Ann: Quarterly Report December 2015, page-12

Pressure is starting to come to bare on the US and UK to stop supporting the Saudis in Yemen.

"Democratic Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) called for the U.S. to cease military involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen, doubling down on his critique last week of America's relationship with Saudi Arabia."

"Since raising questions about the U.S.-Saudi relationship last week, Murphy said colleagues from both sides of the aisle have privately expressed support. He said he expects some will eventually join him in speaking out."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/en...us_56b3d010e4b04f9b57d9073c?section=Australia

Also UN secretary general Ban-Ki moon accuses Saudi Arabia of indiscriminate bombing in Yemen and says Britain has duty to stop weapons flow.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/05/ban-ki-moon-yemen-war-uk-arms-sales-saudi-arabia

Pressure is building on the Saudis to back down in Yemen. As I've speculated previously I think the cease fire will be brokered by the Russians behind closed doors and will form part of a larger deal on the oil price later this year. Out of the carrot and the stick the Saudis really have no choice but to except the carrot because continued instability could end the rein of the Saudi kings. Good take in this article below.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion...nered-boxer/CwRObNveMrzLR6P7k691XN/story.html

"Fear drives Saudi Arabia’s new militancy. Part of its challenge is domestic. The extremist terror epitomized by the Taliban, Al Qaeda, and ISIS has its roots in Saudi Arabia. That terror, inevitably, has begun erupting inside the kingdom itself. Yet because the regime relies for its legitimacy on the blessing of militant clerics, any crackdown can be only half-hearted.
Even more alarming to the Saudis is what they see in their neighborhood. The state system that shaped the Middle East for generations is collapsing. Iran, which the Saudi regime sees as its main enemy, is emerging from decades of isolation. Previous Saudi leaders might have sought to calm these crises, but the impetuous new defense minister has reacted violently. At his direction, Saudi forces have become directly involved in the Syrian war. They have also launched a large-scale bombing campaign against factions in neighboring Yemen that they believe are in league with Iran. According to United Nations reports, this campaign includes “widespread and systematic” attacks on civilians and has plunged Yemen into “humanitarian catastrophe.”"

Eshmun