https://nytimes.com/interactive/world/middleeast/houthi-red-sea-…
JPMorgan Chase estimated on Thursday that worldwide consumer prices for goods would climb an extra 0.7 percent in the first half of this year if shipping disruptions continue.
It is an extraordinary detour: Hundreds of ships are avoiding the Suez Canal and sailing an extra 4,000 miles around Africa, burning fuel, inflating costs and adding 10 days of travel or more in each direction.
They are avoiding one of the world’s most important shipping routes, the Red Sea, where for months the Iranian-backed Houthi militia has attacked ships with drones and missiles from positions in Yemen.
The Houthis have said they are seeking to disrupt shipping links with Israel to force Israel to end its military campaign in Gaza. But ships connected to more than a dozen countries have been targeted, and a Houthi spokesman said this week that they consider “all American and British ships” to be enemy targets.
The turmoil has been sweeping. About 150 ships passed through the Suez Canal, which lies at the northwest end of the Red Sea, during the first two weeks of this January. That was down from over 400 at the same time last year, according to Marine Traffic, a maritime data platform. Those detours, and the Houthi attacks, have persisted despite airstrikes by the United States and its allies against the Houthis.
@WingedV3toDemocrat4mos4MO
Iran's mullahs are, in effect, running a totalitarian theocratic autocracy, and attempting, through hyper-violent barbaric parasitical and fanatical proxies, to export their caliphate dreams world-wide, starting in the Middle East, of course.
There is no serious pundit, no serious thinker- anywhere- that denies the above.
What is being debated is what to do about it. Israel is the West. Whether you are antisemitic or not, Israel is (by far) the only western secular culture and political system in the region.
Currently Iran's caliphate doctrine is close to toppling rationality and… Read more
@ElectoralBartWorking Family4mos4MO
Iran spent years training HAMAS engineers to make missiles so that HAMAS could attack Israel hard enough to goad Israel into making huge response.
The Iranian leadership was willing to have HAMAS goad Israel into war even though this could result in the death of many Palestinian civilians. The Iranian leadership is not particularly concerned with individual lives, even those of fellow Moslems. It is more interested in claiming leadership in the Muslim world by getting rid of Israel. Iranian leaders were willing to sacrifice the lives of many Palestinian civilians, if it meant that the gre… Read more
@WingedV3toDemocrat4mos4MO
The "Houthis" are actually a tribe in Yemen that have been fighting the Yemeni central government for decades. The political movement that took over Yemen's capital and that is the de facto government of Yemen and carrying out the attacks on ships in the Red Sea is called Ansar-Allah although this movement is dominated by the Houthi tribe.
Also, why are the Houthis referred to as "Iran-backed?" The US backs Israel but it is never referred to as US-backed Israel. Nor are the anti-Assad rebel groups the US arms in Syria called US-backed rebels.
Lastly, Biden becomes the… Read more
@AmiableElectoral4mos4MO
At the Columbia University pro-Palestine protest, leftist demonstrators chanted in support of Yemeni Houthi militants who have carried out armed attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea. The Houthis are involved in slavery, according to Yemeni human rights groups.
@PassionateButterfly4mos4MO
“to, in Mr. Blinken’s words, “preserve freedom of navigation” and “freedom of shipping.””
I’m pretty sure that is the actual reason, not just some dude’s words. Nobody cared about the Houthis prior to the shipping attacks. They could have just continued their rebellion in Yemen and kept their struggle local. But they are Iranian stooges with a leader idolization complex that decided they are somehow responsible for fighting the rest of the world, save for Iran, Russia, North Korea and their various satellites. I don’t feel sorry for any of them.
@9J9GZKS4mos4MO
I think this is bad for the inflation I don't believe it should be happening
@CaucusMackenzieRepublican4mos4MO
Houthis stand with the oppressed Palestinians while America stands with shareholder profits. Trump stood up to the war lobby and got the US out of Afghanistan and Biden has immediately involved the US in three new conflicts. I may vote for trump as he is not warmonger.
@Tr3atyAriaDemocrat4mos4MO
Someone- please explain the mentality of the Houthis - seem like a bunch of old men angry about something and not really caring much about anybody else- who are they - why do they feel the need to carry around so many guns - and for goodness sake - where are all their children and women folk - they seem just like a bunch of old angry people - not contributing much to the world!
@ISIDEWITH4mos4MO
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