Life presents us with certain choices: we become either the creator of a problem, a part of it, or its solver. This holds true in every aspect of life—within the family, among friends, at the workplace, and even in the realms of government and politics. There is a direct link between the scale of the problem we create and the position from which we create it.

The capture of Perim Island and Yemen’s Red Sea coast by forces from Sana’a in September 2026 is more than another turn in Yemen’s long war. It may prove a precedent for how non-state actors can exercise influence over the infrastructure of globalization.

Is Bab al-Mandab becoming an example of a new form of “weaponized geography,” in which the ability to influence strategic corridors matters almost as much as the ability to control territory?

Watch a few videos about one topic, and before long, your feed seems full of it. Sometimes it can feel as though the internet knows exactly what you want before you even search for it.