The Saudi-led Arab Coalition Could Protect Israel and Reduce the Menace of an Obama-Iran Detente

The situation in Yemen, the mountainous tribal country at the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, is rapidly deteriorating. In order to try to salvage Yemen, keep Iran from gaining a foothold in the Peninsula through their Houthi foot soldiers, a coalition led by Saudi Arabia last night launched air strikes against the shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen, saying it is "defending the legitimate government" of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi. Saudi jets targeted Houthi positions in the capital Sanaa overnight, along with missile batteries and warplanes. Security officials told the Associated Press that the targets included a missile base controlled by the Houthis, as well as a nearby fuel depot. A camp for a US-trained special forces unit loyal to ousted Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is backing the rebels, was also hit, along with targets in the northern Houthi stronghold area, and in Taiz and Aden. ~~~~~ The Houthis have said their aim is to replace President Hadi's government, which they accuse of being corrupt, and to implement the outcomes of the National Dialogue that was convened when former President Saleh was forced to hand over power in 2011 following mass protests led by the Houthis. Last night, a Houthi spokesman warned the coalition that it risked provoking a wider war. Shiite leading power Iran, which sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia accuses of backing the rebels, also demanded an immediate halt to the strikes, calling them a violation of Yemen sovereignty and vowing to use every effort to "control the crisis in Yemen," according to Iranian Foreign Secretary Zarif, who is currently negotiating for Iran to get a nuclear deal with President Obama and the P5+1. ~~~~~ Adel al-Jubair, the Saudi Ambassador to the US who acted as spokesman for the Kingdom last night, said the operation would begin with air strikes, but vowed : "We will do whatever it takes in order to protect the legitimate government of Yemen from falling." Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV reported that the coalition includes the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan Morocco and Sudan -- who are sending aircraft -- while Egypt, Jordan, Sudan and Pakistan are ready to take part in any ground offensive. Oman is the only Gulf Arab state not participating. The US said it was providing "logistical and intelligence support." ~~~~~ Former President Hadi was being held in house arrest by the Houthis, who overran the Yemen capital, Sanaa, in January. He recently escaped and fled to Aden. Hadi had asked for Western support last week, but his appeal for help became urgent yesterday when the rebels overran al-Anad air base, a large military facility that is only 60km (37 miles) north of Aden. President Hadi was subsequently moved to a "secure location" after another air raid on his palace and the capture of Aden's international airport by pro-Saleh police. Senior aides insisted that he remained in the city and had no plans to leave, but security and port officials later told the Associated Press that he had left by boat. ~~~~~ A troubling outcome of the rapid Houthi takeover of Yemen is that intelligence files on American operations in Yemen are now in the possession of the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen. This was confirmed by US officials yesterday. The names of US informants and counterterrorism strike plans were given to Iranian officials by Yemeni officials who switched allegiance to Houthi militias, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday. The newspaper reported that the compromised intelligence files, which were taken from Yemen’s National Security Bureau, influenced President Obama’s decision to evacuate personnel from the US Embassy in Sanaa last month and to pull US special operations forces from the region last weekend. ~~~~~ It is hard to imagine that Yemen, the country supported by the US, who trained and provided aid to its military, has so rapidly fallen to Iran-led Houthi rebels. “The news from Yemen is all bad,” Represrntative Adam B. Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told the Los Angeles Times. “I have to think that given the magnitude of the support we have given and the rapidity with which large portions of Yemen fell to Houthis, that a significant portion of military support is now in the hands of people who are not our friends,” Schiff added. Sunni leaders in Iraq have warned the US and its regional allies that Iran is poised to take over Iraq in the same way. And, while Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, AQAP, has not yet declared its position in the Saudi operation, AQAP is sunni and would perhaps be expected to side with Saudi Arabia. But anything is possible in this volatile and dangerous escalation that brings Iran and Saudi Arabia face-to-face in a war they have heretofore fought through local proxies. ~~~~~ Several elements stand out. The Saudi move has been strongly backed by the US, which is providing “logistical and intelligence support”. It is impossible to think that the Saudis would propose launching a ground offensive into Yemen with 150,000 troop without prior American agreement and support. While US forces seem to be not directly involved - yet - the Saudis have given the name “Storm of Resolve” to their operation, reminiscent of the joint operation involving US and Saudi ground forces, Operation Desert Storm, the 1991 war to drive Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi forces out of Kuwait. And, the Saudis unveiled the international coalition in Washington, not Riyadh, another clue that the Obama administration may be the driving force behind the intervention, while avoiding any public admission of participation -- a role President Obama would reject while negotiating with Iran, even though the Iranian foreign minister Zarif has called the Saudi operation "a US-led aggression." It paints a bizarre picture of Secretary of State John Kerry meeting his Iranian counterpart this week in Lausanne to try to finalize a nuclear deal with Teheran while the two countries take opposite sides over Yemen. However, the Saudi operation in Yemen may also be a strong message to Obama that the nuclear deal is dangerous and Teheran is not to be trusted. Such a message would certainly resonate in Israel. This Saudi-led Arab coalition is an escalation in the already established trend toward Arab countries cooperating in their own defense, which would be a powerful collective message to Iran -- keep out of Arab affairs. That Gulf Arab states jo the coalition is to be expected, but Sudan has also indicated support, as well as Turkey. It seems clear that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has decided to fully assume its position of leadership, in this period when the rise of extremist groups such as al-Qaida and ISIS represent an existential threat to them, just as Iran represents the same existential threat to both Israel and the Arab / sunni world. Wouldn't it be ironic if Iran's actions, meant to weaken the sunni world and destroy Israel, finally have the opposite effect -- strengthening Saudi resolve and bringing Israel under the protective wings of an Arab world determined not to be defeated by Iran. It would make President Obama's cosying up to Iran somewhat less menacing.