The sinking of HMS Sheffield by Argentinians on 4 May 1982[1] offers a window into Ansarallah’s path to defeating British aggression against the Yemenis. If Ansarallah sinks a Royal Navy ship, or inflicts casualties, the attack will probably end the British mission. It almost certainly will end Rishi Sunak’s premiership. The loss of HMS Sheffield sent shockwaves through Britain; but there were 41 days of fighting left—and the Brits pulled off a victory. But a US/UK victory against Yemen is impossible.
Margaret Thatcher’s political future was tenuous in 1982. Her reforms to Britain’s socialist state and economy had her polling in low digits. Her decision to send 11,000 sailors, airmen, and Royal Marines, and fleet of two carriers, 36 warships, and scores of auxiliary vessels 8,000 miles/12,800 km to liberate a remote outpost of the British Empire, was a ‘gamble.’ Following the 2 May sinking of the General Belgrano by a Royal Navy submarine, Argentinians launched a furious attack on the British on 4 May. One Exocet missile penetrated Sheffield’s defenses, causing deaths to 20 sailors, injuries to dozens, and the loss of the destroyer.
Sunak’s political life and the Tory Party are in the ICU in England and Wales (Tories have been dead in Scotland for years). Unlike Britain’s General Staff in the Falklands War, today’s General Staff have no strategy and no path victory. US/UK bombings of Yemen are of negligible military value. George W. Bush criticized Bill Clinton’s tactics against al-Qaʾida. Bush said he, unlike Clinton, was not going to ‘fire a $2-million missile at a $10 empty tent and hit a camel in the butt.’ Biden’s and Sunak’s policies are similar to Clinton’s. It is evident from recent attacks on US/UK maritime traffic that five weeks of US/UK strikes have failed to deter Yemenis.
But US/UK have ticked off the Yemenis. Ansarallah has struck two British ships in 72 hours; and banned all ships linked to US/UK from Ansarallah’s areas of operation. Sunak’s Royal Navy is not Thatcher’s Royal Navy. Sunak’s Royal Navy has been cracking up social media with its multitude of mishaps, most recently, its failed Trident tests. IRGC circulated the video above on Trident, accompanied by derisive remarks. Brits are hated by Iranians—more than are Americans. This was true from before the 1979 Revolution. IRGC is itching to strike Britain. Moreover, Abd al-Malik Houthi stated, ‘England, stupid and ignorant, got involved in a problem that has nothing to do with it.’ Royal Navy is the weakest link in ‘Operation Prosperity Guardian.’ Just as a lion in the veld stalks and targets a herd’s weakest, Iran and Ansarallah have been stalking Royal Navy. In my opinion, it is a matter of when, not if, they will target a Royal Navy vessel. Targeting the weakest is what Shiʿa militias and IRGC did to Brits in Basra; what al-Qaʾida did to the Spanish with the Madrid bombings (2004); what the Taliban did to the Germans in Mazar-i Sharif, Canadians in Qandahar, and Brits in Helmand.
See also: Ansarallah’s Long Game: The Case of HMS Diamond & Yemen-Ansarallah SITREP
[1] The ship actually sank on 10 May while under tow.
Perspectives 
You must be logged in to post a comment.