Amid calls from critics and lawmakers for a tougher stance, the region's top naval commander told a news conference Thursday that the Biden administration has stepped up efforts to stop missile and drone attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea. The coalition said it was “totally on the defensive.”
“To be clear, this operation is completely defensive in nature,” Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, said at a Pentagon briefing.
On December 18, the Biden administration named the attack “Operation Prosperity Guardian” after Yemen's Houthi rebels carried out 13 attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, hitting and damaging some vessels. A strategy was launched.
Mr Cooper said the coalition's aim was to “deter illegal activity” and “provide assurance to the maritime industry”.
But since Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visited the Middle East and announced the formation of the coalition, the Houthis have carried out about a dozen more attacks against ships they say have ties to Israel.
In these attacks, the Navy and coalition partners shot down eight missiles, two cruise missiles and six anti-ship ballistic missiles, and 11 unmanned aircraft.
Cooper maintained that no Houthi drones or missiles had actually attacked the ship, as proof that the coalition was working. “I did get close, but I didn't get any hits,” he said.
But he acknowledged that on Thursday, the Houthis sent a drone boat full of explosives for the first time, traversing 15 miles of dense shipping lanes and detonating within “miles” of merchant ships and U.S. Navy ships. Ta.
“Fortunately there were no casualties and no ships were hit, but the introduction of one-way attack USVs is concerning,” Cooper said.
Cooper would not confirm whether he considered the drone ship an “escalation” but called it “a use of new capabilities.”
“I would characterize the USV incident as a use of new capabilities, but leave it at that,” he said, adding:
This is the first time in recent months that we have seen the Houthis use USVs, or USVs, to carry out unprovoked attacks. They have employed them many years ago, but not during Operation Prosperity Guardian or in recent months during the harassment and attacks on surface ships in the region.
Cooper also claimed that maritime industry partners have said the operation “contributes to a sense of security and freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.” He said more than 1,500 ships have safely navigated the Red Sea since the operation began. Approximately 12 percent of the world's shipping transits through this region.
Mr Cooper's claim that shippers feel safe contradicts shipping giant Maersk's announcement on Friday that it would divert all ships around Africa from using the Red Sea and Suez Canal for the “foreseeable future”. .
Mr Cooper acknowledged there was no sign of the Houthis' “irresponsible behavior abating.”
The continued attacks have prompted lawmakers and experts to urge the Biden administration to take a tougher stance against the Houthis.
On Wednesday, the White House issued a statement along with coalition partners calling for an end to the attacks, saying:
Let us now make our message clear. We call for an immediate end to these unlawful attacks and the release of the vessels and their crews who have been illegally detained. If the Houthis continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and free trade in the region's vital waterways, they will bear the consequences. We remain determined to abide by the international rules-based order and hold malicious actors accountable for unlawful seizures and attacks.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said on Thursday that former President Donald Trump had threatened Iranian Revolutionary Guards Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani as Iranian-backed groups continued to attack U.S. troops. He blamed the Biden administration's weakness for ordering the attack. middle east.
Mr Cotton posted: “Four years ago, Qassem Soleimani got what he deserved. Now, because of Joe Biden’s weakness, Iran is allowing money to go to the U.S. military, Israel, and global trade with impunity. continues to provide and direct attacks.”
Four years ago, Qasem Soleimani got what he deserved.
Now, due to Joe Biden's weakness, Iran continues to fund and direct attacks on the US military, Israel, and global trade with impunity.
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) January 3, 2024
Some Democrats are starting to get a little nervous, too. Douglas Schoen, a former adviser to President Bill Clinton, criticized Biden's reluctance to confront Iran in a recent op-ed for The Hill.
“The establishment of an international naval task force to protect ships transiting the Red Sea is a start, but in the end it will matter little,” he wrote in his book. Editorial“If the U.S. military is hobbled by political concerns about the possibility of direct confrontation with Iran, it is the mastermind behind much of the turmoil gripping the Middle East.”
“This is not to argue that the United States should preemptively strike Iran, Hezbollah, or the Houthis,” he wrote. “Throughout history, however, when the United States has failed to take a tough stance against actors who seek to threaten global security, we are ultimately forced to act, often from a much weaker position. .”
The Iranian-backed Houthis have been forced into action after Israel, also backed by Iran, carried out a terrorist attack in southern Israel on October 7 that left many dead. The attack began in response to the attack. More than 1,200 people were killed and about 240 people, including Americans, were kidnapped.
Houthi officials said the attack was in solidarity with the Palestinians.
So far, the Biden administration has not fired back at Houthi targets in retaliation for the Houthi attacks, but its ships have launched 61 missiles and attack drones. The New Year's Eve incident involved a gunfight between the navy and the Houthis, who attempted to hijack a ship and opened fire on a U.S. Navy helicopter that responded to a distress call from the ship. Navy helicopters returned fire, sinking three of the four Houthi boats and killing their crews.
However, the counterattack from the navy was described as self-defense rather than offensive.
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