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A US Navy officer stated that the United States has succumbed to the reality in Yemen and emphasizes that the only solution is a political resolution.
According to an article published by the American newspaper “Eurasia Review” on Thursday, US Navy officer James Dorsey stated, “There is both good and bad news. The good news is that the United States is advocating for diplomacy in the Middle East, while the bad news is that the Houthis in Yemen have outperformed them.”
Dorsey mentioned that the US Special Envoy to Yemen, Tim Lenderking, has succumbed to the reality and acknowledged, “We support a diplomatic solution, and we know that there is no military solution.” He also noted that Lenderking follows the example of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who said, “You can always rely on Americans to do the right thing, but only after they have exhausted all other possibilities.”
The US Navy officer referred to the events in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, as well as the deployment of US naval forces there in December 2023 in response to the Yemeni operations against Israeli-affiliated commercial ships in order to stop the war and blockade on Gaza.
He emphasized that the Red Sea witnesses the transit of 30% of global container traffic, stating, “Therefore, the attacks caused the diversion of traffic around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, adding two weeks and significant costs to the journey.” He also pointed out that the Houthi group, Ansar Allah, “has already announced their conditions to cease their operations: they will stop when there is a ceasefire in Gaza and the resumption of aid delivery, and Lenderking has acknowledged that.”
He confirmed that the US Navy has not experienced any real attacks against it for decades, as one Navy leader admitted, “I think you have to go back to World War II when you had US Navy ships engaged in combat.” He considered the “admission of the US envoy to Yemen that force has failed” as a black mark for the United States and its allies, who have failed to subjugate the Houthis, a group with fewer capabilities than the Cagayan Navy.
He further stated, “But the United States is not alone. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in the Yemeni civil war in 2015, but despite 24,000 airstrikes, they declared the cessation of hostilities in 2022 and entered into peace talks mediated by Oman. To maintain calm, the Saudis closed aerial, maritime, and land access to Yemen, but they later allowed the resumption of humanitarian flights.”
In the article, the former US Navy officer stated, “The US military is also facing increasing financial pressures as it launches million-dollar interceptor missiles at unmanned aircraft that cost $2,000. The continuous operations of ships and aircraft require intensive and costly maintenance when they return to port, and this may encourage many sailors to leave the Navy at a time when the service is chronically failing to meet its recruiting goals.”
Regarding the tactics of the forces in Sanaa, Dorso says, “America’s enemies will study the Houthi tactics as low-cost and low-tech methods to frustrate US forces. After seeing that, the Houthi tactics will be studied by America’s enemies and refined as low-cost and low-tech methods to frustrate US forces. After witnessing the technological inferiority of the Taliban in Afghanistan and now the Houthis, others may be tempted to exploit weaknesses in Americans.”
He added, “Recent reports suggesting that the Houthi weapons are running out and that Yemeni citizens have lost access to financial transfers due to US and European sanctions may be true, but the US retreat to diplomacy will give Yemenis some time to breathe. The Houthis may have suffered from American and British bombardment, but they persevered until the attackers changed their course. However, it was not only the performance of the US and British forces that was weak. In February, a German naval vessel in the Red Sea mistakenly fired at a US drone, mistaking it for a Houthi drone, and in April, the German frigate Hessen left the Red Sea, and no replacement will arrive until August.”
Regarding the departure of a Danish military ship from the Red Sea, Dorso says, “Denmark dismissed its defense minister after a Danish naval vessel revealed defects in its air defense systems and ammunition. A French warship left the Red Sea after depleting its ammunition in the face of Houthi attacks, and its commander admitted that ‘unrestrained violence… was extremely surprising.'”
He explained that “Houthi attacks impose a tax on the rest of the world, as does the US reluctance to impose a ceasefire in Gaza. With the approaching 2024 presidential elections and with black and Latino voters favoring Donald Trump and the Republicans, Biden will not promote a ceasefire because he needs to keep the Jews on his side.”
Regarding the commitment of the forces in Sanaa to cease maritime operations if the war and the blockade on Gaza end, the writer said, “The Houthis may have deliberately cornered themselves by calling for a ceasefire. If the United States tests the Houthis with a ceasefire and they continue their attacks on shipping, it may publicly expose them as frauds.” He added, “Of course, if the Houthis keep their word, it will elevate their status as having subdued the Americans, although Washington’s belated embrace of diplomacy may have achieved this goal.”
Talk about how “Americans will not cease fire in Gaza as the elections approach, and the only way to impose a ceasefire is to halt the supply of weapons and intelligence information to Israel, which is prohibited for members of the U.S. Congress and supporters of the defense industry, especially after the Iranian counterattack on Israel.”
The former U.S. Navy officer concluded his article by saying, “The free trade system in the post-World War II era was supported by the U.S. Navy, and therefore, the failure of the naval campaign in the Red Sea reflects poorly after the United States’ defeat in Afghanistan. It seems that the U.S. Navy has lost—or at least not emerged victorious—in its first real naval skirmish in decades, at a time when the fleet was smaller than being able to fulfill America’s global commitments. Therefore, Washington must consider rebalancing between war and sanctions on one hand, and trade and diplomacy on the other hand. Then, it should address the challenge posed by the U.S. Navy’s Seth Cropsey, who wondered, ‘What is the purpose of the global navy?'”
