US, UK Forces Shoot Down Over 20 Houthi Drones and Missiles

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Facts

• US and UK naval forces downed over 20 drones and missiles fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels after the Iran-aligned militants launched one of their largest-ever attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, the US Central Command said in a statement on Wednesday.¹
• The 'complex attack' involved 18 Iranian-designed one-way drones, two anti-ship cruise missiles, and one anti-ship ballistic missile, the US military said, adding that there were no casualties or damage in the 26th Houthi attack on commercial vessels in the Red Sea since Nov. 19.²
• The Houthis did not officially claim responsibility for the attacks, which private intelligence firm Ambrey said took place off the Yemeni port cities of Hodeida and Mokha, with the US-allied ships telling boats to 'proceed at maximum speed.' However, an anonymous Houthi military official told Al Jazeera the group had attacked an Israeli-linked ship in the Red Sea, without giving further details.³
• Meanwhile, the UN Security Council was set to vote on Wednesday on a US-proposed resolution condemning the attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and calling for their immediate halt. The draft resolution states that the Houthi assaults are undermining 'navigational rights and freedoms as well as regional peace and security.'⁴
• This also follows a joint statement by the US and its international allies last week warning the Houthis that they would face unspecified 'consequences' if they kept threatening lives and disrupting commercial flows in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, which links shipping routes between Europe and Asia.⁵
• On Dec. 18, the US formed a 22-nation international maritime coalition named 'Operation Prosperity Guardian' in response to the escalating shipping crisis in the Red Sea. According to the US Navy, the joint forces are taking a 'very active defensive role,' with five coalition ships currently patrolling the southern Red Sea.⁶

Sources: ¹CNN, ²Al Jazeera, ³The New Indian Express, ⁴Voice of America, ⁵POLITICO and ⁶navalnews.com.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by FOX News. The Houthis' largest attack to date is more evidence of their extremist strategy of holding the global economy hostage in their fight against Israel. The downing of the Houthi drones and missiles proves the West's willingness to militarily defend freedom of navigation on one of the world's most vital waterways. Only the Tehran-controlled Houthis can prevent further escalation by immediately stopping their illegal attacks and releasing detained vessels and crews. Should they continue their attacks, the West will hold them responsible.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Responsible Statecraft. By playing tough with the Houthis, Washington is risking a military spillover of the Israel-Hamas war into Yemen. With its naval saber-rattling, the US is only targeting the symptoms and not the cause of the escalating conflict, which lies with Israel and its indiscriminate killings in Gaza. This is also why the pointless Operation Prosperity Guardian is by no means a broad coalition of like-minded allies, but rather a US-British hegemonic solo effort. European countries such as Spain have refused to join this excessive agenda of violence despite US pleas for cooperation.

Predictions