Saudi turns elsewhere after Trump says no to Houthi strikes

Crown Prince Mohammed made the call — twice

Saudi Arabia has discovered that asking Washington for help does not necessarily mean Washington will send the bombers.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly called Donald Trump twice in one day last week, urging the US president to launch direct strikes against the Iran-backed Houthis as their forces swept along Yemen’s Red Sea coast.

Trump said no.

The US has continued providing Saudi Arabia with intelligence and targeting assistance, but Washington has stopped short of launching its own attacks on the Houthis. Reuters has confirmed the broad outline of the arrangement.

The Houthis keep advancing

The timing could hardly be worse for Riyadh.

Houthi forces have seized important positions along Yemen’s Red Sea coast, including the port of Mokha and the strategically important Perim Island at the entrance to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

That matters far beyond Yemen. Bab el-Mandeb is one of the world's major maritime chokepoints, linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.

Reuters reports that the Houthi advance has threatened Saudi oil exports and increased pressure on already disrupted shipping routes.

The Houthis have also warned other countries against joining Saudi Arabia, while saying they do not intend to attack US vessels under the current understanding between Washington and the group.

So what does Riyadh do now?

This is where the MEE argument becomes interesting.

The publication argues that the traditional assumption that America will ultimately protect its Gulf partners is no longer reliable. That is an interpretation, rather than an established fact — but the latest Yemen crisis provides some striking evidence for the debate.

Saudi Arabia has already been forced to look beyond Washington.

Britain has agreed to provide limited military support, including RAF refuelling assistance, while Saudi Arabia is also talking to other major powers about the worsening security situation.

And on September 22, Mohammed bin Salman spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the deteriorating situation in Yemen and the need to keep the Bab el-Mandeb and Strait of Hormuz open.

A changing Middle East

That could prove to be the bigger story.

For decades, Gulf security has been closely associated with American military power. But the current crisis is producing a very different picture: Saudi Arabia is fighting the Houthis, Iran remains central to the wider regional conflict, Washington is providing support without taking direct military action, Britain is stepping in with limited assistance and Riyadh is talking to Moscow.

The question is no longer simply whether Trump will strike the Houthis.

It is whether Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states are beginning to realise that they may have to build a much broader security network rather than assume America will always be the first call — and the answer.

SOURCE

this prince guy should just shut up and make himself invisible, he's an assassin a killer of innocent people, Trump covered his arrrxxx while he killed an American citizen, not just killed, dismembered and dissolve body parts in acid... maybe now it's pay back time, karma does work in funny ways

Khashoggi, a critic of Saudi rulers, was killed inside the country's consulate on 2 October.

"Now we see that they did not only dismember his body but also vaporised it."

Jamal Khashoggi: US says Saudi prince approved Khashoggi killing

Jamal Khashoggi: US says Saudi prince approved Khashoggi...

An official report says Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the journalist's murder.

Khashoggi murder: Body 'dissolved in acid'

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-46070087

On 2 October 2018, Jamal Khashoggi, a US-based journalist and critic of Saudi Arabia's government, walked into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where he was murdered.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45812399

Edited 28 minutes ago28 min by Mavideol

No more money for you Donald and your son in law, when

he realises this will come crawling back ,money motivates

him bigly ,but for now that's another friend you have lost

Donald.

regards Worgeordie