America's inability to sustain freedom of the seas and global trade threatens the prosperity-based Western world that helps protect America at home.
The Navy is weaker than it has been, even when you don't consider the rise of China's power. Lord knows what our Navy's leaders think their primary mission is.
And for all the talk of pivoting to China as the pacing threat that defines our defense needs, Iran's proxy in Yemen stymies our efforts to defend freedom of the seas in the Red Sea (tip to Instapundit):
The US Navy had nearly 7,000 ships in 1945. It stood at 529 vessels at Cold War’s end. Today, the Navy has just 292 ships, not so many more than the 245 it possessed before World War I. That fleet is being run ragged by a never-ceasing global mission set. Ships aren’t the only problem: America is pulling its punches against the Houthis because hitting harder would drain its already insufficient stocks of precision-guided munitions and cruise missiles.
We should be able to conduct a relentless air campaign against Houthi assets like anti-ship missiles and command and control--and but for the Biden administration's looove of mullah-run Iran, take out Iranian assets that help the Houthi target cargo ships and our warships.
But we have too few missiles to spare for offense. So the campaign drags on and gives the Iran-supplied and -supported Houthi more chances to put a missile, suicide air drone, or suicide sea drone into--or plant a mine in the path of--an American warship sailing about in the Red Sea Regatta. Because we don't have enough air defense missiles that are also needed to face China, either.
And we're not about to send forces ashore, a limitation that has created complications ever since the Tripolitan War for defeating enemies ashore from the sea. Not that I want to send American forces ashore in Yemen. But a limitation is a limitation even if things could be worse trying to overcome the limitation.
Pity that one of the first things Biden did was condemn and alienate Saudi Arabia for waging a campaign against the Iran-backed Houthi in Yemen, which took away a potential ally in the current fight:
When Biden was vice president, the administration ideal was "leading from behind" where allies fought wars that benefited America. The Saudis did that and now Biden will punish them for fighting the Iran-backed Houthi in Yemen.
Lack of American support and ammunition will make Saudi air strikes less accurate and more likely to cause unintentional civilian casualties. Which helps the Houthis. Which makes Iran's nutball mullahs smile and bask in the knowledge that they always knew Allah would rescue them from the Great Satan.
The administration justification is that "This war has to end." Sure. But it would be nice if America didn't help our enemies end the war with a victory. Gosh, I sure missed "Smart Diplomacy!"
As I warned in that post:
The Biden decision means Iran will have a proxy force along the lines of its proxies in Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq. This time along the Red Sea oil shipping routes. Which is an area of conflict that has been building for four decades as Gulf Arab countries and Iran spar over oil route vulnerability[.]
Not just Smart Diplomacy!® Before Biden, Congress wanted to practice Brilliant Diplomacy!
And here we are.
Ah, Smart Diplomacy!® That foundational doctrine of our very own Corps Diplomatique Terrestrienne achieves far more in defense of America than enough ships with full magazines, right?
UPDATE: Israel is just the canary in the coal mine:
The Houthi movement has emphasized that its [Red Sea] drone and missile campaign seeks to create a blockade that will destroy the Israeli economy and analogized ongoing Houthi operations to the 1973 Yom Kippur War, in which Egypt seized Israeli shipping near the Bab al Mandeb. [Iran's Iraqi proxy militia] Kataib Hezbollah attacks targeting this land route would support the Houthis’ efforts [if it carries out threats to operate in Jordan].Can Israel do anything about it?
NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here.
