Houthi Red Sea Blockade

[OldSolduer]

Do it. I’d definitely be interested to and would carve out the time to read it.

Same. Even though it may hurt my brain

 

[brihard]

Same. Even though it may hurt my brain

I’m some 50+ university courses under my belt; I’ve seen my share of aggravating, masturbatory academic writing and have faked some myself. I suspect him, being somewhere around the same but also former INF and MARS, remembers his roots (maybe no so much the INF part because he digested and shat out those crayons by now) and probably wrote something reasonably ‘ABC’ and readable for the common man.

 

[HavokFour]

This whole regional war is really starting to snowball.

Not too sure it was really worth sending the global trade network into cardiac arrest.

Donald Trump declines Saudi crown prince's call for US strikes on Houthis | The Jerusalem Post

Trump rejected the request, and US officials said the administration does not intend to take direct military action against the Houthis at this time, the report said.

www.jpost.com

And the Israeli's believe it might be even more serious than what is currently happening in the Hormuz, with the Houthi capture of Perim Island.

They wont need radar or specialized systems to attack ships.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2098404548708553145

 

[Halifax Tar]

I've sailed those waters and through the Suez.

It wouldn't take Clausewitz level tactical genus to close those passages.

One side of the Suez is lined with old M60 tanks
derelict I'm sure, but the impression is recieved.

I took these on TOR in 2006 (ish). 2006 and 7 was a whirlwind wind of deployments and living the single life to the fullest. It's all a blur now.

 

[Eaglelord17]

Now I know very very little about Yemen and their civil war, but is the terrain and location much more practical for manoeuvre warfare?

Could the US Gulf War 1 the Houthis and regain control of the coastline at least? Looking at a topographic map the central part is mountainous, but the coast seems fairly flat. Could a US armoured division sweep the area pretty quickly and effectively?

Logically it should be much easier for the US to supply. Militarily the Houthis aren’t nearly as well armed as the Iranians and they aren’t in a good location to receive much aid/logistical support.

This is quickly turning into a global logistical disaster which needs to be rectified sooner than later (as evidenced by all the previous interventions in the region to keep that strait open).

Politically for the US, if it is much more feasible, this could be the ‘win’ Trump is looking for to show how tough and strong America is, at least to his base.

 

[YZT580]

Now I know very very little about Yemen and their civil war, but is the terrain and location much more practical for manoeuvre warfare?

Could the US Gulf War 1 the Houthis and regain control of the coastline at least? Looking at a topographic map the central part is mountainous, but the coast seems fairly flat. Could a US armoured division sweep the area pretty quickly and effectively?

Logically it should be much easier for the US to supply. Militarily the Houthis aren’t nearly as well armed as the Iranians and they aren’t in a good location to receive much aid/logistical support.

This is quickly turning into a global logistical disaster which needs to be rectified sooner than later (as evidenced by all the previous interventions in the region to keep that strait open).

Politically for the US, if it is much more feasible, this could be the ‘win’ Trump is looking for to show how tough and strong America is, at least to his base.

There were some photos a while back of a Saudi Armoured Platoon after the Houthis were done with it. Wasn't pretty. They were the Lavs we sold them I think

 

[HavokFour]

Not sure what the thought process was behind this response regardless of there being any truth within it.

Basically saying the Houthis have sway over the US, and pissing the Saudi's off to boot.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2098766412818866285

 

[Colin Parkinson]

If the Houthi's are able to consolidate their hold on Mocha and Perim island, then I can see the use of US ground forces and other countries landing and seizing it back and being used to buttress the local forces.

 

[GR66]

If the Houthi's are able to consolidate their hold on Mocha and Perim island, then I can see the use of US ground forces and other countries landing and seizing it back and being used to buttress the local forces.

You seem to be much more willing to deploy US ground forces in a number of places (Yemen, Iran) than either the US administration or US public appear to be willing to do.

 

[Good2Golf]

This does not conclusively prove my hypothesis, but it provides strong empirical evidence for its central mechanism that an inferior adversary does not need to achieve sea control or defeat a superior navy outright; it needs only to maintain sufficient sea-denial capability to make freedom of manoeuvre uncertain, expensive and strategically consequential.

Correlation vice causation isn’t necessarily wrong.

Methinks your r≈1.0

 

[Colin Parkinson]

You seem to be much more willing to deploy US ground forces in a number of places (Yemen, Iran) than either the US administration or US public appear to be willing to do.

At some point they may not have a choice. This advance by the Houthi if not overturned is going to be very, very bad news for international shipping. Better to respond sooner than later, so they don't have a chance to consolidate.

 

[suffolkowner]

At some point they may not have a choice. This advance by the Houthi if not overturned is going to be very, very bad news for international shipping. Better to respond sooner than later, so they don't have a chance to consolidate.

i cant see the appetite by anyone to put boots on the ground. What do the Houthis want?

 

[Colin Parkinson]

i cant see the appetite by anyone to put boots on the ground. What do the Houthis want?

If the Red sea is closed to shipping, Egypt loses out on canal fees, which is a good chunk of their GDP, the Houthi cannot be trusted to honour much in the way of any agreements, as for what they want is "Death to America, Israel and KSA", not always in that order. From Permin Island, it's 19km to the other side of the Strait.

 

[suffolkowner]

If the Red sea is closed to shipping, Egypt loses out on canal fees, which is a good chunk of their GDP, the Houthi cannot be trusted to honour much in the way of any agreements, as for what they want is "Death to America, Israel and KSA", not always in that order. From Permin Island, it's 19km to the other side of the Strait.

not very realpolitik of them

 

[YZT580]

i cant see the appetite by anyone to put boots on the ground. What do the Houthis want?

Better to ask what the Iranians want. The Houthis are just another branch of the Iranian Terrorist Hegemony. Plus I suspect a bit of Chinese and a bit of Russian push to distract the world from Ukraine and the waters of China, Viet Nam etc.

 

[brihard]

Better to ask what the Iranians want. The Houthis are just another branch of the Iranian Terrorist Hegemony. Plus I suspect a bit of Chinese and a bit of Russian push to distract the world from Ukraine and the waters of China, Viet Nam etc.

The Houthis are certainly very much aligned with Iran, but it’s an alignment of utility more than anything. They work as a proxy in a lot of ways, but because Iran in turn supports what they’re trying to achieve in terms of territorial and political sovereignty. The Houthis very much do have their own agenda as well.

Thus far in the current round of conflict have we seen the Houthis go after anything not Saudi/Israeli?

 

[daftandbarmy]

Houthi blitz...

People fleeing Iran-backed rebels’ advance in Yemen describe a ‘hysterical panic’​

It was a heart-pounding escape. As Houthi rebels backed by Iran swept south along Yemen’s Red Sea coast this week, some residents had little time to flee.

“We set out in hysterical panic on a motorcycle, not knowing where we were heading,” Alaa Ali Salem said. “The roads suddenly became extremely congested, and while I was driving, the motorcycle overturned. My wife, my children and I were all injured.”

His family and thousands of others, in numbers leaping by the day, are now displaced as the Arab world’s poorest country faces a potential return to a devastating civil war.

The Associated Press on Saturday visited some of the newly displaced in Aden, a city under the control of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, as residents opened homes to them.

Children sprawled in crowded rooms of thin mattresses that were scattered with the few belongings grabbed in haste. A young girl clutched a smartphone. Crutches were propped against a wall. Worn-looking elders napped. A fan stirred the air on a day where temperatures reached into the 90s Fahrenheit (30s Celsius).

https://apnews.com/article/iraq-iran-yemen-saudi-arabia-c1359273dd970b969e823356e5ead377

 

[Colin Parkinson]

The Houthis are certainly very much aligned with Iran, but it’s an alignment of utility more than anything. They work as a proxy in a lot of ways, but because Iran in turn supports what they’re trying to achieve in terms of territorial and political sovereignty. The Houthis very much do have their own agenda as well.

Thus far in the current round of conflict have we seen the Houthis go after anything not Saudi/Israeli?

The Houthis are quite brutal on dissent withing their territory and operate under one flag, even if there are old tribal and political divisions. The same cannot be said to the opposing forces aligned with the Yemen government.

A little on the forces guarding the coast against the Houthi's

By AI:
The Yemeni National Resistance (NRF)—often operating under the umbrella of the Joint Forces—is one of the most professional and formidable military coalitions fighting the Houthi movement along Yemen’s Red Sea coast. [1, 2, 3]

1. Composition and Origins
Formed after the collapse of the Houthi-Saleh alliance in late 2017, the force was built by Major General Tareq Saleh. Its ranks are uniquely composed of highly trained veterans from Yemen’s pre-war elite military units, including: [1, 2, 3]

• The Republican Guard
• The Central Security Organization
• The Presidential Guard (which Tareq Saleh personally commanded prior to the 2011 crisis) [1, 2, 3]

Because of this institutional background, analysts consider the NRF one of the most organized and capable anti-Houthi factions in Yemen's civil war. [1, 2]

2. The "Joint Forces" Coalition
The National Resistance does not fight alone. It leads a broader operational alliance on the western coast known as the Joint Forces, which comprises roughly 30 military brigades. This coalition includes: [1]

• The Southern Giants Brigades: A powerful, highly effective offensive force largely staffed by southern Salafi fighters and veterans.
• The Tihama Resistance & Zaraniq Brigades: Local fighters native to Yemen’s coastal Tihama region fighting to protect their home territories.
• Nation's Shield Forces: Units operating in coordination under the broader anti-Houthi umbrella. [1, 2, 3, 4]

3. Geopolitical Backing and Ideology

• The Political Goal: Unlike southern secessionist groups, the National Resistance explicitly aims for a unified Yemen. They position themselves as a republican counterweight to both Houthi theological rule and southern separatism. [1]
• The Saudi & UAE Shift: The force was originally armed, funded, and heavily supported by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). However, following geopolitical shifts and a late-2025 decree by Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) that severed the Joint Defense Agreement with the UAE, Saudi Arabia took direct supervision of the coalition. [1, 2, 3]

 

[suffolkowner]

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/ship-fuel-shortage-looms-refiners-strained-by-war-favour-other-products-2026-09-07/

lots of good or bad as the case may be numbers in this article

 

[Retired AF Guy]

Now I know very very little about Yemen and their civil war, but is the terrain and location much more practical for manoeuvre warfare?

Could the US Gulf War 1 the Houthis and regain control of the coastline at least? Looking at a topographic map the central part is mountainous, but the coast seems fairly flat. Could a US armoured division sweep the area pretty quickly and effectively?

Logically it should be much easier for the US to supply. Militarily the Houthis aren’t nearly as well armed as the Iranians and they aren’t in a good location to receive much aid/logistical support.

This is quickly turning into a global logistical disaster which needs to be rectified sooner than later (as evidenced by all the previous interventions in the region to keep that strait open).

Politically for the US, if it is much more feasible, this could be the ‘win’ Trump is looking for to show how tough and strong America is, at least to his base.

Actually it should the Saudi Army who should be sorting this out.