【Is the Saudi-led coalition less capable than the Qing army?】Some say that the Saudi-backed forces fighting against Yemen's Houthi insurgents resemble the late Qing Dynasty—equipped with expensive foreign weaponry yet misused, with bloated payrolls filled with "ghost soldiers."
If oil wealth continues to be siphoned off indefinitely, such a ghost mercenary force would be utterly ineffective—no need for an enemy to defeat them.
For decades, Saudi Arabia has operated this way—recklessly spending due to its vast riches.
Although the late Qing Dynasty was weak and incompetent, it was because an agrarian nation couldn't match an industrialized one.
Yet Saudi Arabia, despite possessing far superior equipment compared to its adversaries, still performs so poorly—money truly isn't everything.
Saudi Arabia has now been caught in Trump’s war policy toward Iran, with the inability to export oil being their most pressing problem.
The Houthis control the capital and most of the population, occupy advantageous terrain, and other domestic factions have become warlordized—Yemeni versions of Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Hunan, and Guangdong armies… each with their own hidden agendas, lacking even a single competent overall commander.
The "slipper army" didn’t suddenly grow stronger; they prepared during the fragmentation of their opponents, using the relatively calm years past to recruit, mobilize, and re-arm. Meanwhile, factional divisions, competing agendas, and poor coordination continue to plague the anti-Houthi coalition.
The "slipper army" spotted the cracks and exploited them, turning division into combat power.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1876463907250176/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.