Days ago in Yemen, a long-ignored country, the Houthis began launching attacks on commercial shipping the Red Sea, wreaking havoc with global trade. It stunned the U.S. and its allies, who are working to devise an effective response, including attacks on Houthi targets. But the question is: How did all this happen? And what are possible scenarios for the future?

This is a rapidly unfolding situation which our Council’s program chair, Al Thibault, will address, drawing on his long and distinguished career with the State Department. Al was U.S. Consul General in Lahore, Pakistan; deputy chief of mission in Nepal and India, senior advisor at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York, and director for Middle East Refugee Assistance, traveling widely in the region. He was political counselor, deputy chief of mission, and chargé d’ affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia. He studied Arabic in Jordan. He maintains a very active interest in Persian Gulf and Arabian Peninsula affairs.