How America Lost a Naval War with the Houthis

If Israelis are learning things, American leaders seem to be forgetting them. One is that the United States is prosperous because it can trade freely over the world’s waterways, and that its navy exists primarily to secure this freedom. This is the U.S. Navy’s own definition of its purpose, and has been since the 18th century. But it has done very little of consequence to stop Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels from destroying commerce through the Red Sea. Just last week, the Houthis disabled a Greek oil tanker, which since then has been on fire and likely leaking its cargo into the water. They hit two more ships yesterday. Elliott Abrams comments: