00:00The Houthis did not become this dangerous overnight.
00:03Two main factors got us here.
00:06Iran's sustained investment in their capabilities, and the United States and the international
00:11community consistently underestimating them.
00:14By the time the United States responded militarily, the Houthis had already acquired capabilities
00:20to threaten the U.S. forces and international shipping.
00:23The U.S. military pressure has imposed real cost on the Houthis, but airstrikes alone
00:30will not eliminate the threat, and repeated interventions risk pulling the United States
00:35into a prolonged war of attrition.
00:39The United States needs a long-term strategy that builds real leverage on the Houthis, and
00:45the most important source of leverage is territory.
00:48Territory gives the Houthis people to recruit, revenue to collect, ports and smuggling routes
00:54to exploit, and space to build and store weapons.
