The Saudis clearly will not tolerate an Iranian client state on the Arabian peninsula. The question is how far they and other Sunni states will be willing to go to prevent it. This could escalate far beyond Yemen.
“Turmoil in Yemen escalates as Saudi Arabia bombs rebels,” by Ahmed Al-Haj and Hamza Hendawi, Associated Press, March 26, 2015:
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — The turmoil in Yemen grew into a regional conflict Thursday, with Saudi Arabia and its allies bombing Shiite rebels allied with Iran, while Egyptian officials said a ground assault will follow the airstrikes.
Iran denounced the Saudi-led air campaign, saying it “considers this action a dangerous step,” and oil prices jumped in New York and London after the offensive.
The military action turned impoverished and chaotic Yemen into a new front in the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Yemen’s U.S.-backed President Abed-Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who fled the country Wednesday as the rebels known as Houthis advanced on his stronghold in the southern port of Aden, reappeared Thursday. He arrived by plane in Saudi Arabia’s capital of Riyadh, Saudi state TV reported.
Starting before dawn, Saudi warplanes pounded an air base, military bases and anti-aircraft positions in the capital of Sanaa and flattened a number of homes near the airport, killing at least 18 civilians, including six children. Another round followed in the evening, again rocking the city.
Rebel leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi angrily accused the United States, Saudi Arabia and Israel of launching a “criminal, unjust, brutal and sinful” campaign aimed at invading and occupying Yemen.
“Yemenis won’t accept such humiliation,” he said in a televised speech Thursday night, calling the Saudis “stupid” and “evil.”
The Houthis, who have taken over much of the country, mobilized thousands of supporters to protest the airstrikes, with one speaker lashing out at the Saudi-led coalition and warning that Yemen “will be the tomb” of the aggressors.
White House spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters on Air Force One en route to Alabama that President Barack Obama had authorized logistical and intelligence support for the strikes, but that the U.S. is not joining with direct military action.
In the air assault codenamed “Operation Decisive Storm,” Saudi Arabia deployed some 100 fighter jets, 150,000 soldiers and other navy units, Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV reported. Also involved were aircraft from the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Morocco, Sudan and Egypt, though it was not clear which carried out actual strikes….
Beagle says
The Saudis are going to think you are the dajjal for calling it the “Iranian” Peninsula. 😉
If this is successful, I would hate to see what a failed Obama foreign policy would look like. Locusts and raining fire?
cs says
Yep, I was going to call his attention, Arabian peninsula.
Godwin says
Obama was stupid to declare to the world before it bombed ISIS in Syria. In war this is a very stupid strategy. But the Saudi just blasted the Houthis without any warning to achieve the maximum effects.
Lioness says
That’s how war should be conducted, surprise and strike; you don’t tell the enemy when and where you are going to strike, like Obama does.
Transmaster says
Well it looks like Obama’s Arab Spring is going to turn into the long hot summer.
Jay Boo says
This could escalate fast.
These Saudi Arabs and their enemy Houthis are no longer limited to using flying moon-donkeys.
AJ Liberphile says
Jay, I think you just missed the ‘Islamofauxbe of the year’ awards.
Oliver says
Iran denounced the Saudi-led air campaign, saying it “considers this action a dangerous step,”
However, for Iran, supporting the rebels was fine and good and proper.
Ope they kill each other.
And, better Saudi; Egyptian; Gulf States; Jordanian; Moroccan, etc troops then Americans.
And more mosque bombings like last weeks.
by the way- 6 children were killed– where is the Useless nations and the (In)Security ( or should it be UnSecurity) Council to condemn this? They were sure as hell up in arms when Israel killed, in self defense and Hamas used children as human sheilds.
Why the double (or more accurately, probably triple or quadruple) standards? (Rhetorical- all know anti Israel/anti_Jewish sentiment)
Rebecca says
my thoughts exactly.
btw- let them kill each other.
Mr UPSIDE DOWN says
AND the Lord put confusion in their hearts that they turned on each.other LIKE RATS fighting over a dying stinking rotting corpse of a pig……
Oliver says
And going back to last weeks mosque bombing- last numbers noted were 142 dead, 351 or so injured.
Did I miss the Useless Nations condemnation?
Just asking.
Sam says
In the conflict between Sunnies and Shiites, I support both sides.
Oliver says
As Dr. Henry Kissinger was said to have said about the Iran-Iraq War ” A shame that both sides cannot lose”.
Same here- if both sides lose, the civilized world wins.
ECAW says
So it seems does Obama.
Whatever you do don’t short oil.
cs says
This will get pretty hairy, and just before the Deal with Iran, it is an omen on how stupid this deal is for everyone in the region.
Oliver says
If anyone recalls, WHEN THE FIRST BATCH of confidential cables were released (via, as I recall Wikipedia or the person-name escapes me- who defected to Russia) they all were critical of Pres. Bush, or some GOP statement or other.
Obama and the Dems said nothing.
THEN, WHEN OBAMA AND THE LIBERTURDS WERE BLAMING ISRAEL FOR ALL THE PROBLEMS IN THE WORLD, DUE TO THE ” SETTLEMENTS” AND THE NEXT BATCH CAME OUT, AND THE CABLES FORM THE SAUDIS; THE GULF STATES, ETC. DID NOT SAY A WORD-NOT ONE, ABOUT ISRAEL OR THE SETTLEMENTS, JUST IRAN AND THE NUCLEAR WORK THAT THEY WERE DOING.
THEN, AND ONLY THEN, DID OBAMA AND THE GOVERNMENT AND HIS ASS KISSERS START COMPLAINING ABOUT THE BREACH OF SECURITY, ETC.
Bezelel says
Now would be a good time for an iranian revolution and a stray bomb or two could use mecca for bullseye and for Israel to take out irans’ nuke program.
admiralZheng says
The best news for us. Let them fight to the end. I sincerely wish and pray that Iran lunch an attack on Saudi Arabia. The only problem we would face is an increase in oil price but its peanuts compared to having a prospect that will eliminate or at least weaken Islam.
umbra says
iran is too cowardly to launch direct strikes against saudi srabia. Any such attack will lead to a regional conflict, meaning a military campaign. iran does not have the means to launch and sustain a successful military campaign against saudi arabia. In any case both iran and gulf states know that a large scale arab-iranian conflict in the gulf would lead to sustantial destruction of their energy infrastructure. iran’s best hope to damage saudis is to use proxies to destabilise saudi interests and influence in the region.
In any case, the iranian military is manned by the same type of people as those in other arab militaries … cowards. They will only fight when odds are overwhelmingly in their favour or if they are cornered.
admiralZheng says
I guess you are right.
Godwin says
And FINALLY, Israel is not the true ENEMY of Islam.
AJ Liberphile says
After an exhaustive theological, historical, exconomic, military and political analysis of the situation, I have concluded that all bets are off.
Matthieu Baudin says
Very funny AJ; yes all bets are off! But can anyone enlighten me about the possible reasons for the (limited) U.S. intelligence assistance to the Saudi side? I’ve been loafing about in the Land Of Islam for a while and have pretty much lost touch with world events.