The U.S. military isn’t protecting its own ships in the Red Sea, much less commercial vessels. From Tyler Durden at zerohedge.com:
t has become clear there’s a full-blown Houthi war on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Weeks ago, we featured commentary that cited US defense officials who were frustrated that the Pentagon was being held back from responding forcefully against Houthis positions in Yemen by the Biden White House.
President Biden stood accused of “downplaying” the threat, as statements in Politico have underscored, “Some current and former military officials were frustrated by the administration’s initial response to the Houthis’ Sunday attacks on the ships.” This as some top military brass pushed for a more forceful response, lest the Iranian proxies grow more emboldened.
But more emboldened is precisely what has happened, as container ships are coming under drone and missile attack on a daily basis at this point, triggering delays and rising prices on goods as major liners avoid Red Sea transit altogether.
Fast-forward to this week, now nearing the end of December and The Wall Street Journal has run an alarming but apt headline this which spells out U.S. Naval Deterrence Is Going, Going, Maybe Even Gone.
Increasingly, Biden’s desire to make nice with the Iranians in order to keep global energy prices down ahead of the 2024 election is translating to a posture of ‘looking the other way’—and some analysts worry it’s too late to reestablish deterrence.
