Who said anything about "buying"? Also, the cheapiest and easiest way of doing BDA/spotting is a dude on a small boat nearby with a UHF BTB radio providing spotter services.
Unless they (or their Iranian supporters) don't expect meaningful US action, or already view the US as involved anyway, or just don't care. Lots of options available.
I had doubts that these were houthis so I have used Google translate for the original YouTube title that is arabic and it seems that the Video was mislabeled by Panzerbar, the footage is from Daraa Region Syria, fighting between "Southern Brigades"(FSA/Jihadists) and "Khaled Army" (Khalid ibn al-Walid Army an ISIS ally)
Thank you for the correction. I relied on the title of the post.
No problem, I always enjoy your updates, always worth checking out.
damn, that joke was quite dark
This thread has been kind of quiet. Among other news there was the recent deployment of SAMs to Yemen by the UAE.
A war between Iran and the Gulf states will be bad for anyone, including the U.S. Given that that the U.S. guarantees the security of Saudi,Kuwait, Qatar and the U.A.E. against external attacks [from the Iranians]; the U.S. will be dragged into the conflict. Similarly the U.S. will also be dragged into a conflict on Israel's side irrespective of whether it's Israel or another country that started it.
Maybe but what serious external state actor threats do they face? The Iranians even if they wanted to; don't have the capability to pose a threat to the Gulf states to the extent that there'll be Iranian troops holding victory parades in Riyadh or Doha.
Hence the ''region's richest country attacking the region's poorest'' thing we often hear about.
Agreed, they've had some small tastes of western freedoms and IMO that scares the daylights out of the Ayatollahs
Yes but the problem is that the West keeps chumming up to the Gulf states to the extent that the Gulf states believe they can - eventually - get away with anything as they're vital to the West. Whenever there's any criticism of the Gulf states over issues like human rights; the Gulf states get a slap on the wrist - if at all - and business resumes as normal. Matis saying that Iran is the ''biggest sponsor of terrorism'' is exactly what the Gulf states and the hardliners in Iran want to hear; in the overall scheme of things it's not helpful and doesn't achieve anything; especially when Iranian help has been crucial in holding back IS in Iraq and Syria. Matis would be better off questioning the flow of funds from the Gulf states to IS and how military intervention in Yemen has provided Qaeda and IS with more volunteers.