On the last day of 2023, the situation in the Red Sea was completely detonated as the U.S. Navy sank three Houthi boats in Yemen, killing 10 Houthi fighters.
On the same day, the British media "The Times" published an inside information, claiming that the British military is negotiating with the US military to consider joint action to launch naval and air strikes against Houthi targets at sea or in Yemen. It is said that in the near future, the United States and Britain will jointly issue an official statement, which can also be called an "ultimatum", in short, warning the Houthis to stop attacking merchant ships, or the Western military forces will take action.
It seems that the United States is going to make a real move this time, even if it hits its head and breaks the bloodstream, it will use the slipper army to establish its authority fiercely.
But the Houthis are also ruthless: you don't want to die, I don't want to die more than you!
Subsequently, the Houthi spokesman announced, "Starting today, there will be an unprecedented war with the enemies of Zionist America, and the bases and interests of the United States will be at the mercy of our armed forces." It is worth noting that under this declaration of war post, the Houthis also accompanied a map of the distribution of US military bases in the Middle East, as if they were going to take the initiative against the US military.
It seems that this war between the United States and the Houthis is inevitable, but I personally think that the situation may not develop this way.
The United States does not necessarily dare to go to war in earnest.
First of all, under the two-front operation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the US Congress can quarrel over tens of billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine. The United States has already done a lot for Israel, and if it sends troops to war with the Houthis, I believe most Americans will not agree to it.
Second, the Houthis have a certain moral advantage in confronting Israel, especially when the Arab countries are unwilling to directly intervene in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the United Nations is powerless. If the United States goes to war against the Houthis, pro-American Arab countries will be forced to distance themselves from the United States, or even draw a clear line, which is not conducive to the United States' layout in the Middle East.
Finally, the strength of the Houthis should not be underestimated. It is reported that the Houthis have more than 100,000 military personnel, and we are not good at evaluating the level of these 100,000 people, but what can be used as a reference is that the Houthis have been fighting with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for so many years, and they have not fallen behind at all, and they can even strike at Israel itself 1,000 kilometers away in this Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which is obviously not the level of ordinary "guerrillas." And if Britain and the United States really start a war against the Houthis, it is obviously impossible to send troops to wage a ground war, such missile and air attacks are not a big threat to the Houthis, and they cannot prevent the Houthis from attacking ships in the Red Sea with drones and missiles, but only empty ammunition.
What's more, there is Iran behind the Houthis. The latest news shows that on January 1, the Iranian warship "Alborz" has passed through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and entered the Red Sea. At the same time, the Iranian foreign minister also met with Houthi spokesman Salam in Tehran, and the United States will not fail to understand the signals sent by this series of actions.
Therefore, the so-called ultimatum issued by Britain and the United States may only be a verbal threat, and the US military is unlikely to start a war lightly, but the Houthis will inevitably retaliate against the US military after 10 members are killed by the US military, and the US military bases in the Middle East and the warships escorting ships in the Red Sea are definitely the key targets of the Houthi forces. And things have developed to this point, I am afraid that no shipping companies will dare to take the road of the Red Sea, and the US escort operation can be regarded as a complete failure.