President Trump this week said Iran-backed Hooti extremists in Yemen were “broken by the merciless strike” he ordered from March 15th.
But that’s not the Pentagon and military authorities privately convey Congress or allies.
According to Congressional aides and allies, during the recent closure briefing, Pentagon officials acknowledge that Hoost’s vastness had limited success in destroying missiles, drones and launchers’ underground weapons.
Authorities say they have explained the assessment of the confidentiality damage. He says the bombing is consistently heavier than the strikes brought by the Biden administration and is much larger than what the Department of Defense has publicly described.
However, Houthi’s fighter jets, known for their resilience, have bolstered many of the bunkers and other target sites, and have frustrated the militia’s ability to disrupt missile attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, speaking about the conditions of anonymity, according to three Congressional and Allied officials.
In just three weeks, the Pentagon used $200 million worth of ammunition, along with the enormous operating and labor costs to deploy two aircraft carriers, additional B-2 bombers and fighter jets, and Patriot and Thaad’s air defense forces to the Middle East.
Total costs could go well over $1 billion by next week, and the Pentagon may need to immediately request supplemental funds from Congress, U.S. officials said.
With so many precision ammunition, especially advanced long-range ammunition, some pentagonal emergency planners are concerned about the impact on the entire navy’s stock and the situation the US has to try to invade Taiwan by China.
The US appointed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses to Operation Rough Rider after the leadership of Theodore Roosevelt in Cuba during the Spanish-American war, but officials said it would likely last for six months.
Late Thursday, senior Pentagon officials pushed back the assessments described by Congress and Alliance officials.
Senior officials discussing operational issues on condition of anonymity and on condition of anonymity, said the airstrikes exceeded targets early in the campaign, disrupted the ability of senior Houthi leaders to communicate, restricting group responses to a small number of ineffective counter strikes, setting conditions for subsequent stages, and rejecting discussion. “We’re on track,” the official said.
US officials said the strike has undermined the Hoosis’ orders and control structure. National Intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard said in a statement that the strike was “effective” at killing Houthi leaders, and that the operation is resuming transportation in the Red Sea.
“The Intelligence Community Review confirms that these strikes have killed Tophootie leaders and destroyed several facilities that the Hootis uses to produce sophisticated traditional weapons,” Gabbard said.
The strike is at the heart of a catastrophe involving Hegses and other senior members of the Trump administration. These officials discussed sensitive details about Yemen’s first bombing raid in a group chat on the commercial messaging app on March 15th. National Security Advisor Michael Waltz created the group but accidentally added a journalist.
Trump administration officials say the air and naval strikes are intended to put pressure on the Houches to halt attacks that disrupt the international shipping lanes of the Red Sea for more than a year.
The Biden administration has put strikes against the Hoosis, but on a smaller scale, primarily against infrastructure and military facilities. Trump administration officials say the current strike is also intended to kill high-ranking Hooty officials.
“Everyone should realize that we are chasing these people into the world.
The Trump administration has not given why it believes the campaign against the group will be successful after the Biden administration’s annual efforts failed to stop the Hooty attacks targeting Israel.
“The administration must also explain the way forward to Congress and the American people, given the failure of previous such efforts,” Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley and Kentucky Republican Rand Paul wrote in a letter to Trump this week.
The Pentagon has not provided details about the attack after saying more than 30 Houthi targets were hit on the first day since March 17th.
A spokesman for the military central headquarters said on March 24 that the strike “destroyed command-handed facilities, air defense systems, weapons manufacturing facilities and advanced weapon storage sites.”
A senior Department of Defense official said Thursday in response to a question from the New York Times: “We are already beginning to see the impact of heavy strikes on the Houssis. For example, ballistic missile attacks from the Houssis on Israel have been down last week.”
“As U.S. airstrikes have diminished capabilities and capabilities, they are becoming more and more responsive,” Houthis said.
A senior official who discussed operational issues on condition of anonymity denied that the Pentagon Briefter told Congress and Alliance officials that the strike could last six months, telling him “has never been discussed before.”
The Central Command posts images on social media of jets that are on missions against Houthis, but repeatedly refused to reveal the number of targets attacked so far, or identify Commander Houthi, including top missile experts.
A video posted to social media by Central Command shows the types of long-range weapon F/A-18 Super Hornets unleashed in Yemen. It includes the joint standoff weapon of the AGM-154, a GPS guided glide bomb, and an air-launched cruise missile.
A glide bomb with a 200-pound explosive can be fired at more than 70 nautical miles from the target. Cruise missiles deployed by naval fighter jets could fly more than twice as much.
They are one of the longest distance aerial weapons that naval fighters can use in this type of operation, and are used alongside Tomahawk Cruise Missiles fired by warships.
The use of such long-range weapons directly responds to the threat posed by Houthis’ air defense weapons, shooting down several US military drones in the region. The US commander involved in the Asia-Pacific Plan believes it is important for a potential conflict with China.
The US launched a new attack on parts of northern Yemen, ruled by the Houtis on March 15th. According to US and Yemeni officials, the Navy has been struggling daily with Truman and Air Force fighter planes flying from bases in the Middle East.
The first strike was a message from senior American officials saying it was a new attack on extremists and Trump’s message to Iran, calling for a nuclear deal with the government.
The Pentagon has moved its Patriot and Tard air defense systems to several Arab countries worried about escalation by the region by Hoosis. The United Arab Emirates provides logistical and advisory support to the US military in its campaign in Yemen, US officials said.
Saudi Arabia led the Emirates and other countries in an airstrike campaign against the Houtis for over six years, but was stopped after failing to meet its target. The Saudi-led coalition has killed many Yemeni civilians with US aid ammunition.
Unlike President Joseph R. Biden Jr., Trump delegated the authority to attack targets on local and local commanders, allowing them to attack more quickly and efficiently, the commander said.
Houthi officials say the strike hit residential areas and buildings in the heart of Yemen’s capital Sana, with more than 60 civilian casualties.
A woman and four children were reportedly killed in one of the March 15 strikes, according to a report released Thursday by Airwars, a British organization that evaluates allegations of civilian harm in the conflict.
While many of the attacks have been carried out in densely populated areas, the report states that “the Trump administration has chosen targets that pose more direct risks to civilians and show greater tolerance towards the risk of harm to civilians.”
US officials said Thursday that the Pentagon investigated all claims of civilian casualties, adding that the military would make significant efforts to reduce the risk.
On the first day of the new attack, Trump told social media that Houchys “has launched a relentless campaign of copyright infringement, violence and terrorism against the United States and other vessels, aircraft and drones.”
Trump said this week that our strike will continue until our strike “is no longer a threat to freedom of navigation.” He warned that if they don’t stop, “there’s no real pain yet.”
On March 15, Trump also picked out the Iranian rulers.
“To Iran: Houthi’s support for terrorists must end soon!” he wrote. “Americans who have received one of the biggest orders in presidential history or one of the global shipping lanes, don’t intimidate their president. If so, be careful, as America will hold you completely accountable.”
The US intelligence agency is struggling to identify and find Houthi weapons systems produced in underground factories and smuggled from Iran. In late 2024, the Biden administration dedicated more surveillance aircraft to gather information about Houthi’s targets. Trump officials have inherited the intelligence reporting agency, and Israel has also provided target information, US officials said.
Said Al Batati contributed to reports from Al Mukra, Yemen and Julian E. Burns in Washington.
