Last week, the Saudi-led military coalition announced that Operation Decisive Storm had ended and that Operation Restoring Hope had begun. The transition from one mission to another represents a changing approach and the attempt to avoid mission creep.
This is a technical term used by military planners when politics forces the military to take on additional missions that lengthen the planned operations. Saudi officials say that the transition from Decisive Storm to Restoring Hope has been smooth.
Now, they seem to see the Yemen mission as a long- term one. The Salman Doctrine, which has been described as “Saudi interest comes first”, sees it as essential that the kingdom’s influence be restored in the governance of Yemen.
From the start, Operation Decisive Storm focused on denying the Houthis and the militia backed by Yemen’s former president Ali Abdullah Saleh use of the country’s MiG-29 fighter jets. It destroyed missiles, which could target Saudi territory or sea traffic as well as surface-to-air batteries that could target coalition aircraft. It bombed major ammunition storerooms that had fallen into rebel hands and destroyed Houthi command and control centres. According to an official who requested anonymity, Operation Decisive Storm was mostly successful. He noted that 2,415 sorties were needed to achieve the mission’s initial goals.
That is true but the humanitarian cost has undoubtedly been very high. A thousand people are estimated dead and 3,000 wounded and nearly half of Yemen’s 26 million people face a crisis in terms of food and security. The thinking goes that Operation Restoring Hope will address the crisis with emergency aid and engineering expertise. Some may scoff at the notion that this may be a transformative experience for Yemen, but it is such a basket case that the coalition, with backing from key international actors, may actually pull off a miracle in the long term.
There is another aspect to Saudi thinking about the transition from one phase of the mission to the other: future Yemeni generations. During the transition from Operation Decisive Storm to Restoring Hope, the Saudi ambassador to the United States Adel bin Ahmed Al Jubeir said that the kingdom’s main concern was Yemen’s future. He said that hundreds of thousands of Yemeni children would be susceptible to extremism if the country’s situation did not change. And he added that King Salman was determined to stop the radicalisation of generations of Yemenis. That statement was a long-term commitment by Saudi Arabia to security and stability on the Arabian peninsula’s south-western tip.
That said, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is the wild card. Just this month, it has carried out 27 operations in Yemen: 12 in Al Bayda, five in Lahj, four in Shabwa, three in Abyan, two in Taez, and one in Al Hudaydah. It’s important to note that AQAP continues principally to attack the Houthis. For the Saudis then, AQAP is a force multiplier.
Nevertheless, Operation Restoring Hope is to feature strikes against AQAP with the assistance of the United States. A strike group from the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier is deployed in the Gulf of Aden. Both the Saudis and the Americans, along with Egypt, want to keep the Red Sea supply chain open and free from threat. The US is still flying drones from Djibouti, one of which killed AQAP’s ideological leader Ibrahim Rubaish last week.
In terms of the politics of the situation, Saudi Arabia and its allies are on the right side of international law because they are seeking to fully implement the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216. The resolution seeks to force all the parties in Yemen to the negotiating table. That negotiations are to be held in Oman is a given. Saudi Arabia’s UK ambassador Mohammed bin Nawwaf said just last week that the military campaign is poised to continue until Mr Saleh and the Houthis fully comply with the United Nations conditions.
In the meantime, the Saudi-led coalition’s focus, alongside the UN, on getting humanitarian aid into Yemen is a sensible and well-judged move. The intention – and the hope – is to be fully in line with the UN’s Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Last week, Riyadh agreed to cover $274 million (Dh1bn) in humanitarian aid via OCHA’s Yemen office. This is a notable commitment and reflects Saudi Arabia’s intentions. The kingdom has learnt the lessons from US, French and British military and humanitarian operations throughout the Middle East and North Africa region. Some key Arab states, especially the UAE, are remarkable in their ability to deliver tonnes of aid to the needy in disaster and war zones.
Now, Riyadh is doing the same in its own way. It is yet another part of the wraparound approach the kingdom is taking towards foreign national security priorities. In that sense, Yemen is just the first step. Other issues to the north of the kingdom will be dealt with in due course.
Overall, of course, it should surprise no one that Operation Restoring Hope grew out of Operation Decisive Storm. Much like shifting gears with a stick shift, the Saudi-led coalition just went into second gear: there is no reverse in the mission.
Dr Theodore Karasik is a Dubai-based analyst on the Gulf with a specific focus on Saudi Arabia
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
AIDA%20RETURNS
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VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Opening day UAE Premiership fixtures, Friday, September 22:
- Dubai Sports City Eagles v Dubai Exiles
- Dubai Hurricanes v Abu Dhabi Saracens
- Jebel Ali Dragons v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
The five pillars of Islam
SQUADS
Bangladesh (from): Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Mahmudullah Riyad, Mohammad Mithun, Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das, Taijul Islam, Mosaddek Hossain, Nayeem Hasan, Mehedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Ebadat Hossain, Abu Jayed
Afghanistan (from): Rashid Khan (capt), Ihsanullah Janat, Javid Ahmadi, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Ikram Alikhil, Mohammad Nabi, Qais Ahmad, Sayed Ahmad Shirzad, Yamin Ahmadzai, Zahir Khan Pakteen, Afsar Zazai, Shapoor Zadran
EA Sports FC 24
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Borussia Dortmund v Paderborn (11.30pm)
Saturday
Bayer Leverkusen v SC Freiburg (6.30pm)
Werder Bremen v Schalke (6.30pm)
Union Berlin v Borussia Monchengladbach (6.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Wolfsburg (6.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldof v Bayern Munich (6.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Cologne (9.30pm)
Sunday
Augsburg v Hertha Berlin (6.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Mainz (9pm)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
More from Neighbourhood Watch
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
UAE Premiership
Results
Dubai Exiles 24-28 Jebel Ali Dragons
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 43-27 Dubai Hurricanes
Final
Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Jebel Ali Dragons, Friday, March 29, 5pm at The Sevens, Dubai
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs: 2018 Jeep Compass
Price, base: Dh100,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.4L four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 184bhp at 6,400rpm
Torque: 237Nm at 3,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.4L / 100km
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Kill%20Bill%20Volume%201
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What to watch out for:
Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways
The hulls of three ships will be used for the roof
The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history
Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure
Roughly 15 tonnes of steel will be used
Team Angel Wolf Beach Blast takes place every Wednesday between 4:30pm and 5:30pm
