The Brookings Institute for Studies pointed to Saudi Arabia’s abject failure in confronting the Houthis in Yemen despite entering its 8th year.
The institute stated that the Saudi intervention has many similarities with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where the two sides greatly underestimated their opponents.
In 2015 the architect of the war, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, told the then-CIA Director John Brennan that the Houthis would be overthrown within a few weeks, Brennan asked in his memoirs, What does Mohammed bin Salman smoke? The Saudi ground forces did not even approach Sanaa, and they began to assume that the rebels would be defeated by air power.
The partial Saudi blockade of Yemen has led to a massive humanitarian catastrophe. According to the World Food Program, at least half of Yemeni children under the age of five – 2.3 million people – are also at risk of severe acute malnutrition, and the United Nations estimates 377,000 deaths in seven years, Mainly due to malnutrition.
The blockade also prevents the entry of fuel into the country, affecting the already weak health and educational infrastructure.
Similarly, the war on Ukraine has prevented grain exports, which constitute a third of world wheat exports, and food prices are rising, which will suffer from the poorest countries in the Arab world.
The Houthis continue firing missiles and drones at some targets in Saudi Arabia, most of which are located in the border area near Yemen, in addition to their bombing of Riyadh and other cities.
The Houthis also launched a wave of attacks, including on oil facilities, last week, causing little damage, however, a single shot could injure hundreds of people if it hits a crowded place such as an airport terminal or a hotel. Houthi strikes are much less than Saudi air strikes in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia launched nearly 25,000 air strikes in seven years, while the Houthis launched less than 1,300 missiles and drones in the same period.
The rebels also did not resume their attacks on the Emirates, and the Emiratis withdrew the Giants Brigade – a Yemeni militia they finance – from the front line with the Houthis.
Last week, Dubai welcomed Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, which is the first time Assad has been welcomed into an Arab country since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011.
There is a fundamental difference between the war in Ukraine and the war in Yemen. The Houthis are not a democratically elected government. They are serial violators of human rights. They have rallied support and sentiment behind them because of the invasion and blockade from Saudi Arabia of historic Yemen.
The international community must do everything in its power to end the war in Yemen, end the blockade that is harming the most vulnerable people, the children of Yemen.
