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Yemeni Rebels Target U.S. Warship Again, Pentagon Says U.S. Ship Fires Missiles at Yemeni Rebel Sites
(about 3 hours later)
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has tried to navigate a treacherous course since Saudi Arabia launched a bombing campaign in Yemen in March 2015 by quietly providing military support to the campaign and publicly pushing for a peace deal — but all the while trying to keep the United States from being dragged too deeply into the conflict. WASHINGTON — An American warship struck areas controlled by Yemeni rebels early Thursday, launching three cruise missiles at radar installations that the Pentagon said had been used by the insurgents hours earlier to target another American ship.
Two missile attacks this week on an American destroyer cruising off Yemen’s coast threaten to upend this strategy and draw the United States even more directly into the proxy war. The strikes were the first time the United States had directly attacked Yemen’s Houthi rebels, members of an indigenous Shiite group with loose connections to Iran who are fighting the Yemeni government. The strikes were approved by President Obama, the Pentagon said, warning of more to come if American ships were fired upon again.
On Wednesday, the destroyer Mason took fire from a missile fired from a stretch of Yemen’s coastline controlled by Houthi rebels. The missile fell harmlessly into the sea, but it was the second attempted, and failed, missile attack on the ship in four days. Pentagon officials were quick to issue threats of retaliation. “These limited self-defense strikes were conducted to protect our personnel, our ships and our freedom of navigation in this important maritime passageway,” the Pentagon said in a statement. “The United States will respond to any further threat to our ships and commercial traffic.”
“Those who threaten our forces should know that U.S. commanders retain the right to defend their ships, and we will respond to this threat at the appropriate time and in the appropriate manner,” said Peter Cook, the Defense Department’s spokesman. Until Thursday, the Obama administration had tried to navigate a treacherous course in Yemen, publicly pushing for a peace deal while quietly providing military support to a Saudi Arabia-led coalition, which has been conducting a bombing campaign against the rebels since last year. Throughout, though, the administration has sought to keep the United States from being dragged too deeply into the conflict.
If the Pentagon responds with force, it would be the first time that the United States took an offensive military role in a conflict that pits the Saudis and other Sunni nations against Houthi rebels, a Shiite group that has received support from Iran. That changed in the past four days with two separate missile attacks on an American destroyer, the Mason, that was sailing off the coast of Yemen in the southern end of the Red Sea. In both the first attack on Sunday and the second one on Wednesday evening, missiles were fired from areas under Houthi control, and though the missiles fell well short of the ship, American commanders believed the threat they posed was real.
Up to now, the Obama administration has put limits on its support for the Saudi-led coalition by providing intelligence and Air Force tankers to refuel the coalitions jets and bombers. The American military has refueled more than 5,700 aircraft involved in the bombing campaign since it began, according to statistics provided by United States Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the Middle East. The retaliatory strikes on Thursday targeted three radar installations “involved in the recent missile launches threatening U.S.S. Mason and other vessels operating in international waters in the Red Sea” and the Bab el Mandeb Strait, which is one of the world’s most heavily trafficked waterways, the Pentagon said.
“Initial assessments show the sites were destroyed,” it added.
Up to now, the Obama administration has put limits on its support for the Saudi-led coalition by providing intelligence and Air Force tankers to refuel the coalition’s jets and bombers.
This American role has drawn criticism from human rights groups, which condemn the campaign as reckless. More than 4,000 civilians have been killed since the bombing began, according to the United Nations’ top human rights official. That number includes at least 140 people who were killed in an airstrike on a funeral ceremony last weekend in the Yemeni capital, Sana.This American role has drawn criticism from human rights groups, which condemn the campaign as reckless. More than 4,000 civilians have been killed since the bombing began, according to the United Nations’ top human rights official. That number includes at least 140 people who were killed in an airstrike on a funeral ceremony last weekend in the Yemeni capital, Sana.
Hours after the strike, the White House issued a statement promising to review American military aid to the Saudis “so as to better align with U.S. principals, values and interests.” Hours after that strike, the White House issued a statement promising to review American military aid to the Saudis “so as to better align with U.S. principals, values and interests.”
“U.S. security cooperation with Saudi Arabia is not a blank check,” said the statement by Ned Price, a spokesman for the National Security Council. But Peter Salisbury, a Yemen expert at Chatham House, a London policy institute, said the attacks this week on the Mason could change the dynamic. “This will probably force the U.S.’s hand into deepening its support for the Saudi-led coalition,” he said.
But Peter Salisbury, a Yemen expert at Chatham House, a London-based think tank, said the attacks this week on the Mason could change the dynamic. “This will probably force the U.S.’s hand into deepening its support for the Saudi-led coalition,” he said. Secretary of State John Kerry has pushed for a peace deal in Yemen, arguing that the United States can be an honest broker since it is not directly involved in the bombing campaign.
Secretary of State John Kerry has pushed for a peace deal in Yemen, arguing that the United States can be an honest broker since it is not directly involved in the bombing campaign. If the military responds to this week’s missile attacks, Mr. Salisbury said, that would be a more difficult position to take.
“If they do intervene, it deepens the case that the Americans are party to the conflict,” he said.
The Mason was sailing in Bab el Mandeb, a strait at the southern end of the Red Sea, when it was fired upon Wednesday. The ship responded with defensive fire before the missile fell into the sea, according to the Pentagon.The Mason was sailing in Bab el Mandeb, a strait at the southern end of the Red Sea, when it was fired upon Wednesday. The ship responded with defensive fire before the missile fell into the sea, according to the Pentagon.
A second American ship nearby, the Ponce, used to transport amphibious assault forces, was also untouched in the attack.A second American ship nearby, the Ponce, used to transport amphibious assault forces, was also untouched in the attack.
Mr. Cook said that the Mason was “conducting routine operations” when it was fired on, and that it would continue to sail in the strait, one of the world’s busiest waterways. Peter Cook, a Defense Department spokesman, said that the Mason was “conducting routine operations” when it was fired on, and that it would continue to sail in the strait.
An American military official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid pre-empting the formal Pentagon statement, described the weapon used in the attack as a coastal defense cruise missile, designed to be used against ships. The same type of missile is believed to have been used by the Houthis in an attack on Oct. 1 that disabled a United Arab Emirates military logistics ship, the Swift. An American military official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid pre-empting the formal Pentagon statement, described the weapon used in the attack on the ship as a coastal defense cruise missile, designed to be used against ships. The same type of missile is believed to have been used by the Houthis in an attack on Oct. 1 that disabled a United Arab Emirates military logistics ship, the Swift.
The official said the missile came from an area under rebel control. The situation was similar to one that unfolded on Sunday, when a pair of coastal defense missiles were fired at the Mason but failed to hit the ship.The official said the missile came from an area under rebel control. The situation was similar to one that unfolded on Sunday, when a pair of coastal defense missiles were fired at the Mason but failed to hit the ship.
How the rebels might have obtained the missiles is not clear. The rebels have seized ample amounts of military hardware in their two-year campaign to gain control of Yemen, and they are also believed to have received substantial aid from Iran, possibly including advanced weaponry.How the rebels might have obtained the missiles is not clear. The rebels have seized ample amounts of military hardware in their two-year campaign to gain control of Yemen, and they are also believed to have received substantial aid from Iran, possibly including advanced weaponry.
American intelligence officials say that the Houthis receive significantly less support from Iran than the Saudis and other Gulf nations have alleged.American intelligence officials say that the Houthis receive significantly less support from Iran than the Saudis and other Gulf nations have alleged.
The Saudi-led campaign began in March 2015, about a year after the Houthis and army units loyal to Yemen’s former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, began battling to oust the country’s current president, Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi.The Saudi-led campaign began in March 2015, about a year after the Houthis and army units loyal to Yemen’s former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, began battling to oust the country’s current president, Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
Despite skepticism in Washington about the wisdom of the campaign, the Obama administration threw its support behind the Saudis — in part because it needed support in Riyadh for the nuclear deal it was then negotiating with Iran, a bitter enemy of Saudi Arabia.Despite skepticism in Washington about the wisdom of the campaign, the Obama administration threw its support behind the Saudis — in part because it needed support in Riyadh for the nuclear deal it was then negotiating with Iran, a bitter enemy of Saudi Arabia.
Besides providing intelligence and refueling help, the Pentagon sent a team of military personnel to Saudi Arabia to assist the planners of the air campaign.Besides providing intelligence and refueling help, the Pentagon sent a team of military personnel to Saudi Arabia to assist the planners of the air campaign.
But the Saudi campaign has failed to dislodge the Houthis from Sana. Instead, much of Yemen is on the brink of famine, and reports of civilians’ being killed in airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition have become routine.But the Saudi campaign has failed to dislodge the Houthis from Sana. Instead, much of Yemen is on the brink of famine, and reports of civilians’ being killed in airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition have become routine.
In August, the aid organization Doctors Without Borders said it was withdrawing its personnel from the country after the coalition bombed several of its medical facilities, including a strike on a hospital in Northern Yemen that killed 19 people.In August, the aid organization Doctors Without Borders said it was withdrawing its personnel from the country after the coalition bombed several of its medical facilities, including a strike on a hospital in Northern Yemen that killed 19 people.
Despite international condemnation of the campaign, the White House pushed ahead this year with a $1.15 billion arms deal for Saudi Arabia that includes tanks and other heavy military equipment. A Senate resolution in September to block the sale failed, but 26 senators voted for it, signaling growing congressional concern about the Saudi alliance. Despite international condemnation of the campaign, the White House pushed ahead this year with a $1.15 billion arms deal for Saudi Arabia that includes tanks and other heavy military equipment. A Senate resolution in September to block the sale failed, but 26 senators voted for it, signaling growing concern about the Saudi alliance.
“We are complicit and actively involved with war in Yemen,” Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican who worked to block the arms deal, said at the time. “There’s been no debate in Congress, really no debate in the public sphere, over whether or not we should be at war in Yemen.”