Former US Navy officer James Dorsey stated that his country is facing a strategic dilemma as it loses in its first real naval battle since World War II.
Exclusive – Al-Khabar Al-Yemeni:
Dorsey wrote an article on the Defense Info website stating that the US is bowing to the Houthis, pointing out that the US Special Envoy for Yemen, Tim Lenderking, admitted, saying, “We support a diplomatic solution, and we know that there is no military solution.” Lenderking was following the example of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who said, “You can always rely on Americans to do the right thing after they have exhausted all other possibilities.”
Days ago, Lenderking said in an interview with The National newspaper that “ultimately, the US wants to return and move away from the attacks in the Red Sea in order to stop escalation and maintain peace and security.” Focus on peace.”
Dorsey said, “The good news is that the US is calling for diplomacy in the Middle East. The bad news is that the Houthis in Yemen have outperformed it.”
He explained that Lenderking presented offers to Yemen, including delisting Ansar Allah from the terrorism list. However, Yemen has already announced its conditions: naval operations will cease when there is a ceasefire in Gaza and the resumption of aid delivery.
Read also: Foreign website reveals the US offers to Sana’a to halt naval operations and what the response was.
According to the American officer, Lenderking’s acknowledgment that force has failed is a black bruise in the eye for the US and its allies who have failed to subdue the Houthis.
Dorsey pointed out that the US is not alone in this, as Saudi Arabia and its allies have waged a war in Yemen, yet their operations have not succeeded in defeating the Yemenis.
Dorsey also highlighted that the US military is facing increasing financial pressures as it launches two million dollars intercept missiles at drones that cost $2,000. Continuous operations of ships and aircraft require intensive and costly maintenance upon their return to port, which may encourage many sailors to leave the Navy at a time when the service chronically fails to meet its recruitment goals.
The American officer affirms that America’s enemies will study Yemen’s tactics and refine them as low-cost and low-tech methods to frustrate US forces. After witnessing the Americans fail against the low-tech Taliban in Afghanistan and now in Yemen, it will tempt others to take similar steps.
Dorsey explains that although Yemenis have suffered from American and British bombing, they have persevered until the attackers changed their course, pointing out that it was not only the performance of the American and British forces that was weak but also that of the German, Danish, and French navies. Therefore, the US should seek to halt the war in Gaza, at least to test Yemen’s credibility and its commitment to the conditions for ceasing naval operations.
The American officer added, “Naturally, if the Houthis keep their word, it will elevate their status as those who have brought the Americans to their knees, although Washington’s belated discovery of diplomacy may have achieved this goal.”
According to Dorsey, if Washington adheres to the text, it would be better for future American officials to get used to confrontations like this between the US Army and the North Vietnamese Army:
“You know you never defeated us on the battlefield,” the American colonel said.
The North Vietnamese colonel pondered this remark for a moment and replied, “That may be true, but it is also irrelevant.”
The post-World War II free trade system was supported by the US Navy, so the failure of the naval campaign in the Red Sea is a black spot after the US’ defeat in Afghanistan.
It appears that the US Navy lost—or at least did not win—in its first real naval skirmish in decades, at a time when the fleet was too small to fulfill America’s global commitments.
Therefore, Washington should consider rebalancing between war and sanctions on the one hand and trade and diplomacy on the other, then look at the challenge posed by the US Navy’s Seth Cropsey, who asked, “What is the purpose of the global navy?”
According to Yemeni diplomatic sources cited by National, Washington has sent messages to Sana’a containing “incentives from the Americans to Sana’a in recent weeks. These messages have been delivered through envoys and intermediaries, including Western officials, with the Omani capital, Muscat, also playing a significant role.”
According to the website, the American incentives “include measures to demonstrate Washington’s goodwill, such as expediting the Yemeni peace process, ending the war, and lifting the blockade completely” on Sana’a airport and Hudaydah port, as well as reconsidering the classification of Ansar Allah as a global terrorist organization and recognizing the movement’s authority over some Yemeni areas.
Barbara Leaf, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, said on Wednesday that her country is taking diplomatic approaches and added, “I can’t describe our context as a robust debate at this stage.”
Sana’a rejects all American offers, affirming that the only way to stop military operations is to cease the aggression on Gaza and lift the blockade.
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