Some in Washington would like to believe the Houthis are somebody else’s problem.It is easy to understand why.
America is already deeply engaged in the war with Iran, and there is little appetite for widening the battlefield with the midterm elections approaching.The Houthis have also cynically given Washington a reason to limit its involvement by signaling that American shipping will not be targeted.But Yemen is not a separate conflict.
The Houthis—a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization aligned with Iran and armed and supported by Tehran—are waging a campaign against Yemen’s Saudi-backed government that forms part of the same regional confrontation.The good news is that the war is beginning to move in the right direction for the Yemeni government, although the battle will be challenging and, like all battles, will have its ups and downs.Government forces, supported by Saudi air power, have expelled the Houthis from some strategically important areas around the Bab el-Mandeb and are demonstrating their capacity to operate effectively.
These gains remain vulnerable, but the battlefield momentum is encouraging.SAUDI ARABIA TELLS TRUMP NOW IS THE TIME FOR MILITARY ACTION AS IRAN-BACKED HOUTHIS ADVANCEIt also changes the calculation about American involvement.The United States is already providing Saudi Arabia with intelligence and targeting support while stopping short of direct strikes.
That assistance is valuable.American satellites and other surveillance systems can help locate missile batteries, drone facilities, command centers and mobile launchers.The case for American support should not rest on the claim that Saudi Arabia and Yemen cannot succeed without it.
It should rest on the fact that the United States has a clear interest in helping them succeed.Direct American air power could make that intelligence considerably more effective.U.S.
aircraft can operate directly within American intelligence, surveillance and targeting networks, allow...