Joe Biden administration officials admitted that six weeks into the undeclared war in Yemen, the US and UK strikes have failed to erode the Houthis military capabilities. The officials said the US is surprised at the Houthis’ military capabilities and that Washington has a limited understanding of how advanced their weapons systems are.
On January 11, President Biden ordered the first round of strikes in Yemen. The White House claimed the attack was designed to force the Houthis to end attacks on Israeli-linked shipping. The Houthis, or Ansar Allah, are attacking ships they suspect to have ties with Israel to pressure Tel Aviv to end the genocide in Gaza.
Without any Congressional approval, Biden has ordered strikes on Yemen nearly every day. The attacks have not achieved their desired effects as the Houthis have expanded their targets to include US and UK-linked shipping. Last week, missiles fired from Yemen hit multiple ships in the waters off the country’s coast. One ship suffered significant damage and is leaking oil.
The recent attacks included the use of new weapons systems for the Houthis, including naval drones. Biden administration officials speaking with CNN told the outlet that the war is not having its desired outcome, that the Houthis’ military capabilities continue to surprise the White House, and that the Pentagon is unaware of the extent of weapons stockpiles in Yemen.
“They continue to surprise us. We just don’t have a good idea of what they still have,” said one senior defense official. Multiple officials revealed the issue is that Washington does not know the size of the Houthis’ arms stockpiles and cannot assess if the hundreds of US bombs dropped on Yemen have impacted the Houthis military abilities.
Some administration officials now believe the best way to end the conflict is by ending the war in Gaza, according to CNN. Those officials believe that the Houthis will be faithful to their stated policy that the strikes on shipping will end once the Israeli onslaught in Gaza concludes.
Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Antiwar.com, news editor of the Libertarian Institute, and co-host of Conflicts of Interest.
“Some administration officials now believe the best way to end the conflict is by ending the war in Gaza, according to CNN.” Noooooooooo sh!t, Sherlock!
To make a straightforward, simple, and truthful conclusion it takes both Sherlock and Einstein nowadays.
Expect More Surprises…!
Why wouldn’t they be faithful…?!
Way to go Houthis
This must be extremely useful to Iran – they get to see exactly which of their anti ship weapons systems work well, what damage they do, and whether they can get past American missile & drone defences.
True.
Of course, the Americans also get to see which Iranian anti ship weapons systems work well, what damage they do, and whether they can get pas American missile and drone defences.
And both of those things explain why this is going on. The Gaza matter was just the excuse both sides were waiting on.
Never let a crisis go to waste.
The Houthis are NOT stooges of anybody, though they will take aid to accomplish their aims from anybody.
It’s not quite like that. The symmetry is an illusion, the West are not in control of the situation.
The US & allied war ships defending are likely armed with the standard armaments. Thus their responses are realistic responses to be gauged against.
You cannot assume the Houthi attacks are a realistic representation of what attacks from Iran would be. Iran do not have to give away their general capacities in order to test novel weapons on American targets.
It’s not a total exposure of information going in either direction. But it is an exposure of SOME information going in both directions.
As for the US and allied “standard armaments,” this is probably the biggest real-world workout they’ve had since the late 1980s. So it’s not just the Iranians getting information on how well the newer systems work, it’s those systems’ users.
Reminds me of Mike Tyson’s quote, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.”
Here’s the thing about a plan, NA, it has details, not just a name. The US is good at plan naming – Operation Prosperity – then it punches itself in the face. Why wait?
LOLOL. Emil Cosman on Youtube called it “playing chess with first moves only.”
The US was “surprised” at how the Vietnam Cong fought back; it was “surprised” at how the Russians are winning; and it’s “surprised” at the Houthis. Maybe the real surprise — or shocker — is that the US isn’t as strong or capable as it thinks. Add that to the fact that it’s been on the wrong side of history for decades.
Houthi Military
GOOOOOOOOO Houthi
Yes indeed from my sources, imperial houthi stormtroopers could and will seize Taiwan by mid summer, Taiwan rebels far too weak with no grumba to fight off 200,000 battle drones armed with plutonium cluster bombs
Woke missiles do not impress them apparently.
Biden is just piddling around for show. If he really wanted to hurt the Houthis, he would Napalm their villages.
There’s always surprises when you strike blind targets…!
A new proxy war comes home to the US and UK!
Joey Biden (FJB) never thought aboriginal people from Yeman could sink Western war ships.