May 8, 2015

The swift victory over the Houthi rebels that Saudi Arabia wished for is increasingly hard to come by. While airstrikes on Yemen continue, the various Saudi personalities in charge of managing information on this ongoing war reveal several contradictory messages. Despite the abundant news conferences and military briefings since the beginning of the airstrikes in March, all pointing to Saudi victory after victory, it seems that the kingdom is now truly entrenched in the turbulent Yemeni waters with an anticipated prolonged stalemate rather than swift victory. This is a function of the futile use of Saudi airstrikes against multiple Yemeni forces on the ground, each trying to maximize its territorial gains and achieve the most expansion possible ​to eventually negotiate a political settlement granting the most power to those who annex the largest territory. Saudi fighter jets have achieved little in a war that is mainly fought on the ground between warring factions.

Newly appointed Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubair announced that there will be a five-day cease-fire in Yemen at a joint news conference with US Secretary of State John Kerry. This is a Saudi initiative to halt military strikes, perhaps after the realization that they have become repetitive and unsuccessful, except in killing around 1,400 Yemenis and demolishing neighborhoods in already crumbling and devastated cities with little left of their infrastructures and services. Images of ancient Sanaa attest to the devastation caused by bombing from the sky, in addition to ground battles fought between various Yemeni forces.

The Saudis can truly be held responsible for contributing to the recent devastation of Yemen and the killing of Yemeni civilians. Their intervention has so far resulted in no tangible success for the deposed Yemeni president or in altering the balance of power in his favor. The Houthis are still predatory and their ally, deposed President Ali Abdullah Saleh, is still enjoying his troubled return to the Yemeni political landscape. Or had he really left it?

While Jubair talks about a truce, Saudi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Ahmad Asiri is still beating the drums of war. He admitted on May 7 that the outlook of the war has changed from restoring the legitimacy of the exiled Yemeni president and safeguarding the unity of the country to targeting Saudi cities. He referred to Houthi rebels’ bombing of two southern regions across the Saudi border, Najran and Jizan. He promised Saudis that he would continue to protect them and punish the Houthis using the harshest possible means to deter them from targeting Saudi territories. Asiri also mentioned that Saudi Arabia donated $276 million to the United Nations in support of relief efforts and humanitarian aid to Yemen. Saudi bombs and aid are progressing hand in hand without either delivering the desired outcome.

Against accusations by Human Rights Watch that the Saudis used cluster bombs in their military strikes, Asiri dismissed the charges but promised to destroy Saada following the daring Houthi attack on Saudi territory.