Washington must rejoin the Saudi war against the Houthis

The Houthis have been in an intermittent war with Saudi Arabia for a dozen years, but their resentment of Saudi Arabia stretches back nearly a century.

In the 1920s, King Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia seized the Asir province that historically had been under Zaidi Muslim control. When the rulers of Yemen tried to reclaim the territory, they were defeated by the Saudis in 1934. The Houthis, a mountain people, are Zaidis, the Saudis are Wahhabi Sunnis. The Houthis are committed to restoring Zaidi rule, which had ended in 1962, and continue to resent the loss of Asir. 

In 2004, the Houthis revolted against the north Yemeni government of Ali Saleh when Saleh sought to arrest their leader, Hussein Badereddin al-Houthi. Al-Houthi died the same year, but the rebellion did not die with him. As the war dragged on, the Saudis intervened on behalf of Saleh’s government.

Ten years after their initial uprising, the Houthis captured Sana’a, the ancient north Yemeni capital. In response, the Saudis, with American intelligence and logistical support, tried but failed to drive back the Houthis. Instead, with Iranian assistance, including arms and trainers, the Houthis continued to expand their control over north Yemeni territory.

After several years of peace, the Houthis intervened on behalf of Hamas in its war with Israel. In 2024 they fired missiles at Israel, prompting Israeli attacks on their formations. They also attacked Israeli-linked shipping in the Red Sea, expanded those attacks to ships from other countries, and fired missiles and drones on American and British naval units that were........

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