Alwaght- After months of heavy airstrikes on Yemen, the US President Donald Trump announced stop of the campaign. On Tuesday, Trump claimed that Ansarallah said they do not want to fight the US.
"They just don’t want to fight, and we will honor that, and we will stop the bombings," he said.
At the same time, the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated: “The aim of our attacks on Yemen was to free shipping lanes. Given the statements of the Houthis, we no longer need to continue our operations against them.”
In this connection, the Omani foreign ministry, which has been acting as a mediator between Washington and Sana'a, announced that Muscat’s ongoing consultations with the two parties involved had led to an understanding according to which each party would refrain from targeting the other, including American ships and vessels.
Sana'a different narrative
Although Trump claimed that it was Ansarullah Movement of Yemen that first proposed end of war to show Washington as the powerful and victorious side of the conflict, the narrative of Sana'a is in conflict with that of the US president.
Ansarullah spokesman Mohammed al-Bakhiti denied the halt to attacks on the ships in the Red Sea and said Trump's statements were inaccurate.
It seems that Sana'a leaders are skeptical about Trump's good intentions in halting attacks on Yemen. Mohammed Taher Anam, an advisor to the Supreme Political Council of Yemen, said: "The main motivation for the US to announce a ceasefire is the fear that Trump has in his mind regarding his upcoming visit [of Trump], which is why the Americans recently contacted the Omanis and asked them to talk to the Yemeni delegation to stop the war and establish a ceasefire. However, the Yemenis will not hesitate to target him and his plane if they come close to the path of Yemeni missiles and drones in the region."
Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a member of the Supreme Political Council of Yemen, described Trump's statements about halting attacks on the country a victory that will stop Washington's support for Israel. Al-Houthi stressed that Trump's announcement of a halt to US attacks on Yemen will first be evaluated on the ground.
According to statements by Sana'a officials, it appears that the halt to operations was unilaterally ordered by Trump, and the Yemenis have deferred any decision on the matter to Trump's goodwill in the coming days.
Ansarallah’s display of power pushed the US back
Stop of the attacks on Yemen is more a strategic defeat and retreat against the ironclad will and power of Yemenis than a tactical choice. Although Washington justified halt of its bombing campaign under diplomatic measures, this retreat after several weeks of bombing various parts of Yemen and failures to make any gains on the ground bear signs to the strength and resistance of the Yemeni forces in the face of foreign aggression.
The attacks, which began 16 months ago, not only did not force Sana'a to stop operations in the Red Sea, but also only increased Washington's costs, which, according to Western media, amount to about $5 billion.
Despite the Pentagon's attempts to justify the operation as a "deterrent measure", they failed to achieve any tangible results from these attacks. Yemeni defense systems, relying on indigenous technology and guerrilla tactics, prevented the US from achieving air superiority.
Additionally, Yemeni drones and ballistic missiles reached the US naval ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. These attacks represented a big blow to the US military hegemony. Actually, this deterrent response pushed the White House to order immediate stop of the aggression to steer clear of a broader conflict.
The US, which had launched its campaign against Yemen relying on air power and advanced military technology, hoped to destroy the defense capabilities of the Ansarallah forces with limited attacks, but what happened on the ground was nothing short of a failure. Ansarallah not only resisted the attacks, but also inflicted serious damage on US military and security interests in the region with precise and targeted operations. Washington did not expect the Yemenis to be so capable of resisting, and the admission by White House officials that they had underestimated the strength of the Yemenis bears witness to this fact.
This retreat comes as Trump had earlier cited military power as the pressure instrument against West Asian countries. Now the loss in Yemen campaign sells itself as one of the most serious setbacks of Trump's foreign and military policy.
American political expert Charles Waldorf believes that Trump's decision to halt operations in Yemen is to avoid the image of defeat of the world's largest air power against Ansarullah. Because the defeat of American air power in Yemen, which is not militarily comparable to Washington's, will tarnish the US image and reputation in the world.
Therefore, the utilitarian Trump has come to the conclusion that continuing the war in Yemen will not bring any gains for Washington and it is better to end these futile attacks.
Yemen global position upgrade
This development will transform Yemen's position as an influential actor in the Axis of Resistance and the region and will send a clear message to the world that despite years of blockade and war, Yemen had reached such a level of military power that even such power as the US cannot force it back from its stances.
Ansarallah’s military power, which has expanded dramatically in recent years, has not only changed the balance of power in Yemen, but has also sent a clear message to Washington and its allies that the era of unilateral and unrestrained attacks is over.
The main reason for the US bombing of Yemen was to force Ansarallah to stop supporting the Palestinian people through its maritime blockade on Israel in the Red Sea, but this war of attrition has backfired, and Yemenis are now more determined than ever to defend the Palestinians. Ansarallah leaders have repeatedly warned that as long as the Israeli regime’s crimes in Gaza continue, they will continue their operations against Israel and its interests in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.
Therefore, the mere cessation of US airstrikes in Yemen is not a reason for the Yemenis to stop attacking the occupied territories. As the officials in Sana'a warned on Tuesday, they will give a crushing response to the Israeli regime in response to its recent attacks on Yemen and will expand their targets in the occupied territories.
Having in mind that Israel has targeted Yemen’s energy and economic infrastructure, perhaps this time Ansarullah will target Israeli energy facilities instead of military bases, which could put Tel Aviv in a tight spot.
In general, unwavering resistance and crushing responses of the Yemeni forces have challenged the American power show-off and revealed Washington's military strategy weakness. This retreat is not just a tactical defeat, but also a sign of declining US hegemony in West Asia and beyond, where the independent regional powers can stand against the world's largest military and force it back. This issue will also reflect politically and militarily on the Palestinian conflict.
