This is getting weird.
Situation in the Red Sea (Houthi Thread)
- Thread starter LaAguilaNegra
- Start date
I wouldn't trust either press release verbatim. My experience with Public Affairs releases remove certain details or modify other details for operational security and narrative control.
I'm quite sure the US is going to continue to strike Houthi targets as they present themselves.
I'm quite sure the US is going to continue to strike Houthi targets as they present themselves.
Maersk, once again, suspends its operations in the Red Sea.
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Not sure if this is hyperbole. Maybe some of you guys can comment on how substantially embarrassing the situation is for the US fleet:
I believe we are unable to secure safe passage thru the Red Sea, even now that Prosperity Guardian is a week or so old. Also I read that one of the US carrier groups is headed out of the Med. Are these just acts of prudence/deescalation, or are we cutting exposure/losses before we get into an embarrassing defeat?
I believe we are unable to secure safe passage thru the Red Sea, even now that Prosperity Guardian is a week or so old. Also I read that one of the US carrier groups is headed out of the Med. Are these just acts of prudence/deescalation, or are we cutting exposure/losses before we get into an embarrassing defeat?
Well, we have around 20% of our Navy (had, since the USS Ford is going back home now) in the region and we were unable to deter a non-state actor (half of state to be precise) such as the Houthis from disrupting global economy and US sealift capabilities. US Navy have been forced to spend advanced interceptors, worth millions of dollars each, to shoot down cheap Iranian-made drones. So things aren't exactly peachy.
Playing defense won't solve the problem, playing offense doesn't have the support of our allies and could easily spiral out of control.
It was long overdue, the USS Ford carrier group was never supposed to be deployed in the region and had its mission extended twice already.
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Putting on my work hat...This is less about the navy failing and more about an excuse for the big container shipping firms to maximize price and over capacity issues by rerouting around Africa.
From the perspective of the shipping companies/ship owners, they don't really care if they can pass through the Red Sea or not. They'll happily transit around Africa and simply pass the costs off to their customers. At the end of the day, they're just middlemen, after all. What they DO care about, however, is their ships themselves being damaged/destroyed, because that actually represents substantial lost assets/revenue for them. So even a small chance of being attacked is unacceptable to them, and they will not risk it.
It's definitely inarguable that the U.S. has at the very least lost a lot of face in this situation so far. The Houthis are basically thumbing their nose at the U.S. Government/Navy and we really don't have a lot of good options to deal with it. It's a very well-executed bit of asymmetric warfare on their part.
It's definitely inarguable that the U.S. has at the very least lost a lot of face in this situation so far. The Houthis are basically thumbing their nose at the U.S. Government/Navy and we really don't have a lot of good options to deal with it. It's a very well-executed bit of asymmetric warfare on their part.
Caduceus
Heritage
No surprise there.
Different decade...same old story
See here:
Spot on about the shipping companies... They also have had to incur significantly higher cost of war insurance. (As related to a percentage of the cargo) they also have had an over capacity issue post COVID "recovery" that this conveniently helps lessen.
This is more prevalent in container ships, which carry significantly higher $ amounts of goods vs tankers.
The Houthis said that their only condition for ending their harassment campaign is for humanitarian supply convoys (food, water, medecine) parked at the Egyptian border to be allowed into Gaza, that's it.
This is something that should have been done months ago, if the Israelis had a modicum of humanity, and if Biden had a spine.
I wouldn't say that the Navy itself is at fault, but rather than that, I'll say that the Navy was left at the forefront to deal with the consequences of our failed policies, both:
domestic - outsourcing, "just on time" logistics, and the subsequent over-reliance on foreign imports.
and foreign - start of the OPG was announced prematurely with no strategy in place. It failed to gather support (next to none regional partners, especially Egypt, 0 Asian members) and even those partners who decided to join act out on their own (France).
And there's also another thing - we lost deterrence. 15-20 years ago, a force like the one we have/had in the region (2 carrier strike groups and the ARG) was more than enough to put fear of God into almost anyone in the world. But not anymore.
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This needs to be stressed more. I thought I was crazy to be one of the few thinking this.
That's right. There's no credibility top down...so extreme weak leadership is bound to be met with resistance seeing as no one believes Biden is going to do anything.
Our Navy needs serious staff overhaul and focus on war fighting. They are by far the worst of the branches...and arguably the most important to our geostrategic security.
Another incident in the Red Sea - not much details at the moment.
That's a political decision. The current US naval assets should be more than enough to deal with the threat but for reasons unknown they have been told to stand down, absorb incoming attacks and de-escalate.
Reminded me of an article I read a few weeks ago, back when France started to act on its own:
"It is clear from our sources that the US Navy, the naval experts, and the Department Of Transportation’s US Maritime Administration (MARAD), the shipping experts, are not running point on this operation, which is confusing. The question is, who is? None of our sources can answer this question for certain. The Secretary of Defense’s office has been the most vocal and certainly plays a part, but two top naval experts gCaptain interviewed believe the White House is possibly running point.
This is concerning because the handling of maritime affairs, particularly under Jake Sullivan’s team, lacks the shipping expertise needed to solve this problem. This stems from a strategic shift where the White House – with minimal involvement from specialized maritime bodies like the US Navy or MARAD, and international bodies like the International Maritime Organization – has taken a direct role in coalition-building efforts.
From the outset, the Biden administration’s approach to maritime affairs signaled a shift. The closure of the National Security Council’s maritime desk on day one left a noticeable gap in maritime expertise within the White House. Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s appointment to the Department of Transportation, perceived by some as a political move, and the assignment of a long-retired Admiral with a pre-appointment focus on climate resiliency and no shipping industry experience at MARAD, indicated a new direction in maritime policy.
This transition contrasts with the previous administration’s approach. Under Trump, there was a notable presence of maritime and naval experts in key positions with three former shipowners appointed to his cabinet. Despite many of their maritime initiatives faltering or being reversed as the administration began unraveling, they achieved notable successes, including the revitalization of the Philadelphia shipyard and the building of new training ships for maritime colleges.
Under President Biden, there appears to be a lack of maritime-specific knowledge among staff. Additionally, the appointment of a retired army general as Secretary of Defense, coupled with what some view as limited actions to bolster the Navy, points to a broader trend of maritime issues receiving less focus in the current administration’s defense and national security strategy."
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Right, we all know what they SHOULD be doing, but the U.S. Government is simply not going to do this, and certainly isn't going to do it at the behest of the Houthis, because it's a massive loss of face to give in to their demands. So now they face a situation where they have no good options.
The ship was identified as CMA CGM Tage.
The White House, together with Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, and the UK, issued a statement calling the Houthis to cease and desist.