In 2015, Saudi Arabia’s 29-year-old defence minister, Mohammed bin Salman, launched Operation Decisive Storm against the Houthis, a rebel movement from Yemen’s northern mountains. The war was supposed to be over within weeks. Eleven years later, the Houthis govern roughly two-thirds of Yemen’s people. They have struck the East-West Pipeline, an Aramco refinery near Riyadh and hit Riyadh’s international airport four times in five days. With Iran squeezing the Strait of Hormuz and the Houthis threatening Bab el-Mandeb, Saudi Arabia finds itself boxed in.
How did a small militia from the mountains of Saada become one of the most powerful armed movements in the Middle East? And how is the world’s eighth-largest military spender struggling to stop them?
In this episode of The Link, Shubhangi Sharma traces the rise of the Houthis, from a religious revival movement to a force that runs ministries, ports and airports, and now challenges Saudi Arabia on its own soil.
Chapters:
– Who the Houthis are, and why Iran didn’t create them
– Their estimated $2 billion budget, and where the money comes from
– From about 30,000 fighters in 2015 to an estimated 350,000
– Yemen’s geography and people: why controlling the highlands means controlling Yemen
– MBS’s war: how Operation Decisive Storm backfired
– Cheap drones vs costly interceptors: why Saudi Arabia is running low on missiles
– Is it time for Saudi Arabia to accept the Houthis as a state?
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Houthis | Houthi Rebels | Yemen | Saudi Arabia | Mohammed Bin Salman | MBS | Operation Decisive Storm | Iran | Strait Of Hormuz | Bab El-Mandeb | Aramco | Riyadh Airport | Houthi Missiles | Houthi Drones | Yemen Conflict | Middle East Conflict | Saudi Military | Drone Warfare | The Link | Firstpost
#houthis #yemen #saudiarabia #mbs #mohammedbinsalman #iran #straitofhormuz #babelemandeb #middleeast #yemenconflict #dronewarfare #thelink #firstpost
Watch the Link full episodes : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEVkQGIATCXJ35NI2WeytJrsjrOKSR9zn
Did America Just Hand Over Iraq to Iran?: https://youtu.be/lxcWte2-7jw
Can Russia Lose Kaliningrad: https://youtu.be/_p-XIcwi8eY
Why is Saudi Arabia’s Military So Weak?: https://youtu.be/T8yPFY-vAUE
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