by Mike Whitney, The Unz Review:
On Friday, Houthi militants fired an anti-ship ballistic missile from mainland Yemen striking a British oil tanker and setting it ablaze. “US Central Command said the Marlin Luanda had issued a distress call and reported damage” but no casualties were reported. The attack represents a significant escalation in the deepening conflict between the US-led coalition and the Yemen-based Houthis.
Here’s the question that every American should be asking himself: Is Israel’s war in Gaza strengthening or weakening America’s position in the world?
TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/
If there is some material benefit for the United States, then there might be a reasonable argument for continuing to support the policy. But if there is no benefit whatsoever, then the policy should changed.
So, the real question is whether the US gains something from flaunting international law and being an active participant in acts of barbarity against a civilian population?
How does America benefit from that?
It doesn’t, in fact, the present arrangement only benefits America’s rivals, like China and Russia, who have steadily grown stronger due to Washington’s erratic and violent behavior. The administration’s blanket support for Israel, has merely accelerated the pace at which nations in the global south and around the world are realigning with Moscow and Beijing. This isn’t a choice that foreign leaders want to make, it’s a choice they are compelled to make in order to guarantee their own security. That’s the bottom line. The idea that a population of 2 million people can be impulsively erased because of the offenses of a small group of militants, terrifies people. And what terrifies them even more is the fact that international law provides no enforceable protection for the people that are getting clobbered.
This is particularly extraordinary in the current case because—as we all know—the population that is being bombed to smithereens is all of a particular ethnicity and religion, (Arab, Muslim) which means they are being targeted for things over which they have no control. Of the two million people that are presently being herded to the Egyptian border, none of them are Jews. That is not a coincidence. That’s discrimination on a scale that should horrify everyone. Imagine if Biden got tired of the daily shootings in Chicago’s South Side and decided to gather all the black people in the country and drive them to the Mexican border where they would rot in tent cities without food, water or medicine. Would that be an acceptable solution?
And, yet, that’s what’s taking place right now in Gaza. Netanyahu says he won’t let up until “Hamas is defeated”. but what does that mean?
It means he is going to continue doing what he’s been doing for the last 110 days.
But, on what basis does he justify these actions. Let me explain what I mean by using a hypothetical:
Let’s say a terrorist organization bombs the Capital building in Washington DC. And, immediately following the bombing, the FBI discovers ironclad proof that the group has been operating out of terrorist cells located in downtown New York City. Now, normally, the FBI would follow certain protocols and methods for apprehending as many of the terrorists as possible while trying to minimize the “collateral damage.” But, this time, the FBI decides to invoke the Israeli method of fighting terrorism by carpet-bombing lower Manhattan with Tomahawk missiles and Daisy Cutters forcing millions of terrified New Yorkers to flee across the border into New Jersey.
Is that a reasonable way of dealing with terrorism? More importantly, can the existence of terrorist cells ever be used as a justification for reducing an entire city to smoldering rubble?
Of course, not. It’s ridiculous, and yet, that’s what Israel is doing. They are flattening all of Gaza in the name of “defeating Hamas.” Who could have imagined that the extermination of an entire civilization could rest on such a flimsy pretext?
One last thing:
It’s not enough that the Biden administration is providing lethal weapons and logistical support to Israel. Now, Biden has decided to wage war against on Houthis, as well. The President objects to the fact that the Houthis have imposed a blockade on Israeli-linked commercial ships in the Red Sea (in order to pressure Israel to end its blockade of food and medicine to the Palestinians.) So, the US and UK have been launching multiple missile strikes on cities and infrastructure in Yemen. The US attacks are intended to persuade the Houthis to abandon their blockade but, so far, there are no signs that they are degrading the Houthis offensive capability at all. In contrast, The Houthi blockade is having significant impact on Israel’s economy while their attacks on commercial ships have steadily intensified. In short, the Houthis appear to be winning.
On Wednesday, the Houthis fired three anti-ship ballistic missiles from the mainland at two container ships transiting the Gulf of Aden. According to a report from CENTCOM two of the missiles were intercepted by a US warship while one landed in the water. According to antiwar.com:
“Later in the day, the Houthis said their forces engaged in a two-hour battle with several US warships. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea claimed the confrontation resulted in a Houthi missile “directly hitting an American warship, but so far, the US has not confirmed the account.”
Bottom line: The Houthi attacks forced the two commercial ships (the Maersk Detroit and the Maersk Chesapeake) to turn-around and beat a hasty retreat. In other words, the Houthi blockade held-up despite the presence of a state-of-the-art AEGIS destroyer (the USS Gravely) that was escorting the ships through the waterway. This is a clear victory for the Houthis and further proof that US naval convoys will not be able to protect commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
