The American Hell: US Navy witnessed its most significant setback in 50 years

Follow-ups – Al-Khabar Al-Yemeni:

An American newspaper stated today, Wednesday, that the US Navy experienced its most significant setback in the past months in the military confrontations in the Red Sea with the Yemeni armed forces.

The American newspaper “The Hill” explained in an article by American attorney “Steve Cohen,” a former member of the Board of Directors of the United States Naval Institute, that over the last few months, the U.S. Navy has suffered its most significant setback in the last 50 years, a disaster more damaging than the pier-side sinking of the “Bon Homme Richard” or the loss of 17 sailors in two destroyer collisions.

The writer highlighted in his article that it is a setback that is existential and casts into question a core reason for the Navy’s very existence. For the Navy is seemingly abandoning a key mission: keeping vital sea lanes open to commerce. After a nine-month deployment to claw back control of the Suez Canal and Red Sea from Houthi control in Yemen, the Dwight D. Eisenhower (Ike) carrier strike group returned to the U.S. without dislodging the Houthis.

He added that the impact on the global economy is significant: Container shipping is down 90 percent since December 2023. Some $1 trillion in commerce—40 percent of all Europe-to-Asia trade—used to pass through that sea lane, “Bab Al-Mandeb,” the third most congested waterway in the world, handling more ships than the Panama Canal.

An estimated 90 percent of world trade (by value) passes through the sea. It accounts for $5.4 trillion of U.S. annual commerce and supports 31 million American jobs.

Due to continued Houthi operations in Yemen, ships are being diverted around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, adding over 11,000 miles, one-to-two weeks to each journey, and $1 million extra in fuel to each voyage. Insurance premiums are up 1,000%, and a container that used to cost $1,500 to ship now costs $6,000. The impact is not limited to the Middle East but is causing a “cascading impact” around the world.

According to Cohen, keeping these sea lanes open has been a key part of the Navy’s raison d’être since the founding of the republic, when the Navy was created largely to protect merchant shipping. And that role has endured through the present. As John Kennedy once said, “The US must control the sea if it is to protect our security.”

He adds, “Our allies recognize the strategic importance of open sea lanes as well. In 2023, Taiwanese officials, for the first time, said that their annual military drills would include exercises to keeping its sea lanes open in the event of a Chinese blockade.”

Recently, President Biden’s secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin said, “To tackle the national-security challenges of the 21st century, we need our Navy more than ever. It is especially vital in today’s world. And as [outgoing Chief of Naval Operations] Mike Gilday likes to say, ‘the global economy floats on seawater.”

Nonetheless, when the Eisenhower battle group returned to Norfolk last month, it didn’t fly a banner proclaiming “mission accomplished.” Instead, the Navy issued a message that was, at best, less than inspiring.

The Navy boasted that the deployment was “unprecedented.” Not only was it unusually long, but it marked the first time since World War II that a U.S. aircraft carrier came under constant direct threat from an enemy. Plus, the Navy proudly announced that it was the first time an enemy drone fighter aircraft had been shot down.

Yet the mission failed. The Houthis continue to control the Red Sea. For all the effort, dedication, and skill shown by sailors and air crews, it was too little to get the job done.

And he continues to ask: The question is why?

Answering: There are two possible reasons: First, the U.S. Navy lacks either the means and expertise to do anything about it. Or second, the Biden administration concluded that the cost, risk or strategic value of fulfilling such a mission is not worth the political juice. But whatever the reason, the failure undercut one of the key rationales for maintaining an expensive Navy.

According to the writer, there are three ways to address the problem of continued Houthi control: The first is to recognize that the tools used by the Navy were largely inappropriate for the problem. The cost of each Tomahawk and Standard-2 missile was at least $2 million—to target a $2,000 drone. Even in the face of all we are learning from the Russia-Ukraine war about the use of drones, we are not adapting quickly enough to equip our ships for this new, asymmetrical reality.

Second, we tend to measure inputs — munitions fired — rather than outcomes. This is Vietnam war thinking. Instead, the Navy should measure its success by the results it achieves.

Third, political leaders need to be candid about — and accountable for — sending an ill-equipped Navy on an ill-defined mission. If the only way to eliminate the Houthis’ ability to launch airstrikes is to use our special forces or Marines, just say so.

Steve Cohen concluded by saying: Yes, we are in the middle of a close electoral contest. And no candidate is likely to admit that we don’t have the resources (or political will) to win back control of this vital sea lane. But until then, we shouldn’t be sending our young men and women into harm’s way without equipping them to do the job with the proper gear and a well-defined mission.