Pentagon authorizes refueling help for Yemen campaign
Jim Michaels, USA TODAY 7:13 p.m. EDT April 2, 2015
WASHINGTON – The Pentagon has agreed to provide aerial refueling support for Saudi and allied pilots attacking Houthi rebels in Yemen, an expansion of the U.S. military's role in the conflict, a Defense Department official said Thursday.
The official spoke anonymously because of the sensitivity of the information.
The U.S. tanker aircraft would not enter Yemen's airspace. No missions have been flown yet and it was not clear if the Saudis had requested any.
The United States has been providing limited support for the Saudi-led air campaign, which is targeting Iranian-backed Houthi rebels battling the regime of Yemen's president, Abed-Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
Hadi has fled Saudi Arabia as the Houthis have advanced through the country.
The Saudis and other Arab states with Sunni regimes view the Houthis as sectarian warriers on behalf of Iran, a Shiite nation, and have sought to stop their advance.
U.S. unmanned surveillance aircraft are providing broad intelligence about the disposition of Houthi forces. The U.S. military is also helping the Saudis keep a watch on the border to guard against Houthi infiltration.
The Pentagon, however. is not providing specific targeting information for the Saudi-led coalition, according to the Defense Department official.
The United States military had been working closely with the Hadi government in its battle against al-Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen, one of the terrorist group's most active branches.
The government's collapse has weakened U.S. counterterrorism operations there. U.S. advisers were forced to leave the country as the violence expanded. But the civil war has temporarily prevented al-Qaeda from concentrating on planning attacks outside the region, the official said.
http://www.militarytimes.com/story/news/world/2015/04/02/yemen-pentagon-airstrikes/70856968/
