Does Saudi Arabia know how bad its armed forces are? |
In 1991, U.S. forces launched Operation Desert Storm from Saudi territory. Saudi Gen. Khalid bin Sultan, commander of the Joint Arab Forces, became famous in the Arab world. After Kuwait’s liberation, pundits inside and outside the Saudi kingdom even spoke about Khalid, a grandson of King Abdulaziz, as a future defense minister if not future king.
That fell apart in 2009, when Khalid led a Saudi intervention in Yemen. Operation Scorched Earth was the first time the Saudi army fought since Kuwait’s liberation. Riyadh aimed to roll back the Houthis, who were pushing across the border into Saudi Arabia. It was a boondoggle. Saudi forces used American and European fighter jets, fired rockets into Yemen, and finally sent in troops. By the time the Saudis accepted a truce two months later, they admitted to losing more than 130 soldiers, with six soldiers missing in action. The real figure was likely higher. The Houthis, meanwhile, remained undeterred. Saudi pundits may claim success no matter how implausible, but Khalid’s fall from grace belied the fiction of Saudi competence.
The Houthis conquered the Yemeni capital........