OPINION — Two months ago, the Saudis took unprecedented public steps to show the Houthis (and the world) they were serious about ending their involvement in the Yemen war. The Saudi Ambassador to Yemen traveled to Sanaa to make peace with the Houthi leadership responsible for spouting virulent anti-Saudi propaganda and firing over 1,000 rockets, missiles, UAVs at the Kingdom. This visit was the culmination of years of mediated peace talks, and the result of Saudi weariness from bearing the heavy costs – in terms of national security, treasure, and public image – which they paid due to their involvement in Yemen’s civil war.
The Saudi-Houthi summit was off to a rocky start after the Houthis increased their demands at an event that was hoped to conclude with the signing of a truce. Now talks appear to have stalled and the cause is unmistakably Houthi intransigence. While those talks have not completely collapsed just yet, negotiations appear to be heading in that direction as the Houthi leadership has ended its brief hiatus from anti-Saudi rhetoric and threats. In the aftermath of failed Saudi-Houthi peace talks, Riyadh will need to recalculate its strategy in Yemen; and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) will be faced with a strategic dilemma as he seeks to chart out Saudi Arabia’s next steps.
“The Cipher Brief has become the most popular outlet for former intelligence officers; no media outlet is even a close second to The Cipher Brief in terms of the number of articles published by formers.” —Sept. 2018, Studies in Intelligence, Vol. 62
Access all of The Cipher Brief’s national security-focused expert insight by becoming a Cipher Brief Subscriber+ Member.
Subscriber+
