Summary

“This war has to end.”

These were the blunt words of President Biden on the Saudi-led war in Yemen. And to help bring about this desired end, the president announced that the United States would no longer be providing any logistical or material support to coalition forces – at least for ‘offensive operations.’ Biden also reversed a last-minute decision by the Trump administration to designate the Houthis as a terrorist organization, citing the difficulties that such a classification causes for conducting humanitarian operations in the war-torn country.

The US diplomatic about face suggest that the Yemen civil war is now entering its final phase, which begs the question: What have the Saudi authorities actually accomplished in the conflict, and at what cost?