Yemen is a country divided among numerous political and cultural lines. With separatists in the south, religious extremists in the south and east, and the notorious Houthi rebels in the north, it comes with little surprise that attempts to quell the unrest within the country have failed for years.
With the Arab Spring uprisings that spread across the Middle East in 2011 came the ousting of then-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, whom the United States had expressed support for. Vice President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi then assumed power in a transition backed by the United States. The transition was messy, and this shaky foundation provided the environment for the crisis which would follow.
In 2014, the IMF granted Yemen a $550 million loan and pressured the Hadi government to lift fuel subsidies. In response, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels took control of Yemen’s capital Sana’a, demanding lower fuel prices and a new government. Many common Yemenis who were disappointed by the transition to the Hadi administration also supported the Houthis’ venture. When negotiations with the government failed, the rebels seized the presidential palace in January 2015, resulting in the resignations of Hadi and his supporters. Though he rescinded his resignation later that year, he has been unable to return to Yemen permanently and is presumed to be residing in exile within Saudi Arabia.
In order to help the Hadi administration regain control of Sana’a, a Saudi Arabia-based coalition including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar and backed by Western powers such as the United States, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom launched an air-based military campaign against the Iran-backed Houthis in 2015. Saudi Arabia’s administrative involvement stemmed from their desire to prevent the hostile Houthis from having direct access to their southern border and exert dominance over Iran.
Mid-2016, the Houthis and the government of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, attempted to form a political council to address issues of governance within the country. But in December 2017, Saleh suddenly condemned the Houthis and turned his followers against them. Within just two days, he was killed and his forces defeated.
Today, an estimated 2 million children in Yemen are acutely malnourished, almost 20 million people lack access to adequate healthcare, and almost 18 million do not have enough clean water or access to adequate sanitation due to the conflict. Nearly 250,000 people have been killed, and another 4 million have been displaced.
Problematically, the United States is complicit in this humanitarian crisis. When the Saudis formed their coalition in 2015, they requested American help. The United States saw an opportunity to manage a number of its regional interests, including restoration of the pro-American Hadi government and improved relations with its Middle Eastern partners in order to protect energy and security matters.
The United States also believed it could act as a moderator in the conflict, taking a defensive stance and containing the Saudis if necessary. But it greatly overestimated its ability to do this. The Saudi-led coalition engaged in a number of harmful activities including blockades of the country’s most critical port, Hodeidah, and bombings of critical infrastructure. Not only were millions of civilians denied necessary supplies, but many strikes hit residential neighborhoods, weddings, school buses, and more, resulting in civilian casualties.
Though there was ample evidence that the United States’s help was integral to these efforts, it continued to share intelligence, weapons, and contractors with the Saudis to make sure their air force was able to continue its operations in the area, regardless of what those operations meant for the countless innocent Yemeni civilians who were affected.
At the tail end of the Obama administration, officials upped their efforts to get the Saudis to pursue peaceful negotiations, even suspending arms sales to the Saudis at one point. But with Trump’s victory came a quick reversal of this suspension and an administration that was incredibly confident in the Saudis’ ability to win the war through brute force. And so the Saudis became less and less willing to rely on a peace plan, fueled by the vehemently anti-Iran sentiments the Trump administration exemplified.
When United States-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered by the Saudis in late 2018, the backlash led the Trump administration to lighten its stance a little and push for peaceful negotiations with the Houthis. But a lack of continued attention on the United States’ part meant these peace talks failed to result in anything concrete.
The United States has the responsibility to help mitigate the crisis it played such a large role in exacerbating. Their support led the Saudis to believe that a clear military victory in Yemen was possible, while the reality is that the conflict has been long, drawn-out, and shows no signs of ending soon even as the humanitarian crisis worsens and regional tensions mount.
This January, Italy permanently suspended arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, citing the severity of the Yemen crisis. Following their example, early this February President Biden announced an end to support for offensive operations by the Saudis in Yemen and temporarily halted arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE and the foreign terrorist organization designation which the Trump administration implemented for review.
The Biden administration has taken the first concrete steps toward peace in Yemen in a long time. It is imperative that it makes good on its promise and stops support for the Saudis permanently, clearly signaling that military victory is no longer an option and sustainably pushing for peace.