4 ms·

I don’t think the Israeli merchant ships are attacking the Houthi rebels, though. The Saudis are, but not via drones from shipping lanes.

solardev 3y ago
Merchant ships aren't just innocent bystanders though, they're part of the supply chain, economy, and war effort. How is this different than U-boats sinking our merchant marines, or our blockades stopping supplies to other countries? Another comment said that shipping lane is used by other nations' vessels too, but the Houthi are specifically targeting Israeli ships (and by extension their American defenders, but only because we choose to be involved). Ships from all sorts of countries sail the world, but it's not an innocent coincidence that ours are routinely targeted by Israel's enemies... It's silly for us to play the victim when we put ourselves in harm's way specifically to defend Israel against these threats. It's like sailing through the Taiwan Strait with a carrier group and acting surprised when it annoys China. We use our force projection to play global police, but then turn around and pretend like we're innocent... we're far from it. These are self-inflicted casualties because we're picking sides.
- mcphage 3y ago
  > Merchant ships aren't just innocent bystanders though, they're part of the supply chain, economy, and war effort. Sure, I agree with you there—although Israel isn't at war with the Houthi rebels. Again, the Houthi are fighting the Yemeni government and the Saudis. Although "Death to Israel" is part of their charter, so there is that. > It's silly for us to play the victim when we put ourselves in harm's way specifically to defend Israel against these threats. I don't know that we're playing the victim here; our ships are clearly there to do exactly what it is that they're doing. Overall it's probably a net win for us—we get practice in anti-drone warfare.

solardev 3y ago

Merchant ships aren't just innocent bystanders though, they're part of the supply chain, economy, and war effort. How is this different than U-boats sinking our merchant marines, or our blockades stopping supplies to other countries? Another comment said that shipping lane is used by other nations' vessels too, but the Houthi are specifically targeting Israeli ships (and by extension their American defenders, but only because we choose to be involved). Ships from all sorts of countries sail the world, but it's not an innocent coincidence that ours are routinely targeted by Israel's enemies... It's silly for us to play the victim when we put ourselves in harm's way specifically to defend Israel against these threats. It's like sailing through the Taiwan Strait with a carrier group and acting surprised when it annoys China. We use our force projection to play global police, but then turn around and pretend like we're innocent... we're far from it. These are self-inflicted casualties because we're picking sides.

mcphage 3y ago
> Merchant ships aren't just innocent bystanders though, they're part of the supply chain, economy, and war effort. Sure, I agree with you there—although Israel isn't at war with the Houthi rebels. Again, the Houthi are fighting the Yemeni government and the Saudis. Although "Death to Israel" is part of their charter, so there is that. > It's silly for us to play the victim when we put ourselves in harm's way specifically to defend Israel against these threats. I don't know that we're playing the victim here; our ships are clearly there to do exactly what it is that they're doing. Overall it's probably a net win for us—we get practice in anti-drone warfare.