WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Biden administration officials are increasingly questioning the effectiveness of military methods in combating the Houthis, who continue their attempt to block the operations of Western commercial and navy ships in the Red Sea in response to the ongoing Israeli-Hamas conflict, CNN reported, citing US officials in the know.
Even though the US military has significantly increased the frequency of its strikes on Houthi bases since January, the results of the strikes have failed to advance beyond the psychological effect and have only made Yemeni rebels dig in deeper and hide better, the report said on Friday.
American strikes have also made the Houthis extremely concerned about their senior leaders, making them increasingly paranoid about their safety, the report added.
There is also a belief among some US senior officials that the Houthis would stop their attacks in the Red Sea the moment Israel stops its war in Gaza, according to the report.
The Houthi movement, which controls large parts of northern and western Yemen, vowed in November 2023 to attack any ships associated with Israel until it halts military actions in the Gaza Strip.
This led US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to announce the creation of a multinational operation to secure navigation in the Red Sea. US and UK forces later launched major strikes against Houthi positions in a bid to degrade the rebels’ ability to target commercial vessels.
