Via The Cradle
Some US officials are criticizing the Biden administration for deliberately downplaying the threat from Yemen’s Houthis on US naval forces, Politico reported Tuesday. The criticism follows an attack on Sunday on several commercial vessels in the Red Sea, which forced a US Navy warship to scramble to respond.
The Yemeni resistance movement launched missiles and drones against three separate commercial vessels. The USS Carney fired back, taking down three unmanned aerial drones. It is unclear whether the US Navy ship was also a target of the attack or was simply coming to the aid of the commercial vessels.
Defense Department and Biden administration officials, including national security adviser Jake Sullivan, have said the US “cannot assess” whether the USS Carney was the target of the attacks.
After previous Houthi drone and missile attacks on commercial shipping vessels, the Pentagon said officials did not believe the group was targeting the warships.
But four other officials with knowledge of the discussions said in interviews with Politico that Biden administration officials are playing down the threat to avoid an escalation amid Israel’s war…
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