From the article:

"Houthi fighters reportedly took the compound on Wednesday, demanding “large quantities of equipment and materials,” per the Middle East Media Research Institute."

Ransom, political prisoner release or exchanges, government policy change, safe passage out of the country; I've heard of hostage takers making demands like these. But Houthi fighters reportedly, demanding “large quantities of equipment and materials,”?

I can't help but wonder if the Houthi rebels have Taliban-envy after the 'gift' of weapons and equipment from the Biden administration in the surrender of Afghanistan and decided to get in on the action.

I'm also wondering what sorts of intelligence/ info and sensitive communication and encryption equipment the Houthi rebels now have access to that Iran would like to get their hands on.

[note: audio version of story and hyperlinks found at
linked website.]

Emphasis added in bold.
==============================

Houthi Rebels Storm U.S. Embassy in Yemen, Take Hostages

By Isaac Schorr
November 11, 2021 12:35 PM

Houthi rebels have stormed the American embassy in Yemen and taken hostages, the Washington Free Beacon reported Thursday.

State Department officials told the Free Beacon that “the majority of the detained have been released, but the Houthis continue to detain additional Yemeni employees of the embassy.”

Houthi fighters reportedly took the compound on Wednesday, demanding “large quantities of equipment and materials,” per the Middle East Media Research Institute. Yemen has been embroiled in a brutal civil war between the Houthi rebels — who are backed, financed, and armed by the Iranian government —and the standing Yemeni government, which has the support of Saudi Arabia. The conflict is oftentimes described as a “proxy war” being fought by the two Yemeni sides on the ground, but largely on behalf of the two larger powers.

Within a month of taking office, President Joe Biden removed the foreign-terrorist organization designation placed on the the Houthis by the Trump administration. The designation had cut the Houthis “off from financial support and other material resources that are routed through U.S. banks or other American institutions.” Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the decision “a recognition of the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen.”

The Trump administration’s designation had included a carve-out authorizing the Treasury Department “to provide licenses pursuant to its authorities and corresponding guidance that relate to the official activities of the United States government in Yemen, including assistance programming that continues to be the largest of any donor and the official activities of certain international organizations such as the United Nations.” At the same time as the removal of the foreign terrorist label, Biden also announced the cessation of “all American support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including relevant arms sales.” Previously, the U.S. had been backed the Yemeni government.

The Houthis are known for their brutal tactics, which include the firing of rockets into civilian population centers as well as the torture and execution of journalists, religious minorities, political opponents, and human rights activists. They also conscript child soldiers as young as eleven years old, according to some reports.

Officials at the State Department have pledged to continue their “diplomatic efforts to secure the release of our staff and the vacating of our compound, including through our international partners.”

This article includes different and contradictory details.

[Note: hyperlinks at linked website article.]

===============================

Iranian-Backed Extremists Storm U.S. Embassy In Yemen, Take Hostages And Seize Equipment: Reports

By Ryan Saavedra
Nov 11, 2021 DailyWire.com

An Islamic extremist group reportedly stormed the U.S. Embassy in Yemen on Wednesday, taking hostages and seizing equipment.

Bloomberg News first reported on Tuesday that Iran-backed Houthi extremists had taken “at least 25 Yemenis working for the U.S.” into custody over the span of a few weeks, including “Yemenis working for the U.S. embassy and USAID.”

The Free Beacon reported on Thursday that, according to a media watchdog that translates foreign media, local media said that the Houthis had seized equipment from the compound:

A group of Houthi rebels reportedly stormed the U.S. compound on Wednesday seeking “large quantities of equipment and materials,” according to regional reports translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute. The raid comes just five days after the Houthis kidnapped Yemeni nationals who work for the U.S. embassy. “The alleged raid comes after the Houthis kidnapped three Yemeni nationals affiliated with the U.S. Embassy from one of the employee’s private residences in Sana’a on November 5,” according to MEMRI. At least 22 other Yemenis were kidnapped by the Houthis in recent weeks, “most of whom worked on the security staff guarding the embassy grounds,” according to MEMRI.

A State Department spokesperson said that the “majority” of hostages have been released, but that some embassy staff “continue to be detained without explanation.”

“We call on the Houthis to immediately vacate it and return all seized property,” the spokesman said. “The U.S. government will continue its diplomatic efforts to secure the release of our staff and the vacating of our compound, including through our international partners.”

The Trump administration designated the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) under the leadership of former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The Biden administration quickly reversed the terrorist designation after taking over earlier this year.

“Biden’s administration is moving to revoke the designation of Yemen’s Houthis as a terrorist group, citing the need to mitigate one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters,” The Associated Press reported on February 5. “A State Department official confirmed the move Friday after members of Congress were notified of the administration’s plans. The official, who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the removal changed nothing about the Biden administration’s views of the Houthis, who have targeted civilians and kidnapped Americans.”

The Houthis “have received training and military equipment from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC),” the Counter Terrorism Project reported. “According to the Saudi ambassador to the United States, the ‘first thing the Houthis did when they entered and occupied Sanaa was to free Iranian Revolutionary Guards operatives and Hezbollah operatives from the jails.’ The Iranian ship Jihan I was seized allegedly en route to Yemen in 2013 with arms meant for the Houthis.”

This report has been updated to included additional information.

Do we not have Marines guarding embassys anymore?

quote:

Originally posted by Jester814:
Do we not have Marines guarding embassys anymore?

Remember November 4, 1979.

I knew a Marine sergeant (E-?) in the early 1970s who had previously been an embassy guard. Unfortunately I don’t know when and where that was, but he told me about helping defend the embassy from an intrusion takeover effort by some locals. What I recall was that the Marines were forbidden to use firearms and were fighting hand to hand using things like ax handles. That drove home to me even then how political decisions govern the sorts of things that happen in such incidents.

Thanks for this report, BTW. Did not see it elsewhere.

Did I miss something?
Isn't an embassy considered sovereign US territory?

quote:

Originally posted by stoic-one:
Isn't an embassy considered sovereign US territory?

If it is, what is your point?
Sovereign nations have been invaded countless times in the past. There’s nothing about its status under international law and custom to make it impossible for an aggressor to attack it.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:

quote:

Originally posted by stoic-one:
Isn't an embassy considered sovereign US territory?

If it is, what is your point?
Sovereign nations have been invaded countless times in the past. There’s nothing about its status under international law and custom to make it impossible for an aggressor to attack it.

Well clearly it's not "impossible", seriously?

Not to get lost in the minutiae, but what would you historically think would be the reaction of any country if someone occupied its territory in, for example, any non-ME country under any other administration? Serious question.


Edit:
Ok, just looked this up, and it is NOT considered a "territory".

Well, now that you’ve explained the point of your question, I believe most Administrations would not act precipitously regardless of the level of provocation.

Attacks on embassies of various countries occur from time to time, but I’m not aware of any that have occurred in modern history that resulted in the offended country’s starting a war over it. That’s especially true if the host country has a weak government and cannot really control the actions of certain groups. That is usually what happens, but even in the case of the Iranian embassy “siege” in London in 1980 Iran didn’t try to resolve the matter itself, but left it to the UK where it happened. Hostage situations abroad are very difficult for the victim country to resolve without getting all the hostages killed or removed to locations where they can’t even be found, much less rescued.

You’re the President: What would you do right now? Seriously.

(I am not the President or anyone else who has any responsibility for responding to this situation and therefore I have no responsibility for coming up with ideas how to deal with it. But when someone says someone needs to do something, I’m always curious what that “something” should be.)

quote:

Originally posted by Jester814:
Do we not have Marines guarding embassys anymore?

We do. Just not the empty/mothballed embassies.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
You’re the President: What would you do right now? Seriously.

I personally don't disagree with anything you've said or noted as fact. I can't honestly say what I would personally do. But, since the "Biden’s administration is moving to revoke the designation of Yemen’s Houthis as a terrorist group", we're led to "assume" we'll (the US as a country) do nothing here, so point taken as well.

It's pure speculation, and I know this can't be answered, but what do we "think" a Trump administration would have done under similar circumstances? Clearly he wouldn't have removed the FTO designation since he's the one (or perhaps more accurately his state dept.) that applied it... Just thinking out loud I guess.

As I think back, and I may be wrong without researching the matter, but it does seem that most incidents of this sort directed against the US have occurred under Democrat administrations. Just as there is usually less crime in areas with effective police forces, it may be that bad actors in foreign countries are influenced by their perceptions of how the US will respond to their acts. For example, I don’t know if the attack on the US mission in Benghazi was made more likely because of a perception like that when Obama was in office and other groups may have been hesitant to act during the Trump administration, but I believe it’s certainly possible.

In any event, as much as I detest the current state of the Nation and all those responsible for it, I would not expect any Administration to react the day after an event by calling up the Marine Corps Commandant and saying, “General, get over there and fix it!”

quote:

Originally posted by Jester814:
Do we not have Marines guarding embassys anymore?

Sure, kind of. They're there, but when the Government backing those Marines doesn't give them the freedom or support they need to defend those embassies from an actual attack they're little more than symbolic.

Brings to mind the movie Rules of Engagement with Samuel L. Jackson and Tommy Lee Jones.

^^^^^
First thing I thought as well. Great minds.......

ETA:
And I would have no problem "giving that order" (if lawful, of course) any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

I’m the President?

It’s pretty simple to me. If Americans are being held hostage, I would be having DoD and State work to resolve it. No pallets of cash would be offered. I would have negotiations for the release of the hostages in full swing. I would also have JSOC have a SMU doing mock ups for a rescue.

We have been here before, and there are always shades of Operation Eagle Claw. But, we have had 40 years to get it right. True military leaders have to be able to ask their SMU commanders and ask “is this feasible? Can we do this?” If that answer is yes, then we have to trust it can be done. There is always risk. But, you don’t get into Tier One units (especially in senior leadership positions) by being an idiot, risk averse, or needlessly taking risks.

But, this is a failure of the State Department and the administration. The problem we seem to continually have is we tend to put people in a position of power at State that refuse to acknowledge problems with security until we get where we are today. Sending in elements of a MEU to reinforce the embassy weeks ago would have likely stopped this from happening. But, when you possess soft military targets, this is what you get.

If I had a child being held hostage right now, that’s what I’d be doing.

quote:

You’re the President: What would you do right now? Seriously.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Send Kamala to solve the problem.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

quote:

You’re the President: What would you do right now? Seriously.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Send Kamala to solve the problem.

Ha

Lifting the Houthi FTO designation (part of the Iran appeasement strategy) empowered the Houthis & weakened the resolve of Yemenis who resist their tyranny. Winston Churchill once said “an appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile hoping it will eat him last.” Thanks Brandon

quote:

Originally posted by jljones:
that’s what I’d be doing.

All good stuff, and let’s hope that there are enough smart people in positions of authority to be doing those things.

Ultimately decisions will have to be made, but with this administration the big mystery is who will be the one(s) to make them. A year ago there would have been no question, but now—?