Newsweek: Yemenis Making History, Their Maritime Operations Prove Highly Successful Against Failed Counteractions

In a recent report, Newsweek magazine highlighted the significant strides made by the Yemeni armed forces in their maritime operations. The report suggests that these operations are not only making history but also exposing the shortcomings of the American strategy to counter them.

The Yemeni forces, despite lacking a naval fleet, have managed to control one of the world’s most important shipping lanes. They have seized a cargo ship and launched almost daily barrages of missiles and drones at dozens of vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden over the past five months.

The Ansar Allah group (Houthis), is now looking to expand their unprecedented campaign deep into the vast Indian Ocean. They are demanding that Israel end its war in the Gaza Strip, indicating that this escalation could have geopolitical implications.

Ian Ralby, CEO of the consultancy firm I.R. Consilium and a maritime security expert, described Yemen’s actions as “extraordinary”. He noted that Ansar Allah differs from any other entity that has attacked ships.

The report pointed out that what distinguishes Ansar Allah from other actors capable of attacking commercial ships is a consistent series of victories dating back at least a decade in challenging regional and global powers.

Ralby added, “They are showing that they have achieved nothing but success and are living the most successful period in their entire history at the moment.”

The American report mentioned that Ansar Allah has not only succeeded in resisting the campaign led by Saudi Arabia in Yemen, but they have also managed to transfer the fighting to the neighboring kingdom itself by launching a barrage of missiles and drones.

Ansar Allah has recalibrated its forces to respond to another war that broke out 1,000 miles away when the Palestinian movement Hamas launched a sweeping surprise attack against Israel last October. The Ansar Allah group announced that its attacks on ships would end if Israel stopped its ongoing campaign in the Gaza Strip.

Regarding the coalition formed by America to confront the Yemeni maritime attacks, Newsweek’s report clarified that “so far, neither this coalition, nor several rounds of joint US-UK airstrikes on Ansar Allah’s military sites in Yemen, have been able to deter the wave of ongoing attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.”

Albert Vidal, an analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said that the distinction in Yemeni attacks is noticeable “at the level of using ballistic missiles against ships for the first time.” He pointed out that the Yemeni armed forces “used wave attacks with more than 20 drones, in addition to a mix of drone systems, surface boats, and underwater vehicles.”

Regarding doubts about Yemen’s ability to expand the battle against ships linked to Israel to the Indian Ocean, the report quoted Ralby as saying, “Whether we believe them or not, we need to be prepared for it.”

“They’re claiming to be at war with the U.S. and the U.K. Now we’ve gifted it to them so much that we have to figure out a way to extract ourselves from that situation,” Ralby said. “Because it does us no good, it does the region no good, it does global trade no good for the U.S. to be the face of the engagement with the Houthis because that is exactly what the Houthis want.”

Ralby indicated that the United States needs to change its strategy.