Whether airpower alone will be sufficient to deliver a decisive victory against the Houthi rebels in Yemen remains to be seen. The early returns suggest that accelerated air power may not be enough, according to an article published by The National Interest’s website.
The writer, Ramon Marks, a retired American international lawyer who writes regularly on national security issues, noticed that despite the reported expenditure of over $1 billion in air munitions in just three weeks, Houthis’ Red Sea attacks have relentlessly continued.
Marks noticed that the technological revolution in naval warfare brought by anti-ship missile systems and drones has handed a small rebel group the ability to cut off the Red Sea’s strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
This continuing standoff carries dangerous implications for the United States as a global maritime power.
Likely realizing this, the Trump administration has just escalated the Houthis’ campaign, putting greater air power resources (including Air Force B2s) into a more offensively oriented effort to defeat the Houthis once and for all.
While the Houthis have yet to hit a U.S. warship or manned aircraft, they keep trying. If air power alone cannot eliminate the threat, the United States may have to weigh further escalation, including potential naval quarantine and ground raids.
The time may well come when Washington will have no other choice but to escalate further, or be forced to face another Afghanistan-like setback, this time at the hands of the Houthis..