The frenzied discussion over “Signalgate” misses a fundamental point. Once again, concern with form crowds out questions of policy. Although this leak was a huge lapse in security, the bigger question is why the US is, yet again, waging war against Yemen.

In 2016 Donald Trump campaigned against America’s habit of getting trapped in forever wars, and his first administration was relatively peaceful by recent US standards. In 2024, the then-GOP candidate was highly critical of Joe Biden’s attacks on Yemen, saying: “We’re bombing Yemen. You know, here this idiot is again bombing, bombing. When I came in, they were bombing. I got it stopped. You don’t have to bomb. Every bomb is a million dollars […] But more importantly, you’re killing a lot of people. You don’t have to kill the people […]”.

Now Trump is doing the exact same thing. And in the process, he runs the risk of starting a wider war with Iran. One reason for this is that Israel wants it. Shortly after Israel began bombarding Gaza in retaliation for the attacks of 7 October 2023, the Houthis, officially Ansar Allah, began attacking Israeli ships in the Red Sea. Before long, they were also hitting ships from other countries suspected of carrying cargo for Israel. The Houthis launched occasional missiles and drones, but most of these were shot down by Israeli defenses. Israel in turn struck Yemen several times.

The Houthis may be a ragtag Shia militia controlling only a third of Yemen, but they exercise significant control over a crucial chokepoint in global trade: the mouth of the Red Sea, which leads to the Suez Canal and the western end of the Mediterranean. Powerful interests around the world would like to see these shipping lanes reopened, and so far the US has been unable to reassert itself in the region. Starting in 2015, the US supported Saudi Arabia’s war against Yemen. Then, in 2023, the Biden administration launched its own “Operation Prosperity Guardian” on Houthi soldiers. But that campaign was very expensive, made little progress, and occurred in the run-up to a tight presidential election. Unsurprisingly, it quietly tapered off late last summer.

Trump’s relationship with Israel — stronger than Biden’s — is likely the main driving factor behind his resumption of war against Yemen. Israel has vast influence in DC, and there is no question that US intervention in the Middle East benefits Benjamin Netanyahu. But for Trump, the benefits are less clear. Perhaps he thinks that subduing the Houthis, and significantly degrading Iran’s industrial and military power by way of a larger war, will enhance US power on the global stage and thus strengthen his negotiating position vis-à-vis China and Russia. He might also think it can assist in his efforts to create a new multipolar international order and re-industrialize the US economy.

But whatever the case, America’s latest war with Yemen is a disaster. It is a nightmare for the innocent civilians being killed and it is very unlikely to succeed. In addition, it will alienate powers like China and Russia and thus undermine Trump’s efforts for international reset, imperiling the President’s (far-fetched) desire to win a Nobel Peace Prize.

Trump no doubt imagines that he can control the situation. Alas, many a huge and terrible war has started as “limited operations” only to then have the violence spin wildly out of control. Trump should therefore reverse course and bring the ships home while he can. Americans are sick of foreign wars.