후티 반군 공습 여부를 놓고 고심중인 미군

[위종민]

사우디와 후티 반군의 충돌이 격화되면서 미군이 후티 반군을 다시 공습할 지 여부가 주목받고 있네요. 뎁툴라 중장은 공습이 효과가 있으려면 사우디의 방공능력이 강화되야 한다고 평가했습니다. 공습으로 후티반군 부숴봐야 후티반군이 날리는 공격을 막지 못하고 더 큰 피해를 입으면 말짱 도루묵이니.. 

사우디가 요구하고 있고, 영국과 터키가 사우디 지원을 천명했지만 미국이 페르시아만에 이어 홍해까지 다시 전선을 열 수 있을 지 모르겠습니다.  

# 트럼프의 후티 반군 딜레마: 공격할 것인가, 자제할 것인가?

사우디아라비아가 예멘에 첫 공습을 가한 지 10년이 넘었지만, 이번 주에도 후티 반군의 공격이 사우디아라비아를 계속 뒤흔들고 있다. 미국은 대응 방안을 저울질하고 있다.

무스타파 카티브, 하니 알파라시

10월 13일 | 읽는 시간 4분

자료사진: 2025년 11월 18일 미국 워싱턴 D.C. 백악관 집무실에서 도널드 트럼프 미국 대통령과 무함마드 빈 살만 사우디아라비아 왕세자 겸 총리가 회담 중 손을 맞잡고 있다. (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/자료사진)

도널드 트럼프 대통령은 사우디아라비아에 대한 공격이 격화되는 가운데, 미국이 사우디아라비아와 함께 예멘의 후티 반군을 공격할 가능성을 열어둔 것으로 보인다.

불과 몇 주 전 트럼프는 이란과 연계된 후티 반군에 대한 미국의 직접적인 공격을 요청한 사우디아라비아의 요구를 거부했다. 그러나 최근 후티 반군의 사우디아라비아 침투 공격으로 많은 사상자와 피해가 발생하자, 트럼프는 기자들에게 “아마도… 검토해 보겠습니다. 우리는 매우 빠르게 움직이고 있습니다”라고 말했으며, 이후 공격을 “끔찍한 일”이라고 표현했다.

그러나 미국이 중동에서 군사행동에 나설지는 신중한 여러 계산에 따라 결정될 것이다. 그중 가장 중요한 것은 미국의 이익을 위협하거나 홍해의 국제 해운에 대한 추가 공격을 촉발할 수 있는 역내 충돌 확대의 위험이다.

지난 한 주 동안 리야드의 킹칼리드 국제공항과 사우디아라비아 전역의 다른 공항들을 겨냥한 일련의 후티 반군 공격으로 약 20명이 사망하고 수백 명이 부상했다. 마코 루비오 미국 국무장관은 X를 통해 이러한 공격을 규탄하면서 희생자 가운데 미국 시민 한 명이 포함돼 있다고 밝혔다.

미국의 개입 가능성을 묻는 질문에 미 국방부 관계자는 MBN에 “전쟁부는 가상적인 군사작전이나 향후 군사작전에 관해 논의하지 않는다”고 말했다.

사우디아라비아에 대한 후티 반군의 공격은 화요일에도 계속됐다. 사우디아라비아가 주도하는 군사연합은 리야드 북쪽에서 드론 3대를 요격해 파괴했다고 밝혔다. 이는 연합군이 수도를 향해 발사된 탄도미사일을 파괴했다고 발표한 지 하루 만이었다.

걸프뉴스에 따르면 연합군은 후티 반군이 장악한 수도 사나에서 투르키 알말리키 소장이 ‘특별작전’이라고 설명한 작전을 실시하기에 앞서, 민간인들에게 예멘석유회사의 알사바하 중앙시설에서 대피할 것을 촉구했다.

미 국무부가 테러단체로 지정한 후티 반군의 군 대변인은 성명에서 사나가 공격받을 경우 대응하겠다고 밝혔다.

국제관계 전문가인 사우디아라비아 연구자 무바라크 알아티는 MBN에 후티 반군의 공격에 대응하려면 “대규모 국제적 노력”이 필요하다고 말했다. 그는 대응이 지연될 경우 사우디아라비아 국경에 “테러 위협이자 새로운 이란”이 등장하게 될 것이라고 주장했다.

미첼 항공우주연구소 학장인 예비역 장군 데이비드 뎁튤라에 따르면, 미국이 선택할 수 있는 군사적 방안은 제한적인 정밀타격에서부터 미사일 및 드론 발사장, 무기 저장시설, 지휘통제센터를 겨냥한 광범위한 공중작전에 이르기까지 다양하다.

뎁튤라는 MBN에 미국의 지원이 얼마나 효과적일지는 정보·감시·표적획득 능력을 공군력, 공중급유, 군수지원과 통합하는 동시에 사우디아라비아의 방공능력을 강화하는 데 달려 있다고 말했다.

후티 반군은 방대한 규모의 탄도미사일, 순항미사일, 드론, 대함미사일을 보유하고 있으며, 지난 수년간의 내전과 혼란 속에서 예멘군 비축시설로부터 확보한 다른 무기들도 갖고 있다.

AFP통신에 따르면 후티 지도자 무함마드 알부카이티는 월요일 미국이 사우디아라비아와 함께 군사적으로 개입하지 말라고 경고하면서, 개입할 경우 “미국과 역내의 모든 미국 이익을 겨냥한 신속한 대응”에 나서겠다고 위협했다.

이는 후티 반군이 홍해 남부의 해상항로를 추가로 공격해 에너지 가격에 더욱 큰 상승 압력을 가할 가능성을 시사한다.

쿠웨이트 중동전략연구센터 소장인 파흐드 알셸리미는 사우디아라비아가 후티 반군에 대한 공격에 미국 항공기들이 참가하기를 원한다고 말했다. 사우디아라비아는 2015년 3월 공식적으로 이 전쟁에 뛰어들었지만 아직 후티 반군을 제압하지 못했다. 다만 미국은 이란에 집중하고 추가적인 확전에 대비해 무기 비축량을 보존하는 쪽을 선호할 수 있다고 그는 설명했다.

후티 반군에 맞서는 사우디아라비아에 대한 서방의 광범위한 지원의 일환으로, 앤디 버넘 영국 총리는 월요일 의원들에게 런던이 사우디아라비아의 추가 지원 요청을 검토할 준비가 돼 있다고 말했다. 의회에 제출된 성명에 따르면 그는 영국이 지난달 한시적으로 공중급유를 제공하기로 합의했다고 언급했다.

레제프 타이이프 에르도안 튀르키예 대통령도 킹칼리드 국제공항에 대한 후티 반군의 공격을 규탄하면서 리야드에 대한 앙카라의 지지를 표명했다. 또한 며칠 안에 ‘메카 방위동맹’을 튀르키예 의회에 제출할 계획이라고 발표했다.

워싱턴 D.C.의 싱크탱크 디펜스 프라이어리티스에서 선임연구원이자 군사분석 책임자를 맡고 있는 제니퍼 캐버너는 트럼프가 이 분쟁에 직접 개입할 것으로 예상하지 않는다고 밝혔다. 또한 공중 및 해상 폭격작전을 재개하더라도 후티 반군의 위협이 종식된다는 보장은 없다고 말했다.

그녀는 후티 반군이 이전의 공격들을 견뎌낼 수 있는 능력을 보여줬으며, 이란에서의 군사작전으로 인해 미국의 탄약 비축량에 제약이 발생한 만큼 추가적인 미군 작전에도 제한이 생길 수 있다고 지적했다.

그러나 미 국방부 대변인 숀 파넬은 MBN에 “미군은 대통령이 선택하는 시간과 장소에서 작전을 수행하는 데 필요한 모든 것을 갖추고 있다”고 말했다.

Trump’s Houthi Dilemma: Strike or Hold Back?

Trump’s Houthi Dilemma: Strike or Hold Back?

Over a decade since Saudi Arabia first bombed Yemen, Houthi forays continue to rock the kingdom this week, as the US weighs its options

Mustafa Khatib and Hani Al-Farash

Read in العربية→

Oct 13·4 min read

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman hold hands during a meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 18, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo

President Donald Trump may have left open the possibility of the United States joining Saudi Arabia in striking Yemen’s Houthi rebels, as attacks on the kingdom intensify.

Just weeks ago, Trump rejected Saudi requests for direct US strikes against the Iran-aligned Houthis, but after heavy casualties and damage caused by the rebels’ latest incursions into the kingdom, Trump told reporters, “Maybe … we’ll look at it. We’re moving very fast,” later describing the attacks as “a terrible thing.”

But any US military action in the Middle East would be shaped by a delicate set of calculations, chief among them a risk of wider regional confrontation that could threaten American interests or provoke more attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea.

About 20 people were killed and hundreds more injured in a series of Houthi attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and other airports across Saudi Arabia this past week. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the actions on X, noting that an American citizen had been one of the victims.

Asked whether the United States might intervene, a Pentagon official told MBN, “The Department of War does not discuss hypothetical or future military operations.”

Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia continued Tuesday, when the Saudi-led military coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed three drones north of Riyadh, a day after it said it had destroyed a ballistic missile fired toward the capital.

The coalition also urged civilians to evacuate the Yemen Petroleum Company’s Al-Sabaha Central Station in Sanaa ahead of what spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki called a special operation in the Houthi-held capital, according to Gulf News.

A Houthi military spokesman said in a statement that the group, which the U.S. State Department has designated as a terrorist group, would respond to any targeting of Sanaa.

Mubarak Al-Ati, a Saudi researcher specializing in international relations, told MBN that the Houthi attacks “require a major international effort.” Any delay, he argued, would create “a terrorist threat and a new Iran” on Saudi Arabia’s borders.

According to retired Gen. David Deptula, dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, the range of US military options extends from limited precision strikes to a broader air campaign targeting missile and drone launch sites, weapons depots, and command-and-control centers.

The effectiveness of American support, Deptula told MBN, would depend on integrating intelligence, surveillance and targeting capabilities with air power, aerial refueling and logistical support, while also strengthening Saudi Arabia’s air defenses.

The Houthis possess a vast arsenal of ballistic and cruise missiles, drones and anti-ship missiles, as well as other weapons seized from Yemeni military stockpiles over the last years of civil unrest.

On Monday, Houthi leader Mohammed al-Bukhaiti warned the United States against intervening militarily alongside Saudi Arabia, threatening “a swift response … targeting America and all its interests in the region,” according to Agence France-Presse.

This could point to the Houthis further targeting shipping lanes in the southern Red Sea, further squeezing energy prices.

Fahd Al-Shelimi, head of the Middle East Center for Strategic Studies in Kuwait, said Saudi Arabia wanted US aircraft to take part in strikes against the Houthis – a battle the kingdom officially entered in March 2015 but has yet been able to quell – though Washington might prefer to focus on Iran and preserve its stockpiles in case of further escalation.

As part of broader Western support for Saudi Arabia in confronting the Houthis, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham told lawmakers on Monday that London was prepared to consider additional Saudi requests for assistance. He noted that Britain had agreed last month to provide aerial-refueling for a limited period, according to a statement to Parliament.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also condemned the Houthi attacks on King Khalid International Airport, expressing Ankara’s support for Riyadh and announcing plans to submit the Mecca Defense Alliance to the Turkish parliament in the coming days.

Jennifer Kavanagh, senior fellow and director of military analysis at Defense Priorities, a Washington, D.C think tank, said she did not expect Trump to become directly involved in the conflict, and that resuming air and naval bombing campaigns would not guarantee an end to the Houthi threat.

She noted that the group had demonstrated its ability to withstand previous strikes, while constraints on US munitions stockpiles, thanks to deployments in Iran, could limit additional American military operations.

But Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told MBN, “The US military has everything it needs to conduct operations at the time and place of the president’s choosing.”