If you’ve been following the news recently, you could be excused for thinking that the blockade in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Ansar Allah — commonly known as “the Houthis” — has been defeated. In recent months, we’ve heard barely a squeak from foreign policy “experts” about the insurgency. Does this mean the matter has been taken care of? Not quite.

Today, the blockade is stronger than ever, and the American military has given up on trying to lift it. Just a fortnight ago, faced with a deterrent bolstered by zero US aircraft carriers, the Houthis managed to board a Greek-flagged oil tanker, plant some explosives, and chant “Death to America! Death to Israel!” as the vessel went up in flames. Last week, the Pentagon quietly admitted that the tanker is still on fire and now appears to be leaking oil.

This should probably be huge news: one of the most important trade routes in the world is now blocked by a rag-tag group of militants, and the US Navy has thrown its hands up in defeat and sailed away. And yet, we just don’t want to talk about it.

The reason for this seems to be fairly straightforward: more than just sharing a sense of growing embarrassment, we no longer know how to talk about what’s going on. After all, America’s Navy is supposed to be the most powerful Navy in the world. As every war film of the past two decades has insisted on reminding us, all it takes is a single aircraft carrier to force a developing nation to its knees. America might not be great at “nation-building”, but boy does it know how to bomb things until all resistance stops.