Admiral Downplayed Threat, But Houthis Sever Undersea Cables

ANALYSIS – I was surprised when in mid-February the commander of the Office of U.S. Naval Intelligence (ONI), Rear Adm. Michael Brookes, publicly downplayed the threat that Iranian-sponsored Houthi rebels in Yemen might slice a web of undersea communications cables in the region, saying it was unrealistic.

This, after the Iran-backed terror group, and its ally, Hezbollah, had posted veiled threats to do so on social media in December, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute.

The threatening posts featured maps of the Red Sea area, including the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, where fiber-optic cables run, jeopardizing communications and financial data between Europe and Asia.

And now, these terrorists have done just that. This, despite, or maybe enabled by, Joe Biden’s limp-wristed military response to their constant attacks in the region.

The Jerusalem Post reports:

Four underwater communications cables between Saudi Arabia and Djibouti have been struck out of commission in recent months, presumably as a result of attacks by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, according to an exclusive report in the Israeli news site Globes.

The successful targeting of the four cables, which are believed to belong to the AAE-1, Seacom, EIG, and TGN systems, marks a serious disruption of communications between Europe and Asia.

Most of the immediate harm will be absorbed by the Gulf states and India, Globes said.

Defense News reported:

Asked at the West conference in San Diego if he thought such threats were realistic — if extremists could execute such sabotage — U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Michael Brookes said: “I’m not so sure it is.”

Instead, the admiral focused on Russian threats:

“The Russian Navy remains the greatest threat to the U.S. in the undersea domain,” said Brookes, whose organization collects, analyzes and distributes intelligence about foreign forces. Brookes was named commander in July.

Sadly, and maybe predictably, the admiral was wrong. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only one.

Defense News continued:

The Houthis need not turn to undersea cables to “continue to pose a significant maritime threat or to be able to continue escalating in the maritime domain,” Behnam Ben Taleblu, an Iran specialist at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank in Washington, D.C., said in an interview. “I would expect more anti-ship missile and drone attacks.”

Never underestimate the enemy. Especially one backed directly by Iran. You might end up with egg on your face.

The experts should have seen it coming. An incident as simple as dragging a ship’s anchor back in 2008 severed two similar cables in the Mediterranean waters near Egypt.

In that incident, internet services were disrupted across a wide swath of the Middle East and India.

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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