Preface
You may not have heard of the Houthis, but you must have heard the slogan of this group:
"Allah is great, America is dead, Israel is dead, cursed the Jews, Islam wins"
This is the Houthis, a seemingly inconspicuous organization, but they are more daring than the sky, and at one of their military parades, they trampled the flags of the United States and Israel under their feet.
If this is the limit, it is not the Houthis, who have repeatedly warned the United States and dared to bomb American warships, and this month the Houthis blocked the Red Sea, leading the United States to try to form a multinational escort group to break the blockade.
So, what kind of organization are the Houthis, how strong are they, and why do they dare to stand up to the United States?
A history of the rise and fall of Yemen
Half of the Houthi family history
It is not an exaggeration to say that "a history of the rise and fall of Yemen, half of which is the history of the Houthis", and the historical changes in Yemen are also closely related to the rise of the Houthis.
Yemen's history dates back to 3000 B.C., when it was one of the cradles of ancient civilizations, but in modern times, the political situation in Yemen has become complex and volatile.
Geographically, as a Middle Eastern country full of complex history and culture, it is home to two major religious sects: Sunni and Shia.
The two factions have long had differences and contradictions, but in the North Yemen region, the situation is more complicated.
Therefore, in this situation of continuous disputes among various forces, Yemen has just been established on the front foot, and the back foot has been pulled into the whirlpool of civil war, and the forces of all parties have fought at two ends for three days, which has directly led to the long-term instability of the situation in Yemen.
In these turbulent times, Hussein Houthi, the founder of the Houthis, saw an opportunity to take advantage of the turmoil in Yemen to expand his influence.
At first, the Houthis were just an armed group within a family with the goal of defending the interests of the Decidists, and the original Houthis relied mainly on religious teachings and beliefs to rule and control their members.
Over time, however, the Houthis grew in strength and evolved into a rebel group with armed forces.
The rise of the Houthis cannot be seen separately from other military forces with strong Islamic overtones.
Hussein Houthi, the founder of the Houthis, was born in 1956 and his family has deep roots in the Saada region of northern Yemen.
Hussein Houthi's father and grandfather were not only tribal leaders, but also religious leaders of the Zaids, so Hussein Houthi was tasked with revitalizing the Zaids and resisting Sunni infiltration from an early age.
Over time, however, the group deviated from its original purpose and evolved into a rebel group, which of course came later.
In the early 20th century, he founded a party called the Young Believers in the Saada region, mainly by preaching to the people in order to win more supporters.
As a result of their religious beliefs, the Houthis were able to rise rapidly in North Yemen and develop into a major force in Yemen in a short period of time.
However, no matter how powerful the Houthis at this time were, their influence was still limited to specific areas of North Yemen.
The Houthis have also discovered this limitation and have repeatedly tried to march into other places to spread their power outward.
However, due to the different religious and tribal structures in the south and the north, the spread of Houthi influence is highly constrained.
In this difficult situation of diffusion, the Houthis have taken their hearts back and focused on solving the problems in front of them first.
For the Houthis at that time, the biggest goal was undoubtedly to seize control of North Yemen, and only by holding control in their own hands would they not be so passive, and it would also help the Houthis to fulfill their mission - to promote the interests of the Judists.
However, in 1992, Shiite Saleh was elected president of Yemen, and he joined forces with Hussein Houthi and his "Young Believers" coalition to strengthen Shia politics in Yemen.
Over time, however, the rift between Hussein Houthi and Saleh intensified, and the alliance became fragmented.
In 2004, Hussein Houthi was killed in a battle with the Yemeni army, and his younger brother took over his career and continued to lead the Young Believers coalition, which we know as the Houthis.
The rise of the Houthis has not been without its challenges, and in the early days of their formation, they suffered heavy losses from the capture and murder of their leaders.
However, since the Houthis are essentially a clan or sectarian force, the new leaders quickly stabilized the situation and reached some agreement with the Saleh authorities in Yemen.
However, beginning in 2005, Saleh's government renewed its crackdown on the Houthis, and armed conflict between the two sides began.
However, at this time, the Houthis were not their opponents in terms of personnel or equipment, and they were basically pressed and beaten by them, so the Houthis began to find ways to increase their military strength and expand their power.
The rise of the Houthis
From the family armament to the military force of more than a million people
In the beginning, the Houthis were just a family armed group, united by religious beliefs, mobilized and recruited by proclaiming the slogan of justice and true Islam.
However, under military pressure from Saleh's government, the Houthis soon discovered that mere religious beliefs were not enough to achieve victory.
As a result, they began to grow their power, gradually becoming the de facto representative of Yemen by annexing other armed groups and occupying areas.
The outbreak of the Arab Spring in 2010 provided an opportunity for the Houthis to develop militarily.
Taking advantage of the turmoil of the Arab Spring, the Houthis began to aggressively expand their sphere of influence, annexing other armed groups in Yemen and taking control of the republic's capital and large swaths of Saada governorate.
This achievement has given the Houthis a lot of recognition, and at the same time greatly improved their military strength, but at this time, the military equipment of the Houthis is still very backward, and even very poor, many soldiers can't even get together a neat clothes, and some go straight to the battlefield wearing slippers.
In such a situation, the first real test for the Houthis is to engage the well-armed Saudi coalition, a coalition of more than a dozen countries that has made the Houthis famous.
At that time, most of the people in this war felt that the Houthis were a bit self-defeating, and it was undoubtedly a fool's dream to fight the Saudi coalition with advanced weapons and equipment and huge troops.
But the result slapped these people in the face, and the Saudi coalition was basically pressed and beaten by the Houthis, and the strength of the Houthis also surprised many countries.
In fact, a large part of the reason is that the vast majority of the Houthis are veterans with very rich combat experience.
Therefore, compared with the Saudi coalition forces, the Houthis are better at taking advantage of the terrain on the battlefield and adopting flexible guerrilla tactics, successfully depleting the combat effectiveness of the Saudi coalition forces.
Not only that, the Houthis also turned their war trophies into combat effectiveness, capturing modern weapons such as tanks and fighter jets of the Saudi coalition, which greatly improved their own strength.
With the blessing of these weapons, who would dare to say that this is the slipper army of the Middle East.
不惯着美国
Shelling of Israel
The Houthis have deep roots with Iran, their beliefs are in line with Iran's Shia Islam, and with Iran's support, the Houthis have grown to become a force to be reckoned with.
As the Houthi rebels with the same roots as Iran, they are also extremely hostile to the United States and Israel, and they are not merciless in their actions, which can be said to be vividly reflected in their series of actions.
In 2016, the Houthis carried out three missile "greetings" to US warships, and although they did not cause substantial damage to US warships, this blatant provocation of the United States undoubtedly demonstrated their determination to defy power, and it is quite a bit of a "newborn calf is not afraid of tigers".
And the Houthis are so unkind to the United States, and it is impossible to be deferential to Israel.
In October 2021, the Houthis announced large-scale strikes against multiple Israeli targets and pledged to continue their actions in the future until Israel ceases its aggression.
This posture of openly declaring war fully demonstrates their determination to confront Israel, and in order to achieve the goal of opposing the United States and Israel, the Houthis continue to accumulate actual combat experience and improve the level of weapons and equipment.
From the early AK47 and RPG, to the later T80BV tank, cruise missiles, and longer-range ballistic missiles, the military strength of the Houthis has skyrocketed, and there is no sign of the "Middle East Slipper Army" at all.
The Houthis have not only protested verbally, but have also demonstrated their resolve with deeds, including the successful shooting down of a US MQ-9 Reaper drone, an event that once again proves their courage to defy the might.
The Houthi actions have had a profound impact on the Middle East and the international community, and their presence has forced the United States and Israel to re-examine their strategies in the Middle East.
Although the United States and Israel are far superior to the Houthis militarily, they are powerless in the face of the Houthis' guerrilla tactics.
The situation in the Middle East is further complicated by the presence of the Houthis, whose actions not only affect the situation in Yemen, but could also trigger tensions in the Red Sea region.
In the future, it is still possible for the Houthis to continue their aggressive actions, which is undoubtedly a huge challenge for the United States and Israel.
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