In 2015, Saudi Arabia organized an alliance of Sunni Arab states to aid the Yemenite army in fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who had seized the country’s capital in the previous year. What has come to be called the Arab Coalition includes Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Bahrain. The alliance has suffered military setbacks and has been riven with internal discord—yet if it can overcome these problems, writes Irina Tsukerman, it could become a beneficial force, and the U.S. can help by aiding it to focus its sights on Hizballah:
Elite and well-trained, Hizballah in Yemen has been tasked [by Iran] with transforming the Houthis into a medium-sized army capable of sophisticated operations around the world, with the Houthis quickly gaining in weapons and skills what they lack in experience. . . . Hizballah’s growing presence in Yemen may compel U.S. forces and the CIA to increase counterterrorism [operations there] and unite the fractious coalition members around the common threat. U.S. involvement has been limited so far to gathering intelligence, deploying Green Berets (who help identify missiles the Houthis are using against Arab Coalition forces and Yemeni and Saudi civilians), and countering al-Qaeda and Islamic State, [which also have a presence in Yemen]. . . .
Fighting Hizballah has become a Trump-administration priority, particularly as recent revelations have demonstrated [the organization’s] extensive presence in Latin America, collaboration with drug cartels, and infiltration into the U.S. Hizballah likewise is playing a damaging role in Syria, alongside Iranian forces. . . . Bahrain is not immune to infiltration, and Hizballah, . . . with the help of Iranian diplomats, . . . is arming the North African separatist Polisario Front, which threatens Morocco’s territorial integrity and sells illicit arms to other unstable countries. . . .
Iran relies on strong, flexible, and resilient non-state proxy groups like Hizballah. . . . Until now, the Arab Coalition and the West have been playing whack-a-mole with terrorists, occasionally freezing accounts, arresting key figures, or blowing up bases. However, [facing] the clear strategic vision of Hizballah’s expanse across many continents and countries, the Arab Coalition together with the U.S. and its allies can join forces to combat this encroaching threat. In so doing, they can deal a mortal blow to the Islamic Republic itself, severing the source of financing to its remaining proxies.
Rather than being distracted by differences and short-term, parochial goals, . . . the partners should work to create a NATO for the Arab world. The Arab NATO would be a military and security alliance dedicated to defense and insulated from economic, diplomatic, or political disputes. Such a system would also survive rival personalities and leadership changes. The U.S. can play a vital role in the training, strengthening, and support of the nascent Arab NATO, which should also cultivate willing and capable partners against common enemies. Hizballah’s role in conflicts that threaten everyone concerned would be a great place to start.
Read more on BESA Center: https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/arab-nato/