‘Multi-domain’ is the current buzzword and fad of the month
in the US military although, in practice, it seems to just be gibberish-speak
for more computers and more unmanned assets.
That aside, the basic concept is that you wage war not just on the kinetic
level but on additional levels such as the electromagnetic, public relations,
Internet, space, and so on.
Unfortunately, one of the major domains that has the most potential
impact is also the most overlooked and ignored and that is the financial domain.
Consider the current Houthi conflict.
We’re trading shots back and forth with the Houthis and,
clearly, not deterring them in the least.
This is yet another in an endless list of demonstrable failures of
deterrence for those of you who believe deterrence is effective but, I digress …
The point is that our minimal attacks are having little or
no effect. This is quite similar to the
ISIS truck-plinking that we engaged in some years ago and which had zero
impact.
If we were serious about ending the Houthi actions, we’d
focus as much on the financial domain as the kinetic and it would likely
produce far better results. The Houthis
must finance their operations, weapon acquisitions, weapon component
acquisitions, shipping and transport costs, ‘soldier pay’, etc. That financial mechanism is not just a local,
village level network. They’re engaged
in global financial dealings with suppliers, Iran, and others. That financial network represents a major center
of gravity and extreme vulnerability for the Houthis. We have the means to completely shut down
their financial network, halt bank transfers, seize assets, freeze and seize
bank accounts, etc. I’m not a financial
expert so these are just the conceptual, top level ideas that I’m aware
of. I’m sure our government accountants
and financial experts could devise much more extensive and effective
methods. We should also be tracking and
covertly eliminating links in the Houthi financial chains … you know, CIA type
work.
Waging war is not cheap and the Houthis are not above the
financial requirements. In fact, being a
smaller operation, relative to the US, they are more vulnerable to financial
disruptions. Of course, it would help if
we would stop giving billions of dollars to Iran![1]
I know that the administration will claim to be applying
some sanctions against the Houthis but we are a universe away from bringing the
full weight of our financial combat capability to bear. Just as our occasional strikes accomplish
nothing, a few minor sanctions also accomplish nothing.
We need to either bring our full military and financial
might to bear on the Houthis in a true multi-domain fight or we need to leave
the area. What we’re doing is
accomplishing nothing and risking everything.
One lucky hit on a warship and the Houthis win on the global stage.
As with so many things, our military and government (largely
one and the same!) pay lip service to concepts but refuse to actually carry
them out to the maximum extent. We talk
about multi-domain combat but largely refuse to engage in financial combat
which has, arguably, the most potential to produce the desired results.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/11/us-iran-sanctions-waiver-americans-detained-iran
