The disintegration of Yemen, another Arab state following in the footsteps of Libya, Syria, and Iraq -- all of which came after Somalia -- is very bad news for U.S. President Barack Obama. The Yemen regime, a crucial link in the war on jihadist terrorism, could not keep control of the country after Ali Abdullah Salah was forced out in 2012 (another victim of the Arab Spring.) His successor, President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who was backed by Washington, was ousted on Thursday after the Shiite Houthi insurgents -- controlled by Iran -- seized power. The Yemen chaos is an unpleasant message to the new king of Saudi Arabia, who sees how yet again under Obama Washington is unable to protect its allies, while Iran continues to plant its flag in more Arab countries, and despite the supposed pressure continues to grow stronger. Is it any wonder that Congress is worried about the results of the talks on Iran's nuclear program? Imagine for a moment how Yemen, a central base of the al-Qaida terrorist group, will look after it falls into the hand of the Shiite Houthis, who have ties to Iran? It's not imaginary -- that's the reality today. The Gulf states, led by Saudi Arabia, have every reason to be worried about Iran. Take, for example, the strategically important Bab-el-Mandeb Strait. It could now fall into the hands of Iran or al-Qaida. These are the options. Can anyone imagine a scarier scenario? This isn't what Obama prayed for in 2008 when he sought to design us a new, safer world. By the way, "Bab-el-Mandeb" is Arabic for "Gate of Tears." The Obama government is unquestionably caught up in the Iranian knot when it should be pressuring Iran and its nuclear program to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons. At the same time, U.S. forces are currently in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and now in Yemen. Tehran has tripped Obama up: On one hand, it's on the same side as the Americans in dealing with the al-Qaida jihadists and the barbaric Islamic State terrorists, while on the other, it's protecting Syrian President Bashar Assad and refusing to relinquish its nuclear dreams. It's not surprising that Persians were the ones who invented chess. For Washington, Yemen is of vital strategic importance in the war on terrorism (as the drone warfare there will attest.) Only four months ago, the American government declared that its cooperation with the Yemeni regime under Hadi was a model of success. Is it possible that even then Washington didn't realize what was really happening on the ground, like with the Islamic State? The Houthis' slogan is "Allahu akbar: Death to America, death to Israel." Yet more proof of why the U.S. and Israel, along with Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia, must understand that they all have all the reasons in the world to see Iran checked. In the meantime, the ayatollah regime is taking advantage of the fact that our world has become less safe since 2008 to spread out and threaten the king. Of Saudi Arabia.
