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> And now the Houthi rebels have become battle-hardened guerillas and insurgents, capable of projecting force into the vital shipping lanes of the Red Sea. The

> And now the Houthi rebels have become battle-hardened guerillas and insurgents, capable of projecting force into the vital shipping lanes of the Red Sea. Their ability to attack the red sea has nothing to do with being "battle-hardened". They can only do so because Iran decides to supply them with missiles.

readthenotes1 3y ago
They only exist as catspaws for Iran in the first place...
- kingofpandora 3y ago
  They have their own origins, motivations and agency; it's a mistake to assume there's someone pulling all the strings (and this goes for all sides).
reso 3y ago
Regardless where they get their weapons, Ansar Allah is a battle-hardened, professional fighting force. They have fought the powerful Saudi military to a stalemate. Not a group we should be underestimating.
- empath75 3y ago
  the saudi military is kind of a joke. They have a bunch of expensive gear, but their soldiers aren't particularly well trained or motivated.
  - pydry 3y ago
    [flagged]
    - Aeolun 3y ago
      You mean, them fighting a country 3 times the size, with about 10 times the manpower to a standstill is to be considered a loss?
      - pydry 3y ago
        We were promised a victory many times thanks to the overwhelming power and sophistication western weapons repeatedly. Not "hold off Russia for 2-3 years, not fight to a standstill". Victory and a return to 1991 borders after first severing the land bridge to Crimea. It was a very specific prediction. To say that they havent lived up to their promise is an understatement given how abysmally they performed in the summer offensive. Vehicles failed especially badly, but the whole ensemble failed categorically for all the world to see. I dont see how this can be spun as a stalemate or a win and I dont see the demo winning western arms manufacturers any new customers. It also looks like previously intimidated US opponents like the Houthis and Venezuela are also suddenly a lot less intimidated.
        JumpCrisscross 3y ago
        > We were promised a victory many times thanks to the overwhelming power and sophistication western weapons By whom?! The American establishment has been repeatedly forecasting doom and gloom for Ukraine.
        postsantum 3y ago
        That's crazy that the gaslighting stage has already begun
        pydry 3y ago
        Western media, representing an ebullient american establishment, which was replete with articles like this around the beginning of may 2023: https://news.yahoo.com/ukrainian-counteroffensive-begun-expect-breakthroughs-145500950.html https://news.yahoo.com/ukrainian-counteroffensive-begun-expe... If you can find an article from may 2023 that accurately predicts that ukraine could end the offensive with less land than it started off with Id like to see it. There's more doom and gloom now of course. The failure is hard to ignore.
    - throwaway290 3y ago
      This is like WWII. Hitler also seemed winning at first. He even took the capital. Eventually thanks to allies though Hitler was defeated. In the end USSR lost twice as many millions of its people so in terms of human cost the win was dubious. The difference is that right now Putler already lost 2x+ as many people as Zelensky, and could not manage to capture the capital. Which was promised how many times? I vaguely remember at first it was "take Kyiv in 3 days", but it's been so long I am forgetting ;)
      - pydry 3y ago
        One side is raising conscription from 40-43. One side is asking women to register for conscription. One side is saying that they need to conscript half a million citizens to replenish losses. The other side as yet has only called up reservists and recruited volunteers. Which side would you say is which based upon the losses you have counted?
        throwaway290 3y ago
        > One side is raising conscription from 40-43. One side is asking women to register for conscription. One side is saying that they need to conscript half a million citizens to replenish losses. You can say I'm wrong, fake news and Ukraine suffered more losses. If we pretend it's true, mobilising the entire country makes Ukraine look even more like USSR in WWII. Gotta fend off fascist invaders at any cost. Which thanks to Allies sending a crapton of supplies USSR did. Let's see history repeat itself.
        pydry 3y ago
        In WW2 the Nazis were trying to exterminate the slavs. In this war Putin is attracting condemnation for handing out passports. This changes the dynamic and the stakes. The two arent really comparable. It isnt a racism inspired genocide like Israel is committing in Gaza.
        throwaway290 3y ago
    - Stevvo 3y ago
      This just isn't true. In 2014 the motivation and training of Ukraine's forces was so poor that when encountering the enemy, absent any orders, most would lay down their weapons and join the other side. The majority of the Navy defected. Some western training was received from 2014 to 2020, but the most effective fighters were volunteers who had trained themselves and fought the Enemy completely outside the control of Ukraine's armed forces.

readthenotes1 3y ago

They only exist as catspaws for Iran in the first place...

kingofpandora 3y ago
They have their own origins, motivations and agency; it's a mistake to assume there's someone pulling all the strings (and this goes for all sides).

reso 3y ago

Regardless where they get their weapons, Ansar Allah is a battle-hardened, professional fighting force. They have fought the powerful Saudi military to a stalemate. Not a group we should be underestimating.

empath75 3y ago
the saudi military is kind of a joke. They have a bunch of expensive gear, but their soldiers aren't particularly well trained or motivated.
- pydry 3y ago
  [flagged]
  - Aeolun 3y ago
    You mean, them fighting a country 3 times the size, with about 10 times the manpower to a standstill is to be considered a loss?
    - pydry 3y ago
      We were promised a victory many times thanks to the overwhelming power and sophistication western weapons repeatedly. Not "hold off Russia for 2-3 years, not fight to a standstill". Victory and a return to 1991 borders after first severing the land bridge to Crimea. It was a very specific prediction. To say that they havent lived up to their promise is an understatement given how abysmally they performed in the summer offensive. Vehicles failed especially badly, but the whole ensemble failed categorically for all the world to see. I dont see how this can be spun as a stalemate or a win and I dont see the demo winning western arms manufacturers any new customers. It also looks like previously intimidated US opponents like the Houthis and Venezuela are also suddenly a lot less intimidated.
      - JumpCrisscross 3y ago
        > We were promised a victory many times thanks to the overwhelming power and sophistication western weapons By whom?! The American establishment has been repeatedly forecasting doom and gloom for Ukraine.
        postsantum 3y ago
        That's crazy that the gaslighting stage has already begun
        pydry 3y ago
        Western media, representing an ebullient american establishment, which was replete with articles like this around the beginning of may 2023: https://news.yahoo.com/ukrainian-counteroffensive-begun-expect-breakthroughs-145500950.html https://news.yahoo.com/ukrainian-counteroffensive-begun-expe... If you can find an article from may 2023 that accurately predicts that ukraine could end the offensive with less land than it started off with Id like to see it. There's more doom and gloom now of course. The failure is hard to ignore.
  - throwaway290 3y ago
    This is like WWII. Hitler also seemed winning at first. He even took the capital. Eventually thanks to allies though Hitler was defeated. In the end USSR lost twice as many millions of its people so in terms of human cost the win was dubious. The difference is that right now Putler already lost 2x+ as many people as Zelensky, and could not manage to capture the capital. Which was promised how many times? I vaguely remember at first it was "take Kyiv in 3 days", but it's been so long I am forgetting ;)
    - pydry 3y ago
      One side is raising conscription from 40-43. One side is asking women to register for conscription. One side is saying that they need to conscript half a million citizens to replenish losses. The other side as yet has only called up reservists and recruited volunteers. Which side would you say is which based upon the losses you have counted?
      - throwaway290 3y ago
        > One side is raising conscription from 40-43. One side is asking women to register for conscription. One side is saying that they need to conscript half a million citizens to replenish losses. You can say I'm wrong, fake news and Ukraine suffered more losses. If we pretend it's true, mobilising the entire country makes Ukraine look even more like USSR in WWII. Gotta fend off fascist invaders at any cost. Which thanks to Allies sending a crapton of supplies USSR did. Let's see history repeat itself.
        pydry 3y ago
        In WW2 the Nazis were trying to exterminate the slavs. In this war Putin is attracting condemnation for handing out passports. This changes the dynamic and the stakes. The two arent really comparable. It isnt a racism inspired genocide like Israel is committing in Gaza.
        throwaway290 3y ago
  - Stevvo 3y ago
    This just isn't true. In 2014 the motivation and training of Ukraine's forces was so poor that when encountering the enemy, absent any orders, most would lay down their weapons and join the other side. The majority of the Navy defected. Some western training was received from 2014 to 2020, but the most effective fighters were volunteers who had trained themselves and fought the Enemy completely outside the control of Ukraine's armed forces.