U.S. Beefs Up Military Presence Near Yemen
GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani, sitting in tonight for Christiane. Big news coming in right now regarding Yemen, at least on the face of it . We're waiting for more details. Saudi state television is reporting that the coalition Riyadh Leave has achieved its goal there. It adds that, quote, "Operation Decisive Storm is ending, replaced," it says, "by Operation Restoring Hope." We have not heard what that will entail. This news comes just after the U.S. decision to step up its military presence in the waters off Yemen. Right now, two American ships, an aircraft carrier and a guided missile cruiser are on their way to the Gulf of Aden. It's a clear warning sign to Iran, a sign also of friendship with Saudi Arabia. Now Iran suspects that -- I should say the U.S. suspects Iran is shipping arms to the Shiite Houthi fighters, trying to take down the government. The beefed-up presence is also a sign of support, as we mentioned, for Saudis, who's taken the lead in trying to push back the Houthis. This new bout of tension between the U.S. and Iran comes as a -- at a delicate moment as the two sides meet again tomorrow to try to hammer out a final nuclear deal. U.S. military analyst Anthony Cordesman joins me now from Washington with more. We don't know much about Restoring Hope, this new operation that Saudi Arabia says it is launching. But do you read anything into it at this early stage?</s>ANTHONY CORDESMAN, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Well, I think one key issue is the bombing has gone on. There's sometimes been more than 100 sorties a day. They probably hit virtually all of the major targets that they can hit that don't involve some form of civilian population or facility. And in the process, the U.N. reports you've got 12 million people where food, where the basic survival is questionable. The economy is beginning to collapse. And we need to remember that for all this focus on the Houthi and Iran, you've also seen Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula make major gains. You've had Sunnis fighting Sunnis. So they have to shift at some point to dealing with the political structure with the population. And they have to find a way to provide aid, not simply strikes. I think Saudi Arabia recognizes this and the U.S. recognizes it. And it is time to make a shift that focuses on the politics and the people and not just the bombing.</s>GORANI: But 25 days of bombing, Anthony Cordesman, what have they achieved? The Houthis are still in charge. Hadi is still in exile. Aden is a complete war zone. Civilians are desperate, fleeing if they can. What have these bombings achieved?</s>CORDESMAN: Well, you've asked a very good question because what they've achieved essentially is to deprive the Houthis of a lot of arms, to keep them from seizing significant amounts of weapons from the Yemeni army. But it isn't clear they've had a political result and if anything Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is now far stronger than it was when the bombing campaign began. What we don't see is the extent to which they've been able to find any kind of political solution or compromise. We do need to remember that the Houthi, as Shiites, represent about 35 percent of the population. And there are deep divisions that go far beyond the Houthi in Iran and how well Saudi Arabia or anyone else from the outside can deal with these as you pointed out is very questionable.</s>GORANI: Yes. Let's talk about these American warships heading to the waters off the coast of Yemen. What's the strategy there exactly, do you think?</s>CORDESMAN: Well, I think one thing is to send a very key signal to Iran, that regardless of the negotiations over the nuclear treaty, the United States is quite serious about backing Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies that the rumors or reports in the region that somehow the U.S. is turning towards Iran simply aren't true. There's also --</s>GORANI: Is this just a way of -- I'm sorry to jump in. Is this just a way of reassuring Saudi Arabia by doing nothing then parking 10 warships in the water and essentially not engaging militarily at all?</s>CORDESMAN: I think it's a lot more than that because there are reports of a convoy. It is, I think, a clear signal to Iran it can't provide ships. The navies that are not in the Arab world as strong as the air forces. The United States certainly brings capabilities that no Gulf state can provide, certainly not the Saudi Red Sea fleet. And when you send this kind of signal to Iran, it probably is not going to provide arms, it isn't going to try to use the ports that are under control of the people that's been trying to arm or support. The other thing to remember here, this is one of the key entrances to the Suez Canal. It's one of the most critical maritime chokepoints in the world. So securing these waters has a major strategic impact. And the Suez Canal is not only critical to us in economic terms, it's also how our Navy moves into this region.</s>GORANI: All right. Anthony Cordesman, thanks very much for joining us. Really appreciate your time today.</s>CORDESMAN: My pleasure.</s>GORANI: Now while the U.S. gets involved in power struggles abroad, an interesting turn in the fight for its highest office at home, as the woman vying for the cheeks of power in Washington gets a pass in the valleys of Wales, it seems that Hillary Clinton has discovered that she has a hidden Welsh history after a genealogist found an error in Clinton's family tree, relocating her immigrant great-grandparents to an ancient parish in Glamorgan. After a break, a darker look facing the past. Imagine a world where the accountants of Auschwitz that's confronted with a number too horrifying to contemplate. That is next.