editorials
The Houthi conundrum
Thousands of bombs and billions of dollars later, Yemen faces its most underestimated enemy. If the militia’s advance continues into the interior, there is a risk of ‘game over’
Photo: ANSA
The question of ‘what to do about the Houthis’ remains a conundrum. Should soft or hard tactics be employed? In the spring of 2025, the United States launched a massive bombing campaign that lasted just under two months. A thousand targets were struck, and more than a billion dollars were spent. A year on, the terrorists are still there and last weekend they launched a ballistic missile at Riyadh. Saudi Arabia itself has recently gone so far as to ‘beg’ – as the New York Times put it – Donald Trump to intervene to stop the Houthis, who are now targeting the Saudis exclusively. Trump’s erratic behaviour is now a subject of study, but on the issue of Yemen it has reached unprecedented levels. Just last week, the president changed his mind three times: on Wednesday he said he was against bombing the Houthis again; the following day he changed his mind after being persuaded by a phone call with the Saudi heir to the throne, Mohammed bin Salman. Finally, on Sunday, he decided once again that he would not open a new front in the Middle East. It seems his advisers are sceptical. Admittedly, the Houthis have decided not to attack American ships, but Bin Salman could retaliate by turning his back on the United States over Iran.
On the other hand, the Pentagon has always been clear: a ‘hit-and-run’ military campaign in Yemen is ineffective because the Houthis have demonstrated a resilience that only the White House – and Europe, which has so far limited itself to half-hearted military operations such as Aspides – have turned a blind eye to. Even the only ‘boots on the ground’ – the internationally recognised Yemeni government backed by Riyadh – is falling apart as soon as it takes up arms against the terrorists. Having lost control of Bab el Mandab and the Strait, the west coast is now entirely in Houthi hands. Attention is now turning to the interior, to Taiz and Marib. “If they fall, it’s game over,” ran yesterday’s headline in the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth. But despite the warnings and the damage to international trade, a measured response prevails. Yesterday, the G7 called on Iran to “stop arming the Houthis”. That’s a bit of a let-off.