Ending the Houthi Threat to Red Sea Shipping

Houthi attacks on shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb and Red Sea represent both an immediate threat to vital American interests in free trade and global commerce and a more general threat to American allies and interests in the Middle East.American air and missile strikes have somewhat diminished the frequency and lethality of Houthi attacks but appear unlikely to end the attacks altogether. Both Iran and the Houthis themselves gain a tremendous amount by demonstrating the Houthis’ ability to employ Iranian weapons to interfere with and potentially shut down shipping in the region. Moreover, the Houthis weathered years of Saudi and Emirati air strikes without changing their behavior.The United States and its allies will have to put at risk something more valuable to the Houthis than what they gain from these attacks on shipping. The only thing that meets that threshold is Houthi control of Yemeni territory, which the Houthis have demonstrated they will make sacrifices to retain.Consequently, the United States should begin to arm, train, equip, and otherwise support the internationally recognized government of Yemen in its ongoing conflict with the Houthis to take back conquered lands from them. Doing so would not require US ground troops in Yemen, would likely be extremely popular with the vast majority of the population of Yemen and America’s regional allies, and would end further Houthi aggression in the Middle East.