An expert on Yemen affairs warned that the current U.S. approach of deter and degrade the Houthi rebels in Yemen is unlikely to succeed.
Gregory D. Johnsen, a former Member, U.N. Panel of Experts on Yemen, in an article published by The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington (AGSIW) Concluded that the Houthis have been at war for much of the past two decades and in many ways, the group sees the fighting with the United States as simply the latest iteration of an ever-evolving conflict.
Johnsen added that the Houthis see the attacks in the Red Sea as part of a broader political project that goes back decades and that they won’t be deterred because war is good for them for both regional and domestic reasons.
Johnsen added “Iran has continued to supply weapons to the Houthis in recent years, giving them access to technology and reach that they wouldn’t have had otherwise." And "If the United States is unable to stop Iranian weapons from flowing into Yemen – something the international community has been trying and failing to do for the past decade – it can’t degrade the Houthis to the point where they can no "longer threaten shipping in the Red Sea.