The target? Yemen's Houthi rebels.

They're the seasoned fighters who have taken control of large areas of Yemen in recent weeks, triggering sectarian violence and wobbling the poorest Arab country close to collapse. Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, Yemen's beleaguered president, arrived in Saudi Arabia on Thursday after fleeing his stronghold of Aden.

In spite of the catastrophic destabilization and panicked regional military action, President Barack Obama's administration continues to hail Yemen as a successful model for combating extremism.

"The White House does continue to believe that a successful counterterrorism strategy is one that will build up the capacity of the central government to have local fighters on the ground to take the fight to extremists in their own country," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters on Wednesday.