Washington and its allies will regret it if they make good on their threats

By Abdel Bari Atwan at Rai Al Youm

In its all-out defence of Israel’s interests and support for its three-month-old war of extermination on the Gaza Strip, the US is rapidly heading into a military trap laid by the Yemenis in the Arabian and Red Seas.

The Yemenis, true to their Arab and Islamic values and in solidarity with Gaza, closed the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb strait to Israeli shipping and vessels taking goods to Israeli-occupied ports. They vowed to maintain this blockade until the Israeli assault is halted and all aid convoys are allowed into the Strip.

They were as good as their word. They intercepted several Israeli, Israeli-owned, or Israel-bound vessels, undeterred by threats from the US, and went even further by launching missiles and drones towards US warships in the Red Sea.

The Biden administration, in response, made two bad moves, which it could end up paying dearly for.

First, the US navy sank three Yemeni boats on Sunday, killing ten crew members, after they approached an American warship, which proceeded to fire on them.

Second, the US put together a coalition of 20 states (later reduced to 12) ostensibly to protect freedom of navigation in the Red Sea—in reality, to protect Israeli ships and shipping. This coalition (including Bahrain, Australia, Canada, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, the UK, Denmark, and the Netherlands) threatened Yemen with dire consequences if it did not stop harassing Red Sea shipping.

President Biden held consultations with his national security team to discuss options for deterring the Yemenis after sending the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower to the vicinity to back up his threats.

But Yemen’s naval forces took no notice at all. On Wednesday, their missiles targeted a container vessel, and a couple of days ago struck a Haifa-bound car transporter after its crew ignored orders to turn back. Images were posted on social media showing the ship in flames.

Ansarullah leader Abdelmalik al-Houthi responded to the US’ threats by warning that any aggression against Yemeni forces or boats “will not go unanswered.” He called on supporters to take to the streets in mass demonstrations to reaffirm the Yemeni people’s solidarity with the Palestinians and refusal to yield to the threats of the arrogant.

The hostile US stance towards Yemen in support of Israel’s occupation and massacres could cause major losses for it and its allies. The Yemeni people, heirs to an 8,000-year-old civilization, are renowned for their pride and resilience and their history of never submitting to any foreign aggressor or invader, whether a global empire or a neighbouring power. The US will not be an exception.

The Yemenis are forbearing. Their patience knows no bounds. They value sacrifice and martyrdom and keep fighting off their enemies to the end — until victory. That is why membership of the US naval coalition dwindled to 12. The first to withdraw was France, out of fear, or rather, to avoid inevitable defeat.

It is telling that the coalition did not include a single Arab or African Red Sea littoral state, notably Egypt or Saudi Arabia. Important countries like Spain opposed it because they did not want to support a state that was committing genocide and ethnic cleansing. The only Arab state that broke this consensus was the Kingdom of Bahrain.

If the US gets entangled in a war against Yemen, it will regret it. It will recall its fiascos in Afghanistan and Vietnam and join Yemen’s long list of defeated aggressors.