The war on the coast of Yemen is a complex and asymmetric type of war, according to a western analysis.
Since the United States of America began delivering strikes attacking Houthi rebels’ sites in Yemen over the weekend and is now stepping them up, US officials have been speaking on various media to explain the attacks.
It is clear that this is a broad and deep policy of the Trump administration, and the administration expects success here.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said over the weekend, "I want to be very clear, this campaign is about freedom of navigation and restoring deterrence.”
Freedom of navigation has been a US policy for more than 100 years. It was a key element of US President Woodrow Wilson’s fourteen points at the end of the First World War.
The US has tremendous naval assets in the region, while the Houthis have ballistic missiles and drones, so the war on the coast of Yemen is a complex and asymmetric type of war.
For instance, the Houthis have already claimed to target a US carrier using up to 18 ballistic missiles and a drone. Ian Ellis Jones, who tracks the US naval activity and actions in the region, put out an important post on X illustrating the naval assets the US has in the region.
Off the coast of Yemen, his post indicated were the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman as well as the USS Gettysburg, USS The Sullivans, USS Stout, and USS Jason Dunham. The USNS Arctic is also with the carrier group. The Gettysburg is a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser while the Sullivans, Stout, and Jason Dunham are Arleigh Burke-class Aegis guided missile destroyers.