Stephen Fagin, the US ambassador to Yemen, surprised coalition officials when he arrived in the city of Aden in a US military V-22 Osprey.
Exclusive – Al-Khabar Al-Yemeni:
As is typical, the embassy has not yet released any information on the visit, although local media claimed that Fagin met with the security director in the province of Aden. The official news source of the Al-Alimi authorities did not publish the news. What led to the visit, and was the meeting with the security director the only reason?
The arrival of Fagin in Aden with 26 officers thought to be from the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) coincided with the Pentagon’s order to send US Marine infantry and warships to the area, according to information from multiple reliable sources. The mission was to secure the deployment of US forces in the Gulf of Aden.
A statement from the Pentagon claims that under the pretext of confronting regional security threats, the US will send two amphibious warships and tens of thousands of Marines to the Middle East.
The US Naval Institute reports that, on orders from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the amphibious warships USS Bataan (LHD-5) and USS Carter Hall (LSD-50), as well as components of the Marine Corps’ 26th Infantry Unit aboard the two ships, are being sent to US Central Command.
The Institute reports that the three-ship ready amphibious Bataan group is now traveling through the North Atlantic towards the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden as of Thursday morning.
What is the relationship between Fagin’s visit to Aden and strengthening US forces in the region?
The guided missile destroyer “USS Thomas Hudner” arrived in the Gulf of Aden on July 18. It is one of the regions where US soldiers can pass through and be deployed. It is not ruled out that the plane carrying the US ambassador and the new officers took off from its runway and headed for Al-Ma’ashiq. According to information at the time, the plane was also carrying communication equipment that was believed to be for installing a US special communication and monitoring station in Yemen.
Although the meeting with the director of security in the province of Aden was within the framework of enabling the US officers with security tools in the region, Fagin’s visit also served as a cover for the covert deployment of US forces to Al-Ma’ashiq so as not to be a target.
