UAE will not back down against terror

GCC and the UAE's might has the support of the masses. This is a fight we will win.

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Published: Tue 8 Sep 2015, 12:00 AM

Last updated: Tue 8 Sep 2015, 12:35 PM

Amid an outpouring of grief for the 45 martyred Emirati soldiers, there's a wave of support for the UAE armed forces in Yemen. This is the good fight, for liberty and justice that the UAE cherishes the most. Yemen is dear to this country and the Arab world. There is mass support for the military action for peace. Leaders and the people have resolved they will not back down against a bunch of terrorists out to sow disorder in the neighbourhoood. This Houthi attack on UAE, Bahrain and Saudi troops which claimed 60 lives could be the turning point in the conflict. It could mean a shift in strategy and widening of objectives for larger military goals that could encompass the whole of Yemen.
Qatari ground troops, some 1,000 of them with armoured vehicles have already moved into the restive country. They will join the Saudi-led coaltion for a deeper offensive on the ground all the way to Sanaa. Meanwhile, the UAE and Saudi jets are bombing Houthi installations, the heaviest bombing of the six-month campaign. This is a message to Iran who back the Houthis that the Gulf and Arab states will not shy away from an open confrontation with its proxies, or even the Iranian Republican Guard, the military wing of the regime in Tehran.
There are concerns in some quarters that the conflict could escalate and spin out of control which could cut off avenues for diplomatic solutions. But negotiations should be conducted from a position of strength, and Gulf states are working on a coordinated response, a sign that they will not be pushed around by the proxy of a state that fans revolutionary movements. Iran may feel emboldened after the nuclear deal with the West, but the euphoria is not expected to last long with the Gulf ranged against its subversive activities.
GCC and the UAE's might has the support of the masses. This is a fight we will win.

Published: Tue 8 Sep 2015, 12:00 AM

Last updated: Tue 8 Sep 2015, 12:35 PM

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