Experts Tell Congress the US Must Empower Yemen and Regional Allies to Defeat Houthi Red Sea Threats

Experts testified before Congress on Tuesday that the US should provide robust support to Yemen's internationally recognised government and back regional allies to counter Houthi actions in the Red Sea. During a hearing of the House foreign affairs subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, lawmakers were told that successive administrations have failed to permanently stop attacks on shipping in the Red Sea or curtail the group's influence in the region.

"The most sustainable way to reduce the threat is to empower Yemen to retake territory from the Houthis," said Nadia Al-Dawsari, associate fellow at the Middle East Institute. "This does not require US boots on the ground: this requires US leadership, and for the US to work with allies to provide the Yemeni government with the political, military and economic support it needs to restore state authority."

Yemen has been mired in conflict since 2014, when the Houthi rebels pushed the internationally recognised Yemeni government out of the capital Sanaa. Fighting between the two sides killed hundreds of thousands directly and indirectly, displaced more than four million, and caused a widespread, years-long hunger crisis. Although a truce struck in 2022 has mostly held, the Houthis have continued carrying out attacks on international shipping near Yemen's shores for several years, alongside forming connections with terrorist groups across the Middle East.

Allison Minor, director of the Project for Middle East Integration at the Atlantic Council, stated that open-ended conflict ultimately benefits the Houthis. "Divisions within the anti-Houthi coalition have consistently jeopardised efforts to counter the Houthis," she noted, adding that the weakness of the Yemeni government is among the group's greatest sources of strength. "The United States can help address both vulnerabilities. We can help partners unify around a credible strategy for resolving the conflict and strengthening the Yemen government."

US involvement under President Donald Trump has primarily focused on military measures. Following near-daily US air strikes on Houthi bases in Yemen in March of last year in response to Red Sea shipping attacks, President Trump called a halt to the strikes and declared a ceasefire in early May, though Red Sea attacks persisted and escalated during the Gaza war and the US-Iran war. Additionally, the US has imposed sanctions that have impacted Houthi revenue generation, despite the group finding ways to work around them.

When Democratic Congressman Jared Moskowitz questioned the effectiveness of military interdiction and economic sanctions, Ms Al-Dawsari reiterated the need for the US to supply the Yemeni government with arms, training, and intelligence sharing, while also targeting countries like Russia and China that supply weapons. "Most of the weapons lending to the Houthis come from Chinese companies," she said, suggesting diplomatic engagement with China to pressure Beijing into cracking down on those companies.

Democratic members of the committee, including Congressman Bill Keating, criticized the lack of a strong US diplomatic presence in the Gulf, pointing to the Trump administration's decision to eliminate the role of special envoy to Yemen and its failure to appoint ambassadors to key regional allies like Saudi Arabia.

Ultimately, the experts concluded that the current US approach is failing and requires major revisions. "This is a very adaptable group. We can't deploy an old playbook to a group that is always three steps ahead of us," Ms Minor warned.