Do the US attacks against the Houthis actually comprise a strategy?
Harlan Ullman, a military analyst and senior advisor at the Atlantic Council, says the US does not have a “good strategy” for addressing attacks by the Houthi rebels on shipping lanes in the Red Sea.
“When we… shoot down a Houthi drone or a Houthi missile with a multimillion-dollar missile, the cost exchange ratio of the amount of money we are spending is far greater than the Houthis are. And so, we are in a very difficult situation,” Ullman told Al Jazeera.
“If we really want to stop the attacks, there are one or two ways to do it. One, we launch a ground attack. And obviously, no president wants to have ground forces in that part of the world. Or because the suppliers of most of their equipment is Iran, you see if you can cut off the lines of supply from Iran, put enough pressure on Iran to get them to cease and desist.”
But Iran may be unwilling to do so, given its waning influence in the region following Bashar al-Assad’s ouster in Syria and the Israelis “defeat” of Hezbollah in Lebanon, he said.
“It may well be that the only lifeline that Iran has against the outside world, the United States and the West is through the Houthis, who continue to block the sea lanes in the Red Sea and the Suez Canal,” he added.
As we’ve been reporting, the US has claimed conducting an air strike on a command and control facility in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, that it said was used by the Houthis to coordinate attacks against US Navy warships and merchant vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Israeli media are also reporting that Israel’s military is preparing for an offensive against the Houthis after the Yemeni rebel group claimed to have fired a hypersonic ballistic missile at the country. The Houthis say its attacks in the Red Sea and on Israel are in solidarity with Palestinians under Israeli attack in Gaza.
Israeli military says explosions expected as part of ‘routine activity’ in Lebanon
The Israeli military says in a report addressed to Israeli citizens that sounds of explosions could be expected in the coming hours in the Upper Galilee. It said this would be part of “routine activity” by the army in southern Lebanon and there is no need for concern about a security incident.
The warning was issued while Israel’s ceasefire with Hezbollah continues to hold despite numerous violations. The Israeli army, which has launched many deadly attacks inside Lebanon during the ceasefire, did not elaborate about the cause of the expected explosions.
Destroyed buildings in the village of Kfar Kila in southern Lebanon are seen from northern Israel on December 3
Essay Pro