Joe Biden administration officials admitted that six weeks into the undeclared war in Yemen, the US and UK strikes have failed to erode the Houthis military capabilities. The officials said the US is surprised at the Houthis’ military capabilities and that Washington has a limited understanding of how advanced their weapons systems are.
On January 11, President Biden ordered the first round of strikes in Yemen. The White House claimed the attack was designed to force the Houthis to end attacks on Israeli-linked shipping. The Houthis, or Ansar Allah, are attacking ships they suspect to have ties with Israel to pressure Tel Aviv to end the genocide in Gaza.
Without any Congressional approval, Biden has ordered strikes on Yemen nearly every day. The attacks have not achieved their desired effects as the Houthis have expanded their targets to include US and UK-linked shipping.
Last week, missiles fired from Yemen hit multiple ships in the waters off the country’s coast. One ship suffered significant damage and is leaking oil.
The recent attacks included the use of new weapons systems for the Houthis, including naval drones. Biden administration officials speaking with CNN told the outlet that the war is not having its desired outcome, that the Houthis’ military capabilities continue to surprise the White House, and that the Pentagon is unaware of the extent of weapons stockpiles in Yemen.
"They continue to surprise us. We just don’t have a good idea of what they still have," said one senior defense official. Multiple officials revealed the issue is that Washington does not know the size of the Houthis’ arms stockpiles and cannot assess if the hundreds of US bombs dropped on Yemen have impacted the Houthis military abilities.
Some administration officials now believe the best way to end the conflict is by ending the war in Gaza, according to CNN.
Those officials believe that the Houthis will be faithful to their stated policy that the strikes on shipping will end once the Israeli onslaught in Gaza concludes.
Red Sea Update
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) February 26, 2024
On Feb. 24 at 11:45 p.m. (Sanaa time), the Iranian-backed Houthis launched one anti-ship ballistic missile likely targeting the M/V Torm Thor, a U.S.-flagged, owned, and operated chemical/oil product tanker in the Gulf of Aden. The missile impacted the water… pic.twitter.com/JVbGmOO7Qo
Some senior Biden admin official have been described as believing that the Houthis "would keep their word and stop their attacks if Israel ended its war in Gaza, something some former officials privately say is wishful thinking."
