Friday, November 22, 2024

Damn the Torpedoes? Belay That Order!

The Red Sea is no longer freely accessible to ships because of Iran's proxy campaign via the Houthi to threaten ships trying to use that vital waterway. Operation Simulate Resolve continues.

FFS

The Red Sea, one of the world’s busiest and most strategically vital waterways, has become so hazardous that even the German Navy is steering clear. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius’s decision to redirect the frigate Baden-Württemberg and support vessel Frankfurt am Main around the Cape of Good Hope on their return from an Indo-Pacific deployment speaks volumes. The Red Sea is now deemed too perilous, underscoring just how ineffective current U.S. and EU naval protections are in this region.

I know why the EU mission is ineffective. Securing the seas is not the EU's mission. But what is our Navy's excuse for its failure to secure the sea?  

UPDATE: A timely article notes that shipping container traffic through the Red Sea is down 90% since December 2023, and that:

the United States should go on the offense against the Houthis by going after their command and control centers, logistical infrastructures, arms shipments, and drone production facilities.

NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here.

NOTE: I'm adding updates on the Last Hamas War in this post.

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