White House Outlines Plans for “Sustained” Campaign Against Houthis in Yemen

US President Joe Biden’s administration is “crafting plans for a sustained military campaign targeting the Houthis in Yemen.” After 10 days of strikes and missile attacks on pro-Iranian Shiite militia positions, it “failed to stop attacks on merchant ships passing through the Red Sea.”

According to the newspaper Washington Post, which cited “some well-informed sources,” the White House called an extraordinary meeting of Middle East advisers to “assess America’s possible response to the Houthi attacks.”

According to the Washington Post, “the US strategy in Yemen is an effort to erode the Houthis’ high-level military capability enough to curtail their ability to target shipping in the Red Sea.” At this point, the military operation in Yemen is not expected to “stretch on for years.” However, “they can identify no end date or provide an estimate for when the Yemenis’ military capability will be adequately diminished,” the American newspaper writes.

The Red Sea crisis is spreading like wildfire. The European Union is also about to launch a defensive military action, described as “strong and armed,” to protect commercial maritime traffic. Italy, France, and Germany will be the leaders of this operation. They intend to patrol and control a large area from the Red Sea, through the Gulf of Aden, to the south of the Arabian Peninsula and the Strait of Hormuz, at the entrance to the Persian Gulf, between the UAE and Iran.