Did Saudi Arabia invite this crisis upon itself or did it fall into a trap set by the US and Pakistan?
Saudi Arabia’s progressive crown prince Mohammed bin Salman has not been seen publicly since October 6. However, in the meantime, he chaired a cabinet meeting in Riyadh and also met with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, though these events took place behind closed doors. It is believed that out of fear of Houthi rebels launching an attack, the crown prince has temporarily bunkered up.
He owns multiple royal palaces, all of which are equipped with such hideouts. For security reasons, it is understood that he keeps shifting between these bunkers and is running the country from there. In this situation, several questions are being raised. The first is whether the crown prince is actually in a bunker. And the second most important question is: Why has Saudi Arabia fallen into such a deep crisis? Its conflict with the Houthis has been ongoing for many years.
Has it brought this crisis upon itself, or have the US and Pakistan betrayed it after giving assurances? First of all, understand who these Houthis are and what their dispute with Saudi Arabia is all about. Actually, at the international level, Saudi Arabia supports Yemen’s internationally recognised government, whereas Houthi rebels hold control over Yemen’s power and are fighting the Saudi-backed army.
Iran is supposed to have been financing Houthi rebels and also supporting them with weapons. Recently, when the war broke out between the US and Israel on one side and Iran on the other, Iran is said to have activated the Houthis. Meanwhile, at America’s behest to weaken Iran, Saudi Arabia carried out several airstrikes at known Houthi strongholds. However, it failed to anticipate retaliation by the Houthis, who started firing missiles deep inside Saudi territory.
The Houthis launched dozens of missile and drone attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh, Abha Airport, and the largest oil company, Aramco. The situation deteriorated to the point that Saudi Arabia ran short of missile interceptors. One of the Houthi missiles was fired from 800 kilometres away and struck inside Saudi Arabia. Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds injured in these attacks.
Saudi Arabia was hoping that the United States would provide it with more missile interceptors, but the reality is that the US itself is facing a shortage of interceptors. Saudi Arabia also expected Pakistan and Turkey to step forward to protect it from Houthi attacks. However, the current situation is that all three have washed their hands of the matter. Reports indicate that last month, direct talks took place between US officials and Houthi leaders in Oman.
In that meeting, the Houthis gave a clear assurance to the US that they would not target American ships in the Red Sea. Now, if the US helps Saudi Arabia, it directly implies that the Houthis will target American vessels in the Red Sea. Naturally, the US is concerned about its own interests. So, why would it open a new front with the Houthis for Saudi Arabia’s sake? This has undoubtedly dealt a blow to Mohammed bin Salman.
The next shock was delivered to him by Turkey and Pakistan. Saudi Arabia had recently signed a defence deal with both of them, known as the Mecca Accord. The terms of the deal state that an attack on any one of the three would be considered an attack on all three. However, Pakistan is now stating that since this conflict is an old one, it will not jump into it. Turkey, too, has maintained complete silence.
In this scenario, the situation has become critical for Mohammed bin Salman. After the Houthi attacks on airports, no one has any faith left in Saudi Arabia’s air defence system. Airlines from all over the world have suspended their flight services to Riyadh and other cities until further notice. This is also causing severe economic losses to Saudi Arabia. It is believed that this is perhaps the first time in history when a King or Prince has had to hide in a bunker out of fear of attacks.
There have been many instances of bloodshed inside palaces, but never has an occasion arisen where a King or Prince took refuge in a bunker. Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has grown quite old, and the country is actually being run by Mohammed bin Salman himself. If anything were to happen to him, it would be catastrophic. That is perhaps why he is not appearing in public. He might well be wondering why he invited this crisis upon himself by siding with the US in the war against Iran. But then again, he didn’t really have any other option!
A situation so dire that judges had to say: We Will sit on A dharna!
All efforts to eliminate encroachments on footpaths across the country have failed so far. Even the Supreme Court has issued orders several times, but the administration seems entirely indifferent. Regarding the lack of footpaths and pedestrian crossings near the Delhi High Court, a bench of Supreme Court Justices J B Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran, in a lighter vein, remarked last week that if concrete action is not taken by November 25, the judges will themselves stage a dharna outside the Delhi High Court. The justices’ frustration is completely justified. But the question remains: With dismal conditions of pedestrian walkways across the entire country, where all and who all will sit on a protest strike?
*The author is the chairman, Editorial Board of Lokmat Media and former member of Rajya Sabha. vijaydarda\@lokmat.com
