The Race for Mukalla by Michael Knights. Profile Books Ltd., 2024, 300 pp.
In The Race for Mukalla, historian Michael Knights, author of 25 Days to Aden: The Unknown Story of Arabian Elite Forces at War, captures the bravery and successes of United Arab Emirates (UAE) forces in the war to help restore Yemen’s sovereignty, particularly in the eastern part of the country. Otherwise, that history would be overshadowed, forgotten, and lost in time. This narrative nonfiction fills that gap in the history of the War on Terrorism.
According to Knights, the purpose of writing The Race for Mukalla is to “preserve for history the true story of Task Force 291, a band of elite forces from the UAE, aided by other Gulf Arab nations. Their mission was to stop al-Qaeda and Iran-backed terrorists from taking over the ports, energy sites, and archaeological and cultural wonders of eastern Yemen” (6–7). The namesake of the novel, Mukalla, was a port city and strategic maritime corridor that provided access to the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.
The Race for Mukalla opens with an intense prologue battle scene intended to capture the reader’s attention. The narrative immerses readers into a firefight between UAE and Yemeni forces fighting a heroic last stand to defend Mukalla and its people against a seasoned al-Qaeda insurgent force. This powerful battlefield reminiscence only needs to be lengthened to be a dramatized version of the book. Yet, Knights methodically presents the historical operational events in 12 chapters, including pictures to help the reader better comprehend the events. Additionally, in the narratives, Knights discusses familiar terrorism-related operatives along with their actions: Osama Bin Laden; Abdulrahim Mohammed al-Nashiri, the Saudi-Yemeni planner responsible for the deadly attack on the USS Cole; Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab who carried explosives aboard Northwest Airlines flight 25 on Christmas Day 2009; Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-Yemena lead for the Inspire online magazine; al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and Qassim al-Raimi, a leader of AQAP who wanted to establish Sharia Law and a Caliphate in Yemen.
In the first section of The Race for Mukalla, Knights describes battles between the Yemini defense and AQAP forces for control of cities including Aden, Abyan, Zinjibar, Al-Kawd, Shuqrah, and Lawdar. The Yemen government’s control of these cities became tenuous as the country dissolved into civil war, and then the government collapsed, with its forces becoming overwhelmed and unable to defend and secure them. The author notes, “The Emirate of Waqar was the largest area controlled by a terrorist group and an unprecedented step for an Al-Qaeda Franchise” (38). Yet the Yemini government and defense forces fought back, retaking some of the cities, until the insurgent forces regrouped and conducted multiple counteroffensives (34–35). As time went by, other operatives, like the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), started to claim power over much of the territory, as it did in Fallujah and Mosul in Iraq (37). This compounded the problem for the UAE forces because they now had to contend with competition between AQAP and ISIS, as they remained determined to help the Yemeni forces resist the onslaught and protect selected cities, including Mukalla (40). Also captured in this section are events like one daring recon by members of JTF 291 to meet and secure the support of Hanoum tribesmen inside Yemen, which resulted in the permission to start a secret training camp and the paradrop of 28 pallets of arms, ammunition, and humanitarian supplies to enable that effort (77). This section further reveals JTF 291’s three operational lines of effort: train and equip members of the eastern tribe, assess the loyalty and fighting abilities of Hadi’s military, including their support for Yemen’s president, and most important, target AQAP directly (79). Although the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) provided some over-the-horizon strike support using drones and sophisticated surveillance systems to kill high-payoff targets, the ground effort would be conducted largely by the UAE Special Operations Command (79).
Chapters Six and Seven of The Race for Mukalla present readers with an opportunity to truly see and appreciate the heroism of the UAE and multinational forces, even as some abandoned the efforts, particularly during the battle at Safer. Knights retells that the surprise, early morning attack happened quickly, leaving an indelible mark on the minds of those present as the missile attack destroyed the camp. Knights says, “On 4 September, Houthi-Saleh forces attacked and killed 67 soldiers and wounded 209 more” (135). In a subsequent attack in Masaria, the number of casualties increased (154–155). Then JTF 291 suffered even more casualties during the battle for Marib Dam (175–185). Still, they remained mostly undeterred as replacement personnel and equipment were sent to ready and reinforce JTF 291.
Then, in the final section of the book, Knights captures the efforts of JTF 291, including the elite forces from the UAE and supported by other Gulf Arab nations, to retake the city of Mukalla from AQAP and their supporters. Knights describes the development of the plan, the development of the joint targeting list, and the execution of the plan without the normal assistance of the CIA and JSOC. The plan was called Raging Torrent; the objectives were to “liberate Mukalla and degrade AQAP in the process, restore the city and its neighboring area to Yemeni government control” (207). In The Race for Mukalla, Knight does not spare any details regarding the successful execution of the plan, the setbacks and ambushes, casualties, danger close bombing by F16s and AT-802s (a surveillance and light attack aircraft), precision strikes by drones, and the raising of the flag signifying the success of the operation. However, while acknowledging the successes, Knights is careful not to celebrate out of respect for those whose lives were sacrificed throughout the various operations given to JTF 291 in eastern Yemen. At the end of the book, Knights discusses the continuance of suicide bombing and random killings by al-Qaeda members in Mukalla and other areas (271–272).
Another important observation is Knights’ ability to maintain reader interest when the Western forces, namely the United States, are not the leading military force in the work. Nevertheless, Michael Knights does a fantastic job balancing the subtlety by periodically highlighting the supporting efforts of the United States and other coalition forces fighting in the theater, while staying true to the theme of the book—accentuating the capabilities and successes of Task Force 291, the UAE, the Yemeni military, and fighters from other Gulf Arab nations.
The Race for Mukalla is a well-written and important account of history that will attract historians’ attention, yet it provides valuable insights into multinational operations that will benefit military strategists, planners, and operators tasked with fighting battles during warfare.
COL William Phillips, USA, Retired