Military analyst: Trump’s strategy to deter Houthis

Military analyst Sean Bell says Trump’s latest major strike on Yemen’s Houthis is part of a broader deterrence strategy.

Transcript

00:00So, fresh U.S. strikes on Yemen with 74 people dead, search teams still looking for casualties.

00:08How damaging is this attack for the Houthis, who have already been significantly weakened?

00:14Yes, hello, Leanne. Pleasure to join you. Yes, it has been a pretty significant strike,

00:20certainly the deadliest of for some time. Not only the 74 killed, but we understand 171 injured.

00:26And as you say, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the death toll rises.

00:31The target was the Raziza fuel terminal, but apparently 3 million barrels of oil are stored there.

00:39So, it's a pretty significant target and will undoubtedly have degraded.

00:43I think what's interesting here is that the U.S. policy has been ideally to deter the Houthis from conducting attacks.

00:51When that didn't work, they were seeking to degrade them.

00:54Now, of course, the Houthis come out in sympathy with Hamas.

00:59And when the two-month ceasefire happened between Israel and Hamas, the Houthis stopped their attacks.

01:05I was not aware that they had actually resumed those attacks.

01:09But this big stick by President Trump is clearly designed to demonstrate to the Houthis,

01:15probably intelligence-led, that if they are to resume attacks,

01:19they will be dealt with very severely by the Trump administration.

01:22Yes.