CENTCOM chief: 'Vital US interests at stake' in Yemen

CENTCOM chief: 'Vital US interests at stake' in Yemen

By: Joe Gould, March 29, 2017 |
http://www.defensenews.com/articles/centcom-chief-vital-us-interests-at-stake-in-yemen?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=disrupt_iran_through_military_means_top_us_general&utm_term=2017-03-30

WASHINGTON — As the White House is reportedly weighing deeper military involvement in the Yemeni civil war alongside Middle Eastern allies, America’s top commander in the region told Congress “there are vital U.S. interests at stake” in the fight.

Army Gen. Joseph Votel told the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday that the U.S. does not want Yemen to be used as a sanctuary for attacks against the U.S. and allies or for militants to choke off the Red Sea’s Bab el-Mandeb strait, which runs past Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula as well as Djibouti and Eritrea on the Horn of Africa.

The comments came as U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is asking the White House to lift restrictions on U.S. military support for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, The Washington Post reported this week. The plan under consideration reportedly includes backing a planned Emirati offensive to retake a key Red Sea port. http://www.defensenews.com/articles/centcom-chief-vital-us-interests-at-stake-in-yemen?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=disrupt_iran_through_military_means_top_us_general&utm_term=2017-03-30