U.S. Sends Military Advisors to Help Saudi Arabia Fight Houthi Forces

On September 11, Xinhua News Agency reported from Beijing that as the flames of war reignite in Yemen, CNN cited multiple informed sources on the 10th, stating that the United States has dispatched hundreds of military advisors to Saudi Arabia to provide intelligence and target location support for Saudi military operations against the Houthi forces in Yemen.

Providing Intelligence Support

An American official stated that these U.S. military personnel belong to a "Joint Forces Command" that was established in recent weeks. According to this official, the command consists of about 200 personnel and was formed against the backdrop of increased Iranian support for Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.

Another U.S. official told CNN that the U.S. is using a target location tool that allows real-time visibility of the battlefield situation, thereby supporting Saudi military operations. This tool is similar to the Pentagon's "Maven Intelligence System" battlefield intelligence platform, which integrates multi-source battlefield data and uses algorithms to quickly identify targets and assist in strike decision-making. Another source familiar with the current cooperation between the two countries also stated that the U.S. is providing "geospatial" target location support for Saudi airstrikes against the Houthi forces.

However, these sources indicated that U.S. support is currently strictly limited. The U.S. provides intelligence to Saudi Arabia but does not directly participate in airstrikes, nor does it assist Saudi aircraft with refueling or provide other operational support as it has in the past.

One of the sources stated that the work of U.S. military advisors focuses on ensuring that Saudi military operations can be conducted smoothly and professionally. The sources characterized this initiative as an extension of existing U.S. cooperation and training with Saudi Arabia.

A Pentagon official responded to CNN's inquiry by stating, "As a matter of policy, we do not comment on intelligence-related matters."

Concerns Over a "Second Front"

During the Obama administration and the first term of the Trump presidency, the U.S. provided support for Saudi military operations against the Houthi forces, which critics argue resulted in significant civilian casualties. After Trump began his second term last year, the U.S. launched airstrikes against the Houthi forces, which abruptly ended months later with a ceasefire agreement. According to previous CNN reports, U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Milley expressed concern over the lack of a clear exit strategy for the U.S. in Yemen, urging the Trump administration to end related military operations.

However, the Houthi forces have recently engaged in firefights with the Saudi-led coalition and Yemeni government forces in multiple directions within Yemen. According to CNN, the intensity of the recent conflicts may be the most severe since the ceasefire in 2022. On the 10th, the Houthi forces captured the strategic location of Taiz province in southwestern Yemen, the Red Sea port city of Mocha, which could enable them to threaten another critical waterway in the Middle East—the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait connecting the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

According to CNN, as the conflict between the U.S. and Iran drags on, with the risk of "proxy" conflicts spilling over into other regions of the Middle East, U.S. officials have been closely monitoring the movements of the Houthi forces. The recent military actions of the Houthi forces have raised concerns in both the U.S. and Saudi Arabia about the emergence of a "second front." U.S. Secretary of State Rubio stated on the 8th that there is a "clear Iranian factor" behind the recent actions of the Houthi forces.

Reports indicate that Iran has been planning an economic "nuclear option": should negotiations with the U.S. break down, it would allow the Houthi forces to blockade the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait. U.S. assessments suggest that currently, hundreds of Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officers are fighting alongside the Houthi forces in Yemen, with the ultimate goal of turning the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait into a second Hormuz Strait.

However, one U.S. official indicated that there are concerns within the U.S. military about being too closely linked to Saudi airstrikes against the Houthi forces. Moreover, with the conflict with Iran ongoing for over six months, the U.S. military is already stretched thin due to repeated attacks from Iranian missiles and drones, long deployments, and ammunition shortages, and needs to focus most of its energy on the Hormuz Strait, thus hoping to avoid multi-front operations. Additionally, Saudi Arabia has been trying to extricate itself from the quagmire of the Yemeni civil war in recent years and is similarly hesitant about whether to expand military operations against the Houthi forces. (Hu Ruoyu)