US Central Command announced yesterday night (Saturday) that US Naval forces had destroyed three Houthi drone ships, weapons which have been repeatedly used to attack US Naval ships and merchant vessels.
Yesterday, James Stavridis, a retired US Navy Admiral and former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, published a highly critical column of US operations in the Red Sea in Bloomberg.
Stavridis said that in the face of constant Houthi attacks on ships and sailors, increasing shipping and goods costs for people around the globe, "the Western response has been anemic, indecisive, and mostly defensive," mostly consisting of having "shot down numerous drones, engaged some of the surface craft and launched a handful of strikes ashore at Houthi infrastructure that is directly tied to the attacks."
The former NATO commander recommended a far more concerted effort to destroy Houthi command and control infrastructure and most critically - directly threatening the Iranian supply lines to the Houthis, as well as the Iranian vessels and craft used to assist them.