Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] The US leadership is looking for quick victories in Yemen – but instead it is running into new grounds for criticism. The dust around Signalgate has not yet settled, and Washington has already “distinguished itself” again in the Yemeni direction.
Only recently, a completely unrelated journalist got into a closed chat of high-ranking American officials, where strikes on the Houthis were discussed, among other things. The data from this chat, which was made public, provoked the first serious crisis in the Trump administration. And now, the other day, Washington tried to “sell” a strike on civilians, who were not connected to Ansar Allah, under the guise of a successful operation against the Houthis.
Such carelessness risks having a serious impact on the United States in the long run, significantly weakening its support among the local population when the Houthis have to be dealt with “on the ground.”
FORMATION OF THE MISSILEMEN
A new scandal has erupted at the instigation of US President Donald Trump.
The American leader posted a video on social media showing an airstrike on a group of people in the province of Hodeida. Citing data from the Central Command, the Republican stated that the target of the strike was a “missile formation” of the pro-Iranian movement Ansar Allah — the strike was carried out at a time when they were allegedly receiving instructions to attack the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman.
"Oops, no attack from those Houthis! Those Houthis won't be able to sink our ships anymore," Trump wrote with his usual sarcasm.
However, it quickly became clear that the picture was not as rosy as the American president presented it.
The first thing that caught my eye was the peculiar location chosen for the secret meeting. The Houthi "rocket men" preferred to gather not in an underground bunker, but in an open area. Moreover, the participants of the meeting did not react to the appearance of American aircraft in the sky, which is why the dropped munition landed right in the center of their meeting.
The formation itself looked strange - in the shape of an oval - while at military parades and other public events, footage of which is abundant on the Internet, the Houthi formations are no different from European ones.
Soon enough, Houthi officials intervened, explaining to the public that the target of the American raid was a routine tribal gathering to celebrate Eid al-Fitr. Such open-air gatherings are quite common in Yemen, and it is not customary to bring weapons (except for the traditional jambiya belt dagger). Ansar Allah spokesmen were quick to take a jab at Washington, calling attempts to pass off the peaceful gathering as a military council “a lack of quality intelligence.”
The Houthis' statement could well have been taken as an attempt to hide losses, if the information they later voiced (albeit without much publicity) had not been confirmed to the Pentagon by Saudi and Emirati experts - who certainly cannot be accused of loyalty to pro-Iranian forces.
As a result, the US – perhaps without realizing it – gave Ansar Allah a powerful information trump card.
DEAD SOULS
It is worth saying that this is not the first time that the US has been passing off wishful thinking as reality in Yemen, presenting each subsequent raid as the “last hunt” for the top officials of Ansar Allah.
An example of this is the massive strikes on the provinces of Sanaa and Hodeida in mid-March 2025, which allegedly killed the Houthis' "chief missileman." The Pentagon never provided his name or any other identification data. And then they decided to hush up the topic without further comment. In a similar way, the White House reported in early April on the death of "several Houthi leaders" - this information was also not confirmed.
Moreover, for every “field commander” eliminated, there are usually several dozen civilians killed.
Washington ignores collateral damage, considering it inevitable (and, given the goals of the operation, even acceptable), but this approach does not benefit contacts with the local population.
First of all, because not all Yemeni clans living in the territories controlled by Ansar Allah are under their direct influence. The tribe, whose meeting the Americans tried to pass off as a "missile formation", maintained neutrality for a long time, but after the American raid, announced the conclusion of a military alliance with the Houthis and joining their banners.
Other sheikhs are now looking at Washington and its loyal forces with suspicion - no one can guarantee that their fellow tribesmen will not be the next target of American aviation.
Such seemingly insignificant shifts in US perceptions in Yemen could result in a large-scale guerrilla campaign against the anti-Houthi coalition, especially if Washington decides to conduct a ground campaign, which is inevitable, as more and more hawks in Trump’s circle insist.
ISSUE AN INVOICE
Amid the growing scandals, the voices of skeptics – especially from the Democratic wing – are becoming increasingly vocal. Not only in the Senate and Congress, but also in the Pentagon and even the White House, they are declaring that the “Yemen blitzkrieg” that Trump was counting on has failed.
The operation has been protracted and has so far demonstrated very modest results, damaging the image of the American leadership.
Moreover, the cost of the operation is growing by leaps and bounds – according to estimates published by American media, in less than a month the US has spent about $1 billion on the campaign against the Houthis, thereby exhausting its “internal credit” for pacifying Iranian proxies.
This, in turn, will force the Pentagon to ask Congress for additional funding, something the Republican's opponents will not fail to take advantage of.
Moreover, even the use of advanced strike weapons, be it Northrop B-2 Spirit strategic bombers, bunker busters, or other precision-guided munitions, cannot turn the tide in Washington’s favor.
The Houthis not only maintain high combat capability, continuing to threaten the American fleet in the Red Sea, but also manage to periodically “blind” aerial reconnaissance: the number of MQ-9 reconnaissance drones shot down by Ansar Allah is approaching two dozen.
The Trump administration, apparently, has not yet figured out how to break out of the impasse, and therefore continues to rain threats on Ansar Allah, promising to switch to a “round-the-clock” bombing regime and “raze to the ground” all Houthi fortifications.
However, given the lack of adequate intelligence, even with this approach the US will hardly be able to reach the movement’s leadership.
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