A former Green Beret and current Republican congressman said the United States should think twice before confronting an under-funded and under-trained force.
In the last week the Houthis have seized control of most of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, giving them the ability to disrupt a vital shipping corridor, further threatening Saudi Arabia oil exports and ultimately the price of gas in the U.S. and worldwide.
The impact the Houthis might have on gas prices depends on their ability to disrupt large volumes of oil, not simply threaten a shipping lane.
If shipping companies decide the route is too dangerous, the Cape of Good Hope could become an alternate route. That would take ships well below the equator and into the southern hemisphere before accessing the North Atlantic and markets in the U.S. and Western Europe. That would make gas more expensive than it is now.
The U.S. needs to consider other allies in the region, Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-NC) said on “Washington Watch” Monday.
“We’re talking about a bunch of ragtag folks with AK-47s that are dancing around in the streets. This shouldn't even be a problem at this juncture, if not for how thinly the United States has already spread through the region. We need to, in my opinion, not take the bait, and we need to look at the totality of the leverage that we have in the region to try to put this back in the box,” he told show host Tony Perkins.
The Houthis have been attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb as the broader Iran war has unfolded.
In August, a Houthi attack on a cargo ship in the Bab el-Mandeb killed four crew members, according to Reuters. The Houthis said the vessel was carrying Saudi military equipment.
Some observers see Houthi actions as validation that the U.S.’ severe economic sanctions against Iran are having the desired effects. Harrigan says it’s too early to tell.
“I think it's still a little too early to tell whether that economic strangulation that the United States has been pressing on Iran is going to be successful long term, and specifically if it is successful, how that is going to translate into the United States achieving its strategic interests. I don't think that the administration has clearly made that case at this juncture,” he said.
The economic tactics are not new even if they’ve been brought to bear with greater pressure, Harrigan said.
The fact that the U.S. earlier abandoned an economic strategy against Iran “back in June” is enough to question the “long-term viability” of the new strangulation tactic, Harrigan said.
What the U.S. simply cannot do this time is take its foot off the gas, so to speak.
“It does seem like we've doubled down, changed a few things this time. Whether or not that will be successful or not, I sure hope it is. My constituents definitely do, because they definitely do not like $6.20 diesel at the pumps,” he said.
