Anyone looking at a map will initially see the Suez Canal as a waterway connecting Europe and Asia. Its true geopolitical significance, however, becomes apparent only when we look beyond nautical charts and warships and consider insurance premiums, transit times, and the calculations of the world’s major shipping companies. At the southern entrance to the Red Sea lies the Bab el-Mandeb, the narrow strait separating the Arabian Peninsula from Africa. Since the Houthis in Yemen began attacking commercial vessels in