After Israel responded to the October 7, 2023, invasion of its territory by attacking Hamas forces in Gaza, Houthi forces in Yemen responded by launching missiles and drones on Israel and then on shipping transiting the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. Houthi attacks on commercial shipping—around 500 to date—have forced many companies to route their vessels around the Cape of Good Hope rather than use the shorter but now more dangerous route through the Suez Canal and into the Mediterranean Sea. The United States has responded by sending a naval contingent to the area to conduct Operation Prosperity Guardian, which, along with ships of several other nations, is tasked with keeping open the shipping lanes transiting the area. To date the allied forces have launched more than a thousand air and missile strikes on Houthi targets, but waters in the Bab al-Mandab Strait remain dangerous enough that most ships take the longer journey around South Africa. The rerouting has increased shipping costs and disrupted global supply chains. Traffic through the Suez Canal has fallen by 50 percent.
The Trump administration has taken a tougher stance against the Houthis, recently launching powerful airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. Nevertheless, the group remains undeterred, and likely will remain so absent an enduring cease fire in Gaza and Yemen or more forceful military action. The Houthis enjoy support from Iran, Russia, and China, which have provided the weapons used in the attacks or monetary support and whose ships transit the area unaffected by the attacks that target vessels of other nationalities.
Early in the nation’s history, President Thomas Jefferson faced a similar situation in the waters surrounding Northwest Africa. Pirates supported by the Barbary states of Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli preyed on international shipping, demanding tribute and seizing vessels in order to exact ransoms. An exception was made for British and French ships, whose governments paid tribute to the Barbary states and as a result enjoyed immunity from attacks. Having had enough of the shakedown, Jefferson refused to pay further tribute upon assuming the presidency. The Pasha of Tripoli declared war on the United States, and in retaliation Jefferson sent a squadron of U.S. Navy ships and a contingent of Marines to North Africa. After several years of blockade and combat, the U.S. forces prevailed, and the Treaty of Tripoli ended the conflict on June 10, 1805. The key Battle of Derna was won by eight U.S. Marines and 400 mercenaries, thus adding “to the shores of Tripoli” to the Marine anthem.
The war against the Houthis is unlikely to be resolved so easily, but absent a diplomatic end to the conflict (either via a permanent ceasefire in Gaza or a wide-ranging agreement with Iran), the only way the Houthis will be brought to heel will be through a more extensive military campaign that includes a ground invasion of Houthi territory. Such action involving U.S. troops remains highly unlikely, making one pine for the days when wars could be won by a squad of Marines and a battalion of infantry marching across the desert to glory.
