The conflict between Saudi Arabia and Ansarallah (ie the Houthis) has accelerated substantially. It began after the Saudis, at the prompting of the US, bombed Sanaa airport as a Yemeni delegation was returning from the funeral of Ayatollah Khamenei, and that one strike has ignited a firestorm that Saudi Arabia is ill-equipped to handle. Yemen is not simply a backward desert country, despite being commonly perceived that way. It’s mountainous, like Iran, with rivers and fertile soil in the west of the country, like Iran, and inhabited by tough mountain people who will never surrender. Its population exceeds that of Saudi Arabia, and is able to provide for itself. Yemenis are capable engineers, and have developed their own missile programme, like Iran. The Saudi and US backed ‘government’ in the east of the country is largely powerless, while the part of the country controlled by Ansarallah contains the capital and the majority of the population. They are the real government of Yemen.
In the last week, Ansarallah has conducted a lightning campaign, managing to capture a large amount of US military equipment in the process. They now control the Red Sea coast, the strategic Islands at its mouth, and the Bab-al-Mandab strait at the southern entrance to the Red Sea. They have now closed this choke point to Saudi shipping. In addition, they’ve substantially damaged a great deal of Saudi oil infrastructure. They began by bombing the Red Sea port of Yanbu and the state of the art refinery at Jazan. Most recently, the Saudi oil pipeline from Abqaiq to Yanbu has been destroyed, although no one has claimed credit for this attack so far. The Iraqi resistance may have been involved, along with Ansarallah. It’s also possible that it may have been a false flag attack by the Israelis, given that they have a vested interest in seeing Islamic countries engagaed in mutual destruction. Whomever caused the damage, it is catastrophic, with pumping stations obliterated. Saudi Arabia has now lost the ability to export oil at all, and is now looking for financial lifelines of at least $8billion. It’s very existence in its current form may be under threat as it faces strategic defeat. Deliveries to Europe have been cancelled for both September and October, leaving Europe in a dire position. Saudi Arabia has also asked the US for military assistance, but Trump refused, as have the other signatories to the recent Mecca defence pact.
Trump has instead sent 40,000 MK34 2000-pound bombs to Israel. On detonation these will send metal fragments over thousands of feet, and can cut through thick metal and concrete. These are obviously meant to facilitate Israeli genocide of civilians in Gaza and southern Lebanon. Interestingly, Israel lacks planes capable of carrying these, suggesting that American planes would do the job. The only priority for the US in the Gulf is the safety of Israel, although it’s becoming clearer that it cannot perform this task. It’s already demonstrated its lack of capacity to protect its erstwhile allies among the Gulf states, and its bases in these countries have merely acted as convenient targets for the Iranians. Virtually all US bases in these countries have been destroyed, and US equipment and personnel are now being herded into Israel, where they’ll make for a concentrated and target-rich environment. The most significant concern now is that, lacking a means for comventional victory, either Israel or the US may well resort to using nuclear weapons.
In the meantime back in Washington DC, self-styled Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, is the subject of articles of impeachment filed by Republican Congressman Thomas Massie. Hegseth is obviously incompetent and deserves to be removed, although the entire department is unfit for purpose at every level, according to retired military professionals, and therefore removing Hegseth may make little difference. The department prioritises style over substance and compliance over planning or critical thought. Stephen Miller and Russell Vought appear to be running the show in the administration, and both are ghastly, with horrible agendas to foist on the American people. Neither are shy about their priorities, which are grounded in racism, misogyny, fascism, and extremist Christian supremacy. Trump is not the foreign-policy decision-maker, being preoccupied instead with redecorating, putting his name on everything, dispoiling DC landmarks, creating monuments to himself, and posting large quantities of grandiose AI slop of himself in heroic poses. His poor physical and mental health are becoming more obvious by the day.
