In dealing with the Palestinian-Israeli issue, the United States seems to have been very busy all along, busy sending people to the Middle East, and busy visiting various places to reconcile, but it has not achieved anything substantial.
In the past few days, the United States has been busy again, and this time, it is busy "protecting" the ships hijacked by the Houthis in the Red Sea.
(U.S. Secretary of Defense Austin)
In order to contain Israel, the Houthis announced more than a month ago that as long as they were ships related to Israel, they would be reasonable targets for the Houthis. At first, the major shipping companies did not care, and the cargo ships were not mistaken, but they did not expect the Houthis to come seriously, and as more and more cargo ships were hijacked, the major shipping giants have launched suspension orders.
You must know that the Red Sea is the main shipping route for oil, and this behavior of the Houthis has directly interfered with Israel's export and import business, and has brought great economic losses to Israel. As a result, Israel immediately shouted and demanded that the international community resolve the issue as soon as possible, otherwise the Israeli side will act on its own to eliminate this threat.
As soon as the Israeli side spoke, the United States immediately took action. Recently, Austin, who visited the Middle East, said that the United States is now using its influence to form a multinational force to protect ships transiting the Red Sea and avoid Houthi attacks.
Austin also said that this proposal of the US side has now won the support of nine countries, including Britain, France, Canada, Spain, etc., and then the 10 countries will also carry out tasks in the Red Sea with a clear division of labor, some patrolling, some providing intelligence support, in short, will strive to ensure the safety of sea cargo ships.
(Spanish side denies)
However, not long after Austin's words were finished, Spain stood up to "refute the rumors".
The Spanish Ministry of Defense said that Spain has not decided to join the multinational patrol force set up by the United States, and Spain, as a member of the European Union and NATO, cannot make a decision on whether to participate in the future, so it still depends on the situation of the organization.
You know, Italy, the Netherlands and France, which are also EU countries, have already taken action, so Spain obviously has no intention of participating, but it is dumping the blame on the EU and NATO.
In fact, the reason why the Spanish side was reluctant to participate was because it understood that the United States had not organized a force to patrol the Red Sea for the fundamental purpose of protecting ships.
The Houthis are a regional, militia-based armed group, which not only lacks stable economic resources, but also has an incomplete military supply chain.
In contrast, the US military deterrent is undoubtedly overwhelming. Not only does it have the largest defense budget in the world, but the quantity and quality of its armed forces are daunting. The scale of the specialized military is huge, covering multiple branches of the army, navy, and air force, as well as the Marine Corps and special operations forces. In addition, the United States has advanced logistics and supply systems, stealth fighters, aircraft carriers, satellite navigation systems, and precision-guided weapons that outperform the Houthis by a large margin, so it is easy for the United States to eliminate the threat posed by the Houthis, and there is no need to form a faction.
(Several freighters were hijacked)
Therefore, the US side may have another plan for forming the so-called "multinational force".
First, the US wants to turn black and white upside down and stigmatize the Houthi hijacking of an Israeli freighter. As we all know, the Houthis hijacked cargo ships because of Israel's constant military strikes on the Gaza Strip and the denial of humanitarian supplies to Gaza. Now, the United States is building troops in the name of "threat posed by the Houthis", which is to divert the attention of the international community, cover up the root cause of the Houthi hijackings, and provide cover for Israel's military operations.
Second, the United States should share the responsibility equally and drag more countries into the camp of the United States and Israel. On the Palestinian-Israeli issue, the United States' position is biased in favor of Israel, which is already a fact recognized by the international community, so if the United States acts alone, it will leave itself a handle to help Israel clear the obstacles, and if it can bring many countries in the name of "eliminating risks," it will not only provide support to Israel invisibly, but also apportion the responsibility and name its actions "legitimate."
Now, in response to the current actions of the US side, the Houthis have spoken, saying that this action led by the US side is supporting Israel and committing aggression against the Palestinian people, and further militarization of the waters of the Red Sea. So the Houthis will launch an attack on all the ships that join the US operation.
Therefore, from this point of view, the actions of the US side not only did not play any protective role, but further aggravated the regional situation and caused the Palestinian-Israeli war to spill over to more places.
(The Houthis say they will strike US-formed forces)
In addition, all countries participating in the US operation should also reassess the US military deployment and operational strategy in a responsible and prudent manner, face up to the legitimate demands of the Houthis, solve the problem at its roots, and strive to push all parties back to the negotiating table, so that the Red Sea and surrounding areas can be stabilized, and only in this way can transit ships be truly protected and the regional situation deteriorates.