U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, on a visit to Israel, announced “a multinational maritime taskforce” Monday to deal with the threat of Houthi rebels in Yemen to global shipping in the Red Sea, which must pass through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.
The Houthis, a rebel group in Yemen controlled by Iran, have threatened international trade by attacking passing ships. Fully 10% of the world’s oil traffic must travel through the strait, which means that Iran, via the Houthis, is threatening the world economy.
President Joe Biden had allowed the Houthis free rein after reversing the policies of President Donald Trump, who had contained the Houthis, within days of taking office in 2021.
The problem began in 2015, in the lame-duck years of President Barack Obama’s presidency, when Iran helped the Houthis knock over the existing, pro-American government of Yemen, a poor and…
