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.
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.