Trump Likely to Join Saudi War Against Houthis — SkimNews
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- Trump has resisted Saudi calls to join the fight against the group, with the article citing depleted Pentagon munitions stockpiles and a Navy already stretched by its Iran blockade and Strait of Hormuz shipping operations.
- Annelle Sheline of the Quincy Institute said the U.S. is letting the Saudis 'lie in' a situation of their own making after Saudi Arabia kicked the UAE out of Yemen in January, but predicted Trump will get directly involved once Saudis have 'suffered' enough.
- Mohammed bin Salman could pressure Trump by threatening to reconsider $600 billion in Saudi investment pledges from Trump's Middle East tour and a $142 billion arms deal, plus personal enrichment of Trump and Jared Kushner — whose Saudi ties are under congressional investigation.
- Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute said Trump prefers to wait until after the midterms but may lose that option if Iran or the Houthis escalate further.
- Trump said Sunday the U.S. would 'look at it' and 'move very quickly,' while on Tuesday he accused the Houthis of attacking Saudi Arabia to spike oil prices before the midterms.
- CBS News speculated that the death of an American in Saturday's Houthi strike on Riyadh's biggest airport may increase pressure on Trump to retaliate.
Why it matters: Trump faces a genuine bind: the military is already overextended managing the Iran blockade, and midterms make another Mideast war toxic politically — but MBS can weaponize the $600 billion investment pledge and Kushner's personal Saudi ties to extract direct U.S. military involvement, and an American death at a Saudi airport just raised the political cost of inaction.
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