article_snippet.sent: For example, in 2009, the Houthis (more accurately described as the Ansarullah) were not yet receiving help from Iran, yet for weeks the kingdom pummeled them with airstrikes, following Saudi claims of a Houthi incursion.
article_snippet.sent: In fact, when the U.S. Embassy packed up in Sanaa in January, leaving a fleet of over 20 armored SUVs behind at the airport, the Houthis (more accurately described as the Ansarullah) reportedly said the Houthis (more accurately described as the Ansarullah) would round up the cars and deliver the Houthis (more accurately described as the Ansarullah) to a U.N. representative in Yemen.
article_snippet.sent: And while the Houthis (more accurately described as the Ansarullah) did not welcome the American presence in Yemen, the Houthis (more accurately described as the Ansarullah) did not interfere with U.S. operations against al Qaeda in Yemen.
article_snippet.sent: Interestingly, while Saudi Arabia deployed about 100 aircraft against the Houthis on the second day of the Houthis offensive, the Houthis reportedly deployed a mere four fighter jets in the early U.S.-led campaign against ISIS last year.
article_snippet.sent: Regardless, the results of the Saudi campaign are unlikely to be positive -- one only need look at the way a much smaller Houthi force than today was able to outfox the Saudi military back in 2009.
article_snippet.sent: Back then, Houthi forces consisted of only a few hundred fighters, but Houthi forces shocked the Saudi army, reportedly capturing Saudi equipment and forcing the evacuation of almost 250 Saudi villages as the Saudi army seized territory along the border.
article_snippet.sent: Today, that ragtag group of Houthi rebels has been replaced by a much larger group called Ansarullah, modeled after Lebanon's Hezbollah.
article_snippet.sent: Back in 2009, Houthi rebels were limited to parts of the Saada region and were self-funded, although Yemen claimed Houthi rebels had minor assistance from the late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
article_snippet.sent: Yet despite this, Houthi rebels were still able to withstand some 90 days of Saudi bombardment.
article_snippet.sent: Today, that ragtag group of Houthi rebels is receiving political, financial and military support from Iran.
highlights_snippet.sent: Ali AlAhmed: Results of Saudi campaign unlikely to be positive .