Saudi Arabia's War Effort Is Struggling

Saudi army artillery fire shells toward Houthi positions from the Saudi border with Yemen, April 13, 2015. (photo by REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser)

Al-Monitor: Saudis' war effort struggles on three fronts

Saudi Arabia’s aggressive, interventionist foreign policy has so far led it to wage two external wars in addition to an ongoing battle on the domestic front. The government does not appear to be fighting the three campaigns with the same degree of commitment and dedication, but more important, none of its battles is yet to result in victory.

Riyadh's war against the Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq — being fought through a commitment to the US-led international coalition challenging the group destabilizing the Levant — has spilled over into the heartland of the kingdom's oil-rich Eastern Province, prompting the necessity of fighting IS terrorism within its own borders as well as in the Levant. Recent attacks in Saudi Arabia have dismissed any doubt about the limits of IS' reach. Meanwhile, to the south, the kingdom has been launching airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen under an umbrella of 10 reluctant, mainly Arab states.

WNU Editor: It is still too early to tell whether Saudi Arabia's war strategy will bear fruit .... but from where I am standing, all of the options on what Saudi Arabia should do (and could do) are "lousy". In short .... I see quagmire and long term instability on the borders of Saudi Arabia, and within.