What do the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia mean?
After a week of attacks on airports and industrial facilities in Saudi Arabia, the Iran-backed Houthi militia is threatening further escalation. Saudi Arabia supports the internationally recognised government in Yemen, which is fighting the Houthi. The US and the Mecca Alliance have so far been cautious in showing support for Riyadh.
The Saudis never stood by Turkey
Despite having recently signed the Mecca Defence Alliance, Ankara should think carefully before taking on military risks in this conflict, warns Sözcü:
“Anyone who provides military assistance to a country in the middle of a war runs the risk of being perceived as a party to the conflict. In other words, Turkey would find itself on the same side as the US and Saudi Arabia, against Iran. What's more, the deployment of military forces by Turkey and Pakistan to Saudi Arabia, even if only for defensive purposes, could escalate the conflict. Is Turkey supposed to simply not respond if the Turkish units stationed in Saudi Arabia come under attack? ... On which of our national issues has Saudi Arabia, which we now support, ever stood by our side?”
Help for allies no longer a given
Interia warns of a global decline in the willingness to honour alliances:
“We should focus our attention on how the generals of the US Army, along with Donald Trump's government, are doing everything in their power to avoid being drawn into a war on a new front. They are dodging the issue and in doing so undermining the order of international politics in yet another part of the world. ... When we listen to top US politicians, we are forced to conclude that no one of sound mind could simply believe the promises that help will be sent our way. Even European countries, with their rising nationalism, are increasingly drifting towards self-interested pacifism.”
Painful lesson for Riyadh
Saudi Arabia can no longer rely on the US, columnist Pierre Haski comments on France Inter:
“The Houthis are posing a challenge that the kingdom is struggling to meet. This is primarily due to the US's protection of Saudi Arabia, which dates back to 1945 and has now lost much of its credibility. Although Donald Trump stated on Sunday after the attacks on the airports that he could help in the fight against the Houthis, with three weeks to go before the mid-term elections he will have no desire to get involved in a new war. ... However, the key lesson for Saudi Arabia is that it was a mistake to entrust its security to the US and believe it could still stay out of the conflict with Iran. And now it is paying dearly for that.”
Disastrous for the strong leader
Riyadh is in a quandary, Diena puts in:
“The Houthis are determined to continue their attacks on Riyadh until Saudi Arabia stops supporting the Yemeni government. Such a move, however, would be a disaster for bin Salman and his image as a 'strong leader'. But the alternatives are equally unappealing. Airstrikes on Houthi territory do not undermine their military capabilities, but merely provoke retaliation, while deploying additional Saudi troops to Yemen would result in the inevitable death of a large number of soldiers.”
The price of Trump's arrogance
Behind all this lies the unresolved conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran over dominance in the Gulf, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung points out:
“For years now, this conflict has been played out militarily in Yemen. Now Trump has stirred up this strategic hornet's nest with a mixture of arrogance and ignorance common to many right-wing populists. Having sought to withdraw from its neighbour's civil war in order to focus on its own economy, Saudi Arabia is now paying the price. For decades, Saudi foreign policy has revolved around its alliance with America. The fact that Trump has now largely undermined this alliance could bring about further significant changes across the Middle East.”
Riyadh looking for help
Il Manifesto sees Saudi Arabia in a very difficult position:
“The latest Houthi attacks took place just as the 17th International Energy Forum was getting underway in Riyadh, and with numerous international delegations also expected to attend the 'Davos in the Desert' [in two weeks' time]. ... But who will come if the airport is closed or unsafe? ... Riyadh has spent billions of dollars on American and Western weapons, which have proved largely ineffective against the Houthis' missiles and drones. So all it can do now is to hope that Trump and the Europeans, who are always ready to come to the rescue of the oil barons, will pitch in.”
Baffling attack capabilities
How the Houthis are able to carry these attacks is a mystery to To Vima:
“Most analysts say that the pro-Iranian rebels could not have built up a stockpile of precision-guided weapons with a range of 1,500 to 2,000 kilometres without Tehran's assistance, so without the support of Iranian technical and military advisers. However, they struggle to explain how this vast arsenal, which had been hidden all along, was created, or how the Houthis are able to breach the missile defences of the Saudis and their allies in so many places and with such frequency.”