Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul speaks with voters after a town hall meeting in Keene, N.H., on Nov. 21.
NYN | News
A former US congressman confirmed the failure of the US-led military operation in the Red Sea to stop attacks by the Sanaa government forces on Israeli-linked navigation. He pointed out that his government spends large amounts of money on “failed” operations.
The American newspaper “Los Angeles Daily News” published an article by former US Congressman Ron Paul, which began: “Why does the Pentagon seem much better at spending money than executing a successful operation?” He cited the large amounts spent on the “Guardian of Prosperity” operation, which he confirmed failed to achieve its stated goals.
The former congressman said that the Pentagon’s announcement last December, with much fanfare, of the launch of the joint “Guardian of Prosperity” operation between the US and the UK to stop Yemeni Houthi disruptions of commercial shipping linked to Israel via the Red Sea resulted in the Houthis declaring that they would also target American and British shipping.
He added: “The operation was supposed to be quick and easy, and it was believed that the Houthis were incapable of confronting the mighty US and British naval forces. But it didn’t go that way at all.” He pointed to an article in the “Wall Street Journal” revealing that after spending over a billion dollars on ammunition alone, the operation failed to deter the Houthis and failed to reopen commercial shipping in the Red Sea for Israeli navigation.
He referred to the newspaper’s mention that Avril Haines, the Director of National Intelligence, recently informed Congress that the US-led efforts were insufficient to deter the armed group from targeting ships and that the threat would remain active for some time.
Since late last year, the Sanaa government forces began striking Israeli targets in the occupied Palestinian territories and targeting Israeli and related ships in the Red and Arabian Seas before announcing the extension of their operations to part of the Indian Ocean. Recently, they announced the start of the fourth phase of escalation against ships “even in the Mediterranean” to support Palestinians in Gaza. They affirm that their operations against “Israel” will continue, stipulating “ending the aggression and lifting the siege on Gaza” to halt their military operations “in support of Gaza.”
In response, the US and the UK launched airstrikes on Yemen, prompting the Sanaa government forces to declare that their operations would include targeting American and British commercial and military ships in response to what they called “the American-British aggression.”
On February 19, 2024, the European Union announced the launch of a military operation named “Aspides,” led by Italy in the Red Sea, while the United States announced the launch of an operation named “Guardian of Prosperity,” both aiming to counter the attacks by the Sanaa government forces against “Israel.”
