The Threat of Piracy to Maritime Shipping. Two of the world’s maritime choke points are the Suez Canal and the Straits of Hormuz. Most shipping between the North and the South, the West and the East, utilizes this thoroughfare and therefore can be interfered with.
Between them there is the Red Sea, with the Bab el Mandeb gate whose potential closure threatens Israeli trade with Asia. Egypt has used its relative proximity in its conflict with Israel, and now the Houthis of Yemen, an Iranian proxy hostile to Israel, have been escalating their efforts to goad Israel into an additional front, first by launching missiles and drones and then by taking over a British-registered, Bahamas-flagged vehicle carrier partly owned by an Israeli tycoon. This belligerent action, threatening all shipping in this sensitive area, invites a reaction by Israel, the United States and essentially all nations concerned with maritime security.
To explore this issue we have with us:
- Host: Jonathan Hessen
- Amir Oren: Editor at Large, Host of Watchmen Talk and Powers in Play
- MGEN (Res.) Eitan Dangot: JISS Senior Fellow and former COGAT Commander
- Brig. Gen. (Res.) Mark Kimmitt: former Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs
