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End the Houthis' Threat to Global Trade
(Wall Street Journal) Eugene Kontorovich - The Houthis pose a major threat to international shipping - a problem the U.S. has allowed to fester. The Houthis have launched hundreds of attacks in and around the straits off Yemen. They have greatly disrupted shipping in the Red Sea, a maritime highway through which 15% of the world's shipping passes. They have sunk at least two vessels and killed four crewmen while wounding others. The Houthis claim their attacks are part of the Oct. 7 war against Israel, yet most of the ships they've attacked have no direct link to Israel. It's more likely that their goal is to assert Iranian control over world trade. Red Sea shipping has declined by more than 50% over the past year. Major shipping companies have opted to sail around Africa rather than risk Houthi fire. War risk insurance costs have more than doubled. All this translates into higher costs for American consumers. The world confronted a similar problem during the surge in Somali pirates' attacks on vessels in the Gulf of Aden beginning in 2007. The international community rallied with a unified response. Many countries sent naval vessels on antipiracy patrols. The U.S., France and other nations launched commando raids on land-based pirate lairs. The Houthi threat to global trade is greater but has been met with a weaker response. The U.S. has stood up to bullies on the sea before: President Thomas Jefferson in 1801 sent the U.S. Navy to fight the Barbary Pirates, a group of North African naval raiders. The U.S. should seek a significant expansion of attacks against Houthi targets. It can rely on its ally Israel, which this month executed extensive airstrikes on Houthi ports. Israel could do more with sufficient munitions. But only the U.S. can provide the naval assets, and the pressure on Iran, needed to remove the Houthi threat. The writer is a professor at George Mason University Law School.