Yemen lies at the gateway of the Bab-el-Mandeb, which translates to "Gate of Tears" in English -- a name that aptly reflects the significance of this strategic maritime choke point in the Red Sea.
Bab-el-Mandeb is a crucial conduit for global trade, enabling the flow of goods from the Suez Canal to the open seas and linking Europe and Asia through one of the world's busiest shipping routes.
Much to the consternation of the US, Israel, and their regional lackeys, the Ansar Allah movement -- often referred to dismissively in the West as the "Houthis" -- controls this key passage and is not afraid to leverage it against their adversaries.
This is a major reason Saudi Arabia, along with a "Coalition of the Bribed," launched Operation Decisive Storm in March 2015 -- an ill-fated invasion aimed at dislodging the Houthis from power.
Yemen has sometimes been called "the Afghanistan of the Middle East" due to its status as an impoverished, tribal society that is heavily armed, situated in rugged mountainous terrain, and historically resistant to both foreign occupation and centralized authority. So, it was not hard to foresee that Saudi Arabia's campaign wouldn't end well.
By 2019, the conflict had ground to a military stalemate. By March 2022, the Saudi-led coalition announced a halt to all hostilities, having failed to achieve any of its objectives.
Most people remain unaware of this war or its details. Yet it's remarkable that the Saudis -- among the wealthiest in the Middle East and backed by the full weight of US military and political support -- failed to defeat the region's most impoverished people in Yemen.
The Houthis are a key component of Iran's network of regional allies, collectively known as the Axis of Resistance. This alliance includes Iran, Hezbollah in Lebanon, several Palestinian groups (including Hamas), and several militias in Iraq.
Following the October 7, 2023 attacks and Israel's subsequent war on Gaza, the Houthis opened another front by targeting Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea in solidarity with the Palestinians. Their actions disrupted global trade through one of the world's most vital maritime corridors.
In response, former President Joe Biden launched Operation Prosperity Guardian in December 2023, aiming to pressure the Houthis into halting their costly blockade.
While exact figures remain unknown, Operation Prosperity Guardian likely cost billions and ultimately failed to halt the Houthi attacks.
A suspicious incident unfolded in February 2024 when a cruise missile launched from Yemen narrowly missed the USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier.
Another questionable episode followed in June, as the Houthis claimed they had successfully struck the Eisenhower, which then quietly withdrew from the region -- amid a telling silence from both the media and the US military.
In the months that followed, Operation Prosperity Guardian gradually faded, having failed to break the Houthis' naval blockade on Israel.
Trump inherited the Yemen problem after winning the 2024 presidential election.
The Houthi blockade persisted, as did a string of suspicious incidents involving the US military in the region. In December 2024, for example, an F/A-18 Hornet combat aircraft -- worth $60 million -- from the USS Harry S. Truman was shot down in what was reported as a friendly fire incident.
Then, in February 2025, the same aircraft carrier suffered significant damage under murky circumstances -- allegedly after colliding with a merchant vessel near the Suez Canal. The US government offered no details, but the damage was severe enough to force the Harry S. Truman to dock in Greece for repairs.
Adding to the intrigue, Captain Dave Snowden, the commanding officer of the Harry S. Truman, was relieved of duty later that month due to a "loss of confidence in his ability to command" following the incident.
Several weeks later, on March 15, 2025, President Trump launched Operation Rough Rider with plenty of tough talk about bombing the Houthis into submission -- though he never quite explained why he believed he'd succeed where Biden and the Saudis had failed.
Despite the intense bombing campaign, Houthi attacks continued largely unabated. And the string of suspicious incidents didn't stop either.
On April 28, the USS Harry S. Truman lost another F/A-18, which allegedly fell overboard while the carrier was executing an evasive maneuver to dodge a Houthi drone and missile strike.
Then, on May 6, the Harry S. Truman lost yet another F/A-18 under murky circumstances. That very same day, Trump shocked the world by declaring victory and announcing a ceasefire with the Houthis, claiming that his military campaign had forced them to capitulate.
The Houthis, however, rejected that version of events. They stated that while they had agreed to stop targeting the US military -- on the condition that the US stopped targeting them -- the ceasefire did not extend to Israel. They made it clear they would continue attacking Israeli targets.
Since late 2023, when Biden launched military operations that essentially continued under Trump, here's a brief rundown of some of the most prominent costs.
And that's not even counting the cost of offensive operations, which were largely ineffective and almost certainly racked up a bill in the billions. To me, the whole thing looks like a colossal failure that Trump tried -- unconvincingly -- to spin as a victory.
The US war in Yemen has easily cost billions, with little to show for it.
The Yemenis may be the poorest people in the Middle East, but they're wearing down the US military at an astonishing rate.
It's clear Trump was looking for a way out of this mess.
The bottom line is hard to miss: after years of wasted billions, failed operations, and mounting losses, the US has nothing to show for its war in Yemen -- while one of the poorest nations on Earth continues to expose the limits of American power.
But this isn't just about military failure -- it's part of a broader unraveling.
As global conflict escalates and the economic system buckles under the pressure, the risks to your livelihood and future are growing fast.