Cracks are appearing in the Mideast's most important alliance. That's bad news for Trump

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The original purpose of the Yemen offensive was to blunt Iranian influence wielded there through the Houthi rebels. But 'Operation Decisive Storm' has turned out to be far from decisive. It became a quagmire -- and a PR disaster because of the huge civilian suffering. The drawdown of the Emirati presence in the port of Aden unleashed a confrontation between the southern separatists, backed and armed by the UAE, and the remnants of the Saudi-backed government in the city. The UAE's allies attacked government facilities and took control of much of the city, including the port. Yemeni ministers publicly blamed the UAE for the separatists' success.

Kristin Diwan of the Arab Gulf States Institute agrees that Saudi Arabia is now more isolated in Yemen and"needs a settlement with the Houthis to secure its border in the north. The UAE drawdown may bring more urgency to this task, but it doesn't strengthen the Saudi position in the negotiations." For now, the Saudis and the UAE are trying to get the various anti-Houthi parties to settle their differences. Last week bin Zayed met Saudi King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz and the Crown Prince in Jeddah and said both governments called on"rival Yemeni parties to cease fire and favor the language of dialogue and reason."

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates remain united in opposing Iranian expansionism: both support sweeping US sanctions against Tehran and their militaries co-ordinate closely.Ayham Kamal says its focus is avoiding escalation in the Gulf. At the beginning of this month, an Emirati delegation went to Tehran to discuss maritime security. The two sides signed what the Iranians called a"memorandum of understanding" to enhance cooperation at sea.

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