From Navigational Disruptors to Ecocriminals: The Environmental Impact of the Houthi Anti-Shipping Campaign in the Red Sea
The Houthi assaults on shipping traffic in the Red Sea are deliberate acts of marine pollution and environmental destruction.
The Houthi assaults on shipping traffic in the Red Sea are deliberate acts of marine pollution and environmental destruction.
While not without risks, Trump’s redesignation of the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization is a powerful diplomatic tool for Yemen’s government.
Trump’s executive order redesignating the Houthis a foreign terrorist organization threatens direct military action against the Houthis, raising the possibility that the United States could get sucked into another long-term conflict in the Middle East.
For the United States, the Houthi threat in the Red Sea should be treated as part of strategic competition instead of merely a local or regional challenge.
No matter who wins the presidency in November, the United States will need a strategy that allows it to protect free and open trade in the Red Sea without becoming bogged down in an open-ended conflict in Yemen.
In the short term, increasing economic pressure on the Houthis is likely to prompt them to reignite attacks on Saudi Arabia, while in the long term it could make reuniting Yemen into a single state all but impossible.
A U.N. agreement lifting Central Bank of Yemen economic restrictions may inadvertently embolden the Houthis and bolster their capacity to project military power.
How should the United States respond to an escalation in Houthi attacks when its current approach isn’t working?
Tackling Yemen’s root problems won’t be easy, quick, or cheap, which is why no one has really tried.
Trump’s trip to Saudi Arabia has the potential not only to reinforce the deep-rooted U.S.-Saudi alliance but also to expose the fault lines that could undermine future cooperation.
Learn MoreThrough its careful examination of the forces shaping the evolution of Gulf societies and the new generation of emerging leaders, AGSIW facilitates a richer understanding of the role the countries in this key geostrategic region can be expected to play in the 21st century.
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