Daniel Wolfram
The Houthis are seeking to gain military and strategic terrain after American airstrikes on them were canceled.
The militant group Houthis, an organization that originated in Yemen in the 1990s, is in the middle of escalating its military aggression against Saudi Arabia.
It was reported that Donald Trump had agreed to help the Saudis with airstrikes on Sunday, but reversed course just hours later.
The Houthis now see this as an opportunity to gain terrain in the fight against their Saudi foe.
Bombs were locked and loaded
As The New York Times reported, US military jets were ready to launch attacks on Houthi targets when the command arrived to halt the operation. Pilots were waiting as weapons were loaded onto their aircraft.
But for some reason, Trump abruptly canceled the planned strikes even after Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, called Trump personally right before the weekend.
Trump initially resisted getting involved, then instructed the Pentagon to prepare for strikes, only to reverse course at the final moment.
Rapid ground advance in Yemen
While Trump showed his hand, Houthi fighters moved quickly to capture critical high ground along Yemen’s Red Sea coast. This threatens to cut off shipping routes used by Saudi Arabia.
The rebels are now positioning themselves near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a vital sea passage for international oil shipments. As a result, Saudi Arabia is having major difficulties using both the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea for oil shipping.
However, that is not the only problem facing the Middle East. Combat across the region has caused a humanitarian crisis. The UN reported that hostilities in and around Yemen have forced more than 125,000 people from their homes since early September.
Saudi forces responded with hundreds of air raids on strategic Houthi bases in the mountains, but the strikes have done little to slow the Houthis.
Why did Trump cancel the airstrikes?
Trump is currently downplaying the threat from the Houthis as they pose no danger to the Americans according to the president.
Speaking to reporters in Ireland last week, he stated that the Houthis “called us, and they don’t want to fight us,” adding that they were allowing American vessels to sail through the region, creating an alternative route after the Iranians blocked the Strait of Hormuz.
He also characterized the crisis as limited to “one country” as it pertains to Saudi Arabia. As Trump continues to rebuff the pleas of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, The Guardian reports that nations in the Gulf are beginning to view America as an “unreliable ally,” since the US has done little to protect oil and security in the region since beginning the war in Iran in February.
As for the relationship between the US and the Houthis, there has been a ceasefire in place between the two ever since the US began to bomb them for two months straight at the start of last year.
As munitions are being depleted because of the war in Iran and the Pentagon is stretched thin, it seems that Donald Trump wants to avoid fighting another potential enemy.
