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The United States, the United Kingdom and other allies launched strikes against the Houthis (Ansar Allah) in Yemen on January 12, de-facto starting another unwinnable war. The Houthis, who control much of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, are a part of the so-called “Axis of Resistance” which is led by Iran. The group have been attacking commercial ships linked to Israel or bound for Israeli ports and have engaged directly with the U.S. Navy in the Red Sea, firing anti-ship ballistic missiles and deploying suicide drones against U.S. and UK warships. The attacks were a response to the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, which has so far claimed the lives of more than 23,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children. The U.S. continues to be a key backer of the war. President Joe Biden said that he ordered the strikes on Yemen “in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea.” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the strikes were “necessary and proportionate”. The U.S. said that Australia, Bahrain, Canada and the Netherlands also supported the attack on Yemen, and presented the strikes as part of an international effort to restore the free flow of trade in a key route between Europe and Asia that accounts for about 15 percent of the world’s shipping traffic. U.S. Air Forces Central Commander Lieutenant General Alex Grynkewich said that U.S. and coalition forces “executed deliberate strikes on over 60 targets at 16 Iranian-backed Houthi militant locations, including command and control nodes, munitions depots, launching systems, production facilities, and air defense radar systems.” More than 100 precision-guided munitions “of various types” were used, according to the U.S. commander. The Houthi-run Al Masirah TV said that the strikes hit the al-Dailami air base north of the capital, Sanaa, the airport in the strategic port city of Hodeidah, a camp east of Saada, the airport in the city of Taiz and an airport near Hajjah. The extent of the damage wasn’t immediately clear. Five Houthis were reportedly killed and six others were wounded. Although the U.S. has carried out strikes against Iranian-backed assets in Iraq and Syria since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, this marks the first known strike against the Houthis in Yemen. The strikes on Yemen were condemned by Lebanon’s Hezbollah, the Palestinian Hamas movement, Iran and several Iranian-backed armed factions in Iraq. In their first response, the Houthis said that there was no justification for the strike. The group also vowed to respond and said that it will continue to target ships heading towards Israel. The battle-hardened Houthis possess advanced long-range offensive capabilities and they are considered one of Iran’s closest allies. The strikes on the group will without a doubt backfire. The U.S., UK and other allies could soon find themselves facing another unwinnable war in Yemen, one that could cost them much more than the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
