US general in Abu Dhabi to further bolster UAE defenses
US Marine General Kenneth F. McKenzie, who oversees US forces in the Middle East as head of Central Command, arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday for talks on bolstering defenses after a series of rocket attacks by Houthi fighters from Yemen.
Medium-range ballistic missiles launched from Yemen and reaching the UAE were not invented, manufactured or designed in Yemen… It all happened somewhere else. So I think we definitely see an Iranian connection to this.
He said he offered his scheduled visit in response to Houthi attacks, hoping to emphasize the United States’ commitment to defending the UAE.
Washington and Gulf states accuse Iran of arming the Houthi rebels, but Tehran denies this despite the coalition and U.S. Navy seizing on more than one occasion Iranian arms smuggled by sea to the Houthi militia.
The Houthi say they have developed ballistic missiles and self-propelled drones – claims refuted by technical analysis of the wreckage of marches and missiles dropped by the Saudi-led Arab coalition’s defenses.
In the past few weeks, the Iran-allied Houthis have carried out terrorist attacks on Emirati targets, in their first such move toward the Gulf state, but strikes that briefly drew U.S. forces into the shelter were largely doomed to failure after being intercepted by U.S. and Emirati air defenses.
The attacks highlighted a so far fruitless effort by the UN to broker an end to the war in Yemen since 2015 between the Houthis and a Saudi-led military coalition, including the UAE.
“I think it’s a very worrying time for the UAE”, McKenzie told reporters shortly before landing in Abu Dhabi. They’re looking for support. We are here to help them with this support.
The Pentagon announced this month that the United States will deploy advanced F-22 fighter jets and the guided missile destroyer Cole to work with the Emirati navy before visiting an Abu Dhabi port.
McKenzie said the F-22 will provide the UAE with “one of the best surveillance radars in the world”, capable of locating targets including ground attack cruise missiles and drones.
He added that the Cole would operate in the waters around the UAE and monitor illegal contraband shipments.
The U.S. military so far describes its support for the UAE as bilateral defense assistance rather than any assistance to the Saudi-led coalition.
Asked about recent Houthi missile attacks, McKenzie said they may be driven by a range of scenarios, including responding to battlefield defeats.
“It’s hard to know all the Houthi reasons for this… I believe the Houthis are not used to losing ground in Yemen”. Washington accuses Tehran of supplying the Houthis with sophisticated weapons.
