The ongoing Arab coalition war in Yemen, led by Saudi Arabia, may just be the first in a series of such military interventions across the region, as those nations have designs on propping up friendly states elsewhere in the Middle East.
Libya looks to be the next, with a summit scheduled for next week in Cairo during which the Egypt junta and other Arab states will be discussing how to throw their weight behind the factions they support there.
In the case of Egypt, this means Gen. Khalifa Hifter, a former Gadhadi ally turned US-funded rebel who has declared multiple abortive coups d’etat over the last year. He has also become a top military leader in one of the Libyan governments.
Egypt and the UAE have occasionally launched airstrikes in Libya in support of Hifter, and the summit will likely at least include some additional funding for the general, but could well move the process toward another war in Libya designed to prop him up.
