleted last time because it was upsetting someone. But, try again - its still a free country.
Did anyone else see the Channel 4 news this evening? An air weapon clearly marked with the words "Marconi" and other English language words was recovered from post air strike debris, I think within the last few days in the Yemen.
Result of an air strike. C4 did comment that recent attacks had killed an anti Al Qaeda judge and his family, and a MSF ambulance driver. Hardly our enemies.
What is happening? Dare anyone say?
PM Cameron was quick to comment today that UK armed forces are not directly involved (I think that's what he said) in supporting or directing war within the Yemen. Careful choice of words.
Little in this in the news-papers tonight. Some people care little if our sold weapons kill and maim abroad as long as some make money, and/or it follows along at certain loosely framed strategy. But I'm still not one of them.
But it fills me with dread if its true. If we are supporting and directing war here on behalf of Saud. If this is what we as an industrial country are coming to? We sit on the UN security council. We are supposed to promote peace (I still somewhere hope).
Having met them, I don't particularly regard Saudis as my friends.
Q. But are we directly supporting them (Saud) in an air war in the north Yemen?
Q. As this the correct thing for us to do? Morally?
Only trying to relay what I think I saw on C4.
HS -someone has to have this thread started, this is a military section of Prune.
p.s. If this thread is deleted, Prune has had it as an organ.
Anyway, sacking it. Its too late and its been a tough old day. Goodnight.

[Lonewolf_50]

An air weapon clearly marked with the words "Marconi" and other English language words was recovered from post air strike debris,
Marconi, the name, and thus the word, is Italian. :ugh:

If I sell a car to you and you run over an orphan with it, it's not my fault, it's your fault.

Sometimes, HS, when it's late, it's best not to hit that "post" button. I've been there and made that mistake at least once in my life.

[pr00ne]

If it IS Marconi, then it's rather ancient as that company has not existed for quite some time now!

[Skeleton]

Exactly what I was about to post. The name Marconi may be Italian but they were most certainly a British company based in Chelmsford until they merged / were taken over by British Wasteofspace in 1999.

Whatever is being fired I would suggest is old and has possibly been through many hands before its new owners acquired it. The analogy of a second hand car and your responsibility for what the new owner does with it, may well in this case be correct.

[engineer(retard)]

Maybe a TV or a radio went bnag due to old age?

[Darren_P]

On the bright side, at least it didn't happen over Christmas.

[Hangarshuffle]

Arms To Saudi Arabia: Philip Hammond?s Remarks On Yemen Investigation Are ?Grossly Inadequate? | National Yemen (http://nationalyemen.com/2015/11/12/arms-to-saudi-arabia-philip-hammonds-remarks-on-yemen-investigation-are-grossly-inadequate/)


Pretty old link.


The trade name being Marconi, the rest of the instructions were in English.Its a sad war, and it was a sad report. It does seem apparent that the UK is exporting a great deal of arms into the war itself, and doesn't seem particularly bothered how they are used, or where they end up and who they are used upon.
This cant be right. Cameron didn't look comfortable about it, on PMQT.
I convinced these misplaced actions or sales, will one day come back to us somehow.

[racedo]

In 70's / 80's and 90's HMG was quite happy to state that the export of Arms to Indonesia for use in its occupation of East Timor was not an issue as they were only selling arms for defensive purposes.

Well in excess of 100,000 people died and despite all the evidence of what Indonesia was doing the west said it was not an issue.

[Hangarshuffle]

Yes I remember that now. Hawk Aircraft? Well, the Yemen story was picked up by BBC Newsnight this evening. Following on from a UN report about our (UK) arms sales. According to BBC via the UN report, six British servicemen or women work directly within the Saudi CCC bunker and assist in the direction of the Air War. (But not "directly" according to our own PM).

[Pontius Navigator]

HS, you referred to the contradiction between our membership of the UNSC and sale of arms. On a matter of balance, all the permanent members are also the largest arms suppliers and all members of the nuclear club though one has only a small role there.

[engineer(retard)]

Odd that the UNHCR rejected the Amnesty international report, why should the UK take it up?

[racedo]

Odd that the UNHCR rejected the Amnesty international report, why should the UK take it up?

So is this the UNHCR that is chaired by Saudi Arabia ?
Yup the World Human Rights body chaired by a country where its citizens have little rights.

Notice how UK Govt started claiming that as UN Panel did not personally visit Yemen then it is not correct.

Strange that UK Govt didn't feel the same about Syria or Libya where it never questioned any report.

[Hangarshuffle]

See the thing is, now its Friday night and Im half pissed, this whole war doesn't sit easy with me, or many more, in this island. Be you left wing or right. (I'm very relatively rich but progressively left).
WTF, we seem to be fully backing a very nasty Saudi country against a very small and backward poor country... backed with supply and now Uk taxpayer funded and paid for service people. Yes I know Iran is in the mix.
How have we got to this?
BBC and C4 showed little kids with missing limbs. We used to back the underdog, once. Even the Tories used to.
Anyway leave this, Winterwatch is on, I'm off for the night.