The Houthis of Yemen have demonstrated their courage and determination in standing up for the Palestinians as the rest of world silently witnesses the ongoing Israeli genocide of Gaza.

I fully support the Houthis because Israel’s savage attack on Gaza is exposing something toxic in the US and the rest of the Western world. It lays bare the primitive and ugly behavior that has been obscured for decades by a veneer of Western civilization, with all the faux concern for human rights, and the whole “rule based international order” bullshit that we are subjected to incessantly.

Yet, these claims were invariably bogus. Vietnam, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Ukraine were all sold based on lies. The true goal of the US, and NATO, was plundering the resources of the Third World while maintaining Washington as the global hegemon, and enriching Wall Street. But there is nothing humanitarian about bombing trapped civilians in Gaza with US made bombs and missiles, turning their tiny prison enclave into rubble.

The Red Sea crisis is an extension of the Palestine-Israel conflict, exacerbated by the United States’ continuous support to Israel and its double standards in dealing with the Palestinian question. In recent weeks, Yemen’s Houthis have intensified their attacks on “Israel-linked” ships passing the Red Sea, demanding an end to Israel’s military actions in the Gaza Strip, and the delivery of food and medicines to the enclave. The Houthis have to date mounted 100–plus attacks on ships sailing the Red Sea.

This has led to major shipping and oil firms halting operations along this important trade route.

The US has responded by initiating the so-called “Operation Prosperity Guardian” to safeguard commercial ships passing the Red Sea. The Red Sea is a vital maritime transport corridor, whose importance has been further highlighted by the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The security of transportation in this region is directly linked to US interests. In a paradigm shift in warfare that favors the insurgent, the Houthis are firing drones they make for $2,000 each. In response the U.S. Navy is trying to shoot them down with missiles that cost $1 million to more than $4 million a copy. 

By any conceivable metric, the Houthis strategy is working better than anyone could have imagined. In fact, the Houthis asymmetrical attack may be the most successful hybrid attack of all time. It would be impossible to overstate the impact this ingenious offensive is having on political leaders and elites scattered across the western world. They are freaking out. A smallish, unsophisticated militia has delivered a withering blow to the American empire’s Achilles heel—the vital transit corridor for global trade that is now under the de facto control of Washington’s mortal enemy, the Houthis. Is that not a victory for the majority of ordinary people around the world who oppose the US and Israel’s sadistic butchery of the Palestinian people?

What the Houthis are showing the world is that the Washington is no longer capable of controlling the Middle East, long considered primary to US power. This is no small problem. This is crisis of legitimacy. It is a question of whether the US can act as the guarantor of global security or not.

In addition the Houthis are bringing the biblical story of David and Goliath to life with their bravery displayed against Israel, the US and NATO.