Are Houthi Red Sea attacks hurting Israel and disrupting global trade?

This concerns what is known geo politically as a choke point. Many years ago, 13 years to be precise, I’d written one of several pieces about choke points, globally.

Does the US led response have the additional goal of restricting Saudi Arabia’s ability to sell/trade/ship oil?

https://pennyforyourthoughts2.blogspot.com/2010/01/yemen-hidden-agenda-strategic-oil.html

url above for one report. Which included a piece from William Engdahl.

https://pennyforyourthoughts2.blogspot.com/2010/01/haiti-yemen-and-somalia-one-common.html?zx=3b8d2a33714fcfc9

url above for another report- Google shut down my blog two years ago- so far, but, unknown for how much longer I can access my previous reports

Included in my first linked url from William Engdahl

The Oil chokepoint and other oily affairs

The strategic significance of the region between Yemen and Somalia becomes the point of geopolitical interest. It is the site of Bab el-Mandab, one of what the US Government lists as seven strategic world oil shipping chokepoints. The US Government Energy Information Agency states that “closure of the Bab el-Mandab could keep tankers from the Persian Gulf from reaching the Suez Canal/Sumed pipeline complex, diverting them around the southern tip of Africa. The Strait of Bab el-Mandab is a chokepoint between the horn of Africa and the Middle East, and a strategic link between the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean.” [9]

Bab el-Mandab, between Yemen, Djibouti, and Eritrea connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. Oil and other exports from the Persian Gulf must pass through Bab el-Mandab before entering the Suez Canal. In 2006, the Energy Department in Washington reported that an estimated 3.3 million barrels a day of oil flowed through this narrow waterway to Europe, the United States, and Asia. Most oil, or some 2.1 million barrels a day, goes north through the Bab el-Mandab to the Suez/Sumed complex into the Mediterranean.

An excuse for a US or NATO militarization of the waters around Bab el-Mandab would give Washington another major link in its pursuit of control of the seven most critical oil chokepoints around the world, a major part of any future US strategy aimed at denying oil flows to China, the EU or any region or country that opposes US policy.

Given that significant flows of Saudi oil pass through Bab el-Mandab, a US military control there would serve to deter the Saudi Kingdom from becoming serious about transacting future oil sales with China or others no longer in dollars, as was recently reported by UK Independent journalist Robert Fisk.

Included in my second report (second url)

Yemen and Somalia are on either side “of Bab el-Mandab”

The Strait of Bab el-Mandab is a chokepoint between the horn of Africa and the Middle East, and a strategic link between the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean.” Bab el-Mandab, between Yemen, Djibouti, and Eritrea connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. Oil and other exports from the Persian Gulf must pass through Bab el-Mandab before entering the Suez Canal.

Background out of the way- let’s read this latest from Al Jazeera

Keeping in mind the US is working on a coalition of the willing to tackle the Houthi Red sea issue

The United States on Tuesday announced the formation of a 10-nation coalition to deter the attacks that threaten to disrupt trade passing through one of the busiest maritime routes in the world.

Only six are named – Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Seychelles and the United Kingdom

How seriously are they disrupting trade?

The Bab al-Mandeb is where 12 percent of the total global seaborne trade of oil, as well as 8 percent of liquified natural gas, passed through in the first half of 2023, according to the US Energy Information Administration. That is 8.8 million barrels per day of oil and 4.1 billion cubic feet per day of LNG.

More than 17,000 ships pass through it each year, some heading to the Suez Canal that takes them to the Mediterranean and acts as the link between Asia and the West.

Who could get affected the worst?

Israel, the first direct intended target of the Houthis, has already felt an impact from the disrupted maritime trade.

Traffic through its southern port of Eilat, located in the city which is also a tourist destination, has come to a halt, and the foreseeable future seems uncertain as the war rages.

Egypt, which was already facing an ailing economy before the war, could suffer heavily from the slowed trade, in addition to decreased transit fees

Europe and states in the Mediterranean are poised to suffer the most losses if the current situation persists

What do the Houthis stand to gain?

The Houthis have steadily consolidated their power within Yemen over the years.

It was inevitable for them to wish to secure recognition from the international community as the legitimate government in Yemen as well, according to Thomas Juneau, an assistant professor at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa.

“They will not obtain that for the foreseeable future, but at the very least they want to force the international community to deal with them as the de facto governing authority in the country,” he told Al Jazeera.

Saleh, was previous the leader of Yemen. Another American/NATO lackey.

Saleh developed deeper ties with Western powers, especially the United States, during the War on Terror.

Saudi Arabia has not joined in with the coalition so far

Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia agreed with Tehran, a close Houthi ally, to restore formal diplomatic ties after a seven-year rift.

With the Yemeni talks and Iran rapprochement hanging in the balance, the (Saudi) kingdom has not joined the US-led military alliance. Other Arab heavyweights like the United Arab Emirates and Egypt have not joined either.

Go back to the piece from 2013

a US military control there would serve to deter the Saudi Kingdom from becoming serious about transacting future oil sales with China or others

Are certain parties looking to restrict and punish Saudi Arabia?? I’m sure there are other reasons the US is looking to create the coalition too, but, reining in a recalcitrant Saudi Arabia might just be a factor worth considering.