Amid ongoing Saudi humiliation as the Houthis have rapidly expanded their territory in Yemen, which involved a 36-hour period last week where the rebels took control of the country's entire Red Sea coast, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) is desperately seeking military help from key allies in the West and regionally.
Already rejected by the Trump administration (other than some few dozen American advisors being brought into the kingdom to help guide a response), Britain is weighing whether to step up.
According to Bloomberg, the Saudi government has issued a formal request to Andy Burnham's government for operational support in repelling the Iran-aligned rebels, given their threat over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and amid the increased attacks inside the kingdom on airbases and Aramco oil sites.
Like the meager US response, Burnham has agreed to send British military advisors, Bloomberg notes, while contemplating potentially bigger action - which has yet to be decided.
The key problem remains that after drones struck the kingdom's East-West oil pipeline, which is expected to be down for major repairs for a month or more, Riyadh is looking to increase its amount of oil shipments to offset the losses. Reuters has indicated at least five or six weeks for the pipeline to come back online.
And now it is both the Iranians and Houthis threatening its exports, and not to mention Shia militias out of Iraq (the latter believed responsible for the drone attack on the pipeline). Oil has soared since last week's Houthi blitz against the Saudi-backed Yemeni government, allowing it to tighten its 'siege for siege' policy against Saudi Arabia.
Not only do the Saudis desperately want British help in Yemen, but MbS is flying to Cairo Tuesday, where he will likely also asked President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi for military support.
Reports also say he wants Turkish help, especially in light of the recently inked Mecca Defense Pact - which so far hasn't resulted in any kind of 'Article 5-style' response.
As for where things stand on the battlefield, and amid more overnight reports of Houthis ballistic missiles fired on Saudi Arabia, one pundit has offered a hilariously accurate assessment of Saudi Arabia's performance thus far. Bill Buppert of The Libertarian Institute writes:
I’m not sure there has been a more incompetent regional military power as the Saudis since Italy in WWII. They have the 8th largest military budget in the world. The Saudis pour billions into their military for the very best state-of-the-art equipment which makes the result even more comical.
Their whole army is designed for vibes and aura farming.
They’re the opposite of the Italians. Italy had terrible production, equipment and leadership, but actually fought bravely, whereas the Saudis are given all the equipment and advisors they could dream of and still fail.
Mind you, the current conflict is primarily between the Yemeni military and Houthi militants. Currently the Saudis only provide logistical support and airstrikes.
The whole first book of Dune revolves around underestimating the Fremen.
The commentator then concludes: "Money can’t buy competence" - after Washington and London have spent decades sinking billions into Saudi military readiness and base infrastructure.