Questions Raised Over National Defense Council's Response to Bab al-Mandab Crisis

Critical public and military questions are being directed at the National Defense Council of the legitimate Yemeni government regarding the absence of immediate deterrence and air support during the initial Houthi militia takeover of the Bab al-Mandab strait and the western coast. The reliance on delayed Arab Coalition airstrikes has placed this globally vital maritime route and the islands of Perim and Zuqur under militia control, sparking widespread surprise at the lack of air defense and preemptive deterrence plans for this crucial front.

The rapid fall of Dhubab, Mokha port, and strategic positions within the strait has caused significant shock across Yemeni and regional circles. Military observers have questioned the National Defense Council, composed of senior political, military, and security leaders: Where were the preemptive defense plans? How were the joint forces and the legitimate government caught off guard by a coordinated attack, despite prolonged field indicators of Houthi mobilization? And what is the value of political statements? The Yemeni public views the council's statements on comprehensive deterrence operations as belated rhetoric that does not match the scale of the geopolitical catastrophe on the ground.

A major point of contention is the legitimate government's failure, after more than a decade of war, to establish or activate a nucleus of an independent offensive air force, even through modern drones, to provide close support to ground forces. This structural deficiency has made the fate of strategic fronts entirely dependent on the response time of the Arab Coalition fighter jets, led by Saudi Arabia. Although Saudi aviation later intervened with intensive raids on Mokha airport and port and Houthi supply lines in Taiz, this intervention occurred after the militia had established a tangible reality on the ground and entrenched themselves within fortifications, thereby reducing the effectiveness of airstrikes in decisively winning the battle or rapidly recapturing positions.

The questions were not confined to internal military performance but also extended to the absence of a deterrent international umbrella to protect navigation. The shocking reticence of the United States, particularly the negative stance of the Donald Trump administration and its refusal to engage in direct military strikes against the Houthis, came as a surprise to those who had counted on international support. Washington prioritized protecting the Strait of Hormuz, limiting its involvement to sending military leaders for intelligence cooperation in Riyadh.

An emergency session of the UN Security Council, requested by Bahrain and the United Kingdom, demonstrated that the international community is content with issuing warnings and expressing regret through its UN envoy, lacking a genuine will to enforce arms embargoes or deter the militia by force. Consequently, the National Defense Council now faces an existential test: either transition from political statements to genuine deterrence operations on the ground by unifying military formations under a single command, or bear the historical consequences of Bab al-Mandab becoming a permanent Iranian leverage point.