US airstrikes on Yemen’s Houthis have been “insufficient” to curtail attacks on commercial shipping transiting the Red Sea, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told lawmakers, saying the group is not expected to stop anytime soon.
Asked about the militant faction during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday, Haines said US intelligence had concluded the Houthis would “remain active for some time,” stressing the group’s growing domestic weapons program and assistance from regional partners like Iran.
“Neither of those things are likely to change in the near future,” she continued. “Now, that doesn’t mean that the strikes that the Department of Defense and the coalition – with our allies – have taken haven’t had impact. They have, but it’s been insufficient to really stop the Houthis from going down this road.”
The Houthis, who control a large portion of northern Yemen, have carried out a flurry of attacks on vessels transiting the Red Sea and the surrounding area in recent months, including the seizure of several ships with links to Israel or Israeli businessmen. The group has vowed to disrupt trade in the region in protest of Tel Aviv’s war on Gaza, saying its actions were meant as a show of support for the Palestinians.
Alongside the UK, US forces have carried out several rounds of airstrikes targeting the Houthis, and have shot down dozens of projectiles fired by the group in the Red Sea. The latest incident came on Thursday, when US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it downed three Houthi drones which “presented an imminent threat to US, coalition forces, and merchant vessels.”
Despite the repeated strikes, President Joe Biden conceded in January that the operations were not having the intended effect, but insisted they would continue regardless.
“When you say ‘working,’ are they stopping the Houthis? No,” he told reporters at the time. “Are they going to continue? Yes.”
Pressed about whether a ceasefire in Gaza might help to stop the attacks on commercial shipping, Haines said it was “honestly unknown at this stage.” While she added that would be a “fair possibility” given prior statements by the group, the intelligence chief said the Houthis’ rationale had “shifted over time,” stating “it’s gotten more complicated.”
According to a report in the UAE state-run media outlet the National, the Houthis recently rejected a US offer to lift a Saudi-led blockade on Yemen in exchange for a halt to their Red Sea operations, with local sources telling the paper the attacks would continue until Israel ends the slaughter in Gaza.
Will Porter is assistant news editor at the Libertarian Institute and a regular contributor at Antiwar.com. Find more of his work at Consortium News and ZeroHedge.
Some one should supply the Houthis with missiles to shot down the Americans / Brits then they would not be so keen to indiscriminatley bomb civilians , come on Iran what you waiting for ? .
Ansarallah has now announced they are initiating a fourth round of escalation by targeting vessels in the Indian Ocean – and the Mediterranean. The latter is a reach for them, but I wouldn’t put it past their capabilities.
There’s also the rumor that they now have some form of “hypersonic” missile, probably provided by Iran. If true, the US Navy will be in real trouble. Note that a German war ship has left the area and the USS Eisenhower has returned to the Med – in other words, the West’s navies are fleeing the area.
And here’s the latest on that: Biden and his morons are supposedly planning an air assault and ground invasion of Yemen using Saudi and UAE troops, i.e., proxies again just like in Ukraine. The Saudis are probably stupid enough to go along with this plan in revenge of their previous failure to cow the Houthis.
Exclusive: Yemen Braces For Impending Massive US-Led Air and Ground Campaign
https://www.mintpressnews.com/exclusive-yemen-braces-for-impending-massive-us-led-air-and-ground-campaign/287342/
Houthis said they would target Israeli ships in Mediterranean Sea…! Nowhere to hide…!
CHAAAAA-CHINGGGG!!!!$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Theres the empire’s war machine at work. Nothing about Ansar Allah’s leadership suggests they wouldn’t do as they’ve said and stop the ship attacks with a cease fire, they did with the last one. Besides the Shiʿi Zaydis have governed North Yemen almost continuously since the late 9th century if the IC’s best analysis is “honestly unknown at this stage” then it’s no wonder we can’t win a war. (But then we know “not winning” is the highest priority.)
Of course their rationale has “shifted over time,” a conscious person would expect a Genocide to do that. A conscious person, I expect Ansar Allah’s chomping at the bit for the US-Saudi-UAE coalition to invade.