US military attacks the Houthis in Yemen, marking a significant uptick in the fighting in the Middle East
WASHINGTON—On Thursday, American aircraft, vessels, and submarines, accompanied by British combatants, launched attacks on locations in Yemen linked to the Houthi rebels, who get Iranian support and have been launching several drones and missiles into Red Sea commerce channels.
Following the 27th Houthi attack since late November earlier this Thursday, the strikes mark a significant uptick in U.S. involvement in Middle East fighting amid Israel's war in Gaza. In recent weeks, the Pentagon has also attacked Iranian-backed militants in Iraq and Syria who have targeted U.S. troops there with rocket attacks.
"Under my leadership, U.S. military forces — in collaboration with the United Kingdom and with assistance from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands — effectively carried out operations against several targets in Yemen that the Houthi rebels were using to jeopardize the freedom of navigation in one of the most significant waterways in the world," President Joe Biden stated in a statement late on Thursday.
The president declared the response of the global community to the Houthi attacks has been "united and determined." The leaders of Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, and the United Kingdom issued an apology shortly after the U.S.-led air strikes, pledging collaboration alongside the U.S.
Although the Biden administration has made an effort to limit violence in the Middle East to Gaza, militants backed by Iran have escalated their attacks across the region.
"These attacks are a direct reaction to the unprecedented Houthi attacks in the Red Sea against international maritime vessels, which includes the first-ever use of anti-ship ballistic missiles in history," stated Biden.
According to a senior Defense official who was not authorized to speak publicly, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, hospitalized since January 1, approved the strikes from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
Austin's delay in disclosing his cancer diagnosis and hospitalization has drawn heavy, bipartisan criticism. Austin was heavily involved in planning Thursday's attack.
Austin recently spoke multiple times with Biden about planning for the attack and talking to senior military officers, the binding said.
Austin provided the order Thursday to U.S. Central Control to launch the strikes and monitored them in real-time. "Today’s strikes targeted sites related with the rebels’ unmanned aerial automobile, ballistic and cruise ships missile, and coastal radar and air surveillance features," Austin said. "The United States maintains its right to protection and, if essential, we will take follow-on actions to protect U.S. forces."
According to a senior Biden administration official who discussed the operation on the condition of anonymity, the U.S. and coalition attacks targeted Houthi missile, radar, and drone capabilities thought essential to the Houthis' campaign against commercial shipping in international waters.
The official described the scale of the attacks as "significant" but said precautions were taken to provide minimal risk for collateral damage including to civilians in Yemen.
A major Houthi attack in the Red Sea on Tuesday that involved 20 drones and multiple missiles against U.S. Navy ships precipitated Biden's decision to take military action.
If the attack had not been defeated by U.S. and British naval forces, U.S. ships would have been hit and possibly even sunk, the U.S. official said. "There is no intent to escalate the situation," the official said. "The aim is to degrade the ability of the Houthis to continue carrying out these reckless attacks." Biden has not received a response from the Houthis since the attacks were carried out.
Following the attack on Tuesday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak issued a statement in which he said, "The United Kingdom will always stand up for freedom of navigation and the free flow of trade.
We have therefore taken limited, necessary, and proportionate action in self-defense, alongside the United States with non-operational support from the Netherlands, Canada, and Bahrain against targets tied to these attacks, to degrade Houthi military capabilities and protect global shipping." Biden then called a meeting of his national security team and gave Austin the task of carrying out the response.
A statement from Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, who commands naval forces in the region, U.S. ships, and warplanes have shot down over 60 missiles and one-way attack drones since Nov. 19. Others have landed in the water without causing any harm.
The Houthis have stated that their attacks are retaliation for Israel's war in Yemen. Their attacks have increased insurance costs for commercial ships that transit the Red Sea en route to the Suez Canal. Some major shipping lines have chosen the longer, more costly route around the southern tip of Africa, raising the cost of goods.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, released a statement saying that attacking Yemen without congressional approval is escalating the conflict in the Middle East and "unnecessarily, illegally and dangerously" risks a broader war.
The Houthis claim their attacks are aimed at stopping Israel's war on Hamas. Still, their targets increasingly have little or no connection to Israel and lie in the thick of major commercial trade routes linking Asia and the Middle East with Europe.
Austin's delay in disclosing his cancer diagnosis and hospitalization has drawn heavy, bipartisan criticism. Austin was heavily involved in planning Thursday's attack.
Austin recently spoke multiple times with Biden about planning for the attack and talking to senior military officers, the binding said.
Austin provided the order Thursday to U.S. Central Control to launch the strikes and monitored them in real-time. "Today’s strikes targeted sites related with the rebels’ unmanned aerial automobile, ballistic and cruise ships missile, and coastal radar and air surveillance features," Austin said. "The United States maintains its right to protection and, if essential, we will take follow-on actions to protect U.S. forces."
According to a senior Biden administration official who discussed the operation on the condition of anonymity, the U.S. and coalition attacks targeted Houthi missile, radar, and drone capabilities thought essential to the Houthis' campaign against commercial shipping in international waters.
The official described the scale of the attacks as "significant" but said precautions were taken to provide minimal risk for collateral damage including to civilians in Yemen.
A major Houthi attack in the Red Sea on Tuesday that involved 20 drones and multiple missiles against U.S. Navy ships precipitated Biden's decision to take military action.
If the attack had not been defeated by U.S. and British naval forces, U.S. ships would have been hit and possibly even sunk, the U.S. official said. "There is no intent to escalate the situation," the official said. "The aim is to degrade the ability of the Houthis to continue carrying out these reckless attacks." Biden has not received a response from the Houthis since the attacks were carried out.
Following the attack on Tuesday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak issued a statement in which he said, "The United Kingdom will always stand up for freedom of navigation and the free flow of trade.
We have therefore taken limited, necessary, and proportionate action in self-defense, alongside the United States with non-operational support from the Netherlands, Canada, and Bahrain against targets tied to these attacks, to degrade Houthi military capabilities and protect global shipping." Biden then called a meeting of his national security team and gave Austin the task of carrying out the response.
A statement from Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, who commands naval forces in the region, U.S. ships, and warplanes have shot down over 60 missiles and one-way attack drones since Nov. 19. Others have landed in the water without causing any harm.
The Houthis have stated that their attacks are retaliation for Israel's war in Yemen. Their attacks have increased insurance costs for commercial ships that transit the Red Sea en route to the Suez Canal. Some major shipping lines have chosen the longer, more costly route around the southern tip of Africa, raising the cost of goods.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, released a statement saying that attacking Yemen without congressional approval is escalating the conflict in the Middle East and "unnecessarily, illegally and dangerously" risks a broader war.
The Houthis claim their attacks are aimed at stopping Israel's war on Hamas. Still, their targets increasingly have little or no connection to Israel and lie in the thick of major commercial trade routes linking Asia and the Middle East with Europe.
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