Following weeks of threats to the Houthis to cease attacking Red Sea ships or face consequences, U.S. President Joe Biden launched his devastating assaults on Yemen.
Nevertheless, the Houthis persisted in launching drones and missiles, as if to provoke the US to carry out its threats. Some scholars have questioned whether the Houthis wanted a war with the United States as a result of this. If yes, what would be the reason?
Former US ambassador to Yemen Gerald Feierstein is one of many who believes the US has given the Houthis exactly what they wanted: a war.
Feierstein told Reuters, “They have definitely been attempting to incite U.S. retaliation.”
They have shown confidence in their ability to resist our actions. They have witnessed their popularity grow.”
Five fighters have been killed in 73 airstrikes, according to the Houthis, who have ruled much of Yemen for almost ten years. They promised to take revenge and keep up their attacks on shipping, claiming that they are doing so to help the Palestinian cause in Yemen—opposing Israel.
Late on Friday, the US military said that it had carried out another attack on a radar facility.
Drone footage on the Houthis’ al-Masirah TV after the initial American and British strikes showed hundreds of thousands of protesters in Sanaa chanting anti-Israel and anti-American slogans. In other Yemeni cities, crowds also gathered.
Experts claim that the Houthi confidence is largely a result of their ability to withstand years of Saudi Arabian attacks. A U.S.-led offensive against the group, however, might be very different.
The Joint Staff director, U.S. Lieutenant General Douglas Sims, said reporters on Thursday that the attacks used more than 150 weapons and struck 28 different areas. After assessing the damage, he expressed his hope that the Houthis would not encourage such devastation.
“I’m assuming you didn’t want the strike if you were using a ballistic missile launcher last night. However, Sims remarked, “I would hope that they didn’t want us to strike.”
FIGHTERS IN THE MOUNTAINS
The mysterious commander of Yemen’s Houthi fighters, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, claims Prophet Muhammad as his ancestor. He claims that his movement is being targeted because of its religious beliefs in lectures and sermons that have been prerecorded.
Prior to taking the helm of the Houthi movement, which consists of mountain fighters engaged in combat with a Saudi-led military coalition since 2015, al-Houthi made a name for himself as a fierce commander in the battlefield. The conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives, severely damaged Yemen’s economy, and left millions of people hungry.
Al-Houthi, who is in his 40s, is in charge of the group, which has amassed tens of thousands of fighters and a massive arsenal of ballistic missiles and armed drones, most of which are provided by Iran.
Sims and other U.S. officials admitted that the Houthis would most likely carry out their promises of retaliation after the strikes.
On Friday, the Houthis fired an anti-ship ballistic missile into the Red Sea, the Pentagon stated.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a U.S. official stated that even if the Houthis’ capabilities have been diminished, they may view the strikes’ anticipated low death toll among their members as a victory for the organization rather than being discouraged.
The official stated, “A person’s definition of success truly depends on their perspective.”
The price of Brent crude oil increased 1% on Friday due to rising tensions and worries about possible disruptions to supplies. At least nine oil tankers were seen to be stopping or diverting from the Red Sea, according to commercial ship tracking data.
MORE STRIKES?
The Pentagon should get ready for more military action, according to Michael Mulroy, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East under the Trump administration.
“The U.S. should start planning to increase our response to further attacks in the Red Sea or Syria and Iraq,” he stated.
The speaker went on, “And Iran’s IRGC should be included in those targets,” abbreviating Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Iran supports the Houthis as a component of its “axis of resistance” in the area, which consists of militias in Iraq and Syria as well as the militant Palestinian organization Hamas.
Iran is accused by the US of providing the military might and information necessary for the Houthi Red Sea attacks.
The Houthis assert that they are resisting regional aggression and an unjust system, and they reject being Tehran’s pawns.
Feierstein does, however, provide a warning—one that some contemporary American officials share—that the Houthi defiance of the US and its allies serves to enhance their reputation throughout the Middle East.
It elevates the Houthi prominence regionally. It places them at the top of the “Axis of Resistance” ranking of Iranian affiliates, Feierstein claimed.
“We shouldn’t give the Houthis what they want, which is exactly what we did.”
