While much of the world is focused on Israel's fight against Hezbollah and Hamas, the U.S. Navy has its sights set on another Iranian proxy group, the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The Navy, tasked with keeping peace on international waterways, is now under attack from shadowy pirate groups armed with assault rifles, pickup trucks, and motorboats, and with an endless supply of drones, missiles, and more. I realized that I was dodging. weapons.
The Houthis frequently attack unarmed Western vessels carrying supplies through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, and the United States has responded similarly with drone strikes in Yemen.
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That creates treacherous waters along the trade route, which typically carries around $1 trillion in goods, as well as aid to the war-torn populations of Sudan and Yemen.
And as attacks continue, some experts argue that the U.S. response is not strong enough to prevent the Houthis from inflicting billions of dollars worth of damage to the global economy.
Houthi rebel fighters support Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and rally against the US attack on Yemen on the outskirts of Sanaa. (AP photo)
“The U.S. response has been ineffective,” Can Kasapoglu, a Turkey-based Hudson Institute researcher who specializes in political and military issues in the Middle East, told Fox News Digital.
“The information we have is very limited [the Houthis] And they are in another part of the world, in a faraway corner of the Middle East. But that corner also happens to be right next to a global trade choke point…The Houthis are the boldest of Iran's proxy networks. And the United States never entered the pre-emptive stage of targeting the Houthi leadership. ”
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Kasapoglu said the United States had responded to attacks with air and missile defense efforts, drones and missile interceptors, but would only engage the Houthis if an attack was imminent.
“We have never seen a mass targeted killing operation by the United States. For example, Israel was killed. [Hezbollah leader] Hassan Nasrallah. Or, for example, as in Israel's pursuit of a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards officer, this is a US action contrary to what is missing: critical leadership. ”
In addition to the destruction of goods destined for the West, regular attacks by the Houthis have caused insurance premiums to soar. It jumped 10 times. Some ships have to travel long distances to around the Horn of Africa, which can add up to $1 million in round-trip fuel costs.
“They are deploying relatively low-cost weapons systems and inflicting significant economic damage on Western countries on Iran's behalf. This is a very lucrative business,” Kasapoglu said.
One argument for restraint may be the cost of action. Houthi drones are estimated to cost thousands of dollars each. US counterattack naval missiles could run around 2 million dollars per shot.
Houthi attacks intensified after Hamas's October 7 terrorist attacks on Israel, and have targeted 80 commercial ships with missiles and drones over the past year.
They captured one ship and sank two, killing a total of four sailors. At least 16 people were killed in a series of U.S.-led airstrikes in May, rebels say.
Houthi followers burn Israeli and American flags on the outskirts of Sanaa, Yemen, on January 14, 2024. (Mohamed Hammoud/Getty Images)
The oil tanker Sounion burns in the Red Sea after a series of attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on Saturday, September 14, 2024. (European Union Operation Aspides via AP)
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On Tuesday, rebels claimed to have shot down a multimillion-dollar US-made MQ-9 Reaper drone that was flying near Yemen. The United States has admitted that it has lost one unmanned aircraft, each costing about $30 million.
In January, Iranian-backed militias attacked a U.S. military base in Jordan, killing three U.S. service members and injuring 40 others. The United States responded strongly to the attack with concentrated air strikes on 85 targets in Iraq and Syria.
“That response proved effective, and we can certainly do more,” said retired Lt. Gen. Mark Schwartz, who served as security coordinator for the Israeli-Palestinian Authority. I think it's about taking that approach.”
Since the Houthis captured northern Yemen and the capital Sanaa in 2014, U.S. forces have witnessed Reaper shootdowns in Yemen in 2017, 2019, 2023 and 2024. The US military recognizes the Houthis. In September, it shot down two MQ-9s.
The Houthis also continue to launch missiles targeting Israel. In response, the Israel Defense Forces launched an aggressive retaliatory offensive in Yemen's main port city of Hodeidah.
The rebels claim they are targeting ships linked to Israel, the United States and the United Kingdom in order to force an end to Israel's anti-Hamas operation in Gaza. However, many of the ships they attack have little to do with the conflict, and some are bound for Iran.
On March 7, 2024, the British-flagged cargo ship Rubimar sank in international waters in the Red Sea after being targeted by Yemen's Houthi forces. (Al-Joumhouriah Channel, via Getty Images)
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Last month, they attacked the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion, which was carrying 1 million barrels of oil in the Red Sea.
And last week, Houthi rebels fired six ballistic missiles, an anti-ship cruise missile, and two drones at three U.S. ships sailing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. U.S. officials said Friday that they were all intercepted by Navy destroyers.
Seth Krumrich, a retired Army colonel and former chief of staff for Special Operations Command (SOCCENT), said, “No matter what the long-term situation is, once we finish the deal with Iran, this problem will be solved.'' said.
Officials say the United States lacks the will to put its feet on the ground to fight the Houthis. Central to the Biden administration's global strategy is concern about escalating tensions that could lead to a full-scale conflict with Iran. Iran is a country that, by many estimates, could acquire nuclear bomb-making capabilities within weeks.
“The Israelis have the will to fight the Houthis, but they have limited capabilities and are involved in two ongoing wars, so if the West really wants to stop the Houthis, the US intervention is needed,” Kasapoglu said.
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“Avoiding escalation is now an obsession. This is a psychological incident, not a political incident. And it is constraining America's military capabilities.”
Krumrich argued that the Pentagon has “looked at the Houthi issue long enough to understand that there are limits to what we can do without our feet on the ground.”
Ships transiting the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea are at risk of attack by the Houthis. (AP photo)
“It would be like a giant sponge, able to absorb an unlimited amount of our resources,” he says. “But the Houthis are also smart. They launch and quickly retreat…If they are outside of our rules of engagement, they are less likely to be attacked.”
But some say there's more work to be done beyond ground forces.
“Yemen has absorbed much of the lethal activity of U.S. and coalition forces and has proven time and time again that it is still willing to attack shipping and attack Israel,” Schwartz said.
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“There is a fear that by doing something so provocative that there will be an escalation and a bigger war will start. From their perspective, Yemen is at war with the United States, right? Hezbollah in Lebanon is at war. Just as it was at war with Israel, it was the same with Hamas before October 7th.
“We are overestimating our concerns in terms of escalation of the conflict, especially because at the end of the day, the Houthis are not a viable military force,” Schwartz continued.
“We could be more aggressive in terms of military response to the Houthis and find an overwhelming response that would fall short of involving the United States in some kind of large-scale conflict.”
