Saudi Arabia is pushing the US toward a wider war in Yemen while 9/11 families are still being stonewalled about the kingdom's role in the attacks — bad news for anyone hoping Washington stays out of another Middle East conflict.

• Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called Trump twice in one day asking for US strikes on the Houthis as the group closed in on a key Red Sea shipping chokepoint.
• Trump said no to direct strikes, but the US is quietly ramping up support for the Saudis, with a few hundred personnel in the kingdom and Central Command's top admiral flying in for urgent talks.
• At the 25th-anniversary ceremony at ground zero, a widow of a 9/11 victim accused every administration since the attacks of shielding Saudi Arabia, withholding evidence, and breaking promises to the families.
• Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudi citizens, and parts of the official 9/11 report remain blacked out — yet the kingdom is still treated as a close ally.
• The pattern cuts across both parties: Saudi money flows into Washington and into Trump's own golf business, and nobody in power wants the redactions opened.

Outlook: The US will likely keep backing Saudi Arabia from behind the scenes in Yemen, and the risk of being dragged into a direct fight with the Houthis and Iran stays on the table.