Jerusalem Post: Riyadh’s Failures in Yemen Result of Strategic Miscalculations and Inability to Decisively End the Conflict
The Israeli newspaper warns against repeating the military approach, viewing the granting of Yemenis their rights as the sole entry point to resolving the crisis
NYN | Reports and Analyses
The Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post highlighted what it described as the strategic and political failures of Saudi Arabia in Yemen, asserting that relying on military solutions and new alliances fails to address the root causes of the crisis facing Riyadh.
In a report examining Saudi strategy toward Yemen, the newspaper stated that part of the failure stems from strategic miscalculation and an inability to achieve a decisive military outcome, despite the vast disparity in economic and military capabilities between the two sides.
Overreliance on Airpower
The newspaper noted that years of conflict have exposed the limitations of an overreliance on airpower, arguing that a series of strategic miscalculations has exacerbated the Saudi dilemma rather than resolving it.
According to the report, the issue was not merely military but extended to the political realm, particularly regarding Riyadh’s attempts to shape the post-war Yemeni landscape.
Relying on “Islah” and the Dilemma with Allies
The Jerusalem Post pointed out that Saudi Arabia’s reliance on the Islah party in its political and military arrangements led, by its assessment, to the alienation of southern forces and other allies, chief among them the UAE.
It added that periods of calm and ceasefires did not lead to a final settlement; rather, according to the report, they allowed the opposing side to regroup and reorganize its capabilities before hostilities resurfaced.
The “Makkah Alliance” Tested by Yemeni Capabilities
Regarding the new alliances Riyadh is seeking to build, the newspaper argued that defense agreements—including trilateral arrangements involving Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan—will not suffice to resolve the fundamental dilemma facing the Kingdom in northern Yemen.
The paper suggests that the effectiveness of any defense alliance remains tied to the willingness to engage in direct military intervention, noting that the absence of such intervention during recent attacks reveals the limits of these arrangements in providing a comprehensive security umbrella for Riyadh.
Furthermore, the newspaper drew a comparison between the level of coordination seen between the UAE and Israel and the nature of cooperation expected from Saudi Arabia’s new allies.
The Paper: Granting Yemenis Their Rights is the Way Out
In its concluding analysis, The Jerusalem Post proposed a political path out of the impasse, asserting that the solution lies not in expanding military confrontation or forming additional alliances, but in addressing the root causes of the conflict and granting Yemenis their rights.
The newspaper concluded that continued reliance on current military and political choices could keep Saudi Arabia facing an open-ended crisis, given the difficulty of achieving a decisive military victory in the Yemeni conflict.
