I have my doubts Iran is pulling out on the Houthis. Looks to me like they are just evacuating their "advisors" and un-assing that AO to avoid getting their "advisors" damaged in a strike. If their "advisors" got damaged, they'd have to respond, and I don't think they really want to go toe to toe with the Great Satan and have their asses humiliatingly handed to them. Toe to toe is not the Iranian style - it's lacks any plausible deniability. back-attacks from the shadows is more their style. When they go toe to toe, like sending a massive rocket wave attack against Israel, it's always a spectacular failure with them bragging about what all they did, when they didn't get shit done.
They backed Assad, and the Assad government is no more - so they ought to have plenty extra money and resources to pour into getting the Houthis, Hezbollah, Hamas, etc to do their fighting for them by proxy. As an aside, ain't it interesting that Assad and Company moved to Russia instead of Iran?
What to watch for is whether the Houthis and Hezbollah start running out of rockets and drones to attack shipping and Israel respectively with. If they start running out of rockets, THAT would be a good indicator that they've been abandoned. Just having some Iranian troops tuck tail and run doesn't mean anything other than that the Iranians are risk-averse to fighting their own battles.
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They backed Assad, and the Assad government is no more - so they ought to have plenty extra money and resources to pour into getting the Houthis, Hezbollah, Hamas, etc to do their fighting for them by proxy. As an aside, ain't it interesting that Assad and Company moved to Russia instead of Iran?
What to watch for is whether the Houthis and Hezbollah start running out of rockets and drones to attack shipping and Israel respectively with. If they start running out of rockets, THAT would be a good indicator that they've been abandoned. Just having some Iranian troops tuck tail and run doesn't mean anything other than that the Iranians are risk-averse to fighting their own battles.
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“Trouble rather the tiger in his lair than the sage among his books. For to you kingdoms and their armies are things mighty and enduring, but to him they are but toys of the moment, to be overturned with the flick of a finger.”
― Gordon R. Dickson, Tactics of Mistake
― Gordon R. Dickson, Tactics of Mistake