Red Sea traffic is actually about normal apart from Israel-linked ships.
Fri 1:26 pm +01:00, 26 Jan 2024The fact that 8 years of relentless airstrikes by the Saudis only served to strengthen the Houthis, has not dampened the administration’s enthusiasm for more of the same. Biden is convinced that the identical policy will produce a different result. But isn’t that the definition of “insanity”? And where do we see evidence that the prescribed method actually works: Afghanistan? Iraq? Syria? Libya? Ukraine? Are these the shining examples of ‘military triumph’ that have convinced Biden that he’s on the right track?
But even if the Biden team had a coherent military strategy, there would still be a fundamental problem with the current approach, mainly because it’s morally wrong. The United States should work alongside those who are trying to enforce the Genocide Convention, not treat them as enemies. The Houthis have taken a constructive and (so far) non-lethal approach to Israel’s depredations in Gaza, an approach that is consistent with Article 1 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide which clearly states:
The Contracting Parties confirm that genocide, whether committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a crime under international law which they undertake to prevent and to punish.
The Houthis blockade of Israel-linked commercial ships passing through the Red Sea also hews to the tenets of The Responsibility to Protect – known as R2P which “was unanimously adopted in 2005 at the UN World Summit, the largest gathering of Heads of State and Government in history”, a document which—by the way—was signed by representatives of the United States. Here’s a short excerpt from the text:
Each individual State has the responsibility to protect its populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity…. The international community, through the United Nations, also has the responsibility to use appropriate diplomatic, humanitarian and other peaceful means, in accordance with Chapters VI and VIII of the Charter, to help to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity….
Pillar 1
Every state has the Responsibility to Protect its populations from four mass atrocity crimes: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.
Pillar 2
The wider international community has the responsibility to encourage and assist individual states in meeting that responsibility.
Pillar 3
If a state is manifestly failing to protect its populations, the international community must be prepared to take appropriate collective action, in a timely and decisive manner and in accordance with the UN Charter. WhatIsR2P? , Global Center for the Responsibility to Protect
While it’s true that the Houthis have not garnered UNSC approval for their unilateral blockade of Israeli-bound ships, that is because the US blocks all such measures just as it blocked the previous Ceasefire resolutions. But the fact that the international community is unable to enforce basic humanitarian precepts—due to the obstructionism of the US— does not absolve people or states from doing their duty. It would be vastly preferable to have the UN’s authorization, but it is not absolutely necessary. The higher priority is saving the lives of innocent people. Here’s how Houthi spokesman, Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti summed it up in a recent statement on Twitter:
Taking action to support the oppressed… is a true test of morality… and whoever does not take action to stop the crime of genocide… has lost his humanity.
Moral… values.. do not change with the race and religion of the person… If another group of humans were subjected to the injustice that the Palestinians are subjected to, we would take action to support them, regardless of their religion and race.
… the Yemeni people (are committed) … to achieve a just peace that guarantees the dignity, safety and security of all countries and peoples Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti @M_N_Albukhaiti
Is it naive of us to think that the Houthis are acting in accordance with universally-accepted principles of justice and humanity? Are we wrong in assuming that the Houthis sound like men who can be reasoned with and with who one could negotiate an agreement that would end the blockade and the onslaught in Gaza at the same time? If that is so, then they why doesn’t Biden engage the group diplomatically instead of bombarding their ports and cities?
And, just for the record: The administration and their allies in the media continue to imply that the traffic in the Red Sea is at historic lows due to the “indiscriminate” attacks on commercial ships by the Houthis. But that is not the case. On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (in a visit to the United Nations) produced documentary evidence that traffic in the Red Sea remains relatively normal excluding the fact that Israel-linked ships are prevented from sailing the waterway. In other words, the western media is deliberately misleading the American people to accelerate the rush to war. Here’s the story from Press TV (Iranian state media):
