William Clough is an editor with the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies. He has lived and worked for several years in the Arab world in the humanitarian and research sectors. He holds BAs in International Relations and Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and is an alumnus of the American University in Cairo’s CASA Fellowship program.
William's latest contributions
The Yemen Review Quarterly: April-June 2025
Military and Security
Spring 2025 marked a turbulent new phase in Yemen’s conflict, as the region experienced one of its most volatile and contradictory periods in recent years. In the past three months, an intensified US air campaign, multiple Israeli airstrikes, a rumored anti-Houthi ground offensive, and direct military confrontation between Israel and Iran deepened … Read more
The Yemen Review Quarterly: April-June 2025
On May 6, the US abruptly suspended its air campaign against the Houthi group (Ansar Allah) as President Donald Trump announced a surprise ceasefire. Both sides reportedly agreed to stop targeting one another; each, unsurprisingly, declared victory. From its outset, the 52-day-long air campaign known as “Operation Rough Rider” was beset by … Read more
The Yemen Review Quarterly: January-March 2025
On March 15, the US launched Operation Rough Rider, a massive expansion of its aerial campaign against the Houthi group (. The strikes followed a Houthi threat to resume targeting Israeli ships due to the blockade of aid into Gaza on March 2. Strikes have been taking place continuously as of the time of writing. The Houthi-affiliated Health … Read more
Military and Security
The first weeks of 2025 offered hope that peace in Gaza could offer a reprieve in Yemen, as Houthi () leader Abdelmalek al-Houthi announced on January 16 that the group would suspend its attacks on commercial vessels, and a January 19 letter to shipping companies stated that any future strikes in the Red Sea would be limited to Israeli-linked … Read more
The Yemen Review Quarterly: October-December 2024
Military and Security
The final months of 2024 – bookended by the assassination of Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in late September and the announcement of a Gaza ceasefire in January 2025 – were undoubtedly a period of redefinition for Houthi military leadership, as the group once again shifted its strategy in targeting Israel, the United States, and their … Read more