On Friday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Lead,” Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said that the U.S. waited until now to strike the Houthis because “last night’s strike is when we felt the most comfortable that we would be able to effectively disrupt and degrade Houthi capabilities” that are targeting ships in the Red Sea.
Host Jake Tapper asked, “So, the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea have resulted in major disruptions to shipping while endangering U.S. servicemembers. This has been going on for nearly three months, since October 7, when Hamas attacked Israel. Why did the U.S. and U.K. wait until now, why now to strike?”
Singh responded, “Well, to that, last night’s strike is when we felt the most comfortable that we would be able to effectively disrupt and degrade Houthi capabilities that have been targeting commercial merchant vessels, ships that have been transiting throughout the Red Sea. We always reserve the right to decide, at a time and place of our choosing, when we feel it is best to strike, and last night was that moment. … [W]e are very confident in the impact that we were able to leave on the Houthis, again, as they are probably trying to recalibrate and trying to think through next steps, we were able to hit approximately sixteen locations where they have been holding capabilities that have been targeting, not only commercial vessels, but, of course, other ships transiting that region.”
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