American website: There are three main problems in Washington's current strategy towards the Houthis

American writers Jonathan Hoffman and Benjamin Geltner criticized Washington's approach to dealing with Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, considering it a clear example of "strategic neglect" because - according to them - it will fail, is very costly, and puts the lives of American service members stationed in the region to protect foreign ships in the first place at risk. In addition, it risks destabilizing Yemen and the region more broadly.

In an analytical article published by the responsible statecraft website, affiliated with the American Quincy Institute, the authors believe that the American military campaign against the Houthis is still unsuccessful, pointing out that there are three main problems in Washington's current strategy towards the Houthis.

The first problem, they say, is that it lacks concrete, achievable political goals while burdening American taxpayers with huge costs. According to American officials, the American military effort is aimed at “restoring deterrence.” The United States has already shot down more than 150 Houthi drones and missiles. By comparison, Houthi missiles and drones cost about $2,000 each. So far, Washington has spent more than $1 billion on munitions to strike the Houthis and intercept incoming missiles and drones.

But these efforts have failed to deter the Houthis, and are unlikely to succeed. The Houthis see the benefits of launching these attacks—namely, the political benefit of brandishing their defense of the Palestinian cause—outweighing the costs to the United States. Indeed, most of the Houthi attacks have occurred after the United States and its partners began their retaliatory campaign, demonstrating that American efforts have failed to deter further violence.

The article also ruled out the possibility that the United States would be able to reduce the capabilities of the Houthis to the point that they would not be able to attack ships crossing the Red Sea. It considered that the American officials’ awareness of what it described as the gap between this military campaign and its apparent political goals is “ridiculous.”

He said that while the Houthi attacks have disrupted global shipping and freedom of navigation through the Red Sea, the US military intervention has not solved the problem. Commercial shipping through the Red Sea has declined dramatically as a result of the Houthi attacks. Significant efforts have been made to reroute these ships – most of which are headed to Europe – resulting in increased shipping costs and delays, especially for European ships and consumers.

But this is not the death knell for the global economy. The biggest impact on profit margins for some companies has been higher fuel costs and insurance premiums. But the U.S. military campaign is making things worse, intensifying the conflict and putting more ships under Houthi fire.