evidence: In March, as Yemen’s Houthis continued to launch attacks in the Red Sea, the AP reported on the construction of an airstrip in Abd al-Kuri, a small island of the Socotra archipelago in Yemen. While no state confirmed responsibility for the airstrip, the most obvious candidate was the United Arab Emirates—which has relied on similarly undisclosed outposts over the past decade to further its military, security, and economic goals in the region.