The Saudi war on the Shiite Houthis in Yemen and deposed President Ali Abdullah Saleh united both a competitive royal family, plagued by hidden rivalries, and a divided nation. On March 26, Saudi Arabia launched airstrikes on Yemen after obtaining the support of all Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, with the exception of Oman, to back military action. Hours after the strikes, the Saudis announced that other Arab countries, including Egypt and Morocco, and Pakistan would join the military effort to halt the Houthi expansion toward Aden and return elected Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to his seat in Sanaa, now under the control of the Houthis. Washington gave its blessing and the Saudis announced that a joint operations room was set up to oversee airstrikes.

Saudi Arabia is pursuing an aggressive military interventionist policy in the Arabian Peninsula. Its first attempt was in 2011, when about 1,000 troops moved into Bahrain under the umbrella of the GCC Desert Shield to support the Al-Khalifa rulers against a peaceful uprising, inspired by the wave of protests in the Arab world.

In 2009, Saudi jets participated in Saleh’s war against the Houthis, one of the six wars the deposed president started against his rivals in the north of the country. The Houthis retaliated and crossed Saudi borders, where they held a small village for several days. They later retreated to the safety of their mountain villages around Saada. At the time, the episode was celebrated as a victory for Saleh and his backers, Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz and his minister of defense, Prince Khalid bin Sultan.

There is more to the Saudi military intervention than halting Iranian expansion at its southern border, blocking Shiite Houthi empowerment or obtaining revenge against Saleh, who had been guaranteed immunity under the GCC Yemeni Accord but turned against his patrons in Riyadh and allied himself with their archenemy in his own country to regain power in Sanaa.