Quote (zorzin @ 8 Aug 2024 15:27)

Russia and China are discussing the possibility of a barter trade, with the first deal involving agriculture expected as early as this autumn, Reuters reported on Aug. 8
The deal would be the first such instance in around 30 years, as barter trading between Moscow and Beijing ceased after the fall of the Soviet Union.

https://kyivindependent.com/russia-china-discuss-barter-trade-as-sanctions-hamper-payments-reuters-reports/

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Washington —
U.S.-led efforts to thwart attacks on international shipping by Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen are nothing more than a “shock absorber” and are unlikely to lead to stability or safer seas, according to a senior U.S. commander.

Vice Admiral George Wikoff, who heads the U.S. naval efforts in the Middle East, shared the blunt assessment Wednesday, saying that not only have U.S. strikes and defensive efforts done little to change the Houthis’ behavior, it now appears unlikely the group will be swayed by military force.

“The solution is not going to come at the end of a weapon system,” Wikoff told an audience in Washington, speaking via video from U.S. 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain.

“We have certainly degraded their capability. There's no doubt about that. We've degraded their ability,” he said. “However, have we stopped them? No.”

The comments build on other U.S. assessments that have questioned the ability of the United States and its allies to stop the Houthis from targeting commercial ships transiting the Red Sea, which account for up to 15% of international maritime trade.

An unclassified report issued this past June by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, or DIA, found container shipping in the region plunged by 90% from December 2023 through mid-February 2024.

It also warned that despite U.S. and European countermeasures, such as the U.S.-led Operation Prosperity Guardian and the European Union’s ASPIDES mission, the Houthis still carried out more than 43 attacks between November 19 and March 23, driving up security costs and insurance premiums.


...

“We have very little leverage over the Houthis, and air strikes are unlikely to deter them,”according to Elisabeth Kendall, a Yemen specialist at the University of Cambridge in Britain.

“They have a high tolerance for casualties, they are highly adaptable, they do not need sophisticated weapons to wreak havoc, they just need to keep going — not losing is winning, and they believe they have God on their side,” she told VOA via email. “In reality, air strikes by the U.S. and U.K. benefit the Houthis by providing evidence to back up their propaganda narratives against the U.S. and its allies.”

Quote (ofthevoid @ 9 Aug 2024 17:36)

Most powerful navies in the world vs goat herdsmen update:

https://www.voanews.com/a/houthis-undeterred-despite-us-action-to-protect-red-sea-shipping/7734735.html?utm_source=Daily%20on%20Defense%2008092024_08/09/2024&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=WEX_Daily%20on%20Defense&rid=24899895&env=ab58cea04a63d6bf88463dd72ccd81c76fc1bae71c677fe00b1a18dce25c6d63

Quote (ofthevoid @ Aug 9 2024 11:36am)

Most powerful navies in the world vs goat herdsmen update:



https://www.voanews.com/a/houthis-undeterred-despite-us-action-to-protect-red-sea-shipping/7734735.html?utm_source=Daily%20on%20Defense%2008092024_08/09/2024&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=WEX_Daily%20on%20Defense&rid=24899895&env=ab58cea04a63d6bf88463dd72ccd81c76fc1bae71c677fe00b1a18dce25c6d63

Quote (zorzin @ Aug 10 2024 08:05am)

Wait till you hear about the bill(paid by the American taxpayer of course)for operation prosperity no friends!

U.S. forces have launched roughly 800 missiles and seven rounds of air strikes against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels
“We are burning readiness to the tune of tens of billions of dollars for what really amounts to a ragtag bunch of terrorists that are Iran proxies,”
U.S. forces fired over 135 Tomahawk land attack missiles, weapons that cost upwards of $2 million apiece, at Houthi targets in Yemen. The ships also launched 155 standard missiles of various kinds, which cost between $2 million and $4 million per missile, to destroy the drones.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/08/07/houthi-yemen-defense-iran-airstrikes-00173096#:~:text=U.S.%20forces%20have%20launched%20roughly,have%20controlled%20Yemen%20since%20November.&text=President%20Joe%20Biden%20says%20the,war%20anywhere%20in%20the%20world.

And it's not just about the money. Sm missles on those destroyers take along time to make and the US only has a stockpile of around 1000 so using these against drones is probably not a good idea.

Quote (Black XistenZ @ Aug 10 2024 09:45am)

I wonder how the Chinese feel about Iranian proxies disrupting the shipping route to Europe which is of great importance to their economy. This isn't just bad for Europeans, it's also bad for their Asian trade partners.

Regarding the Houthis, there are only two solutions: either properly bomb them into the stone age, or erect an effective blockade which prevents missile supplies from Iran getting to Yemen in the first place.

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Reports Claim Russia Sending Cargo Planes of Weapons to Iran + Shoigu in Tehran w/ Mark Sleboda

Quote (ofthevoid @ 10 Aug 2024 17:43)

If we can waste hundreds of billions in Ukraine, because it's a 'good investment' to weaken Russia, maybe China is operating under a similar premise? Ultimately this spends US/Western military munitions and dollars to enforce this corridor and exhausts our will to continue to do so as it turns from weeks to months then years. And ultimately, it's the western European consumers paying the biggest price in the from of goods inflation.

Neither of those solutions are good ones, i think there's a 3rd realistic solution, which is Israel slows its roll in Gaza/Lebanon, with Houthis backing off and some regional deescalation. But this is highly dependent on Israel who right now is emboldened to weaken their enemies while they have someone friendly and willing to spend US billions (assuming Trump is elected)