Ryan Bridge: Would we send our troops to fight the Houthis?

It's possible our Defence Force could send personnel to the Middle East to help stop the Houthis. 

They're the group in Yemen, backed by Iran, currently firing drones and cruise missiles at Saudi tankers. 

They're the ones, along with the Revolutionary Guard in Iran, pushing up the price of oil this morning. 

They're the ones blocking the B route for getting crude out of the Gulf. 

They're the reason we'll probably pay more to fill up our cars and trucks in the coming weeks, if crude prices stay high. 

Like most other Western countries, we haven't touched Trump's war and done anything about Hormuz. 

But the Red Sea is different because we've been there before. 

Two years ago, Judith Collins sent six NZDF personnel specifically to help the US-led coalition trying to stop attacks exactly like this.  

Winston said at the time the attacks were illegal, against our values, and continue to affect New Zealand’s economy. 

You'd have to say, given what we're witnessing this week, nothing's changed. 

That deployment was scheduled to end at the beginning of 2025 after being extended. 

In June Chris Penk extended a deployment to the Middle East by two years of up to 14 personnel for 'maritime security". 

The question is whether we will now be sending more and doing more. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.