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The Houthis are only a threat to Israel and shipping because they have weaponry from Iran. So there are obviously two options:
1: Change the incentives for the Iranians/Houthis. Changing incentives changes outcomes. Unfortunately, both have a suicidal death wish, so the standard disincentives are not working. And even eliminating the ports does not stop supplies from ships a mile (or three) off the coast. Or...
2: Deploy "smart mines" - sea drones, powering sensors and communications using solar power that wait for data or orders to power up and drive explosives into selected ships. Make a small fleet, and drop them off along the Yemeni coastline.
I assume Israel is already working on #2. I hope so.
That said, my family in Israel insists that Iran is the lever for all of it, and that you have to fix Iran to fix the situation. As before, I continue to advocate dropping small arms and ammunition across Iranian population centers, and make it possible for the Iranian people to overthrow their own government.
Discussion (10)
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Aren't most of their attacks on shipping coming from the air?
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Most of the weapons get replaced by sea.
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How much of that shipping is flagged in the United States?
Shipping companies that want the protection of the United States military should be required to flag their vessels in the United States.
Maybe flagging their vessels in another NATO country would also be an acceptable precondition for US military protection.
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All of the above approach? Except our son going to the desert against Iran.
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I don't understand why firing on a US warship does not result in a sizeable crater at the point of launch, an embargo and aid to the Houthis Yemeni enemies. There is no role for diplomacy until the other side offers an acceptable outcome.
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