The United States should respond strongly to an attack by Houthi rebels on container ships in the Red Sea that prompted U.S. officials to issue a second threat of “consequences,” experts said Wednesday.
Bill Roggio, a fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told The Post that delaying action further could give the group more time to prepare its next move and eventually lead to disaster.
“It really is time for the United States and its allies to calm down or shut up,” Roggio said. “This is the opposite of deterrence. “That’s how you embolden them, you just keep giving them the time and space to do what they do.”
Roggio, who served in the U.S. military during the Iraq War, said he is familiar with the dangerous methods of insurgent operations.
His warning came after US warplanes and a British warship shot down 18 drones and three missiles fired from Yemen on Tuesday.
Missiles fired aboard a British warship as it counterattacked the Houthis’ largest missile and drone attack in the Red Sea.
The Houthi attack, apparently carried out on ships carrying aid to Israel, was one of the most elaborate attacks by Iran-backed Islamist militants since they began harassing container ships passing through the Red Sea in October.
The attacks have paralyzed trade in the vital shipping corridor, prompting some of the world’s largest shipping companies to halt operations in the Red Sea and instead pass to and from the Mediterranean by sailing around the south of Africa.
The United States responded by sending a coalition of defensive warships to sea in December, but the missiles have continued to fly in the face of repeated US threats to take action.
“That simply indicates that last week’s threat has not been heard,” Roggio said. “It is simply astonishing that the international community is allowing a second-rate militia to become a regional superpower capable of influencing global trade.”
Anthony Blinken said he would not broadcast the consequences the Houthis would face if the attacks continued. AP
After Tuesday’s attack, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken again repeated warnings about the consequences if the Houthis do not behave, but did not elaborate on when they would actually be implemented.
“I’m not going to telegraph or anticipate anything that could happen,” Blinken told reporters on Wednesday, according to CNN. “We have been clear with more than 20 other countries that if it continues like yesterday, there will be consequences.”
It’s also unclear what exactly those consequences would be, but reports from the New York Times suggest that the Pentagon has plans to eliminate Houthi launch sites and attack ports in Yemen.
But plans or no plans, threats or no threats, every day that the United States and its allies do not take action, the Houthis are winning, Roggio said.
British sailors aboard HMS Diamond as it fires missiles to shoot down Houthi drones on Tuesday night. MOD/SWNS
“The Houthis don’t have to attack anything for almost all cargo trade to bypass the Red Sea. “They are succeeding in their mission,” he stated.
“The only thing that will stop them will be action, and it won’t be one or two strikes. “Considerable measures will have to be taken to reduce capabilities and punish the real owners behind this, and that is the Iranians.”
Iran is known to support several extremist groups in the Middle East, including Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamist militias in Syria and Iraq, along with the Houthis.
In this photo provided by the Ministry of Defense on Wednesday, January 10, 2024, taken from the operations room of HMS Diamond, Sea Viper missiles are prepared to be fired into the Red Sea. AP
Presenting themselves as the “Axis of Resistance,” the groups are dedicated to eradicating American, Israeli, Saudi and Western influence from the Middle East and extending Islamic rule throughout the region.
“The longer they wait, the more emboldened the Houthis, Iran and militias in Iraq and Syria will be to carry out new attacks,” Roggio said.
US helicopters sank three Houthi ships attempting to hijack a container ship in late December, killing all militants on board, but Roggio said it was little more than a defensive action “in the heat of the moment” and was not the type of aggression necessary to put the Houthis in their place.
“All it takes is for a missile to pass through a drone, for there to be American, British or French casualties on a warship, or for a tanker or cargo ship to be hit,” Roggio added, noting that a Pronto an environmental disaster could occur in the Red Sea.
“What this administration has done in terms of deterrence is the exact opposite of what needs to be done to achieve deterrence. “We have exacerbated this situation by signaling that we do not want to escalate the conflict.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn