Why are the Saudis having so much trouble against the Houthis in Yemen?

 

A screengrab showing combat in Yemen. Times of Israel/AFP.

Despite wealth and modern weapons, the Saudis are having major issues in the fight against the Houthis in Yemen. Times of Israel. Saudi Arabia has bought billions of dollars worth of weapons from Western nations, most recently a $24.3 billion deal for 48 F-35 fighter planes. But they have been unable to prevent the Houthi rebels from taking almost all of the coastline of the Red Sea, blocking oil traffic from the Saudis and even striking Riyadh itself. Despite the advantage in weaponry, Saudi Arabia's military is viewed as weak due to concerns over a military coup. The Saudis have also has issues with their allies. Local Yemeni forces complain of a lack of weapons and support. The Saudis have also alienated their UAE allies after the UAE took over government areas in Yemen. The Saudis objected to that and the UAE left the conflict, but the Saudis were not able to take up the slack. The US and Britain also launched strikes against the Houthis in the past, but so far the United States has refused to launch strikes against the Houthis, given diplomatic efforts from the Houthis themselves along with not being willing to open another front in the Iran conflict. 

My Comment:

The Saudis are proof that money can't buy you anything. You can buy the most advanced weapons in the world but if you don't have the will to use them, you will still lose. And that is what is happening with the Saudis in Yemen now. 

Though the article mentioned it, the main problem is the weakness of the Saudi allies in Yemen. It's the same old military problem in the Middle East. They have the same kind of problems they had in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ghost soldiers are a real problem and it's pretty common for a lot of these units to exist in name only. That's a good example of there not being enough local control over these units and it's a huge problem and it's a major reason why these forces collapsed. 

The Saudi military has their own issues. In short, the Kingdom does not want a strong military that could ever be a threat towards the Royal Family. They have kept their military weak and they don't really have a lot of people that are competent. 

Alienating their allies has been a big issue as well. I don't really understand why the UAE's actions last year angered them so much. But kicking them out of Yemen without being able to replace them was a huge mistake and it's a major reason why everything in Yemen went so badly. Given that the UAE has a pretty competent military it was obviously a mistake to send them out. 

I do think this is a major reason why Israel remains a major ally of the United States. The Gulf States in general are pretty bad at warfare, while Israel is a lot more powerful and competent. I don't think the Saudis could have done anything like the Israelis did during the Iran conflict and the conflict in Yemen shows that the they have a lot more to offer. 

As for the conflict itself, I do hope we stay out of it. It does seem like the Saudis are pushing us to back their play but it also seems like Trump is very much suspicious of doing so. Given the Houthis are playing nice it's likely we will avoid getting dragged into this war. 

I do have to say that it's important to note that the Houthis themselves are tough fighters. For being a bunch of backward people that are addicted to khat, they absolutely know how to fight. They have been consistently punching above their level and though the Saudi military is fairly weak, it's impressive that they can stand up to them so effectively. Plus, how many other rebel groups can pull off ballistic missile strikes?  

Canadian MAiD case erupts in controversy as family alleges that an 83 year old grandmother died without her consent.

 

Brigitte Stegemann (left) and her granddaughter Brigitte Kranendonk. Fox News. 

The family of a 83 year old woman who died under Canada's Medically Assistance in Dying program is alleging that she was killed against her will. Fox News. The woman, Brigitte Kranendonk, suffered from stomach cancer and her granddaughter, Brigitte Stegemann, had power of attorney over her. She was in an elderly care program and while the daughter was on vacation, a nurse recommended MAiD for Kranendonk. Stegemann claimed that Kranendonk had opposed MAiD for religious grounds, but when she returned Kranendonk had already been signed up. She also alleges that the doctors misled her grandmother and that she appeared to not understand what was happening. The incident brings further criticism of Canada's MAiD program, which is now responsible for 1 in 20 deaths in the country. An investigation into this case is ongoing and could lead to charges. 

My Comment:

I don't think I have changed my mind on any other issue more than these assisted suicide laws and what is happening in Canada is a major reason why. "Canadian healthcare" use to be a left wing talking point in favor of socialized medicine but now? Now it's shorthand for a government killing its citizens. 

To be fair, nothing in this case has been tried yet. It's possible that the granddaughter is wrong and that Kranendonk truly did want to die. She did have cancer and could have been in pain. It's possible the granddaughter was seeing things that weren't there or is trying to be an advocate. 

However, that seems unlikely. I can't say for sure that this case is exactly how it has been described, but I would put money on it given what I have heard in similar cases from Canada. I am guessing that Stegemann is telling the truth. And if she is? Then this is murder, not assisted suicide, even by the laws of Canada. 

I don't really trust Canada to actually investigate this either. Sure, there is the idea that they might want to come down hard on any violators of the law so folks will have faith in the program, but I doubt it. Canada has made MAiD a keystone program of their healthcare and I doubt they would relish a case that calls it into question. I don't think they will be able to cover anything up, but I don't think the investigation will be valid either. 

Regardless, I do think that this case shows that the MAiD program is a mess. It seems very clear that the nurses and doctors are pushing MAiD as hard as they can. I won't speculate too much what the motivation in this case is, but it could be that they were true believers and actually thought they were helping, regardless of what Kranendonk wanted. 

But my real fear is that MAiD is mostly used to save money for Canada's socialized medicine. End of life care is expensive and by ending the life of 1 in 20 Canadians is probably saving millions of dollars. So there is a real incentive there to push it on vulnerable people, like this 83 year old grandmother. That might not have been what happened here, but it seems very possible. 

Houthi Rebels say they won't target anyone but the Saudis, warn other countries from joining the war.

 

Houthi supporters in Sanaa. AP.

The Houthi Rebels have said that they won't target anyone but the Saudis but warned other countries against getting involved in the conflict. AP. Washington had reached out to the Houthis and an agreement was made that neither side would attack each other. The Houthis said they would not attack any other countries ships transiting the Red Sea. Oman had hosted the meeting between the United States and the Houthis. The Houthis are demanding that the Saudis end their blockade against rebel areas that they have imposed during the civil war. The Houthis have had some success lately against the Yemeni government and have launched major attacks against Saudi Arabia. 

My Comment:

After years of stalemate the situation in Yemen seems to have escalated dramatically. The Houthis have taken most of the territory on the Red Sea and have even launched major attacks on Saudi targets. Indeed, right now the attacks on Saudi oil production is a major reason why gas prices exploded last week. 

The situation is an embarrassment for the Saudis as they have never been able to deal with the Houthis. The fact that not only are the Saudi allies in Yemen getting devastated this last couple of weeks. And they have not been able to defeat Houthi attacks on their homeland. It's part of the reason why the oil markets were panicking, they just couldn't deal with the Houthis and their attacks. 

The Saudis aren't putting boots on the ground but they are training the Yemeni forces opposed to the Houthis. They are also launching heavy air strikes in support of these forces. But it hasn't been enough. The Houthis are tough fighters. They have been very resilient to these kinds of attacks and are on the offensive. 

The real fear was that other countries were going to be dragged into this conflict. Indeed, I had feared that Trump's return from Camp David early this weekend had more to do with Yemen than Iran. Thankfully I appear to have been wrong. The Houthis are, as of this writing, saying they don't want to fight anyone but the Saudis. And the United States and Israel don't seem to be willing to back up their Saudi allies. 

Could it happen in the future? Of course. But I don't think either side really wants to be involved in Yemen. The United States and Israeli military are a lot more competent than the Saudis and the Houthis don't particularly want to face that kind of firepower. And nobody wants to be dragged into another conflict while the Iran conflict is still raging. 

The problem is that these attacks on Saudi oil facilities is not helping oil prices, which are already high due to the Iran conflict and the Russia-Ukraine War. This report might calm things down a bit, but I am guessing lower fears over Yemen will be outweighed by the bad news from Russia this weekend where Ukraine launched major attacks on their oil facilities as well. And the Iran conflict still lingers on. 

US and Denmark make breakthrough deal on Greenland.

 

Nuuk Greenland. Reuters. 

The United States and Denmark have made a breakthrough deal on Greenland. Reuters. The deal will expand the US military presence on the island far beyond a previous 1951 agreement. The agreement, which has no end date and would apply even if Greenland would gain independence from Denmark, also prevents foreign adversaries from building military bases there. The United States already has a small Space Force base, formally known as Thule, in Greenland. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that the new agreement answers all of America's security concerns with the island. President Trump had said in the past that he wanted to acquire Greenland, though those efforts will likely be dropped with the new deal. 

My Comment:

Looks like Trump's months of saber rattling last year paid off, Greenland is now under de facto US military control. Though we already had a lot of power over the island militarily, this new deal goes a lot further and will likely result in new bases being built beyond whatever they are calling Thule now (Pituffik Space Base). 

Though the specifics of this deal are still unknown what is known is that US dominance over Greenland in terms of the military will now last for the foreseeable future, even if Greenland leaves Denmark. Given how critical the island is for the military defense of the United States and how unreliable our allies our, especially in Canada, this is a coup. 

It also ensures that America's adversaries, most notably China and Russia, won't be able to sneak into Greenland either. Though I don't think either nation has the ability or desire to take over Greenland, this will also prevent them from becoming friendly with Greenland and will ensure that they won't be able to get a toehold there any time soon.

This is a pretty big win for the Trump administration and I think it's one that following administrations, be they Republican or otherwise, will appreciate regardless. Like I said, Greenland is critical for US defense given how useful it is as an early warning base. It also sits on major trade routes, and has a lot of mineral resources. It also has about as much oil as the United States has left, though that's more of a long term opportunity given the obvious difficulty drilling for it in Artic conditions would imply. 

I do think this is another example of Trump's more aggressive foreign policy being useful. By demanding Greenland itself, Trump was able to secure a deal where he got everything he wanted in the first place. And I don't think this deal would have happened if it wasn't for the fact that Trump was saber rattling. 

98% of jobs created last month went to women...

 

File photo of women at work. Fortune/Getty.

98% of jobs created in August went to women. Fortune. The jobs report for August was good, with 162,000 new jobs, far exceeding expectations, but 158,000 of them went to women while only 4000 went to men. Though one month of data can be considered noisy, it does show a trend. Women make up the majority of the workforce now for the third time in history, but unlike the past two times, the Great Recession and the pandemic, the problem is which jobs are being added and who is getting them. Indeed, some industries, most notably leisure and hospitality, had more than 100% growth for women as men lost their jobs in the sector. 

My Comment:

This story is a few days old but it blew up yesterday because Trump decided to weigh in on it. President Trump put out a post on Truth Social touting these numbers and to say that his male supporters are upset is an understatement. To be fair, he was talking about the longer term data that claims that women have gotten half a million new jobs during his 2nd term while men have lost 6000. 

pic.twitter.com/6vMFd79KZB

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 7, 2026

It's another example of Trump putting his foot in his mouth. Women mostly hate Trump so pandering to them is pretty useless. But men are Trump's biggest supporters and they last thing they want to hear is that jobs are going to women, not men. Though it's a minor gaffe that folks will probably forget about in a week, it's an entirely avoidable one. 

And I think it has a lot to do with the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Kirk was a lot more important than folks realized and I think this is an example why. Kirk was a younger Millennial and he was able to connect with young men in a way nobody else in the Trump circle was able to do. Had Kirk still been alive I think he would have absolutely advised Trump to not post what he did and he would be steering the administration into focusing on this issue. 

So why is this happening? There's a ton of new jobs getting created, the economy isn't actually bad. It's just those jobs are ones that are in female dominated industry including health care, teaching, local governments and hospitality. The jobs that men want? They aren't showing up to the same degree.

Some of this is due to active discrimination though. HR Departments are still captured by DEI. Though few men would want to be in these industries the fact is that if they do try they often get discriminated against and have difficulty getting hired in the first place. 

Some of it is also due to Trump's success in curtailing immigration, legal and otherwise. Many of the jobs lost were ones that were held by immigrants, legal or otherwise. With 2 million folks, at the very least, being deported or going home willingly, and almost all of them being male, it's going to affect the male working rate.