The Saudi Savior—Justifying Operation Decisive Storm

Abstract

This paper argues that despite the success of Saudi Arabia's use of discourse to legitimize Operation Decisive Storm, their initial bombing and blockade of Yemen, to the United States, ultimately these discourses were problematic. Via analyzing speeches from Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Adel Al-Jubeir, and articles from Saudi news website Arab News, this paper traces Saudi propaganda, showing the way in which it was used to justify the extraordinary bombing of Yemen and blockade of Yemeni ports. The paper meaningfully assesses the resonance of their narratives with US audiences through informed analysis. US discourse created a nexus of reciprocal positionality, in which Washington's discourse began to merge with Riyadh's, justifying it yet further. The US had its own reasons for lending support to KSA's war efforts, which encouraged them to adopt core Saudi narratives. This served to justify the two actors' involvement in the Saudi-led intervention. These propagandized narratives had profound humanitarian consequences for the people of Yemen.