The Biden administration’s ballyhooed naval coalition scrapped together for the sole purpose of deterring missile and drone attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea by the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen is failing.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on December 19 during a trip to the Middle East that the United States was standing up a naval coalition named “Operation Prosperity Guardian” to stop the attacks.
“The international message to the Houthis is they need to cease and desist this irresponsible and dangerous behavior. And again, that’s the message we’re hearing from the international community,” Austin said on December 20.
During that visit, Austin said the coalition would consist of the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles, and Spain.
However, since then, France, Italy, and Spain have all said they are not joining the new coalition, and would only conduct patrols under the command of NATO or the European Union, and not the United States-led coalition — dealing an embarrassing public blow to Biden.
And perhaps more embarrassing is that there have been nine more Houthi attacks since the establishment of the coalition and Austin’s “cease and desist” warning, according to U.S. Central Command (Centcom).
On Saturday, December 23, the Houthis fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles, and at least six drones.
Three days later, on the December 26, the Houthis launched 12 suicide drones, three anti-ship missiles, and two land attack cruise missiles in the Southern Red Sea over a 10-hour period.
And on Thursday, December 28, the Houthis fired at least one drone and one anti-ship ballistic missile in the Southern Red Sea, marking their ninth attack since the announcement of the coalition.
There have been 22 attacks by the Houthis since October 19.
The attacks have disrupted the 10 to 15 percent of international shipping that flows through the Red Sea, forcing commercial shipping companies to find other lengthier and more expensive routes.
While the U.S. military has struck down missiles and drones, it has so far not struck any Houthi forces responsible for the attacks.
When asked, Austin sidestepped a question on whether the Biden administration has considered striking the Houthis.
The Pentagon has provided few specifics as to how the coalition would work, but officials have described it as a “highway patrol” to reassure commercial shippers.
“The forces assigned to Operation Prosperity Guardian will serve as a highway patrol of sorts,” Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said during a December 21 press conference at the Pentagon.
“It’s a defensive coalition meant to reassure global shipping in [sic] mariners that the international community is there to help with safe passage,” he added. “In terms of tactics, I’m not going to get into ROE and what that entails. But the way to think of this is a highway patrol along the highway that are there to cover the zone.”
That zone, from the Suez Canal to the Gulf of Aden, is about the distance from Boston to Washington, D.C.
The Houthi attacks have occurred alongside attacks by Iran-backed proxy forces against U.S. troops based in Iraq and Syria. Since October 17, there have been more than 100 such attacks. Those attacks have resulted in at least 69 troops being injured — including one who was critically injured on Christmas Day.
The Houthis, as well as the Iran-backed groups in Iraq and Syria, say they are conducting the attacks in response to Israel’s military offensive against Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, which conducted a terrorist attack against Israel on October 7 and killed approximately 1,200 and kidnapped about 240.
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The common denominator to the recent terror in the region — from Hamas to the Houthis — has been Iranian support.
So far, the Biden administration has been reluctant to act aggressively against Iran-backed proxy groups in Iraq and Syria — only striking back about a half dozen times, and so far has refrained entirely from striking Houthi forces .
A Democrat strategist recently suggested the Biden administration is reluctant to confront Iran, noting that “diplomatic outreach to Tehran had been a core component of Biden’s foreign policy agenda.”
“The establishment of an international naval task force to protect ships transiting the Red Sea is a start but will ultimately matter little,” Douglas Schoen, a former adviser to President Bill Clinton, wrote in a recent op-ed in The Hill, “if the U.S. military is shackled by political concerns over the chances of a direct confrontation with Iran, the mastermind behind much of the chaos gripping the Middle East.”
“This is not to argue that the U.S. should preemptively attack Iran, Hezbollah or the Houthis,” he wrote. “However, throughout history, when the United States has failed to take a tough stance against actors that seek to threaten global security, we are forced to act eventually, often from a much weaker position.”
“With the lessons of history in mind, if President Biden wants to avoid a wider war,” he added, “he must make it abundantly clear to Tehran that unless it reins in its terrorist proxies, the full force of the United States military is ready to defend the values of peace and security throughout the entire Middle East.”
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