At the Threshold of the Strait… America Arrogance Ends

Yemen is playing a pivotal role in reshaping the regional and international power balance. As tensions and conflicts escalate, Yemen has demonstrated its capacity to influence maritime policy and global trade, signaling a shift away from American dominance. The United States once considered a key player in the region, now faces new challenges requiring a reassessment of its strategies and the need to strengthen international partnerships amidst the current situation. Recent events highlight Yemen as a force capable of contributing to reconfiguring the regional and global order. This transformation suggests that the era of unparalleled American influence may be fading, elevating Yemen’s status as a sovereign state with the ability to impact the region’s future.

Military Developments and Impact on Global Trade

Recent developments in Yemen point to an escalation in military operations, including the use of drones and missiles, targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea. These attacks have a direct impact on global maritime trade routes, raising concerns among major powers about the security of navigation and the stability of international trade. The Yemeni military’s growing capabilities in targeting ships reflect a shift in the balance of power in the region.

As Yemeni forces continued their drone and missile attacks on a wide range of international ships violating a declared ban on Israeli vessels, the United States announced the formation of a military coalition called “Guardian of Prosperity” to halt Yemeni attacks. However, the bitter reality facing America is that its naval operations have failed to stop Yemeni forces in the Red Sea, as planned in their military strategies for the region. Despite forming a military naval coalition, the United States lacks a systematic plan to manage the crisis in the area. In reality, America, despite claiming to have entered the Red Sea as a controlling force, finds itself powerless against Yemeni strength.

American arrogance is accompanied by deliberate neglect of the fact that it is a principal party in the crisis and that it no longer holds authority or knowledge in the Red Sea. The sea now has a national guardian, known as the Yemeni Navy, which has emerged as a formidable force defending Yemen’s legitimate right to manage its maritime entrances within its territorial waters. This force is led by a leader entrusted by the nation’s people to stand alongside its crucial causes, not as a distant observer but as an active participant in the heart of the battle.

In response to the unconditional support provided by the Biden administration to Netanyahu during the Gaza war, which has exacerbated the crisis in the region, Yemen’s position, supported by its allies in the resistance axis, has turned the tables on America. Yemen has announced the continuation of its military operations against Israeli, American, and British ships and any vessel attempting to violate the ban on ships heading to ports in the occupied territories of the Red Sea until the war in Gaza ceases.

The Pentagon’s Struggles

The U.S. military has acknowledged its failure to extinguish fires on the Greek-flagged oil tanker “Sounion” in the Red Sea, which was attacked by Yemeni forces. Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder confirmed that the Sounion, carrying about a million barrels of crude oil, remains ablaze, adding that a third party attempted to send tugboats for assistance, but Yemeni forces prevented them from approaching, threatening to attack them. “The reality is that we are suffering from Yemeni attacks, and U.S. Central Command continues to assess the situation,” Ryder stated.

This is a difficult position for the United States, which has toppled countries while protecting others, and established governments while depriving others with mere declarations without needing to engage in military battles. In the end, amidst the battle with Yemen, the Pentagon, the most feared institution, has admitted that its forces failed to protect ships and had to flee the battlefield, acknowledging that its forces are “suffering,” which is a clear indication of America’s decline.

In a tragic recount of the American adventure in the Red Sea, the U.S. vowed at the start of the Al-Aqsa Flood battle to protect ships, deploying warships and aircraft carriers to confront Yemeni missiles and drones, and even launching extensive air raids on Yemen, all of which failed. Suddenly, America is shocked by a shift in Yemeni naval tactics from targeting ships with missiles to boarding, rigging them with explosives, and detonating them at will, without Western warships being able to protect them.

From Arrogance to Humiliation

Over the course of 10 months of naval confrontation, the Yemeni army targeted more than 180 ships, most of which were American, British, and Israeli, thereby imposing a reality that turned American arrogance at the start of its aggression on Yemen into a mockery by the Western media, forcing America to bow and admit its failure against Yemen’s weapons.

America has recognized the strength, effectiveness, and advancement of Yemeni weapons. The true picture has emerged, showing that Yemen is no longer just a voice in the Red Sea but is preparing for severe retaliation against any American violations and what it calls the “Guardian of Prosperity” coalition. Soon, Israel will be humiliated for its overreach in Yemeni airspace and its strikes on the port of Hodeidah.

The latest military operation targeting the Greek ship Sounion marked a strategic shift in the naval battle after Yemeni forces targeted the ship multiple times with missiles, drones, and warboats before boarding and rigging it with explosives. Furthermore, they engaged in a firefight with a European frigate attempting to rescue the ship, forcing it to retreat and flee.

The “New York Post” described the footage of the Sounion burning in the Red Sea as a “mockery of Washington and its allies, and a sign of American failure and the collapse of American deterrence.” The newspaper also reported it being a “mockery of the United States and its allies, who were supposed to protect vital shipping lines in the region.”

Congress Frustrated, Global Implications

“The National Review” stated that the U.S. failure in the Red Sea represents a total failure of American policy and strategy at the highest levels. Meanwhile, “Politico” reported that Yemeni forces have depleted Washington’s military stockpile, noting that the Red Sea battle is the most extensive and sustained military operation that has drained the Pentagon’s preferred ammunition for what it calls a potential confrontation with China.

The report added that “members of Congress are frustrated with the continued Red Sea mission, which requires the depletion of advanced American assets.” Politico quoted Mike Waltz, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Readiness, saying, “We are burning tens of billions of dollars, and our fleet is exhausted.”

As the U.S. strives to rebuild its strategy to confront the Yemeni navy, in line with the significant changes imposed by the latter on the region, the “Associated Press” confirmed that the U.S. Navy is facing challenges in building low-cost warships capable of shooting down Yemeni sea missiles in the Red Sea. The report noted that U.S. warship production is at its worst in 25 years, with the Navy struggling to produce low-cost warships for deployment in the Red Sea.

Yemeni Defense Minister’s Warning

Yemeni Defense Minister Major General Mohammad al-Atifi declared that Yemeni armed forces, with their various branches and formations, are at the highest levels of combat readiness, awaiting orders to launch painful strikes deep into the usurping Zionist entity and at critical and unexpected locations. “We confirm that we have received strict orders to determine appropriate and effective methods to deal with the challenges imposed by the Zionist enemy on the region and Yemen.”

He reiterated that “the Zionist entity will face only force, harshness, and resilience from us, and it will pay a heavy price for its persistent violations of our nation’s sovereignty and targeting of civilian facilities in Hodeidah, making it realize that it has embarked on an ill-considered adventure, and it is now time for it to bear the heavy burdens of this confrontation.”