Downsizing the Houthi Threat

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/ MOHAMMED AL-WAFI

Never underestimate an enemy.

This warning is crucial for Israel, which is fighting on multiple fronts and must quickly allocate and shift forces based on the most immediate threat at any moment. When Israeli security officials called for the US to promptly establish a regional coalition against the Houthis after they sank two ships in the Red Sea — an apparent provocation during Prime Minister Netanyahu’s meetings with President Trump last week — the call showed that Israel is once again highlighting the Houthi threat.

The US should prioritize this issue. Unlike some policy makers who mistakenly view the Houthis as a nuisance, experts warn that the Iranian-backed Shia jihadists, who have controlled large swaths of Yemen since 2014, pose a serious military and economic threat, and not just to Israel.

American and Israeli airstrikes haven’t stopped the Houthis’ threat to global shipping. They can still sink ships, affecting oil prices and supply chains. About 15% of international trade goes through the Red Sea, where the Houthis operate. Shipping traffic in the Red Sea and Suez Canal is down 60% from its normal peak, as cargo vessels take longer but safer routes around Africa, which adds 10 to 15 days to the average route, doubling fuel and insurance costs.

Eric Navarro, a lieutenant colonel in the US Marines and director of the Red Sea Security Initiative (RSSI), said, “We have hit this area many times with air strikes and then waited or walked away. We need to root out the Houthis so they can’t reconstitute and threaten us again.”