Yemen's Houthis: Threat to International Shipping in the Red Sea and to the U.S.

Houthi territory inside of Yemen

(Waterway to the Suez Canal now hampered)

Houthi terrorists rally from their Yemeni enclave

From REUTERS a very good rundown article on the whole Houthi mess now impacting shipping in the Red Sea leading to the up the Suez Canal that is impacting free trade in international waters with this headline:

“Did the U.S. just get lured into war with the Houthis?”

WASHINGTON, January 13 (Reuters) – Biden's blistering strikes on Yemen followed weeks of warnings to the Houthis to stop attacking Red Sea shipping, or else. Yet the Houthis continued firing drones and missiles, seemingly goading the United States to follow through on its threats. That has raised a question for some experts: Did the Houthis want a war with America? And if so, why?

Gerald Feierstein, former U.S. ambassador to Yemen, is among those who think the United States has given the Houthis exactly what they wanted: a fight, saying: “Absolutely they have been trying to provoke U.S. retaliation. They've been confident that they could withstand whatever we were going to do. They have seen they win popular support.”

The Houthis, who have controlled most of Yemen since 2014, said five of their fighters had been killed in a total of 73 air strikes. They vowed to retaliate and continue their attacks on shipping, which they say are intended to support Palestinians against Israel, a popular cause in Yemen.

The U.S. said on Friday (January 12) that it had launched another strike targeting a radar site. 

After the initial U.S. and UK strikes, drone footage on the Houthis' al-Masirah TV showed hundreds of thousands of people in Sana'a (Yemen's capital) chanting slogans denouncing Israel and the United States. Crowds gathered in other Yemeni cities as well.

Experts say much of the Houthi confidence comes from having resisted years of attacks from Saudi Arabia. But a U.S.-led campaign against the group could be very different.

Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims, the director of the Joint Staff, told reporters that the strikes hit 28 locations with more than 150 munitions. 

Reviewing the damage, Sims said he hoped the Houthis would not invite that kind of destruction, saying: “My guess is if you were operating a ballistic missile launcher last night, you certainly didn't want the strike. I would hope they didn't want us to strike.”

THE HOUTHIS – MOUNTAIN FIGHTERS: 

Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the enigmatic leader of Yemen's Houthi fighters, traces his lineage to the Prophet Muhammad. In pre-recorded speeches and sermons, al-Houthi asserts that his movement is under siege because of its religion.

Al-Houthi established a reputation as a fierce battlefield commander before emerging as head of the Houthi movement, mountain fighters who have been battling a Saudi-led military coalition since 2015 in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands, devastated Yemen's economy, and left millions hungry.

Under the direction of al-Houthi, who is in his 40’s, the group has acquired tens of thousands of fighters and a huge arsenal of armed drones and ballistic missiles, largely supplied by Iran.

Following the strikes, General Sims and other U.S. officials acknowledged that the Houthis would probably make good on their threats to retaliate. Then on January 12^th they did when they fired an anti-ship ballistic missile into the Red Sea.

A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said far from being deterred, the Houthis might see the likely low death toll among their fighters in the strikes as a success for the group, even if their capabilities have been degraded. 

With tensions now soaring, the price of Brent crude oil rose 1% on the same day of the Houthi attack and that raised concerns that supplies could be disrupted. Then commercial ship tracking data showed at least nine oil tankers stopping or diverting from the Red Sea.

Michael Mulroy, former Dep Assistant Def Sec under Trump, said the Pentagon should prepare for additional military action adding: “The U.S. should start planning to increase our response to further attacks in the Red Sea or Syria and Iraq, and Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) should be included in those targets.”

Iran champions the Houthis as part of its regional “axis of resistance” – a collection of Iran-backed groups that includes Palestinian militant group Hamas and militia in Iraq and Syria.

The United States accuses Iran of enabling the Houthi Red Sea attacks, providing the military capabilities, and intelligence to carry them out.

The Houthis deny being puppets of Tehran and say they are fighting a corrupt system and regional aggression.

Still, former Ambassador Feierstein cautions that the Houthi defiance of the United States and its allies helps burnish their brand in the Middle East, a concern shared by some current U.S. officials saying: “Regionally, it raises the Houthi profile. It puts them in the first rank of Iranian affiliates in their “Axis of Resistance,” and we shouldn't give the Houthis what they want, which is exactly what we did.”

My 2 Cents: As I said right up front, President Biden as the C-in-C made the right call for the attack on the Houthis after their attack on the ships in the Red Sea, and due to the immediate necessity along with the UK forces – our ally in the region, both protecting free travel in the Red Sea.

The next round of our attacks will have to be coordinated and approved by Congress for such sustained acts would be according to law, Then we’ll see whether or not the GOP is still war hawks, or merely passive watchers this time around (under President Biden that is)? 

So, stay tuned, and thanks for stopping by.