Biden Says Strikes Against Houthis Aren’t Working as US Bombs Yemen for 5th Time
Dave DeCamp / Antiwar.com
(January 18, 2024) — President Biden acknowledged on Thursday that his strikes against the Houthis were not working to stop the Yemeni group but vowed they would continue anyway as the US military bombed Yemen for the fifth time within a week.
The president made the comments when asked by a reporter if his strikes against the Houthis were working. “Well, when you say ‘working’ — are they stopping the Houthis? No. Are they going to continue? Yes,” he said.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) reported that it launched more strikes in Yemen, claiming to target Houthi anti-ship missiles. “As part of ongoing multi-national efforts to protect freedom of navigation and prevent attacks on maritime vessels in the Red Sea, on Jan. 18 US Central Command forces conducted strikes on two Houthi anti-ship missiles that were aimed into the Southern Red Sea and were prepared to launch,” CENTCOM said.
Later on Thursday, the Houthis said they targeted another US-owned ship, the Chem Ranger, a Marshall Island-flagged chemical tanker. The Houthis said the attack resulted in “direct hits,” but CENTCOM saidin its press release on the attack that the crew “observed the missiles impact the water near the ship.”
The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, have vowed they won’t back down in the face of the US military. Ansar Allah’s leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, said Thursday that it was a “blessing” for the Houthis to be in a direct fight with the US. “We praise god for this great blessing and great honor — for us to be in a direct confrontation with Israel and America,” he said.
Since Biden ordered the first strikes against them last week, the situation in the region escalated dramatically. The Houthis are now targeting American commercial shipping, hitting two US-owned cargo ships with missiles earlier this week, and more shipping companies have suspended transits through the Red Sea. Before the US escalation, the Houthis made clear they would stop attacks on Israel-linked commercial shipping only if Israel’s onslaught in Gaza ended, but President Biden is determined to continue supporting the slaughter of Palestinians.
The US backed a Saudi/UAE-led coalition against the Houthis in a brutal war that killed 377,000 peoplebetween 2015 and 2022. During that time the Houthis only became a more formidable fighting force and developed missile and drone technology that gave them the ability to hit Saudi oil infrastructure. A ceasefire between the Saudis and Houthis has held relatively well since April 2022, and Riyadh is now calling for the US to exercise restraint in Yemen.
