While Pentagon officials yesterday conceded that it was “possible” that a pair of missiles fired from Yemen were aimed at the USS Mason, it turns out the US warship actually fired three missiles of its own in response to what officials didn’t even want to confirm was a real attack.
The Mason fired a RIM-162 SeaSparrow, a missile interceptor, along with two SM-2 surface-to-air missiles. It is unclear what, if anything, any of these missiles hit, but Pentagon officials hyped this as proof that anyone “threatening” a US warship did so at their own peril.
The USS Mason was actually just passing through the area on its way to the Red Sea. Despite this, Defense Secretary Ash Carter insisted the US is now “determined” to keep warships off the coast of Yemen just to prove that they can do so, saying it was vital to ensure “freedom of navigation.”
The US is keen to use this argument to keep warships deployed in hotspots all over the world, but with an ongoing Saudi naval blockade off the coast of Yemen, keeping US ships there will be seen as tantamount to participating in the blockade, and add to international outrage at US support for Saudi war crimes.
Friendly-fire???
I don’t like it when people start firing off missiles not having a clue about what the target is? Cue Fred Thompson in Hunt For Red October and the line about ‘Wars start that way’.
The response as Jason describes it is very interesting. Firing a missile interceptor defensive missile when incoming missiles are detected is just smart. I’m just surprised that they only fired 1 missile at two incoming????
The two surface-to-air missiles are very interesting. You’d shoot that type of weapon off if you thought you saw that the incoming missiles were from a hostile aircraft. But, I don’t think the Houthis have an air force up in the air. I’d only expect NATO and the OILLY-Coalition planes to be there? So, what were they shooting those two surface to air missiles at? A UFO that’s here to observe the nuclear holocaust?
I guess the world should be happy that no one had a commercial airliner in the area when these surface to air missiles were being blindly fired into the dark after what the Pentagon says they took missiles from the shore.
Chickenhawks in Congress are already concocting
another so-called ‘Gulf of Tonkin’ incident. We (know)
what a disaster that turned into.
Anything to take money from the American people. Oh look, we claim someone shot a missile at us. That’ll cost you another Trillion Dollars to take care of that problem. Except, after we spent the Trillion Dollars then the problem will be 10 times worse that it was, because as Dr. King try to tell us, hate only breeds more hatred and violence only brings more violence. But, what they hey, as long as we’ve got another excuse to steal another Trillion Dollars next year, its all good, right?
so, that was 6 million dollars, to prove nothing.
Firing surface-to-air missiles at a ground target? Explain.