In a major escalation of Middle Eastern hostilities, the U.S. Navy sank three Houthi terrorist vessels and sent a fourth fleeing from American might. This came after yet another container ship in the Southern Red Sea was struck by a missile fired by the Iranian-backed rebels.
The U.S. destroyer responded to the initial attack on the Danish container ship Maersk Hangzhou. But as it raced to the scene it found two more missiles fired at Navy ships, the USS Gravely and the USS Laboon.
These were intercepted, but the Houthis attacked their original target for a second time and attempted to board the vessel.
They also committed the serious blunder of firing on the Navy ships intervening in their aggressive actions.
The action followed more failed diplomacy by the Biden administration that forced the U.S. to largely confront the global danger alone. Republicans and Democrats alike disparaged the White House’s meager efforts to assemble a coalition against the threat.
The U.S. military said Sunday that its forces opened fire on Houthi rebels after they attacked a cargo ship in the Red Sea, killing several of them in an escalation of the maritime conflict linked to the war in Gaza. https://t.co/0kM2LwDGgp https://t.co/RN4JvvJPNX
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) December 31, 2023
The U.S. military said several Houthi rebels were killed in the strike, and a White House official added that “we’re going to act in self-defense going forward.”
Verbal warnings were given to the attackers by the Gravely and helicopters from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier. Instead of heeding the cautions, rebels fired on the American helicopters.
U.S. Central Command reported that the Navy helicopters returned fire. Three of the four vessels went to the bottom and the fourth fled the scene. There were no reported injuries to service personnel and no damage to naval equipment.
The Houthi faction said that ten of their rebel fighters were killed, and they warned of severe consequences to U.S. forces.
The showdown and possible escalation were part of a proxy fight between Washington and Iran, which backs the Yemeni rebels.
The attacks began shortly after the Hamas terrorist strike on Israel on Oct. 7 that claimed over 1,200 lives. Houthi forces began striking commercial shipping through the waterway and declared the disruptions will continue until Israel’s retaliation for the atrocities ends.
Forced to go it alone in protecting the vital passage, the U.S. is not ruling out a preemptive strike on the rebels. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that he would not comment on what is “on or off the table right now.”
