“Saudi Arabia should be careful not to overstretch its military and diplomatic efforts, as Syria could be "quicksand" for them,” Paul Sullivan, National Defense University professor said, quoted by Defense News.
Some experts believe that Saudi Special Forces are well prepared and could be deployed in Turkey for a brief time period, in preparation for a further operation Syria.
"Their ability is to move in quickly and establish local partnerships. It’s modeled after the American approach. They are elite units. They are fast and mobile and with a full-spectrum capability to move and operate on short notice,” Oubai Shabandar, a former Pentagon official, stated.
“With only partial, previous combat experience, it is unlikely there will be enough [Saudi] troops ready and capable of contributing to both theaters [in Syria and Yemen],” Matthew Hedges, an expert in Middle Eastern military security, said.
The situation in Syria is markedly different from that in Yemen. Geopolitical factors, including the involvement of Russia and Iran, complicate matters for the Saudis, Defense News noted.
Shabandar underscored that Riyadh could not carry out two operations simultaneously without the military support of its allies.
"A full-fledged Turkish-Arab conventional force incursion into northern Syria requires either a NATO air umbrella or international coalition support," he asserted.
A major question remains regarding the ongoing civil war in Syria, that of whether further intervention will help or hamper Daesh (ISIL). Other unknowns include delineating an exit strategy and a creating a roadmap to rebuild the country after the war ends, Defense News said.
