Saudi Ambassador warns Houthis could become the next ISIS

WASHINGTON — Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to the United States Princess Reema bint Bandar has called for a global coalition to defeat the Houthi militia, warning that the group poses a growing terrorist threat extending far beyond Yemen and urging countries worldwide to designate it as a terrorist organization.In an opinion article published Tuesday in The New York Times under the headline "There Is No Limit to What the Houthis Will Do," Princess Reema said the international community must confront the militia with the same determination that helped defeat Daesh (ISIS)."The Houthis today are what ISIS was before it seized Mosul in Iraq and proclaimed a caliphate: a terrorist movement the world underestimated," she wrote.She called for a coordinated international campaign to dismantle the Houthis' military capabilities, cut off their financing, intercept weapons shipments and strengthen Yemen's internationally recognized government."The international community should set a clear goal to end the Houthis as an armed terrorist force," she said.Princess Reema argued that the Houthis should be confronted through a multinational effort similar to the international coalition of more than 80 countries that fought ISIS."ISIS was defeated by local forces backed by a coalition of more than 80 nations. The Houthis can be defeated the same way. It is Yemen's fight to lead," she wrote.Riyadh airport attack highlights Houthi threatThe ambassador opened her article by recounting the October 10 Houthi missile attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, which killed 13 people and left hundreds dead, dying or injured, according to her account.She highlighted the actions of Ebtehal bint Abdullah, a Riyadh Air passenger services agent who helped evacuate travelers and assist the wounded despite sustaining injuries herself.Princess Reema described how Abdullah used a head scarf to bandage an injured elderly man's bleeding hand, opened emergency exits and returned to the terminal to guide paramedics toward those needing assistance."The Houthis sent a missile to spread terror. Ms. Abdullah answered it with courage. She kept going, and so will we all," she wrote.The ambassador said the attack demonstrated the militia's willingness to deliberately target civilians, arguing that such actions must be confronted as terrorism.She also noted that an American citizen was among those killed in the airport attack.Warning over missiles, drones and artificial intelligencePrincess Reema accused Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi of building a terrorist network with Iranian support over the past two decades and exploiting successive peace agreements to strengthen the group's military capabilities.She said the militia had launched more than 1,000 ballistic missiles and drones toward Saudi Arabia since March 2016.The ambassador also cited United Nations investigators' findings that Houthi engineers had shared bomb-making and drone modification expertise with Al Shabaab militants in East Africa.She warned that the militia was increasingly seeking advanced technologies, referring to a disclosure by an American artificial intelligence company that a Houthi-linked weapons cell had attempted to use its tools to develop guidance software for a long-range missile.Princess Reema argued that the Houthis' growing technological capabilities and ability to transfer weapons expertise represented an international security threat.She also warned of the economic consequences of Houthi attacks, citing threats to close the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a strategic waterway through which approximately 10% of global trade passes.According to the ambassador, recent Houthi strikes on Saudi energy facilities contributed to pushing oil prices above $100 a barrel.Saudi Arabia backs Yemeni military operationsPrincess Reema reaffirmed Saudi Arabia's support for Yemen's internationally recognized government, stressing that Yemeni forces must lead efforts to defeat the Houthis.She said government forces were conducting offensives along the Red Sea coast and in Jawf and Marib, supported by Saudi air operations.According to the ambassador, Yemeni forces had seized more than 750 tons of weapons destined for the Houthis.She said coalition operations were targeting missile launch sites and weapons warehouses to dismantle the infrastructure used to attack Saudi territory.The ambassador also emphasized efforts to disrupt the Houthis' financial networks, including sanctions, terrorist designations and measures targeting front companies and illicit financing.She welcomed the United States' designation of the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization and urged other countries to follow Washington's example."Every nation should do the same," she wrote.Political settlement requires ending Houthi armed threatPrincess Reema accused the Houthis of recruiting children and promoting extremist indoctrination, saying the militia compelled students as young as 10 to chant anti-American slogans and sent thousands of children into combat.She stressed that defeating the Houthis as an armed terrorist organization was essential to achieving a lasting political settlement in Yemen.The ambassador said Saudi Arabia remained committed to humanitarian assistance and a Yemeni-led political solution, noting that the Kingdom had been among Yemen's largest humanitarian donors.She argued that the international community must combine military, financial and diplomatic measures to eliminate the militia's capacity to threaten civilians and regional stability."Ending the Houthis' armed terror is the only path to the Yemeni-led political settlement Saudi Arabia has always supported," Princess Reema concluded.