https://sputnikglobe.com/20231222/houthi-red-sea-blockade-could-starve-western-war-machine-of-oil-1115751663.html
Houthi Red Sea Blockade Could 'Starve' Western War Machine of Oil
Houthi Red Sea Blockade Could 'Starve' Western War Machine of Oil
Sputnik International
US oil stockpiles are at their 40-year lows and the Houthi Red Sea blockage can make matters much worse for Washington, Maram Susli, better known as blogger Syrian Girl, told Sputnik's New Rules podcast.
2023-12-22T16:33+0000
2023-12-22T16:33+0000
2023-12-22T16:33+0000
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red sea crisis
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Yemen's armed forces stepped up attacks on trade vessels linked to Israel in the Red Sea in a bid to force Tel Aviv into halting its ground operation in the Gaza Strip.In response, the US brought together a 10-nation coalition against the government in Sana'a led by the Ansarallah movement — dubbed the Houthis by the West. However, the coalition includes only one Arab state, Bahrain, while Yemen's other neighbors have so far hesitated to join the US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian. Could they jump on Washington's bandwagon anytime soon?Observers say the US may resort to attacking Yemen launch sites, as they did previously in 2016. So far the Biden administration has been reluctant to take direct military action against the Houthis, who its claims are backed by Iran. The Yemeni movement issued a stark warning to the US-led naval task force on December 20."America's announcement of the establishment of the Coalition of Shame will not prevent us from continuing our military operations… This is a moral and humanitarian position that we will not abandon, no matter the sacrifices it costs us," Ansarallah spokesman Mohammed al-Bukhaiti tweeted on December 19.The US is already overstretched by its proxy war in Ukraine, unprecedented military deployment in the Middle East and the Biden administration's push to arm the island of Taiwan in defiance of Beijing's warnings. The Yemeni blockade of the Red Sea as well as a potential threat of the Middle Eastern conflict spiraling out of control may result in a new oil crisis to which the US is not ready, Susli said.The SPR currently holds around 352 million barrels, less than half of 2010 highs. While the Biden administration is scrambling to refill it as fast as possible, it faces limits on how much crude can be funneled into the reserve pf three million barrels per month, according to some estimates.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20231221/houthis-cargo-ship-attacks-help-make-settler-occupation-of-palestine-ungovernable-1115729851.html
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yemen, houthi militants, red sea blockade, red sea crisis, operation prosperity guardian in the red sea, israel-hamas war, palestinian-israel conflict, palestinian civilian casualties, potential oil crisis, us strategic petroleum reserve, energy crisis
yemen, houthi militants, red sea blockade, red sea crisis, operation prosperity guardian in the red sea, israel-hamas war, palestinian-israel conflict, palestinian civilian casualties, potential oil crisis, us strategic petroleum reserve, energy crisis
Houthi Red Sea Blockade Could 'Starve' Western War Machine of Oil
US oil stockpiles are at their 40-year lows and the Houthi Red Sea blockage can make matters much worse for Washington, Maram Susli, better known as blogger Syrian Girl, told Sputnik's New Rules podcast.
Yemen's armed forces stepped up attacks on trade vessels linked to Israel in the Red Sea in a bid to force Tel Aviv into halting its
ground operation in the Gaza Strip.
In response, the US brought together a 10-nation coalition against the government in Sana'a led by the Ansarallah movement — dubbed the Houthis by the West. However, the coalition includes only one Arab state, Bahrain, while Yemen's other neighbors have so far hesitated to join the US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian. Could they jump on Washington's bandwagon anytime soon?
"It's very interesting to see what the surrounding states will do, because, of course, we have Saudi Arabia trying to defeat the Houthis since 2015, which resulted in a lot of economic suffering and instability from Saudi Arabia," Susli told Sputnik. "And only now have they finally made some kind of a ceasefire or peace treaty with Iran and they both joined BRICS. I don't know if Saudi Arabia is going to be willing to jeopardize that, to stand with the United States in fighting the Houthis in this war, especially because it's going to be perceived in the entire region as Saudi Arabia siding with Israel, because what is happening right now is the Houthis are not attacking the vessels that are not related to Israel."
Observers say the US may resort to attacking Yemen launch sites, as they did previously in 2016. So far the Biden administration has been reluctant to take direct military action
against the Houthis, who its claims are backed by Iran. The Yemeni movement issued a stark warning to the US-led naval task force on December 20.
"America's announcement of the establishment of the Coalition of Shame will not prevent us from continuing our military operations… This is a moral and humanitarian position that we will not abandon, no matter the sacrifices it costs us," Ansarallah spokesman Mohammed al-Bukhaiti tweeted on December 19.
"It's interesting to see the United States put itself in harm's way in this way and try to launch a war already, because, you know, it's quite blatant that they're doing this for Israel and not for the United States," Susli said. "And it's going to open up their ranks in Syria and Iraq to even more massive attacks. They're basically sitting ducks in the Middle East right now."
The US is already overstretched by its proxy war in Ukraine, unprecedented military deployment in the Middle East and the Biden administration's push to arm the island of Taiwan in defiance of Beijing's warnings. The Yemeni
blockade of the Red Sea as well as a potential threat of the Middle Eastern conflict spiraling out of control may result in a new oil crisis to which the US is not ready, Susli said.
US oil reserves are at 40-year low even though the nation has stepped up oil production over the past several months. The Biden administration has repeatedly dipped into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in order to help limit soaring fuel prices after the West slapped energy sanctions on Russia.
The SPR currently holds around 352 million barrels, less than half of 2010 highs. While the Biden administration is scrambling to refill it as fast as possible, it faces limits on how much crude can be funneled into the reserve pf three million barrels per month, according to some estimates.
"It only takes for the oil to stop flowing to Europe and the US for the whole war machine to grind to a halt," said Susli. "The reason why the US oil reserves are down to such a level is because they've been forced to supply Europe with a lot of energy because they have blocked the Russians from being able to do so. So, this is the situation they're faced in. I think if other countries around the world are looking at the state that the United States is in, and if they start this offensive against Yemen, I wonder what will happen if there's a third conflict, for example, that could happen in which China invades Taiwan or anything in the east. The United States, with all its bravado, says, 'Yes, we can take on all of these wars at the same time.' But I don't think that that's true. I think that this is false bravado."
21 December 2023, 16:23 GMT
