Last updated on October 1, 2025
Strength misplaced is strength wasted, and when challenges all across the globe beckon for U.S support, we simply can’t tend to them all.
It’s time that the U.S takes a moment to reflect on where our military strength is best used.
Consider the Red Sea.
For the past year, the Iran-backed Houthi militant group has continually attacked ships traveling through the Red Sea—a vital corridor that allows countries to ship anything from goods to humanitarian aid.
With no end in sight, attacks have amounted to over $1 trillion dollars’ worth of disruptions.
Distracted and overstretched, US efforts have still not been enough to stop the Houthis, who have carried out over 130 attacks since last October.
The Red Sea needs help quickly and reevaluating our priorities is the key. If we don’t take action quickly, the effects will be disastrous. Houthi attacks have increased travel times of vital aid shipments to Sudan’s civil war from weeks to months, while costs for organizations like Save the Children have increased 8-fold, as the Red Sea is too unsafe to traverse.
Crucially, 6.6 million displaced people in Sudan are heavily dependent on Red Sea aid.
To uphold our duty to those whose lives hang in the balance, we must consider putting more resources here.
Another region to consider is one we all have read about: Ukraine and the Black Sea.
As the war in Ukraine rages on, Putin is increasingly willing to gamble on global food security to get what he wants. Amidst harvest season in Ukraine, Russia is stepping up attacks on Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea—ports that export crucial grain supplies to millions in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Although the U.S has consistently sent military packages, aid packages have gotten smaller and smaller as stockpiles of equipment dwindle.
Instead, we must send more naval-based rocket and missile systems to protect its vital grain exports. If Ukrainian ports fall, the 60 million tons of grain Ukraine exports annually that feed 400 million people will be jeopardized.
Ultimately, power is only as strong as where it’s placed and we can’t be everywhere at once. By taking a step back to view the world around us, it becomes clear that we have left vital regions neglected.
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