Escalation in Yemen risks famine, collapse, Iranian entrapment

http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/international-affairs/320840-escalation-in-yemen-risks-humanitarian-crisis

Escalation in Yemen risks famine, collapse, Iranian entrapment

BY ERIC PELOFSKY, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR - 02/23/17 01:00 PM EST

The Yemen civil war — fought by the legitimate Yemeni government with the backing of a Saudi-led coalition against a Houthi-led alliance with Iranian support — enters its third year next month.  For much of the war, the Obama administration counseled its close partner Saudi Arabia against being drawn deeper into a war of attrition being fueled in part by the Iranians at very low cost.   

Flash forward to today, the Yemeni government and its coalition backers, including the Saudis, are rapidly escalating their military efforts.

The United States has been asked to assist this effort, through more support and additional precision-guided munitions (PGMs). And, just last week, the Yemeni government announced efforts to re-take all of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, including the largest port of Hudaydah.http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/international-affairs/320840-escalation-in-yemen-risks-humanitarian-crisis