Cocktails.

This is coolbert:

Potent indeed!

"cocktail - - n 3. any combination of diverse elements, esp one considered potent"

With a wedge of lemon on the side please!

From the Internet web site Strategy Page and as extracted from the book review by Professor Al Nofi:

"Cocktails from Hell: Five Complex Wars Shaping the 21st Century"

CAULDRONS OF CRISIS THEY ARE CALLED. WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS! HOT-SPOTS!

"Five Cauldrons of Crisis"

"Defense analyst, historian, and novelist Bay [Col. Austin Bay], a U.S. Army veteran whose service includes a tour in Iraq, looks at five very complex, dynamic crises – essentially wars of varying degrees of violence – that will be influencing the world for decades to come."

The five cases are:

   * The generations long North Korean Crisis
   * China’s intervention in the South China Sea
   * Russia’s aggressive moves in the Caucasus, Black Sea, and elsewhere
   * Iranian intervention in Yemen
   * The internal conflicts of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

BUT I MIGHT ADD HARDLY CONFINED TO THESE "FIVE CASES". DYNAMIC ALWAYS EXISTING THAT CREATES NEW CIRCUMSTANCES AND CONDITIONS WHERE CRISIS AND A RESULTANT WAR "INFLUENCE THE WORLD".

coolbert.

Houthi Navy.

This is coolbert:

"cock·le - - noun: cockleshell 2. a small shallow boat."

Strangely enough [?] the Houthi rebels, Yemeni hill tribesmen NOW even possessing a naval capability. That Strait of Bab al-Mandab crucial to regional and international oceanic commerce.

From the Internet web site of H. I. Sutton and as extracted an entire article devoted to the Houthi navy to the extent such an entity exists.

"Houthi Naval capabilities"

"The Houthis have increasingly adopted an asymmetrical naval doctrine focusing on small boats and shore based anti-ship missiles. They have been aided and influenced by Iranian forces. The strategy has scored some modest successes but the advantage remains with the well-equipped Saudi-UAE coalition."

Houthi cockleshell-navy threat currently as existing and consisting of:

* Low Profile Vessel (LPV).

* Explosive Boats.

* Sea Mines.

* Combat Swimmers.

* Other vessels.

Explosive boats as described a remotely-controlled speed boat packed with high-explosive. Ram a target and explode! The improvised-explosive-device [IED] naval version!

Real-time screen capture [as of only yesterday and thanks to maritimetraffic.com] maritime traffic vicinity Strait of Bab al- Mandab. A crucial choke-point yesterday, tomorrow, forever. Maritime traffic [red and green arrows] moving to and fro, Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Click on image to see an enlarged view.

Houthi naval threat even if NO DAMAGE EVER DONE  to a naval or merchant vessel the danger boosting insurance rates making transport by sea in that part of the world  cost-prohibitive!

The Houthi if nothing else resilient and resourceful.

coolbert.

Interventionists.

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Sunni versus Shia but much more than that?

The civil war in Yemen continues unabated apparently without any end in sight. As in Syria the presence of foreign military interventionists a major factor in the conflict.

Without regard to only those in the Saudi coalition arrayed against the Houthi rebels and as extracted from the South Front Internet web site:

"SUDANESE FORCES IN YEMENI WAR"

"Let’s count the countries, which have participated in the activities of the Saudi-led coalition, and define their roles."

Nations part and parcel of the Saudi coalition to include:

* Saudi Arabia.
* United Arab Emirates (UAE).
* Bahrein.
* Kuwait.
* Qatar.
* Jordan.
* Morocco.
* Egypt.
* Senegal.
* Sudan.

Understanding full well the contributions of each nation other than Saudi rather limited and sometimes only consisting of promises not kept.

Houthi fighters pose in front of the destroyed armored wheeled vehicle  That vehicle with slat armor but still vulnerable to a lightly-armed but still determined adversary 

"The US, some NATO countries, Turkey and others were involved in secondary roles. Their main goals are logistics, reconnaissance, arms delivery, moral support etc. but, according to some reports, the US Armed Forces have taken and are taking a limited role in clashes at the Saudi-Yemeni border."

"Secondary" roles but I might think much more significant that realized.

WE ARE NOT EVEN COUNTING THOSE FOREIGN INTERVENTIONISTS FRIENDLY TO THE HOUTHI CAUSE. IRANIAN AND HEZBOLLAH COMBATANTS, AID AND ASSISTANCE! NOR EVEN CONSIDERING OR INCLUDING IN THE MIX TERRORISTS OF THE AL QAEDA IN THE ARABIAN PENINSULA [AQAP].

Yemen a regional conflict with potential global geo-political ramifications? Strait of Bab al-Mandeb and all that!

coolbert.

F-35 ME.

This is coolbert:

ME = Middle East.

Continuing and concluding from the latest edition of the DEBKAfile as pertains to the Idlib situation and potentially beyond..

F-35 enters the fray. Poised and ready. Presumably warplanes part and parcel of the U.S. Marine strike force vicinity Yemen.

"First US F-35 planes deployed to Gulf  and Red Sea. Marines drill unblocking Hormuz and Mandeb"

13 September.

"US naval, air and Marine forces have launched a war game off the Horn of Africa coast opposite the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea - their first drill for practicing a potential regional clash with Iran, whether full-scale or limited. They are focusing on the simulated Iranian blockage of the region's two vital choke points, the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea's Straits of Bab al-Mandeb . . . It is the first time that the US has introduced the F-35 for combat duty in these regions."

FIRST COMBAT TEST OF THE F-35. IF AND WHEN NEEDED F-35 WILL PROVIDE AIR SUPPORT TO THE U.S. MARINE AMPHIBIOUS FORCE THE MISSION TO MAINTAIN A FREE-FLOW OF MERCHANT MARINE SHIPPING THROUGH THE CHOKE POINTS OF STRAIT OF HORMUZ AND BAB AL-MANDEB.

coolbert.