Archives Middle East conflict - Page 3 of 53 - New Eastern Outlook

Call it a war, a military conflict, an intervention or something else entirely different—the terminology does little to change the human cost. People are dying, and the fighting has the potential to expand into a far larger regional conflagration.

The escalation of the conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis marks the collapse of the old regional security system, in which traditional U.S. guarantees are losing their effectiveness, and real influence is shifting to actors capable of adapting to the new rules of the “gray zone” and informal diplomacy.

Pakistan should honor its defense commitments to Saudi Arabia through strictly defensive cooperation and protection of maritime commerce, while avoiding offensive military action against the Houthis that could drag Islamabad into a wider Middle Eastern conflict, alienate Iran, and deepen its domestic and strategic vulnerabilities.