AN INTERNATIONAL COALITION HAS BEEN FORMED TO CONFRONT THE HOUTHIS *** pic.twitter.com/M1po0pgGeS
— The_Real_Fly (@The_Real_Fly) December 19, 2023
Reminder that Biden removed them from the terror list on his first day in office. Another foreign policy failure. t.co/yLs7p73K08
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) December 19, 2023
US, Allies Take On Over 100 Attacks by Houthis with New ‘Operation Prosperity Guardian’
The U.S. is establishing a multinational maritime task force—Operation Prosperity Guardian—to address attacks from Houthis in Yemen on commercial ships and other targets as the conflict in the Middle East widens and risks upending global trade, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III announced Dec. 18.
“The recent escalation in reckless Houthi attacks originating from Yemen threatens the free flow of commerce, endangers innocent mariners, and violates international law,” Austin said in a statement issued while he was on a trip to the Middle East. “Operation Prosperity Guardian is bringing together multiple countries to include the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles, and Spain, to jointly address security challenges in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, with the goal of ensuring freedom of navigation for all countries and bolstering regional security and prosperity.”
So far, the nations haven’t revealed what the maritime task force will consist of, such as ships each country will contribute. Some nations, such as the U.K. and France, have already engaged Houthi drones during the recent crisis and have bolstered their maritime presence in the region.
Austin will hold a virtual meeting of top defense leaders from around the region and elsewhere, he said during a joint press conference with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant in Tel Aviv Dec. 18, hours before Operational Prosperity Guardian was unveiled.
“We’re taking action to build an international coalition to address this threat,” Austin told reporters earlier in the day. “This is not just a U.S. issue. This is an international problem, and it deserves an international response.”
h/t Fast ‘n Bulbous