AGORA

Agora debate ·

New front in Iran War opens as Houthis seize Saudi Island

The question

Should the US provide direct military support to Saudi Arabia against the Houthis?

Yes 54%No 46%

52 players picked a side before playing.

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The best arguments

Written by Agora players and ranked by Agora's AI reasoning score. Shown without names.

  • F-15 and advanced F-35I "Adir" fighter jets sold to Israel by the US military have been used to bomb Iranian allies, including the Houthis in Yemen.

    A player · strong argument

  • It does. And our broader military presence In the region gives us broader defense capacity for our embassies we will protect every American with all available resources .

    A player · decent argument

  • We can then focus on supporting our own drilling. Saudi Arabia has been a great help in building our oil reserves, however now that we have a base reserve, we need to expand our own operations in the US itself. Evidently our interference with the Strait of Hormuz has not accomplished its goal in the 6 months we have been involved, therefore I believe it is time to escape.

    A player · decent argument

  • The Houthi threat to shipping lanes impacts multiple countries. Therefore if multiple countries ban together to sanction Houthi allies, it will olhe enough pressure to effectively break them apart from the inside. Furthermore this protects American lives, which is my first priority as president. Again, this can also serve as a way for us to decrease reliance on middle-eastern oil, as that area of the world recently has been constantly a quagmire of war and fighting. Decoupling from that area and focusing on other oil reserves, such as Venezuela or our own American oil wells, can help us be less reliant on an unreliable area of the world.

    A player · decent argument

  • Being able to have the Gulf States on the record saying they will defend their coastal areas will put Iran and the Houthis on the defensive instead of offensive

    A player · decent argument

  • It protects U.S. personnel which is our top priority. We will continue to support our Saudi allies in their fight against the Houthi terrorists.

    A player · decent argument

  • This is the problem with full-fledged deterrence, and why it hasn't been used yet. We are worried about losing men, and it is a risk. What we would be betting on is that taking the risk now would save the US from a larger, more dangerous reaction in the future, and it would provide the US with economic relief. The ideal deterrence is in manless tech, and Iran has shown us this. We have been hammered by cheap missiles and drones, which protects their personnel and is effective nonetheless. It would be optimal if the US could use a similar approach, launching manless attacks from Saudi Arabia, an ally, but our infrastructure is weak for mass-producing manless weapons, so it will take time.

    A player · decent argument

  • The conflicts in the region show the need for coalition support. These two strategic straits are able to bring pain both economic and physical to an extent that everyone should ensure their continued safety of transit. Saudi is a large customer of the US’s military industrial complex they should put that equipment to use before asking us to step in. They also have proxy forces in Yemen. If their hand is caught in the cookie jar they should be able to get it out. Especially against a force such as the Houthis. While Iran continues to bleed millions in unrealized oil profits the Houthis suffer 10 fold in their loss of funding from Iran. This conflict is ugly and horrible, but necessary for peace in the future for decades to come.

    A player · decent argument

In this game

  1. Two truths and a lie. Click the lie.
  2. Where is the Bab el-Mandeb Strait?
  3. Which Polymarket graph is real?
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