25 Days to Aden 

The Unknown Story of Arabian Elite Forces at War

by Michael Knights

Published by Profile Books; Dist. by Allen and Unwin
RRP $39.99 in hardcover | ISBN 9781800815094

25 Days to Aden is the story of how in a week in 2015 the Gulf States pulled together a ten-nation coalition and the biggest military operation they ever launched unilaterally.

It is a compelling account of Arab militaries doing what America would not, preventing Iran from taking a foothold on the Arabian Peninsula. The risks for global security were huge: Iran already overshadowed one of the world’s greatest maritime straits, at Hormuz, and now it sought to dominate the southern approaches to the Suez Canal as well. Aden had to hold out against the Houthis.

The Gulf States were used to America stepping up at such moments, but the White House was part way through negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran. No help would come from Washington. Instead, for the first time, the Gulf States acted alone.

The author of this book, Michael Knights, is an unusual mixture of academic, conflict-zone practitioner, and policy advisor to Western governments. He received his PhD on Middle Eastern security for the Department of War Studies, King’s College, London and has been an advisor to all the post-9/11 US administrations and a range of European and Arab governments.

This excellent book, which begins with a potted history of the Arabian Peninsula and Yemen in particular, tells the unique story of this intervention.

Is it possible such an undertaking may hold important pointers for a future of warfare driven by emergent powers in the gap left by the withdrawal of American influence? Only time will decide the answer to that question, but one reviewer of this book has gone so far as to suggest the UAE campaign to save Aden ‘deserves to be a case study in future military doctrine.’ (Robert Tollast, 11/1/23).

It certainly deserves to be read by people whose job it is to understand such issues and advise politicians who may be woefully ignorant on Middle East politics, especially the concept of the ‘forever war’, the normal state of affairs in Yemen.

For a more extensive review of this book, go to this link.

For a discounted copy of this book in Australia go to this link