Replies to post #233169 on Tornado Alley (PROG)

[StephanieVanbryce]

"[ i also applaud the Obama administration, for their effort, i'm really guessing there must have been much, to get the Saudi's and other ME countries more involved in Yemen .. ... ]"

I'm not sure that Obama had a thing to do with it .. maybe he even advised them to not do it . .NO, I don't know. . BUT here again, those crazy people are right at Saudi's border where the oil stuff is . .and if you don't think those creepy daesh (Al Qaeda etc) don't want to mess that up ... anyway, they want to .. they want to make money off of Saudi's oil infrastructure and god knows what else .. as in how many they want to kill .. Saudi has to make a stand ... At least that is my opinion! I don't want that trash coming in my country and neither do they. that's what I think. and yeah I have read that about their oil stuff and them..

[StephanieVanbryce]

EDIT-- also I don't think ... that Obama is in the least bit crazy about this Arab Military thing that all the Arab countries have agreed to .. .now .. my feelings? .. Seriously I don't know what I'd do IF I had daesh fifty, seventy five etc. miles away from me at all times .. I think I'd try to organize a military and have the US give me the weapons and planes ... ;) ..

Thanks for posting that article, it's interesting and I learned some more middle eastern history ..yeah just a small bit but still .. .and Nassar .. what a name and what a guy and WHAT an Egypt!

[fuagf]

Why Are the U.S. and Iran Sending Warships to the Yemeni Coast?

By Paul McLeary
April 20, 2015 - 6:41 pm
@paulmcleary



The United States has deployed two more warships to take up position off the Yemeni coast, joining seven other American naval vessels already patrolling the area and a veritable flotilla of Iranian ships that have been rapidly moving toward the war-ravaged country.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier and guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy are arriving just as two Iranian warships have taken up position in the Gulf of Aden, heightening tensions between the two rivals just as fighting between Iranian-backed Houthi rebels and Yemeni forces supported by Saudi Arabia and other American allies intensifies.

For weeks, a Saudi-led coalition has been conducting daily airstrikes against the Houthis. Washington isn’t taking part in the bombing runs, but the United States has been refueling warplanes from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in the air in between bombing runs. Saudi Arabia claims its campaign is making steady progress, but human rights groups say .. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32381797 .. not enough is being done to prevent civilian casualties.

Riyadh and Washington have long accused Iran of supplying the Houthis with weapons and other military equipment, and there are concerns that the Iranian ships may attempt to funnel new armaments to the Houthis through the port of Aden, portions of which have fallen to the rebels.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest declined to comment on the U.S. Navy’s latest moves during his Monday press briefing, but did say that the United States has long been concerned about Iran’s “continued support” for the Houthi rebels.

“We have seen evidence that the Iranians are supplying weapons and other armed support to the Houthis in Yemen,” Earnest said. “That support will only contribute to greater violence in that country. These are exactly the kind of destabilizing activities that we have in mind when we raise concerns about Iran’s destabilizing activities in the Middle East.”

Despite the tough talk, though, Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren said Monday that the Navy was simply conducting routine “maritime security operations” near Yemen and insisted that the ships are “not going to intercept Iranian ships.”

Tehran, for its part, says that its ships are conducting routine anti-piracy activities in the gulf. On April 18, the commander of the Iranian navy, Rear Adm. Habibollah Sayyari, said that “our presence and measures in the area are within the framework of international laws,” according to .. http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2015/04/19/406963/Iran-presence-in-Gulf-of-Aden-lawful .. the Iranian state-owned PressTV.

U.S. Navy photo

http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/04/20/why-are-the-u-s-and-iran-sending-warships-to-the-yemeni-coast/

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UPDATE 3-Yemen conflict keeps Brent crude oil around $63

Tue Apr 21, 2015 4:34am EDT

* Yemen tension keeps oil prices close to 2015 highs

* U.S. crude inventories expected to have risen last week

* Saudi output near record high in April, minister says (Updates throughout, changes dateline, previous SINGAPORE)

By Christopher Johnson

LONDON, April 21 (Reuters) - Brent crude oil steadied around $63 a barrel on Tuesday, not far below the 2015 high, supported by worries that a civil war in Yemen could destabilise the Middle East, affecting oil supplies.

Oil has climbed around 15 percent this month due to concern over the conflict in Yemen, Saudi Arabia's southern neighbour.

The seaways around Yemen are some of the most important for the international oil trade with access points to the Red Sea and Suez Canal as well as the Middle East Gulf.

The U.S. navy said on Monday it had sent an aircraft carrier and a guided-missile cruiser into nearby waters.

Brent hit a 2015 high of almost $65 a barrel on April 16, up more than 40 percent from a January low just above $45.

Prices have also been supported by speculation over falling U.S. output after data showing the number of U.S. exploration and production oil rigs fell to their lowest since 2010.

Brent crude for June was down 50 cents at $62.95 a barrel by 0815 GMT. U.S. crude for May, which was due to expire later on Tuesday, was down 45 cents at $55.93 a barrel.

"Geopolitics is supporting oil at the moment," said Tamas Varga, analyst at London brokerage PVM Oil Associates.

But the global oil market is heavily oversupplied and a rapid build of inventories, particularly in the United States, is beginning to weigh on prices.

U.S. commercial crude oil inventories are forecast to have increased by 2.4 million barrels last week, rising for the 15th consecutive week, a preliminary Reuters survey showed.

Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi told Reuters in Seoul that the world's top crude exporter expected to produce at near record highs of around 10 million barrels per day (bpd) in April.

Analysts warn that OPEC's ability to cope with an unexpected surge in demand is diminishing fast.

"If the demand and non-OPEC supply responses to lower prices are similar to what was experienced in the 1980s, the very low level of spare capacity carries a risk of a price spike in the not too distant future," said analysts at PIRA Energy.

OPEC's spare capacity could halve to as low as 1.7 million bpd this year, far below the level of more than 10 million bpd in the 1980s, when Saudi Arabia last opted for market share over price. (Additional reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen in Singapore; Editing by Pravin Char)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/21/markets-oil-idUSL4N0XI1TR20150421