“Now, Here... or the Eastern Mediterranean Once Again.” This is the title of a politically charged, deeply human and poignant novel by the late Abdulrahman Munif. It is an apt title to invoke today, amid the Houthi's eruption and turmoil across the land and waters of western and southern Arabia.
The Houthis' various attacks on vessels, particularly Saudi vessels, at sea, as well as on civilian and non-civilian sites in Saudi Arabia, are a clear expression of Iran's intentions, using the Houthi movement, obsessed as it is with historical grievances and ideological doctrines. All of this is well known. I mention it only as a prelude to the question: what now?
We are in the midst of an Iranian assault on the Gulf states, foremost among them Saudi Arabia, and a direct threat to every dimension and meaning of security. In my view, this threat at least matches, if not exceeds, the threat Saddam Hussein once posed to the security of the Gulf as a whole when he invaded Kuwait in the summer of 1990.
At that time, the world came together.
Yes, history cannot repeat itself in exactly the same form or circumstances. But there can be no illusion about the existential nature of the danger today. Its manifestations differ from the threats posed by Saddam at the time, but I would argue that the danger is greater today because the Houthis and the Iraqi militias rely on Iranian strategic depth and on networks of support extending across the region and the world. There are also media platforms that promote the narratives of Iran and its Yemeni and Iraqi affiliates.
The responsibility, therefore, is to place the threat at its true level, then understand it, examine it, and scrutinize every aspect of it. Then comes the question of the objective: is it to eliminate the Houthi threat, or merely to put it into a state of dormancy and sedation?
Among other things, this means repairing Yemen's soil and preparing it for the planting of something sound; building a single narrative that encompasses all factions of the Yemeni front opposed to the Houthis; and speaking to the world with one Gulf voice. I understand how difficult it is to ease all of this once one gets into the details and begins forming teams with the necessary intellectual and political capacity, and so on. But there is no alternative if we are to free the present and safeguard the future.
The Houthi movement is an ideological and political network connected to a larger alliance and world beyond itself: the Iranian alliance. That alliance, in turn, belongs to a much larger sphere called political Islam, encompassing the Muslim Brotherhood, Al-Qaeda, and perhaps the Sururis as well, according to Muhammad Hamid Al-Ahmari's approach. This entire mix is itself part of a global revolutionary, anarchic and subversive movement. Within that movement are the far left and the new communist youth movements in America and the West, and these movements stand behind a new generation of young politicians in America.
Therefore, this world must be confronted with a countervailing world. This is a generational struggle, a struggle for life and enduring awareness, requiring sustained and generous intellectual effort. It is not a series of passing media or diplomatic campaigns, however loud their clamor may be.
Yes, we have been engaged in an intermittent war with the Houthis for roughly 16 years. But I think that is long enough to have learned what we need to know and to move toward the chapter's happy ending.
Now... and here once again... and for the last time.
