While US officials continue to try to downplay their involvement in the Saudi Arabian attack on Yemen, the Pentagon continues to increase overt US involvement above and beyond the in-air refueling missions initially announced.

Now, US warplanes are also being used to help select potential targets for Saudi planes, likely to be a controversial move since the Saudis have killed an enormous number of civilians in their strikes so far.

Perhaps even more surprisingly, US ships off the coast of Yemen have begun boarding ships and searching them, in hopes they might find “Iranian weapons” being delivered to Yemen’s Shi’ites. They haven’t found any.

The US is said to be counseling limited warfare to the Saudis, albeit unsuccessfully. Saudi officials continue to expand the goals of the conflict, believing they can win an absolute victory over the Houthi faction and reinstall a pro-Saudi regime in the country.