FIRE IN THE RED SEA

Why would it be idiotic to commit naval assets to defend Israeli interests transiting the Red Sea?

 

By Sir Charlattam

Since Israel decided to invade the Gaza Strip and raze to the ground everything that stood in its way, only the grassroots of the Arab-Islamic population and its most immediate political references, which curiously represent the axis of the resistance, have come out to give their unconditional support to the Palestinian population and obviously, to the struggle for liberation from Zionist colonialism.

The struggle that is curiously and ironically posed is the “David against Goliath”, of the poor peoples against a rich and debased entity supported by the great corrupter of the world, the USA. That is why the Arab governments (especially the Gulf monarchies), most of them enriched by the traitorous collusion with the West that benefits this criminal state, keep quiet and even collaborate with the little bully in the neighbourhood, the state of Israel.

Perhaps the most determined and dedicated to this cause (besides the Lebanese Hesbollah) is Yemen, from where, in retaliation for the massacres against the Palestinian population of Gaza, the “Houtie” resistance periodically launches attacks with its modest arsenal against Israeli positions both in the south of occupied Palestine and in the Red Sea.

Despite the modesty of their weapons (compared to the sophisticated and expensive Zionist arsenal), their use has proven in the past and continues to prove lethal today. Moreover, Yemenis and particularly Houties fighters are not afraid of Netanyahu and all his destructive power. That is why “Ansar Alha” leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi gave his immediate and unrestricted support to the Palestinian resistance as Israel began its collective revenge against the population of the Gaza Strip and indeed against all Palestinians. 

But “Ansar Allah” found Israel's weak point and that could not be other than its business. Just as the Emiratis have sold the fate of the Palestinians and the holy sites in Jerusalem (Al Aqsa Mosque) for a few gold pieces with the agreement with Israel (an extension of Sykes-Picot), the modest but fierce and determined Yemenis are not for sale and will screw the economic revenues of a genocidal state until the genocide against the Palestinian population ceases.

Since then, the Houtie resistance has become the zealous guardian and watchdog of the transit of ships with Israeli cargo or belongings in both the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

It is not only commercial ships with innocent cargoes that come and go to Israel. Israeli tycoons in the arms and other commodities trade (invisible to international law) are already busting their butts over the cost implications of Houtie activity in the waterway. Just the thought of one of their ships being hit by a ballistic missile and sent down in the “Bab Al Mandeb” strait is enough to give them sleepless nights. This time they can't turn to “daddy” Netanyahu who already has too much to deal with. Send in special forces and frogmen? Forget it! Besides it wouldn't work with the Yemenis, every IDF man is needed now in both Gaza and the West Bank, let alone on the Lebanese border. No wonder they try to negotiate innocent passage by handing over some of their cargo or even paying a few hundred million dollars to the Yemenis.

Last November's capture of the Israeli ship “Galaxy Leader” was Netanyahu's first punch in the face and a clear message that Yemen is not afraid of the threats, the influence Tel Aviv wields and the damage it knows how to cause. Proof of this was seen with the naval missile strikes against several ships that wanted to ignore the warnings of the Yemeni resistance. 

Predictably, Washington and its allies in London, led by the smiling Rishi Sunak, were quick to deploy their naval units in the area. At the same time and from the political forum, both sides began to launch threats aimed at intimidating the Yemenis. The response was swift and as the “USS Carney” manoeuvred to provide cover for the British cargo ship Unity Explorer (owned by an Israeli businessman) to pass through the Bab Al Mandeb strait, they were hit by coastal missiles and kamikaze drone attacks launched by Yemeni forces.

Beyond Washington's clarifications trying to minimise the effects of these attacks, the crew of the "USS Carney" are the ones who are there and they know they are still in the crosshairs. That is why national security adviser Jake Sullivan announced the initiative to create a “maritime task force” to guard Israeli naval logistics, and in this plan it would not be surprising that plans are already underway to recruit "useful idiots" in desperate countries such as Argentina to serve as cannon fodder in this enterprise.

Britain, of course, has already signed up to the initiative, although it does not seem to have stopped to calculate the costs. For Prime Minister Sunak, the situation is “deeply worrying” and the costs will pay for themselves.

Perhaps Prime Minister Sunak does not know this because he has been involved in private finance all his life, but public finances are handled differently.

In addition to this, his advisers in the Foreign Office and MI6 should enlighten him a little on the idiosyncrasies of Yemenis and what the empire did with its abuses of them (aberrant in all their kinds) in the days of the British Indian colony. Yemenis have not forgotten the torture, rape and executions by British interrogators in the 1960s. It is no accident that we are lumped together with the Israelis and the Americans. I don't think the S.B.S. or even a bunch of addicted, beer-drunk Hooligans recruited by MI6 could survive for a few hours if they dared to play “James Bond” there.

For the time being, Washington is presenting the situation in a distorted way as a gratuitous threat to shipping and international trade when in fact it is a targeted action against Israel.

It is quite possible that incidents of ships of other nationalities not linked to Israel will be targeted as part of NATO's counter-intelligence operations.