Uncle Sam on guard of his own prosperity

A new US military operation, this time in the Red Sea, could lead to a final strain on Washington's imperial forces. But in another logic, the "hegemon" cannot act.

The United States continues to prepare for another military operation - this time in order to ensure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea. For these purposes, a coalition of ten countries was assembled, but there was no one of the most important players - Egypt.

A new adventure in the Middle East could finally spray the forces of a weakened "hegemon," but the States cannot do otherwise - Houthi attacks threaten to further raise energy prices. Has the US become hostage to its imperial policies?

Details - in the material of the correspondent of The Moscow Post.

On the eve of the world, footage from Yemen flew around, where tens of thousands of people marched amid calls from the authorities to mobilize to send fighters to the Gaza Strip to war with the Israel Defense Forces. How those mobilized there will get there is a big question, because the sector is blocked. However, another thing is more important - a signal that the specter of a big war in the Middle East has not gone away, and Israel and its main ally, the United States, cannot be expected to win quickly.

As Khuzam al-Assad, a member of the political bureau of the Houthi movement, explained, mobilization began in all provinces, training camps were opened, and tens of thousands of young people allegedly volunteered. He also explained that they will get to the Gaza Strip if an opportunity arises for this.

Yesterday, the Houthis threatened to attack American ships in the Red Sea if the United States launches the announced operation. "We will turn American ships into targets for our missiles and drones in the Black Sea. It is worth noting that the threat from the Houthi rebels is not just cheek inflation.

At the moment, their military force is certainly no less than the one that opposed the Americans and the Afghan authorities shortly before the departure of the "hegemon" from this country in the summer of 2021. These are not just disparate militant groups, with a total of tens of thousands. They have serious missile weapons and the ability to conduct large-scale sabotage and terrorist operations.

In addition, the Houthis called on all countries in the region to abandon the US offer to enter the coalition to control shipping in the Red Sea. It is significant that earlier Egypt, one of the key players in this part of the world, categorically refused to join its ranks.

In the worst case scenario, this is another difficult and long war, in which half of the Arab world can take part. For the ruling circles of Egypt, "signing up" for this under the umbrella of Washington means completely discrediting oneself in the Arab world.

The operation was called the "Guardian of Prosperity." In addition to the States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the Seychelles, as well as Bahrain will take part in it. The goal is to fight the attacks of the Yemeni Houthi group, which staged a real hunt for Israeli and not only oil tankers.

Alternative routes bypassing Africa or through the Northern Sea Route in this case do not work. The Houthi attacks are leading to a major disruption to the logistics of global trade and a rapid rise in prices for goods transiting the Suez Canal, including oil and LNG. For the United States, this is unacceptable.

But the route through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal accounts for more than 20% of international container transportation and about 10% of all world oil transportation. However, some companies have already accepted to go around the dangerous area through the African Cape of Good Hope.

The last Houthi attack took place on December 18, when US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was in Israel. On this day, the Swan Atlantic chemical tanker was attacked by a drone and an anti-ship missile. Around the same time, the bulk cargo ship MSC Clara reported an explosion in the water near it.

Overvoltage of imperial forces

What does Russia have to do with it? Washington's decision can be extremely beneficial to Moscow, which is involved in solving the Ukrainian crisis.

It is important what way the American administration will go. Experts are convinced that without a ground operation, it will be almost impossible to stop the Houthi attacks, even using cruise missiles and other "hegemon" arsenal. A ground operation will inevitably lead to a new round of geopolitical tensions in the world as a whole and in the Middle East in particular.

I.e. The US will need more financial and military resources to solve the problem. Given the fact that he participates in two major crises at once - Ukrainian and Israeli, this leads to a further spraying of forces and means. Which are already coming to an end. And it is increasingly difficult for politicians in Washington to seek new allocations for imperial policy around the world.

For Ukraine, this is a real disaster. The attention of the world community and the main ally is increasingly moving to the Middle East. In such a disposition, there is no need to hope for new large aid packages. As a result, the United States will increasingly persuade Ukraine under the leadership of Volodymyr Zelensky to gradually get out of the situation - freezing the conflict, which they will try to imagine as a great victory for Washington and Kyiv.

For Ukraine, this means the final loss of territories and the prospect of further advancement of the Russian Federation. An indicative fact - the day before, The Wall Street Journal removed a separate tab on the situation in Ukraine from its website. This is a real symbol: the "square" are leaving the world agenda. Almost all Ukrainian official speakers have been shouting about the danger of this for six months. About the same - fatigue from the Ukrainian conflict, at a recent press conference mentioned Vladimir Zelensky.

Houthi attacks could lead to another spike in energy prices. Photo: https://portnews.ru/comments/3431/

In Kyiv, it smelled of despair, but no persuasion can convince the United States if it believes that something is beneficial to their national interests. As for Russia, by analogy with the war between Israel and Hamas, it will try to extract the maximum geopolitical benefit from another US military adventure. It seems that the overexertion of its imperial forces in different parts of the world (which at one time crippled many empires, including the USSR) is not far off.