US President Barack Obama sits next to the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah as Secretary of State John Kerry speaks with the His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani before the start of a working session of a summit meeting with leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) at Camp David in Maryland on Thursday. Reuters/Camp David, Maryland
Bruce Riedel, Al-Monitor: Why Saudi Arabia's Yemen war is not producing victory
As the war in Yemen escalates after a short humanitarian truce, the stakes are getting higher for Saudi Arabia's princes, the region and Washington. The United Nations-hosted talks in Geneva next week are unlikely to get much traction.
The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) and its Arab allies resumed their bombing campaign this week after a five-day cease-fire to allow humanitarian supplies into Yemen. Saudi Arabia's 29-year-old defense minister, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has staked his and his country's future on achieving some kind of clear-cut victory in the kingdom's war in Yemen. UN talks that leave Sanaa under the control of what the Saudis claim is an illegal Iranian-backed rebel regime are clearly not a decisive victory for the royals. Bin Salman needs much more.
WNU Editor: A sobering analysis .... and one that I agree with 100%. Read it all.
Perhaps the Saudis are not necessarily looking to "win" in Yemen in the classical sense of the word.
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