Generally, nobody wants to be involved in a war unless they are forced to, either for the purpose of deterring aggression or restoring usurped rights or ensuring the victory of an oppressed neighbor. This was why the Saudi people were happy when Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman announced the launch of Operation Decisive Storm and, therefore, they supported it wholeheartedly. There was actually the feeling that the operation should have been launched earlier, when the Houthis were clearly adamant in pursuing their rebellion. These rebels were defiant enough to reject the outcome of the National Dialogue process that lasted for more than one year with the involvement of all Yemeni parties, including the Houthis and the General People's Congress party of the deposed President Ali Abdullah Saleh. This dialogue emanated from the Gulf Initiative that was agreed upon by all concerned parties and signed by Saleh in front of the late King Abdullah. When the Dialogue Conference concluded, the parties had almost completely agreed on resolving the crisis. Only some details and simple problems remained for which there was every possibility of finding a solution. The negotiators were in the process of preparing a draft constitution prior to holding a referendum of the Yemeni people on the constitution, and then holding presidential and parliamentary elections on the basis of the new constitution. Observers lauded the wisdom of Yemenis that allowed them to reach reconciliation which would help save the country from the sectarian clashes and political dictatorship that had prevailed for several decades.
However, all of a sudden, we found the Houthi militias coming out of their bastion in Saada and moving toward the south, conquering cities and regions until reaching the capital city of Sana'a and conquering it. They invaded the presidential palace and laid siege to the legitimate head of state, President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi, and members of his government on the pretext of fighting corruption. They achieved these goals with the support of deposed President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been guilty of corruption and tyranny. The Yemeni people took up arms against him in 2011 which forced him to ask neighboring Gulf states for their intervention to save him so that he might avoid meeting the same tragic end as Libya's Muammar Gaddafi and some other Arab leaders who were toppled by the so-called Arab Spring. At that time, the Gulf Initiative came to his rescue by granting him immunity from being prosecuted. Under the initiative, he handed power to his deputy Hadi who was then elected democratically as the president of the country to lead the government in its interim phase. However, the Houthis torpedoed this political process. When the Houthis besieged his palace in Sana'a, Hadi was able to escape to Aden. But the rebels reached there also and attempted to detain him. When all the other parties in Yemen wanted to have a peaceful resolution of the crisis and to settle all outstanding issues by conducting negotiations, the defiant Houthis and supporters of Saleh wanted to take control of the country.
Their evil designs were clear when they threatened President Hadi and launched airstrikes on his palace. The ulterior motive of Iran which supported the Houthis with money and weapons was also evident when some of their officials claimed that they were now in control of four Arab capitals including Sana'a. There was another declaration that the “Persian Empire” had come into being once again and that its capital was Baghdad. Some spokesmen of the Houthis also announced that their next goal was Makkah and Madinah. President Hadi appealed to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states to save the legitimate government of Yemen and repel the Houthis and the supporters of Saleh. As many as 10 Arab states joined the Saudi-led Operation Decisive Storm to save the Yemeni people from Houthi aggression. Decisive Storm was successful in destroying the capabilities of the Houthis who staged the coup with the evil design of controlling Yemen and threatening its neighbors. The operation also sent a strong message to Iran that Saudi Arabia has so far spent billions of dollars to achieve the development of Yemen through funding the construction of schools, hospitals, roads and infrastructure projects without expecting anything in return. Moreover, there are millions of Yemenis working in the Kingdom. On the other hand, what have the contributions of Iran to Yemen been except providing the Houthis with the means of killing and destruction? Operation Decisive Storm has now turned into Operation Restoring Hope to help the Yemeni people rebuild their nation and alleviate their suffering in addition to contributing to the country's development and addressing the humanitarian crisis created by the Houthi rebels. It is quite certain that after restoring security and stability to Yemen, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states will devise a plan similar to the Marshall Plan to rebuild the country and help it achieve all-round growth and development. Moreover, it is expected that there will be a serious initiative to enable Yemen to join the Gulf Cooperation Council which is something that has regrettably been delayed for a long time.
— Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi is a former Saudi diplomat who specializes in Southeast Asian affairs. He can be reached at [email protected]
