American website: Results of airstrikes against Houthis in Yemen are "lackluster"

The US Department of Defense provided more details about its latest strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen on Friday, but as the rebel group's attacks continue, the goal of making the Red Sea safe for commercial shipping still appears far off, according to Military.com .

The strike hit 15 Houthi targets in five locations, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters on Monday, and those targets included “offensive military capabilities, including Houthi training facilities and weapons storage.” He said, “Initial assessments indicate that we have achieved good results in this regard.”

However, the strike, which involved Navy ships and Tomahawk land attack missiles, comes after a year of US military operations in the Red Sea aimed at repelling Houthi attacks, but the rebels have continued to fire missiles and send drones to harass commercial shipping.

The United States carried out two other similar strikes earlier this year, albeit with the help of its allies, in January and February. The January strike hit more than 60 targets in 16 locations controlled by Iranian-backed militants, and the February strike hit 36 Houthi targets in 13 locations in Yemen.

In fact, the Houthi attacks on shipping appear to have been largely indiscriminate, and many of the targeted commercial vessels had no connection to Israel and, in one case, were actually carrying aid to Yemen.

The Pentagon insisted its preemptive or retaliatory strikes were part of a mission to keep commerce flowing through the Red Sea. “Our focus remains on enabling freedom of navigation through the Red Sea and waterways,” Ryder said Monday.

The result has been a period of intense and regular military operations, largely led by the U.S. Navy. Since the Houthis began firing missiles last October, there have been at least 50 preemptive or defensive strikes against the Houthis and more than 265 thwarted attacks.

The Navy awarded seven of its ships the rare Combat Action Award this spring after they faced what it deemed more than 20 combat situations between October and April — making the group likely among the most battle-tested ships in modern times.

Despite all the military activity, the results appear to have been lackluster. Shipping data show that the number of ships transiting the Suez Canal, a key waterway near the Red Sea where the Houthis have targeted ships, fell by about half at the end of 2023 and has yet to recover to previous levels.

“While Houthi attacks are rare and rarely effective, with two ships sunk and four sailors killed, they have provided enough risk to deter shipping companies from risking their high-value vessels sailing through the Red Sea,” Salvatore Mercogliano, a maritime historian and former merchant mariner, told Military.com on Tuesday.

The effect, Micogliano added, was that “the Houthis took over 15% of global trade, sending the most valuable ships on a circuitous route that added time, cost, carbon emissions and risk to sailing in the Southern Ocean during the winter.”

Although commercial ships have not returned to the Red Sea, Ryder was quite clear that further escalation of strikes or hostilities against the Houthis is out of the question.

“We are not seeking an all-out war with the Houthis, but we will continue to conduct strikes against the types of capabilities we have seen them use against innocent mariners and maritime traffic as well as military vessels,” Ryder said.

But so far there has been little sign that the Houthis will stop the attacks. The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout has resumed selling weapons after being traded to Russia for captured American basketball star Brittney Griner in 2022. His first customers, according to the newspaper, are the Houthis.

“This could be a harbinger of future attacks by other agents attacking global trade,” Mercogliano warned.