CENTCOM Commander: Current U.S. Strategy of Limited Strikes on Houthis is Failing
Letter from Centcom Commander General Erik Kurilla to White House
We have been reporting on attempts by the Yemen-based Houthi rebels to disrupt shipping and freedom of navigation in the Red Sea:
- Yemen’s Houthis Kill Two Sailors on Barbados-Flagged Ship in Gulf of Aden
- Iran-Backed Houthi Terrorists Hit Several Cargo Ships
- Houthi Terrorists Still Targeting U.S. Ships in the Red Sea
- Egypt’s Suez Canal Revenue Stream Dries Up, Decreasing by 40% due to Houthi Attacks
We have also reported on some of the U.S. naval operations designed to thwart the Houthi attacks through the use of limited strikes against Houthi terrorist targets:
These particular strikes were “successful” according to the then-Biden Administration:
Biden: "Today, at my direction, U.S. military forces—together with the United Kingdom and with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands—successfully conducted strikes against a number of targets in Yemen used by Houthi rebels to endanger freedom of navigation" pic.twitter.com/vnEHINo7BB
— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) January 12, 2024
Well, maybe not. At least not according to the Commander of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).
From the Wall Street Journal: U.S. Launches Effort to Stop Russia From Arming Houthis With Antiship Missiles: A U.S. commander sent confidential letter warning that U.S. is failing to deter Red Sea attacks on shipping:
U.S. intelligence agencies are warning that Russia might arm Houthi militants in Yemen with advanced antiship missiles in retaliation for the Biden administration’s support for Ukrainian strikes inside Russia with U.S. weapons.
The new intelligence comes as the top U.S. Middle East commander recently advised in a classified letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that military operations in the region are “failing” to deter Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and that a broader approach is needed, according to U.S. officials.
That classified letter was sent by Gen. Erik Kurilla, the head of U.S. Central Command, and provided some blunt advice, turning heads in the Biden Administration:
Kurilla called in his letter to Austin for a stepped-up “whole of government” effort against the Houthis, employing economic, diplomatic and potentially stronger military pressure to discourage attacks on ships in the Red Sea and a narrow strait known as Bab el-Mandeb, off Yemen’s coast, officials said. At least 30 ships have been damaged, and two have sunk.
“Many people found the tone of the memo to be a bit shocking,” a defense official said. It said essentially that “U.S. service members will die if we continue going this way.”[emphasis added]
And, while the “White House has authorized the military to conduct strikes against Houthi missiles and drones about to be launched and taken other limited steps,” “some Central Command officials say their forces have been unable to prevent the Houthis from regularly threatening commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb because they haven’t had the approval to carry out a broader range of strikes.”
Interestingly, this Wall Street Journal story was published shortly before Israel showed the way with a massive strike on Houthi infrastructure in Yemen following a Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv:
Following Friday’s drone strike on Tel Aviv by Houthi terrorist group, the Israeli airforce reportedly carried out an airstrike on terror targets in Yemen.
The strike reportedly took place in the Houthi stronghold in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah in western Yemen….
This is a Houthi stronghold in Yemen.
Lesson: F*ck with Israel and find out. pic.twitter.com/twKlKQBoa8
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) July 20, 2024
Sounds like this, in addition to diplomatic and economic action, is what CENTCOM is talking about. If the Israelis can make this happen completely on their own, imagine what CENTCOM could do if unleashed by the White House.
Of course, who might authorize such action remains a mystery, but good for General Kurilla to have the intestinal fortitude to tell the White House like it is.
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Comments
The only thing that Muslims will ever understand is brute overwhelming force. It is a mistake to allow these things to fester.
It is sadly a mistake to allow Islam to exist
You are utterly deranged.
Guess you better get down to the recruiter and sign up for that war of civilizations you’re so desperate to fight.
why go sign up to your woke military when the war will be fought right here on our soil
no need to register
“CENTCOM Commander: Current U.S. Strategy of Limited Strikes on Houthis is Failing”
Given that it’s a Joe BidenLloyd Austin operation, Kurilla’s statement cannot be a surprise to any sentient being.
War is Peace. Ignorance is Strength. Failure is Success.
Destruction is Building Back Better.
Is it our problem? Is it up to the US Navy to patrol the seas and make them safe for all the Panamanian and Bangladeshi freighters? Are we going to always be called upon to write the big checks and shed American blood? Forever?
We’ve been fighting piracy throughout the world for hundreds of years it’s not going to stop soon
As another commenter mentioned, the US Navy has been fighting piracy for centuries. Can you name one other friendly country that has the ability to project naval power into the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea?
The point here is it is failing because this idiotic administration is making the same mistakes previous administrations have:
“some Central Command officials say their forces have been unable to prevent the Houthis from regularly threatening commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb because they haven’t had the approval to carry out a broader range of strikes.”
Don’t implement a military policy unless you want to win.
Well, if we want actual commerce to continue in the world – commerce that benefits us – then we kinda need to keep knocking down piracy. And piracy by an actual pseudo-state is a cause of war. One of the few things we should go to war over.
The answer to all of your questions is, “yes”. Just like the next big European war, the NATO members will be more than glad to hold America’s coat while we do the actual fighting, bleeding, and dying.
The US got rich because of free trade. Very simple.
” , CENTCOM Commander Captain Obvious.”
“Proportional” response, an international favorite, has very limited use. In other than the (very) short run all it does is perpetuate problems and prolong the agony. The professional understanders and fence sitters will get a lot of people killed, every time.
“professional understanders”
Heh. I like that.
Depends on the ‘proportional.’ I rather like Reagan’s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5v6hlRyeHE
If Kurilla had said this during a Bush or Trump presidency, he would be hailed as a patriot and brave truth-teller, in the same way Vindman was and the several generals who spoke out about the Iraq War battleplan were. It would be the biggest story of the day, easily. But, since it’s an election year with Democrats already in tatters, the media will bury this.
I believe Kurilla has been CENTCOM CCMD since mid-2022. He should have another 6ish months left in this assignment. It will be interesting to see if he finishes it.
am glad the israeli air force put the houthis (and the world) on notice–if you keep up with your terrorist violence, we can and we will reach out and touch you–corto y derecho
the proper way to deal with violent thugs
Biden’s results with the Houthis is rather like Obama’s was with ISIS. Incinerating Iranian oil facilities is one way to send a message to everyone in the Middle East that will be received.
Islamofascists have wide open window of opportunity now, with Dementia Joe unable to function properly.
Unfortunately, Kurilla may not use the right pronouns. Sorry, but that’s non-negotiable.
Morons. They are Muslim fanatics. Kill them.
The only thing Limited Strikes accomplish is eventually getting your own people killed. Go Big…or Go Home.
The secretary in the third room on the second floor of the White House has some free time and lots of blank authorization forms.
Everyone in the White House pretty much does whatever they want. The boss is never around and no one seems to care.
When Reagan was sworn in, the mullahs immediately released the hostages, because they were afraid he was a lunatic who would order a full scale attack against them if they didn’t.
The Houthi attacks will stop as soon as Trump is sworn in, for the same reason. Trump’s reputation for lunacy is even greater than Reagan’s was, and the Houthi can easily believe that he would order them hunted down individually like bin-Laden.
Everyone saw how he managed the ISIS when he took office, after years of ineffectual Obama operations. Same reason operation desert storm was so successful. They set the goals and basic parameters and left the operational planning and execution to the Generals, not White House staffers *cough*Susan Rice*cough*
the dem agenda is to keep the war machine going so that a gop will take over and catch the blame for what lefty started
Actually I’d say the current strategy is working perfectly fine for the administration’s goals. They’re spending lots and lots of taxpayer money and getting almost no results. This could go on forever which is what they want.
you don’t go fight them directly
You give a gun to someone else who goes and does it for you.
JESUS H CHRIST—- could we please someday LEARN and adapt to our enemies proxy tactics.
Yeah, we were doing that with the Saudis, until Biden was sworn in and almost immediately announced that “We are ending all American support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including relevant arms sales,”