The Red Sea crisis continues. A series of recent events have proved that the U.S. military seems to have little to do with the Houthis to stop attacks on merchant ships.
According to **, a spokesman for the Houthis said on Thursday that the group once again used missiles to hit a British merchant ship that was sailing in the Gulf of Aden, which was **; There is information that the merchant ship that was hit was named "Aland", and its condition is unknown at the moment, but there may be a risk of sinking.
This is the second time that the Houthis have hit a British merchant ship after sinking the British merchant ship "Ruby". Observers believe that this attack shows that the escort operation of the United States and the West on the Red Sea route has failed, and no matter what protective measures the US military takes, the Houthis have the ability to hit the passing US and British merchant ships; For shipping companies, no matter how promised by the US military, the risks of the Red Sea route exceed their psychological expectations, and the only option is to detour or even cancel the route.
Whether it is the "Aland" ** or the sinking of the "Ruby", the US Navy has been roasted on the fire, as the world's first navy, it can't even handle a tribal armament, and can't send its own merchant ships safely across the Red Sea.
So there are only two paths before the United States: one is the hard line, which is to continue to bomb the Houthis, and even to use ground forces to militarily occupy Yemen and eliminate the Houthis.
But there is a problem with this line: the United States does not have the ability to start another foreign war. Since the US military fled from Kabul in disarray, the era of the United States directly launching military invasions with foreign countries is over, and it tends to obtain political benefits through the war of the people, who is willing to go to Yemen to encircle and suppress the Houthis for the US military?
The Gulf states are indeed allies of the US military, but they have just completed their rapprochement with Iran and ended the military conflict with the Houthis. Besides, with the relationship between Saudi Arabia, the spiritual leader of the Gulf countries, and the United States, it is impossible for Crown Prince Salman to take the lead for the US military.
So the U.S. military will end up in person? Are you kidding. Yemen's population and area are basically the same as Afghanistan's, so could it be that the US military wants to fight a second "Afghanistan" and once again spend a lot of manpower, material and financial resources and several years to change the local government from the Houthis to the Houthis?
So for the U.S. military, the best option is to hold on to your nose and endure it. Although it is embarrassing to be ridiculed by the Houthis, as long as the US military does not move and drops some bombs casually, they can continue to make up stories, even if they create gimmicks; As for merchant ships, those who are willing to gamble their lives will take the Red Sea, and those who are not willing to gamble their lives will make a detour to the Cape of Good Hope, all of which is voluntary. This is not all bad, after all, now that American and British merchant ships cross the Red Sea, it is as exciting as opening a blind box, and the life of the crew at sea is boring and boring, and occasionally finding some excitement is also an adjustment.
It's just this situation, how long are the big men of Washington and Capitol Hill willing to endure it? If the U.S. military attacks Yemen on a large scale, it will most likely kick in the crumbling hegemonic system of the United States; As for turning a blind eye, it is chronic suicide, but at least the hegemony can be maintained for a while.
The Russian army's military operation in Ukraine has shattered the myth of the US global military alliance system; The Houthi blockade of the Red Sea is a heavy blow to the US hegemony system. Although the Houthis are not capable of sinking US warships, they are not lethal and extremely insulting, and other countries have lost confidence in US military hegemony.
For a military bloc, confidence is very important, and now Europe has left the United States behind and formed a convoy on its own, which is a prime example; When the U.S. military no longer has the ability to escort the dollar, the U.S. hegemonic system will be at the end of the road!