US-Led Naval Task Force To Defend Against Iranian-Backed Attacks

ANALYSIS – Drone and missile attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi terrorists on ships in the Red Sea have prompted the U.S. to lead a multi-national maritime task force to protect vital sea routes.

However, this force should go beyond just playing defense. It should go after the attackers, the Houthis themselves and maybe even Iran.

“This is an international challenge that demands collective action. Therefore, today I am announcing the establishment of Operation Prosperity Guardian, an important new multi-national security initiative,” U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement on Tuesday.

Participating nations include Bahrain, Britain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain.

Yemen’s pro-Palestinian Houthi movement vowed to defy the naval mission and keep hitting Israeli targets in the southern Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

“Our position will not change in the direction of the Palestinian issue, whether a naval alliance is established or not,” Houthi official Mohammed Abdulsalam said.

Yet, as I have noted several times, what Joe Biden and Austin should be doing is going to the source of the threat – Iran. One option could be ports used by Iran to ship missiles to its terrorist minions like the Houthis.

However, well before doing that, we could conduct surgical strikes to take out senior Houthi commanders and their missile launch sites, expressly warning Iran that if the attacks don’t cease, we will go after targets in Iran at a time of our choosing.

Donald Trump’s 2020 surgical strike against Iranian terror mastermind Qasem Soleimani comes to mind.

Defense News reported: “To date, Houthi rebels in Yemen have launched at least 100 attacks with one-way drones and ballistic missiles, targeting 10 merchant vessels that represent more than 35 different nations, according to a readout of a virtual meeting between security group participants.”

The Economist reported:

The Houthis’ drone-and-missile stockpile, supplied by Iran, is the envy of many armies. They are one of the proxy forces Iran uses to attack Israeli, Gulf Arab and Western interests. In 2022 they launched multiple attacks on the facilities of Saudi Aramco which is responsible for over 10% of global oil output. It is unprecedented for a militia in a failed state, whose motto promises “Death to America, Death to Israel”, to have ballistic missiles capable of flying 2,000km [1,200 miles] and hitting tankers.

The persistent attacks have disrupted maritime trade through the Suez Canal, with some vessels rerouting to a much longer East-West route via the southern tip of Africa. The trip via the Cape of Good Hope adds around 8,500 nautical miles and an extra 26 days.

Hence, the new U.S.-led naval task force.

Defense News added:

[Austin] noted this effort will fall under the purview of the Combined Maritime Forces — a multinational maritime partnership based in Bahrain — and its Task Force 153. The CMF is made up of 39 nations, and its various task forces help secure the Gulf of Oman, the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Some task forces also focus on countering piracy across the region as well as training and partner-building activities.

About 20,000 commercial vessels transit the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden every year, according to the French Navy. Task Force 153 specifically covers the Red Sea and was established in 2022 to address human trafficking and smuggling of both legal materials like coal and illegal weapons and drugs…

But as The Economist noted:

American, British and French warships have spent weeks shooting drones and missiles out of the sky: on December 16th they took down 15. Yet this defensive approach is hard to sustain. Surface-to-air missiles costing millions of dollars are being used on a blizzard of cheap Iranian drones. All it takes is for a handful to get through and ships and their insurers will stay away.

The outlet added:

That is why America and its allies must retain the option of strikes on the Houthis. Though malign and reckless, Iran probably does not want an all-out regional war and may be persuaded to rein in its client. But it should understand that if it fails to do so, retaliation against the Houthis is inevitable.

And I would add, if that isn’t enough, we should be clear that Iran would be next.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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