WEBVTT 00:02.066 --> 00:05.433 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: The war in the Middle Eastern country Yemen grinds on well into its third 00:05.433 --> 00:07.533 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% year. 00:07.533 --> 00:11.433 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% Houthi rebels control much of the country's northwest, including the capital, Sanaa, while 00:12.900 --> 00:16.266 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% a Saudi-backed government and al-Qaida hold sway elsewhere. 00:16.266 --> 00:19.733 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% William Brangham has the latest on the U.S. role in this conflict. 00:19.733 --> 00:24.733 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In December alone, according to the U.N., 136 civilians were killed in 00:26.033 --> 00:28.766 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% airstrikes by the U.S.-backed Saudi-led coalition. 00:28.766 --> 00:31.600 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% One airstrike cost this man in Northwest Yemen dearly. 00:31.600 --> 00:35.700 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% MEGAHED GASSAR, Yemen (through translator): They targeted my house while there were 18 00:35.700 --> 00:37.333 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% to 20 guests. 00:37.333 --> 00:40.766 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% The whole family was inside, as well as all our cattle. 00:40.766 --> 00:41.866 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% Everything is gone. 00:41.866 --> 00:43.966 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% There's nothing left. 00:43.966 --> 00:47.066 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% WILLIAM BRANGHAM: And on Tuesday, the Houthi rebels, whom the Saudis are fighting, fired 00:47.066 --> 00:51.500 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% another ballistic missile from Yemen towards the Saudi capital of Riyadh. 00:51.500 --> 00:55.566 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% The missile was intercepted by the kingdom's air defenses, and the Saudis claim it was 00:55.566 --> 00:59.200 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% manufactured by Iran, which is backing the Houthis. 00:59.200 --> 01:03.466 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% This was the second failed attack on Riyadh by the Houthis in as many months. 01:03.466 --> 01:08.166 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% The Trump administration has also repeatedly called out Iran about its involvement in the 01:08.166 --> 01:12.533 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% conflict, a point driven home dramatically by U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley last week. 01:12.533 --> 01:14.866 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% NIKKI HALEY, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations: These are the recovered pieces of 01:14.866 --> 01:19.866 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% a missile fired by Houthi militants from Yemen into Saudi Arabia. 01:21.433 --> 01:25.166 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% The weapons might as well have had "Made in Iran" stickers all over. 01:25.166 --> 01:29.433 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Meanwhile, the Yemeni people continue to suffer. 01:29.433 --> 01:33.500 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% This week, according to the Red Cross, the country registered its one-millionth case 01:33.500 --> 01:35.500 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% of cholera. 01:35.500 --> 01:38.500 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Health officials say it is the fastest spreading cholera epidemic in history. 01:38.500 --> 01:43.500 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And at the same time, millions of Yemenis also live on the brink of famine, a crisis 01:45.833 --> 01:49.133 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% that's been worsened by the Saudi blockade of ports and border crossings, which has limited 01:49.133 --> 01:52.500 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% food and humanitarian supplies. 01:52.500 --> 01:56.700 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% On Wednesday, the Saudi-led coalition announced it would keep the Houthi-controlled port of 01:56.700 --> 02:00.633 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% Hudaydah open for a month to allow aid into the country. 02:00.633 --> 02:02.966 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% The port had been closed for most of November. 02:02.966 --> 02:07.100 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Yesterday, Deputy Assistant Secretary Of State Tim Lenderking welcomed the news. 02:07.100 --> 02:09.633 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% TIM LENDERKING, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State: The first thing we want to see is ships actually 02:09.633 --> 02:14.600 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% moving into Hudaydah port, off-loading, providing fuel, water, supplies for the Yemeni people, 02:16.600 --> 02:19.400 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% filling the hospitals with fuel, so that medical supplies can be dispensed. 02:19.400 --> 02:22.933 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% Four U.S. cranes will be on their way very shortly to Hudaydah. 02:22.933 --> 02:25.066 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% We want to see them installed. 02:25.066 --> 02:28.400 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% We want to see them playing a central role here in off-loading ships. 02:28.400 --> 02:33.400 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% WILLIAM BRANGHAM: While the U.S. is the largest donor of aid to Yemen, U.S. arms manufacturers, 02:35.333 --> 02:38.833 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% with approval from the U.S. government, also supply the Saudi-led coalition with bombs, 02:40.766 --> 02:44.066 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% and U.S. military jets refuel those coalition bombers and fighter jets. 02:44.066 --> 02:48.933 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% On Thursday, U.S. Central Command announced that it had also carried out multiple ground 02:48.933 --> 02:53.933 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% operations and more than 120 airstrikes in Yemen this year, those attacks apparently 02:54.833 --> 02:57.366 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% against al-Qaida leaders. 02:57.366 --> 03:00.500 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% Last summer, the Trump administration announced the potential for billions of dollars of new 03:00.500 --> 03:05.466 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% arms sales to Saudi Arabia, arms that will no doubt add to the civilian death toll, which, 03:06.900 --> 03:09.933 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% according to the U.N., is over 5,000 and growing. 03:09.933 --> 03:12.833 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm William Brangham. 03:12.833 --> 03:17.833 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: To help explain the complex situation in Yemen, I'm joined now by James 03:18.866 --> 03:20.866 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% Jeffrey. 03:20.866 --> 03:24.866 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% He served in several senior positions during his 35-year career as a diplomat, including 03:26.800 --> 03:30.066 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% U.S. ambassador to Turkey and to Iraq, and as President George W. Bush's deputy national 03:31.333 --> 03:32.800 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% security adviser. 03:32.800 --> 03:36.733 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% He's now at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. 03:36.733 --> 03:41.733 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And Stephen Seche, he was deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs 03:43.633 --> 03:47.200 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% at the State Department, responsible for U.S. relations with the Gulf states and Yemen. 03:48.666 --> 03:51.466 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% He served as U.S. ambassador to Yemen from 2007 to 2010. 03:51.466 --> 03:56.233 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% He is now at the Arab Gulf States Institute here in Washington. 03:56.233 --> 03:59.333 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And we welcome both of you to the program. 03:59.333 --> 04:01.033 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Ambassador Seche, I will start with you. 04:01.033 --> 04:04.133 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Why has this war dragged on and on? 04:04.133 --> 04:06.133 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% What is driving it? 04:06.133 --> 04:08.166 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% STEPHEN SECHE, Former U.S. Ambassador to Yemen: To a large extent, the reason why the war 04:08.166 --> 04:12.800 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% continued in this fashion is because it sits in a corner of the globe which has not produced 04:14.400 --> 04:16.433 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% the kind of migration into Europe which the war in Syria has. 04:16.433 --> 04:19.933 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% So, therefore, the alarm that is raised about the war in Yemen is far diminished from that 04:19.933 --> 04:22.066 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% that we see given the conflict in Syria. 04:22.066 --> 04:26.900 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% So, that being away from the public eye and not creating that sense of threat that is 04:29.366 --> 04:31.733 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% really prolonged and very protracted has worked to a disadvantage of all the people of Yemen 04:31.733 --> 04:35.533 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% who have suffered on the back pages of our newspapers, and not as much coverage on our 04:35.533 --> 04:37.600 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% television. 04:37.600 --> 04:40.500 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: Ambassador Jeffrey, is this a war between the factions inside Yemen, or 04:40.500 --> 04:43.933 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% is it a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran? 04:43.933 --> 04:46.400 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% JAMES JEFFREY, Former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq: It's both. 04:46.400 --> 04:50.733 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% Only about five non-Yemenis, including, unfortunately, Ambassador Seche, understand what's going 04:50.733 --> 04:55.733 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% on in the many groups inside of Yemen, but rather like Syria, rather like Lebanon and 04:57.666 --> 05:01.966 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Iraq, this is part of an overall conflict in the region between Iran on the one hand 05:04.033 --> 05:07.933 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% and Saudi Arabia, the U.S., Israel and most of the rest of the region on the other. 05:07.933 --> 05:11.533 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: And what's the main grievance, Ambassador Seche? 05:11.533 --> 05:15.166 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% The Saudis are saying Iran is threatening the region. 05:15.166 --> 05:20.166 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% The Iranians are doing what they're trying to do through the Houthis, who are also Shia, 05:20.900 --> 05:23.833 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% the Shia militia there. 05:23.833 --> 05:25.900 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Who has the upper hand in this argument? 05:25.900 --> 05:28.033 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% STEPHEN SECHE: Well, I think it's important to start with the fact that the Houthis, who 05:28.033 --> 05:33.033 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% are a part of Yemen's fabric of society, have serious, longstanding grievous with their 05:34.400 --> 05:36.700 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% government and with the Saudis, for that matter, too. 05:36.700 --> 05:39.200 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% So this is kind of where the Houthis are coming from. 05:39.200 --> 05:43.600 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% And they're trying to grab their part of Yemen and its power structure. 05:43.600 --> 05:48.200 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Now, the Saudis feel very alarmed, and with reason, by the fact the Houthis have taken 05:48.200 --> 05:53.200 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% over a lot of the military weapons in Yemen, a lot of the territory, and now control basically 05:54.766 --> 05:56.433 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% - - and exercise a real threat that Saudi Arabia finds intolerable. 05:56.433 --> 05:57.433 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% And I agree with them. 05:57.433 --> 05:59.400 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% It probably is. 05:59.400 --> 06:02.466 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: And so it started as something more internal, Ambassador Jeffrey, but it 06:02.466 --> 06:05.733 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% has grown to be this more regional war. 06:05.733 --> 06:10.033 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% JAMES JEFFREY: Right, but, I mean, you have to point fingers. 06:10.033 --> 06:15.033 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% The main reason it's grown to be that is the Iranian strategy to infiltrate into failed 06:17.033 --> 06:20.033 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% states -- and this is a good example of it - - Lebanon was in the 1980s -- find groups, 06:20.033 --> 06:25.033 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% typically, but not always, Shia groups, that it can support, and then create sub-governments 06:26.933 --> 06:30.866 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% and sub-militias within societies -- and I saw that very personally in Iraq -- that are 06:32.833 --> 06:36.200 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% more loyal to Tehran than they are to their own capitals of Beirut, of Damascus, or Baghdad 06:36.800 --> 06:38.866 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% or Sanaa. 06:38.866 --> 06:42.366 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: Ambassador Seche, are the Iranians, do they pose the threat that the Saudis and 06:43.533 --> 06:46.066 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% others say they do in the region? 06:46.066 --> 06:47.533 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% STEPHEN SECHE: I'm not as persuaded as Ambassador Jeffrey is that the Iranians are the ones 06:47.533 --> 06:49.033 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% that -- engineers behind this. 06:49.033 --> 06:51.700 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% This is a homegrown revolt on the part of the Houthis. 06:51.700 --> 06:55.100 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% The Iranians no doubt have gotten more and more involved, as the Saudis have gotten more 06:55.100 --> 06:57.233 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% and more involved. 06:57.233 --> 07:00.900 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% So, now I think each of these two rivals are seeing Yemen as an arena in which their interests 07:00.900 --> 07:02.966 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% can be served. 07:02.966 --> 07:05.233 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% But I also think that a lot of what we see now, a lot of the humanitarian issue that's 07:05.233 --> 07:09.500 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% emerged, is a direct result of three years of protracted Saudi airstrikes. 07:09.500 --> 07:14.433 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% I saw data today from the Yemen Data Project 15,000 airstrikes have been conducted over 07:14.433 --> 07:17.833 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Yemen, a country smaller than the state of Texas, over a three-year period. 07:17.833 --> 07:22.833 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: Why has this grown to be the humanitarian crisis that it is, Ambassador 07:23.533 --> 07:25.566 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% Jeffrey? 07:25.566 --> 07:27.833 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% It's one thing for two sides to be fighting each other, but the civilians are the ones 07:27.833 --> 07:29.866 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% who have taken the hit, for the most part. 07:29.866 --> 07:34.866 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JAMES JEFFREY: In almost every conflict I have seen in the Middle East, the conflicts 07:36.500 --> 07:40.166 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% are actually fought out not in the desert, but in the populated areas. 07:42.133 --> 07:45.233 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And all sides use unrestricted airstrikes to make up for typically a lack of infantry 07:49.800 --> 07:51.900 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% troops. 07:51.900 --> 07:54.800 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% The Saudis in these airstrikes have killed, according to the U.N. report in October, some 07:54.800 --> 07:56.833 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% 3,000 civilians. 07:56.833 --> 08:00.733 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% That's a big number, but it's not all that different than what we have killed in the 08:00.733 --> 08:03.433 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% conflict against ISIS in Iraq and Syria over the past three years. 08:03.433 --> 08:07.633 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: But the U.S. is -- not but - - or the U.S. is part of this coalition with 08:07.633 --> 08:10.966 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% the Saudis that has helped lead to these civilian casualties. 08:10.966 --> 08:15.966 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JAMES JEFFREY: Right, and the reason for that, though, is the Saudis and the U.S. fear -- the 08:17.133 --> 08:19.266 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% two sides aren't equal, Iran and Saudi Arabia. 08:19.266 --> 08:20.766 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% Yemen borders on Saudi Arabia. 08:20.766 --> 08:21.900 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% It doesn't border on Iran. 08:21.900 --> 08:23.933 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% It is a long way from Iran. 08:23.933 --> 08:27.233 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% More importantly, the Saudis have been seen this movie before in Lebanon. 08:27.233 --> 08:32.233 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% The Shia group there, Hezbollah, had their own legitimate grievances against Israel and 08:33.766 --> 08:36.233 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% against their own governments, but they became a front for Iran. 08:36.233 --> 08:39.333 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% They have over 100,000 missiles right now aimed at Israel. 08:39.333 --> 08:40.766 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% It's an existential threat. 08:40.766 --> 08:43.533 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% The Saudis fear, for good reason, the same thing in Yemen. 08:43.533 --> 08:46.933 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: But you're saying that that fear is overblown? 08:46.933 --> 08:49.033 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% STEPHEN SECHE: I think the fear is genuine. 08:49.033 --> 08:54.033 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% I do think it is not quite the fact that Iran has come in here to try to become the archenemy 08:56.066 --> 08:58.966 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% - - they are already -- of Saudi Arabia, but the Houthis need to be dealt with as a nationalist 08:58.966 --> 09:00.233 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% movement on their own. 09:00.233 --> 09:02.266 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% The ironies are taking advantage of this. 09:02.266 --> 09:05.733 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% They're exploiting a situation which has been created to their benefit, very low investment 09:05.733 --> 09:07.800 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% and very high reward for the Iranians here. 09:07.800 --> 09:11.300 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% So, I think what the Saudis need to do is figure out what they can do to extract themselves, 09:11.300 --> 09:14.366 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% because they're getting dug deeper and deeper in the muck of this war. 09:14.366 --> 09:17.766 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And they have a lot of other items on their agenda that need their attention and their 09:17.766 --> 09:19.700 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% resources. 09:19.700 --> 09:22.300 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: Do you believe the Saudis will see a way to extract themselves? 09:22.300 --> 09:25.733 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% STEPHEN SECHE: They haven't demonstrated that interest as yet, nor have the Houthis for 09:25.733 --> 09:27.800 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% that matter. 09:27.800 --> 09:29.900 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% So, I think both sides, they need to realize at this point that the only way they Gates 09:29.900 --> 09:32.933 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% have any of their interests served is by sitting down and negotiating a way out of this. 09:32.933 --> 09:34.933 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% There is no military victory. 09:34.933 --> 09:37.133 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% The Saudis cannot win this war, certainly not the way they have been fighting it for 09:37.133 --> 09:39.333 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% three year . And the Houthis don't need to win it. 09:39.333 --> 09:40.833 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% They just need not to lose it. 09:40.833 --> 09:42.933 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: Do you agree the Saudis can't win this? 09:42.933 --> 09:44.033 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% JAMES JEFFREY: Absolutely. 09:44.033 --> 09:46.100 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% Steve has the right way forward. 09:46.100 --> 09:50.566 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% The only problem is, the Saudis can't do this if they're going to face a future with hundreds 09:52.533 --> 09:55.600 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% of thousands or at least tens of thousands of long-range missiles in the hands of the 09:55.600 --> 09:58.200 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% Houthis, and with Iran aiming at capital, Riyadh. 09:58.200 --> 10:00.266 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, where do you see this going then? 10:00.266 --> 10:04.700 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JAMES JEFFREY: I see the United States finally coming up, which we haven't yet, with a real 10:04.700 --> 10:07.200 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% policy of trying to deal with Iran in the region. 10:07.200 --> 10:10.300 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% And that's the whole region, not just in Yemen or Syria. 10:10.300 --> 10:13.333 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Then telling the Saudis, look, we have a program. 10:13.333 --> 10:18.333 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% We understand that any solution has to exclude keeping a lot of Iranian missiles, i.e., a 10:20.300 --> 10:24.166 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% repeat of what we have in Southern Lebanon today, but as a quid pro quo for that, you 10:24.166 --> 10:26.800 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% have got to deal with the Houthis, just as Ambassador Seche said. 10:26.800 --> 10:31.800 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: But that would involve, Ambassador Seche, the U.S. coming down hard -- harder 10:32.266 --> 10:33.733 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% on Iran. 10:33.733 --> 10:35.800 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% STEPHEN SECHE: On Iran and also on Saudi Arabia. 10:35.800 --> 10:38.566 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And I think we have seen recently that the White House and the State Department have 10:38.566 --> 10:43.433 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% become a real strenuous campaign of putting some pressure on Riyadh, which has paid a 10:43.433 --> 10:45.466 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% lot. 10:45.466 --> 10:47.033 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% The Saudis just announced they're going to reopen the port or allow the port in Hudaydah 10:47.033 --> 10:50.033 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% to be reopened and they're going to let the cranes come in there. 10:50.033 --> 10:53.300 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% So, I think this demonstrates that if the U.S. does get aggressive, this will apply 10:53.300 --> 10:54.300 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% the pressure. 10:54.300 --> 10:56.366 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% The Saudis will respond. 10:56.366 --> 10:59.033 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% At the same time, Iran needs to be brought into this in some way, because they are playing 10:59.033 --> 11:00.333 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% a role in this. 11:00.333 --> 11:02.333 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% And I think we can't ignore that. 11:02.333 --> 11:06.033 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% We need to find a way to constructively engage all of the parties who have an interest in 11:07.200 --> 11:09.766 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% this, and bring them to the table together. 11:09.766 --> 11:13.066 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: Ambassador Stephen Seche, Ambassador James Jeffrey, it's good to have you both. 11:13.066 --> 11:14.066 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% Very tough subject. 11:14.066 --> 11:15.066 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% Thank you. 11:15.066 --> 11:15.200 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% JAMES JEFFREY: Thank you, Judy.