The targeting of another U.S.-owned commercial ship Wednesday shows the militant group remains intent on continuing its attacks in the face of multiple rounds of U.S. military airstrikes.

The Houthis launched anti-ship ballistic missiles at the U.S.-owned, flagged and operated commercial ship Maersk Detroit as it was transiting the Gulf of Aden, according to a statement from the U.S. Central Command. The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Gravely shot down two missiles and a third fell into the water. There were no indications of damage or injuries in the attack.

The U.S. military has been conducting airstrikes against the Houthis to degrade their capabilities since Jan.11, after several weeks of attacks on commercial ships by the militant group.

  • @doublejay1999
    link
    English
    60
    edit-2
    10 months ago

    I do think this is a strategic miss step from the Hooti Bros. Attacking global trade is the fast track to be on the wrong end of universally approved military actions .

    …and I have a horrible feeling Iran might just be about to order in some Freedom & Democracy . US and UK are in election cycles, and tough looking leaders win votes .

    • BOMBS
      link
      English
      610 months ago

      Now that you mentioned the freedom and democracy order, I wonder if there’s a connection with Biden sending the CIA director to Israel supposedly for peace negotiations.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      610 months ago

      I hope you’re wrong about the regime change bit, but it’s entirely possible you’re right on the money.

    • @lemmerguy
      link
      English
      210 months ago

      They are militant group so do you think they care, or are sophisticated to think about all this?

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      110 months ago

      Maersk said both vessels carried cargo belonging to the U.S. Defense and State Departments, as well as other government agencies, meaning they were “afforded the protection of the U.S. Navy for passage through the strait.”

    • @Linkerbaan
      link
      English
      -38
      edit-2
      10 months ago

      Darn Hoothi’s standing up to Genocide.

      America isn’t starting more wars because they can’t afford it, not because they’re so nice. The Hoothies can blow up Saudi’s oil infrastructure which is going to make this global shipping blockade look like a complete joke in comparison.

      Ukraine and israel are draining the budget. If America starts escalating the middle east they won’t be able to keep their aircraft carriers next to Taiwan. Fighting one war at a time is easy but it’s starting to stack up.

      Middle Eastern issues never seem to get solved with more violence. The freedom and democracy barrage is just going to backfire as it always has.

      • @Dead_or_Alive
        link
        English
        1510 months ago

        lol Ukraine is a bargain. I think the US has spent maybe 2% of the entire military budget supplying Ukraine with weapons. In exchange we get to see the last large generation of Russians turned into fertilizer along with all of their frontline hardware.

        Israel is perfectly capable of turning the Gaza Strip into a moonscape without much support from the US.

        The US hasn’t even touched the hardware needed to take on China (long range missiles and aircraft). On top of that we now have a west that is more united than ever behind the American Hegemony.

        I think the US can afford to let a few off the chain and rain some good old fashioned freedom on a few Houthis.

        • @Linkerbaan
          link
          English
          -1210 months ago

          You’re talking like Goku is stronger than One Punch Man because he can go SSJ9001. War isn’t some attack power meter where the party with more attack power just magically wins. Tell me how more about how America just won against the Taliban.

          Israel’s iron meme system got wrecked by a bunch of Hamas fireworks. Their wall penetrated like it’s nothing. Just like how israel can flatten Gaza, Hezbollah can flatten israel. Everyone can flatten each other these days. Rockets and Drones are insanely cheap and stopping them is expensive.

          The question is if you think that’s a good solution to the problem. From behind your keyboard it must look really funny.

          • @Dead_or_Alive
            link
            English
            710 months ago

            War is never a good solution, but I prefer to be on the side making the craters than getting cratered.

            • @Linkerbaan
              link
              English
              -910 months ago

              War is never a good solution

              Yes.

              I prefer to be on the side making the craters than getting cratered.

              Everyone is getting cratered.

              • @Dead_or_Alive
                link
                English
                710 months ago

                :Looks up: nope my sky is clear and I’m thousands of miles and an ocean away. That sound like a you problem.

                • @Linkerbaan
                  link
                  English
                  -510 months ago

                  Are you talking about israel vs their neighbours right now or about America?

      • @gnate
        link
        English
        1510 months ago

        Not being able to afford it has never deterred the US from taking military action.

      • @jordanlundM
        link
        English
        610 months ago

        Comment is being reported, but I don’t really see anything actionable here. My only request would be to please not minimalize the Houthi movement by calling them “Hoothies”, I mean it’s spelled correctly right there in the subject.

        Going down the low hanging fruit road starts butting uncomfortably close to racism and I know you didn’t mean it that way.

        https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houthi_movement

      • @doublejay1999
        link
        English
        510 months ago

        Good points each of them, and it’s why I wonder if the US might move to conclude some of them, rather than have them nagging on .

        • @Linkerbaan
          link
          English
          -310 months ago

          America is probably going to drop and screw over Ukraine if the budget gets tight. But the Hoothi problem looks unsolvable with military force. Saudi tried that for quite a while with American weapons. And America just lost to the Taliban trying to do the same thing.

          By for the easiest solution is to reign in Netanyahu and stop the Genocide in Gaza. Hoothi demands are what I would call “normal to anyone that isn’t a genocidal maniac”.

          • @doublejay1999
            link
            English
            710 months ago

            Was about to say the same thing.

            Unless they want to keep grinding Putin by proxy, Big Z might be not be getting his calls returned.

      • @uSpetzWon
        link
        English
        110 months ago

        The problem so far has been that “more violence” has not been “enough violence”. Apply enough and there will be a peace.

  • cooljacob204
    link
    fedilink
    43
    edit-2
    10 months ago

    Man tankies just really infest the fediverse. I wish reality was as simple as they like to pretend it is.

    • @TokenBoomer
      link
      English
      -1010 months ago

      Man pinkos just really infest the fediverse. I wish reality was as simple as they like to pretend it is.

      • @TokenBoomer
        link
        English
        310 months ago

        Man commies just really infest the fediverse. I wish reality was as simple as they like to pretend it is.

        • @TokenBoomer
          link
          English
          -410 months ago

          Man Reds just really infest the fediverse. I wish reality was as simple as they like to pretend it is.

          • @[email protected]
            link
            fedilink
            English
            310 months ago

            Man herpes just really infest the fediverse. I wish reality was as simple as they like to pretend it is.

    • @Linkerbaan
      link
      English
      -4110 months ago

      Saying that you support the Houthis in their efforts to stop genocide does not mean you agree with everything they stand for.

      You don’t have to unequivocally support a group to encorse one specific action.

      • Heresy_generator
        link
        fedilink
        5910 months ago

        Attacking civilian ships with civilian crews does nothing to stop genocide; it’s just terrorism.

          • splicerslicer
            link
            English
            1510 months ago

            By that definition my company toyota Corolla is a valid military target. My brother in Christ Google the definition of “civilian”. Literally anyone or anything not government related qualifies. These ships have “relations” with almost every country, that’s how international commerce works you dumbass.

            • @Linkerbaan
              link
              English
              -5
              edit-2
              10 months ago

              That’s absolutely false all the targets were directly linked with israel. And now it’s expanded to include all countries that fired missles on Yemen.

              Try smuggling goods into Iran or Russia with your Toyota Corolla and if you get caught tell them you are driving a civilian vehicle. I hear that makes everything legal.

              If you’re delivering supplies to a Nazi group committing genocide you’re not called a “civilian”.

              The Yemeni have designed it terrorist ships. Contrary to everything you believe America isn’t the only nation in the world able to design targets as terror.

            • @Linkerbaan
              link
              English
              -810 months ago

              Genocide stops == Houthis blockade lifts.

              That easy. Instead of trying to be a genocide enabler consider criticizing the israelis that just shot a tank at 20 Palestinians waiting in line for food aid.

                • @Linkerbaan
                  link
                  English
                  -310 months ago

                  Strange there was no Hamas 75 years ago but israel still committed genocide.

                  You think maybe Hamas exists as a resonse to genocide?

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          English
          -2410 months ago

          Maersk said both vessels carried cargo belonging to the U.S. Defense and State Departments, as well as other government agencies, meaning they were “afforded the protection of the U.S. Navy for passage through the strait.”

          Don’t fall for propaganda like a dumbass. These two ships were carrying DOD cargo.

          • @Jimmyeatsausage
            link
            English
            710 months ago

            Good point. The civilian sailors clearly deserve it. After all, they get to pick and choose which cargo they carry… just like the Palestinians got to pick their own government and chose terrorists.

            If they were good little wage-slaves, they’d have quit and starved until they found a morally pure capitalist to work for.

      • @assassin_aragorn
        link
        English
        2110 months ago

        It’d be cool if they started doing things do stop genocide. Instead of just saying it and then doing other stuff.

        • @Linkerbaan
          link
          English
          -2610 months ago

          It’d be cool if you weren’t defending Genocide.

          • @assassin_aragorn
            link
            English
            1210 months ago

            It’d be cool if they started doing things do stop genocide.

            Defending genocide

            ???

            • @Linkerbaan
              link
              English
              -1810 months ago

              The Houthis are doing stuff to stop genocide. Namely ships to nations that are committing genocide.

              Here’s an actual video of what’s going on there https://youtu.be/sAApTUChi1g

                • @Linkerbaan
                  link
                  English
                  -1110 months ago

                  Poor civilian oil tankers transporting oil to a nation committing genocide :( if only there was a way they could safely pass again. How about not committing genocide?

      • @supercriticalcheese
        link
        English
        410 months ago

        Yes cause the houthis are Bear loving kinda of Islamist militia, right. Definitely have never engaged in the same type of actions ever/s

        • @Linkerbaan
          link
          English
          -610 months ago

          I don’t recall the Houthis ever blockading the red sea before.

          Somalia had some pirates but that was just literal theft and extortion. And that’s not the Houthis.

          Mind linking what you are talking about?

          • @supercriticalcheese
            link
            English
            110 months ago

            It’s a militia islamic militia, do you think they haven’t done the same thing as Israel does to their population, or a subset of their population?

            It’s just a way to grab the attention span of everyone which helps their recruitment.

            • @Linkerbaan
              link
              English
              -4
              edit-2
              10 months ago

              You’re really trying to defend israel’s genocide in any possible way. “No they allowed to stop genocide, they are the bad guys!”

              I’m not here to simp for whatever war crimes they did internally. Just this specific action isn’t one you should denounce.

              There was a Houthi spokesperson on BBC. They told him the same thing. His response was very simple.

              If other groups want to enhance their popularity by stopping genocide they’re very welcome to do so.

              How about you go stop israel’s genocide if you don’t want the Houthi’s to do it?

              https://youtu.be/z4HguzMRW1M

          • @Bartsbigbugbag
            link
            English
            110 months ago

            Somalian Pirates were actually often protecting their territorial waters from foreign opportunists plundering in the collapse of the Somalian government. The framing as pirates only works in the sense that these weren’t state-driven fleets, but rather civilian driven in order to protect their livelihoods against corporate raiders.

            • @Linkerbaan
              link
              English
              -110 months ago

              I just checked the list of ships they attacked. You are right that they are almost all cargo but there was a cruise ship in there

              Seabourn Spirit, a luxury cruise ship carrying 210 crew members and passengers, was attacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia.[12] Riding in two small speedboats, the pirates fired at the ship with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but the crew drove them off with a water hose and a long range acoustic device.

              Do you have any good articles or videos explaining the situation with the Somali pirates? I might be wrong about it and would love to know what the actual deal was.

  • @Red_October
    link
    English
    3010 months ago

    So instead of fucking off, they’re still fucking around. Well, there’s plenty of Find Out to go around.

    • @chuckleslord
      link
      English
      -11
      edit-2
      10 months ago

      Oh wait, I thought your comment was about American cargo ships. I’m like “fuck yeah! That’s punk rock, they should respect the protest (mostly cause the protest comes with missiles) and go around. Never cross a pocket line, bruv” but I think I misread the situation.

    • @Viking_Hippie
      link
      English
      -1410 months ago

      Yeah because more military action is going to stop terrorism! Have people learned NOTHING from the Bush administration and the wars they started??

      • @SkyezOpen
        link
        English
        2310 months ago

        What’s the play to stop this then?

        • @Viking_Hippie
          link
          English
          -110 months ago

          I don’t know. I don’t have to in order to recognize the fact that military action only exacerbates the problem by making it easier to radicalize the people whose loved ones are killed, though.

          • @assassin_aragorn
            link
            English
            310 months ago

            Normally I’d agree, but the Houthis can stop all hostilities by stopping attacking international trade vessels. That isn’t a difficult ask. They can even try to use this as leverage to get other things they want.

            • @Viking_Hippie
              link
              English
              -110 months ago

              the Houthis can stop all hostilities by stopping attacking international trade vessels.

              Yeah, that’s bullshit. A Saudi-led coalition has been bombing the shit out of them with American weapons for several years now.

              I don’t in any way condone terrorism under any circumstances, but to pretend that there’s not been any previous acts of oppressive violence to radicalize them is as unhelpful as it is (wilfully?) ignorant.

              • @assassin_aragorn
                link
                English
                110 months ago

                I don’t disagree there, but this is what I meant by leverage. “We’ll stop attacking if you stop helping the Saudis”. It wasn’t too long ago that the Houthis actually considered the US as a friendly state.

                • @Viking_Hippie
                  link
                  English
                  -210 months ago

                  Wilfully ignorant it is.

                  There’s no way the US government is ever going to make any such deal, much less honor it.

          • trevor
            link
            fedilink
            English
            11
            edit-2
            10 months ago

            And even if you’re a ghoul and think that complying with that very reasonable demand wouldn’t stop the Houthis, why not call their bluff? It costs us nothing to simply stop allowing the genocide to happen, and if the Houthis continue attacking ships, then you have a much more legitimate reason to go after them.

            Or are the people that are in favor of bombing Yemen just really eager to bomb?

            • @SkyezOpen
              link
              English
              1310 months ago

              The Saudis have been bombing it for Allah knows how long, so it’s business as usual for everyone involved.

              • trevor
                link
                fedilink
                English
                710 months ago

                That’s neither here, nor there. The answer isn’t to make the bombing in Yemen worse.

                If the only demand is to stop genociding Palestinians, then the US government should simply stop supporting Israel in their genocide.

                If the Houthis continue attacking ships after that, then by all means, do what you need to do to handle the Houthis. But the US government can’t even be bothered to call for a ceasefire, so they leave it up to militant groups to act.

                • @assassin_aragorn
                  link
                  English
                  310 months ago

                  They are actually in the process of calling for a ceasefire. Biden pissed off Netanyahu as well. There’s diplomacy in the background to get a ceasefire and more hostages freed.

              • @chuckleslord
                link
                English
                510 months ago

                “Violence is being done to this group at such an alarming rate that it’s being treated as normal. So violence is fine, they’re used to it”

                That’s what that sounded like to me.

              • @Aceticon
                link
                English
                210 months ago

                And were doing it with bombs sold to them by the US and UK.

                I wouldn’t be surprised if the serial numbers on some of the stuff the US and UK is now dropping directly on the Houtis shows them to be from the same batches as some of the stuff that was dropped on them via the Saudis.

                The idea that the US and UK cutting off the middleman to keep on doing to the Houtis what has been done to them for a decade, is going to make the Houtis change their minds, is hilarious.

            • @Fades
              link
              English
              410 months ago

              It CoStS us nOtHiNg

              You really don’t know what you’re talking about when it comes to policy. It’s not just a simple “okay let’s cut ties with Israel”.

              • trevor
                link
                fedilink
                English
                210 months ago

                Calling for a cease fire isn’t “cutting ties with Israel”, and if you think that funding a genocidal ethnostate is a necessary part of foreign policy, your foreign policy would have been very helpful for the Axis Powers, you absolute monster.

                • @SkyezOpen
                  link
                  English
                  210 months ago

                  They actually might throw a hissy fit if we withhold aid and expel US diplomats or something. We’d lose a major base in the middle east, but (if you’ll allow for a little American exceptionalism) they don’t call the fucking shots here.

          • @SkyezOpen
            link
            English
            310 months ago

            Sure, agreed, probably. I don’t believe one atrocity justifies another though (like the holocaust doesn’t justify… Literally anything they’ve used it as justification for), and the problem is the houthis aren’t just fucking with US and Israeli related ships, they’re impacting global trade.

            Backing down in the face of violence (even if it is the correct thing to do in this particular situation) only empowers them to cause more violence because it works. That’s why the US doesn’t (typically) negotiate with terrorists.

            • NoneOfUrBusiness
              link
              fedilink
              -210 months ago

              Yeah I’m not saying the Houthis are right here (they’re being too indiscriminate), but giving into their demands is objectively the morally correct action. They’re using a wrong method to make a correct point.

          • prole
            link
            fedilink
            English
            -610 months ago

            Am I mistaken, or is the situation with the Houthis and Saudis in Yemen entirely unrelated to the current conflict in Gaza? These are two separate things. The Houthis aren’t disrupting international trade as a statement about Gaza… Like do you have any idea what we’re even talking about in this thread?

              • @SkyezOpen
                link
                English
                510 months ago

                their actions in the Red Sea towards ships flying the American flag is because of what’s happening in Gaza. Why would you not believe them?

                Because they’ve hit numerous ships not related to Israel or the US.

              • @gnate
                link
                English
                310 months ago

                Related, yes, but not exclusive to the current situation, as it’s a continuation of the attacks the Houthis have been carrying out for the last decade. Not to mention they don’t restrict the attacks to Israeli and US ships. Besides, their “Death to Israel, Death to America” slogan betrays their motives.

                • @assassin_aragorn
                  link
                  English
                  410 months ago

                  Their slogan also calls out Jewish people in general, it’s pretty fucked.

            • @SkyezOpen
              link
              English
              1210 months ago

              So they never declared safe zones, then dropped bombs on those safe zones? Or walked the streets shooting people literally standing there? Or shot a guy holding a white flag minutes after he gave an interview? Or shot Israeli hostages holding a white flag by mistake because they thought they were Palestinians?

              • 【J】【u】【s】【t】【Z】
                link
                English
                -8
                edit-2
                10 months ago

                Blah blah blah. Research even one of the claims you’re repeating. There have been warnings on warnings. Yes. Even after telling people to evacuate south and then certain buildings on the route being blown up, additional texts and calls were sent to warn people in the area of the bombings.

                There’s been about seven people shot holding white flags, and pretending to be hostages with white flags is one of Hamas’s martyrdom tactics, designed to cause people like you to have sympathy for actual terrorists.

                • @SkyezOpen
                  link
                  English
                  6
                  edit-2
                  10 months ago

                  The idf literally reported killing 3 hostages themselves. And there’s video evidence of people standing in the road doing nothing when they were shot.

            • NoIWontPickaName
              link
              fedilink
              810 months ago

              So killing people holding white flags with their hands up are a threat?

              How about all the innocent children and babies?

              Also Hamas?

              • 【J】【u】【s】【t】【Z】
                link
                English
                -6
                edit-2
                10 months ago

                No, they’re innocent children and babies. And it’s very sad that Hamas uses them as human shields. That is part of their terrorism.

                The sooner the world gets rid of Hamas, the sooner the people of Palestine might have a chance at a normal life.

                It’s a shame that Hamas has such high support in Palestine and they took that support and used it to dig a bunch of collapsing tunnels underneath their cities, buy bombs and rockets, and then murder 1,200 innocent civilians and first responders to provoke a significantly more powerful force, betraying their people and their land.

                Like yeah it’s very sad that all these kids are dying. It is atrocious. However it is the fault of Hamas. They are the ones stopping people from leaving everytime they are warned to do so.

                You can look up the warnings yourself, images and recordings. Look up one of these civilian catastrophes that you’re so concerned about and instead of just repeating the 140 character talking point you read on Qatari state media or something, see what actually happened.

                I’m not making excuses for the couple dozen or so actual war crimes that have occurred. And I will even admit that the IDF has a culture of disregard. But the idea that all of these bombings are simply indiscriminate targeting of civilians is absolutely bullshit nonsense, divorced from reality and unsupported by facts available to anyone within thirty seconds of research.

                • NoIWontPickaName
                  link
                  fedilink
                  310 months ago

                  No one said all, I’m sure a few of the bombings were legitimate, but if you want me to trust a word out of the IDF’s mouth, you better show me forty decapitated babies and people that are named after the days of the week.

                  Israel lost all moral backing when they decided to use dumb bombs to kill 10’s of thousands

                  Israel says they have killed 9000 Hamas soldiers, destroyed fucking only God knows how many buildings and they are attacking un facilities.
                  you will have to forgive me I’m sure all of this is just antisemitism

            • @jordanlundM
              link
              English
              210 months ago

              Removed, rule 6 misinformation:

              “virtually every single civilian killed was warned to evacuate and warned again before they got blown up.”

              Also rule 5, keep it civil, calling another user a “useful idiot”.

              Just in this thread alone, you have multiple counts against you warranting a ban.

      • @Potatos_are_not_friends
        link
        English
        -910 months ago

        You do realize that Americans get boners from this, right? Americans LOVE getting attacked so they can use their billions of dollars worth of weapons that they’ve been hoarding. Then resell it.

        • @Viking_Hippie
          link
          English
          010 months ago

          Some do, yeah. Doesn’t mean I’m not going to point out the futility of it.

  • AutoTL;DRB
    link
    fedilink
    English
    310 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    The targeting of another U.S.-owned commercial ship Wednesday shows the militant group remains intent on continuing its attacks in the face of multiple rounds of U.S. military airstrikes.

    The Houthis launched anti-ship ballistic missiles at the U.S.-owned, flagged and operated commercial ship Maersk Detroit as it was transiting the Gulf of Aden, according to a statement from the U.S. Central Command.

    The  U.S. has launched multiple rounds of two different types of airstrikes — those hitting a wider range of targets, like storage sites and radar capabilities, and also preemptive strikes aiming at Houthi missiles as they’re loaded onto launchers to prepare for an attack.

    But again, our hope is that we can restore security and stability to the Red Sea, and we’ll continue to work toward that end," Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said this week.

    The Houthis began launching these attacks in November to protest the war in Gaza, but many of the commercial ships they’ve targeted have no connection to Israel, U.S. officials say.

    These attacks, combined with the others that Iran-backed groups are launching at U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria add to the widening tensions in the Middle East since the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas.


    The original article contains 420 words, the summary contains 205 words. Saved 51%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    110 months ago

    The US needs to put out some “Bait Ships” where they just sail around the seas in the hope that pirates try and take it, but instead of a crew of civilians there’s a military crew just waiting to strike.

    • @AA5B
      link
      English
      110 months ago

      Or let’s just station a flock of Reapers over where they tend to launch so the response is fast enough to catch the perpetrators

  • @bmsok
    link
    English
    -210 months ago

    The entire city of Detroit is about to ask “The fuck you doing fuckin’ with our big ass ship?”

  • @Viking_Hippie
    link
    English
    -1510 months ago

    You’re telling me military action doesn’t stop terrorism??

    • kick_out_the_jams
      link
      fedilink
      30
      edit-2
      10 months ago

      It doesn’t prevent terrorism, but where the hits land it does usually stop whatever is going on.

      • @Viking_Hippie
        link
        English
        210 months ago

        In the very short term yeah, but in the longer term it INCREASES terrorism by making it easier for terrorists to radicalize people who lost loved ones.

          • @agitatedpotato
            link
            English
            510 months ago

            So does Saudi Arabia, ask them how their bombing of the Houthis went. We have historical data on this.

          • @Viking_Hippie
            link
            English
            1
            edit-2
            10 months ago

            Not without killing a shitload of innocent civilians, which is THE most effective way to create MORE terrorism.

            • @Fades
              link
              English
              4
              edit-2
              10 months ago

              Innocent civilians? You’re just talking out of your ass now. These strikes are on launch sites not a town square.

              By hitting launch sites innocent ships can pass without being attacked and killed

            • 【J】【u】【s】【t】【Z】
              link
              English
              -710 months ago

              Create more terrorism where? These people are in increasingly small, llittle spit of sand that nobody gives a fuck about. And if the people there want the Houthis in charge, then they can share the sand with them. The walls will continue closing in and the bombs will continue falling wherever rockets are coming from.

                • 【J】【u】【s】【t】【Z】
                  link
                  English
                  310 months ago

                  Actually a villian will subjugate women and minorites, force them to wear black robes and burkas in the fucking desert sun, and then launch rockets at civilians left and right. That’s your people! You should go fucking live with them.

          • @Aceticon
            link
            English
            010 months ago

            It’s funny because the Houtis are a mountain tribe, just like the Taliban in Afghanistan.

            Not even an International cohalition and over a hundred thousand “boots on the ground” managed to stop the Taliban for good and you think that “this time is different” and bombing alone a similar tribe will do it???!

            • @[email protected]
              link
              fedilink
              English
              510 months ago

              Unlike the Taliban, nobody cares about “defeating” the Houthis, though. Taking away their ability to harass shipping is all that matters, and that can be done by monitoring and bombing launch sites.

              If the USA didn’t care about the optics, they could just flatten the Houthi launch infrastructure tomorrow, then smack down anything that they tried to rebuild. Ballistic and cruise missiles are large and hard to hide, and they have to be imported from Iran.

              It’s not like Hamas with their homemade unguided rocket barrages into a populated area, ships are small and the ocean is huge. You need a decent missile to actually hit anything.