A US-led naval coalition is finally coming together to protect international shipping transit in the Red Sea and vital Bab al-Mandab Strait, per a breaking development from Politico's chief Pentagon correspondent: "The Pentagon is expected to announce tomorrow the formation of Operation Prosperity Guardian, a new task force to protect shipping from Houthi attacks in the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait and Red Sea, per DOD official," writes Lara Seligman on X.
"The operation will be within the framework of the existing Combined Maritime Force 153, a partnership of 39 nations focused on counter piracy and counter terrorism in the Red Sea."
Days ago it was reported that the Pentagon was looking to cobble together the 'broadest possible' coalition task force, amid what's now become daily Iran-backed Houthi attacks on commercial vessels. The Houthis have also launched rockets and drones into southern Israel at various times, triggering US warship intercepts.
Just hours ago, we reminded readers of Zoltan Poszar's prediction of central-bank-analogized 'military protection' and said it's soon to become a reality... and just like that, it has:
Protection is a conceptual counterpart to par. When you decide to take money out of a sight deposit, you expect the same amount back that you put in (par).
When you sail foreign cargo from port A to port B, you expect to unload the same amount of cargo that you onloaded.
Banks can deliver par on deposits most of the time. When not, central banks step in to help.
Commodity traders can deliver foreign cargo from port A to port B most of the time, but when not, the state intervenes again: not the monetary arm, but the military arm of the state.
What central banks are to the protection of par promises, the military branch is to the protection of shipments: foreign cargo needs to sail on sea routes and through choke points like the Strait of Hormuz, and “par” in this context means being able to sail from here to there freely, safely, and without undue delays…
It has also emerged that Australia is expected to play a major role in Red Sea operations in the context of deepening ties with the US related to the AUKUS deal.
Australia is reportedly in talks with the Pentagon over a US request to send an Australian warship to the Red Sea to assist in dealing with Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have been disrupting commercial shipping in the region and launching missile and drone strikes against US targets and their allies. This request comes just days after Congress passed laws enabling the sale of Virginia class submarines to Australia under the terms of the AUKUS pact.
The agreement marks just the second time that the United States has shared nuclear secrets with another country (on purpose, at least), so it appears that there is an element of “I scratch your back, you scratch mine” going on here. This is not without its complications, as many members of Australia’s political establishment (particularly within the ruling Labor Party) still cling to dreams of ‘strategic autonomy’ of the kind that doesn’t even work for Europe.
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