Red Sea War Zone? U.S., UK Strike Houthis
transcript
United States and United Kingdom forces struck Houthi targets in Yemen last night.
At 2:30 a.m., local time [January 12], U.S. warships likely belonging to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group and aircraft belonging to the Royal Air Force struck more than 60 targets in 16 locations controlled by the radical Islamist Houthi movement.
Limited nonoperational support came from Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands. The U.S. also leads a separate effort, Operation Prosperity Guardian, involving the UK and 13 other nations. But it has struggled to obtain meaningful coordination with European forces.
On the other side are the Houthis and, as Central Command noted, Iran.
Following the October 7 Hamas massacre of Israelis and the October 27 invasion of Gaza by Israel Defense Forces, Houthi militants have launched cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and drones against Israel and its allies. They have conducted dozens of attacks and harassed commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea.
The response today in Yemen, even among many who are not part of the Houthi movement, has been a backlash against the United States, which is seen to be defending Israel. In this ongoing conflict, fault lines are sharpeningā€”not only between Iran and the West but between Europe and the United States, Britain and Israel.
