To date, the US has lost at least three Reaper drones over Yemen, each costing $30m.

Estimates of the total cost of the operation range between $260m and $573m per month – that is, between $1.8bn and $4bn so far.

None of the US and its allies’ actions in the Red Sea have stopped the disruption of shipping lanes. Shipping and insurance costs have soared.

President Biden himself has admitted that the strikes against Houthis do not work. Yet, he has refused to stop them even as experts are suggesting that “strategic inaction” may in fact be more effective. He has also refused to use the most effective way to stop the Houthis: to press Israel into putting an end to the genocide in Gaza. The Houthis have repeatedly made clear that their attacks will stop as soon as there is a ceasefire.