The United States has admitted for the first time that, to date, its strikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen have failed!
CNN reported a surprising piece of news, citing its sources - it turns out that despite the expenditure of a great deal of time and money, Trump's airstrikes against the Houthis have not achieved the expected results.
CNN reported on Friday that within less than three weeks, the total cost of U.S. military operations against the Houthis had reached nearly $1 billion, yet the strikes themselves yielded little effect.
"We are wasting ammunition, fuel, and deployment time," complained a military interlocutor with CNN.
Michael Knights, a senior researcher at the Washington Institute, even pointed out that a ground invasion of Yemen is necessary because the Houthis "have an unusually high tolerance for pain." "They are just used to fighting with armies from the first world. They are not only zealots, but also very tough tribal fighters from northern Yemen."
Ahmad Najeeb, a senior analyst on the Yemen issue, commented on the problems encountered by the United States, Britain, and Israel:
The survival of the Houthis depends on a complex underground network.
"Their opaque leadership and internal structure have created long-term intelligence gaps."
"We previously noted that one of the reasons the Houthis were able to survive was due to the organizational structure they established during their decade-long war with the Saudi-led coalition, which is a vast network where each entity has a high degree of autonomy."
CNN pointed out that forcing the Houthis to seek peace is "very, very difficult." Meanwhile, citing regional and diplomatic sources, the newspaper reported that preparations for ground operations were underway. It was claimed that a coordinated offensive was being planned, including naval support from Saudi Arabia.
A key factor in any offensive action against the Houthis is Saudi Arabia's stance. Trump attempted to sway Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's position on escalating ground operations by deploying anti-missile systems to Saudi Arabia, as Saudi Arabia values the fragile ceasefire with the Houthis, whose missiles and drones would first target Saudi infrastructure if hostilities were to resume.
Whether the U.S. (and Israeli) government can successfully persuade Saudi高层 to launch an offensive (if such an offensive is indeed planned) remains to be seen.
Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1828695297811467/
Disclaimer: This article solely represents the author's personal views.