The Houthis are firing on US war ships and shipping, should we just let them do it?
The Red Sea, a route for nearly 30 percent of global container traffic and vital oil shipments from the Gulf to Europe and the United States, is facing a growing risk of disruption due to attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The Iran-backed Houthi movement, Ansar Allah, has disrupted shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, targeting American and allied vessels. These attacks have increased freight and insurance costs, forcing ships to reroute.
In response, the U.S. has launched airstrikes against Houthi forces to protect naval assets and ensure the safety of commercial shipping in the region. The Houthis say their actions are retaliation for Israel's military operations in Gaza and that they are not targeting all shipping.
The Houthis began targeting commercial shipping on November 19, 2023, and claimed their first attack on a U.S. warship on January 9, 2024. In response, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 2722 on January 10, 2024, condemning the maritime attacks and calling for their immediate cessation.
By 2024, the Red Sea faced an unprecedented shipping crisis and a decline in traffic. By March 2024, traffic through the Suez Canal and Bab el-Mandeb Strait had halved, while shipping via the Cape of Good Hope surged by 100 percent, according to a World Bank report.
The Bab el-Mandeb Strait, located at the southern entrance of the Red Sea, is a chokepoint for global oil shipments, particularly for crude oil traveling from the Gulf to Europe and the Americas. ................... The U.S. had delisted the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization during the Biden administration, but the State Department earlier this month relisted the group under order from Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
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