William Lawrence, a professor of international relations at American University, said Saudi Arabia failed to respond quickly enough to the Houthi offensive in Yemen because it assumed the United States would handle the threat. “A few lines were pulled wrong, something went wrong,” the former U.S. diplomat said. The U.S. assumed Saudi Arabia would defend Mohammed bin Salman, and Saudi Arabia assumed the U.S. would. When Trump rejected Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s request for help, it meant Saudi Arabia reacted too late to intervene and defend the area. He added that the Saudi-led anti-Houthi coalition established a new command and control structure that was supposed to bring new defensive measures and coordination mechanisms, but “appeared to have collapsed at the outset of the Houthi blitzkrieg along the west coast toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.” Saudi Arabia’s counter-offensive began afterward, but so far has had limited success in recapturing Houthi-held territory. However, it needs to be emphasized again that this does not mean Saudi Arabia underestimated the Houthi's capabilities. Rather, it reflects a lack of timely response in the face of the scale of the attacks they encountered.
