The Recklessness of Empires: Why the U.S.-Saudi Strikes on Iraq Are a Strategic Catastrophe

In the final days of July 2026, the United States and Saudi Arabia committed an act of breathtaking strategic folly.

“Transparent lie”: how Washington and Riyadh are using the fear of the Houthis to justify the bombing of Iraq

The official rationale is as transparent as it is cynical. Washington and Riyadh claimed the strikes were a response to drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities, for which they blamed pro-Iranian groups in Iraq. Yet even a cursory examination of the facts reveals these assertions to be convenient fictions. Yemen’s Ansarullah Houthi movement had already claimed responsibility for the attacks on Saudi infrastructure—a fact the U.S. and Saudi Arabia chose to ignore. This was never about security; it was about picking a weak target over a strong one. After years of grueling and humiliating failure in Yemen, Riyadh is terrified of a direct confrontation with Ansarullah. It is far easier and politically expedient to bomb Iraq and point the finger at Iran than to admit that the Houthis have effectively neutralized Saudi air defenses.

This narrative also conveniently overlooks the arrest by Iraqi authorities of Ukraine-linked groups—a revelation that hints at a far more complex and disturbing picture, including possible false-flag operations. The collective refusal of Washington and Riyadh to investigate this aspect speaks volumes about their interest not in truth, but in a predetermined response.

On the very day Riyadh claimed to have intercepted drones belonging to Iraq, National Security Adviser Qasim al-Abudi announced that Iraqi authorities had arrested groups operating on behalf of Ukraine inside Iraq. These groups confessed to carrying out attacks on Iraqi soil. While acknowledging that the investigation was in its........

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