Naval Commander Says the U.S.-Led Coalition Against Houthi Attacks Is ‘Entirely Defensive’

The coalition stood up by the Biden administration to deter missile and drone attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea is “entirely defensive,” the region’s top naval commander said during a briefing Thursday, amid calls from critics and lawmakers to take a tougher stance.

“Let me just say right out front and out of the chute, this operation is entirely defensive in nature,” said U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Commander Vice Admiral Brad Cooper during a Pentagon briefing.

The Biden administration stood up an operation, dubbed Operation Prosperity Guardian, on December 18, after Houthi militants in Yemen conducted 13 attacks against commercial vessels in the Red Sea, hitting some ships and causing damage.

Cooper said the coalition’s purpose is to “deter illegal activity” and “provide assurance to the maritime industry.

However, since Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin traveled to the Middle East and announced the establishment of the coalition, the Houthis have conducted about a dozen more attacks against ships they claim are tied to Israel.

In those attacks, the Navy and coalition partners have shot down eight missiles — two cruise missiles and six anti-ship ballistic missiles — and 11 drones.

Cooper claimed, as evidence that the coalition is working, no Houthi drones or missiles have actually hit any ships. He said they “surely have come close but no hits.”

He did acknowledge, however, that the Houthis on Thursday for the first time sent a drone boat packed with explosives, which transited 15 miles out into dense maritime shipping lanes and detonated within “a couple of miles” from commercial and U.S. Navy ships.

“Fortunately, there were no casualties and no ships were hit, but the introduction of a one-way attack USV is of concern,” Cooper said.

Cooper did not confirm whether he considered the drone vessel an “escalation” but called it the “use of a new capability.”

“I’d characterize the USV incident as the use of a new capability, and kind of leave that there,” he said, adding:

This is the first time we’ve seen the Houthis employ USV — one-way attack USVs in these last couple of months. They have previously employed them, you know, years past, but this is the first time during Operation Prosperity Guardian, or in the last couple months of their harassment and attacks on surface ships in the region.

Cooper also claimed that maritime industry partners have said the operation is “contributing to their sense of security and the freedom of navigation in the Red sea and the Gulf of Aden.” He said more than 1,500 ships have sailed through the Red Sea safely since the operation began. The region sees about 12 percent of the world’s maritime shipping pass through.

Cooper’s claim that shippers feel safer contradicts an announcement by shipping giant Maersk on Friday that it would divert all vessels around Africa instead of using the Red Sea and Suez Canal for the “foreseeable future.”

Cooper acknowledged that there are no signs the Houthis’ “irresponsible behavior is abating.”

The continued attacks have prompted lawmakers and experts to call on the Biden administration to take a tougher stance against the Houthis.

White House on Wednesday sent out a statement with coalition partners calling for an end to the attacks, saying;

Let our message now be clear: we call for the immediate end of these illegal attacks and release of unlawfully detained vessels and crews.  The Houthis will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and free flow of commerce in the region’s critical waterways. We remain committed to the international rules-based order and are determined to hold malign actors accountable for unlawful seizures and attacks.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) on Thursday slammed the Biden administration for weakness, noting that former President Donald Trump had ordered a strike on Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani after Iran-backed groups continued to attack U.S. troops in the Middle East.

Cotton posted: “Four years ago, Qasem Soleimani got what he deserved. Today, Iran continues to fund and direct attacks on U.S. forces, Israel, and global trade with impunity because of Joe Biden’s weakness.”

Even some Democrats are getting a little impatient. A former President Bill Clinton adviser, Douglas Schoen, criticized Biden in a recent The Hill op-ed for being reluctant to confront Iran.

“The establishment of an international naval task force to protect ships transiting the Red Sea is a start but will ultimately matter little,” he wrote in his op-ed, “if the U.S. military is shackled by political concerns over the chances of a direct confrontation with Iran, the mastermind behind much of the chaos gripping the Middle East.”

“This is not to argue that the U.S. should preemptively attack Iran, Hezbollah or the Houthis,” he wrote. “However, throughout history, when the United States has failed to take a tough stance against actors that seek to threaten global security, we are forced to act eventually, often from a much weaker position.”

The Houthis, who are backed by Iran, began launching the attacks after Israel launched a military offensive against Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, after Hamas — which is also backed by Iran — conducted a terrorist attack in southern Israel on October 7 in which it killed more than 1,200 and kidnapped around 240, including Americans.

Houthi officials have said the attacks are in solidarity with Palestinians.

So far, the Biden administration has not struck back at Houthi targets in retaliation for the attacks, although its ships have taken out 61 missiles and attack drones. The Navy and Houthi forces exchanged fire in an incident on New Year’s Eve, where Houthis attempted to hijack a vessel and fired on U.S. Navy helicopters responding to a distress call from the vessel. The Navy helicopters fired back, sinking three of four Houthi boats and killing their crews.

However, the counterstrike from the Navy was described as self-defense, rather than offensive.

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