We Are At War

On Tuesday, Red State reported that  the Arleigh Burke-class Aegis destroyer USS Laboon (DDG-58) in the southern Red Sea  shot down a total of 17 Houthi drones and missiles during a tense 10-hour engagement. The Houthis are a terrorist group in Yemen funded by Iran. The Biden administration keeps giving Iran money. We are funding attacks on our own military.

The article reports:

Details of the engagement are sparse, but the Arleigh Burke-class Aegis destroyer USS Laboon (DDG-58), a member of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group (CSG), as well as several F/A-18 launched from the Eisenhower shot down 12 attack drones, three-antiship missiles and two land attack missiles. The engagement began at 6:30 a.m. local time Tuesday and continued for 10 hours. None of the attacking weapons hit a target.

At least Iran is not giving them accurate weapons.

The article concludes:

The general location of the Eisenhower CSG indicates they are pushing up into the Bab el-Maneb Strait to provide coverage for maritime traffic at this chokepoint. The presence of the F/A-18 indicates a combat air patrol covering the Bab el-Maneb strait as well as destroyers of the CSG. All of this indicates that Biden’s “Operation Prosperity Guardian” may be taking shape as a US-only affair.

While we must acknowledge this engagement’s success, it is not sustainable. The Eisenhower CSG is not playing the game to win; they are playing to not lose. They are like the team sitting on a one-point lead at halftime and trying to run out the clock. The Eisenhower must be successful 100 percent of the time; the Houthis only need to occasionally have a missile or drone leak through to achieve their mission.

If you watch football, you know that prevent defense is never a good idea.

Terrorism Impacts All Of Us

This is a map of one of the most popular shipping routes in the Middle East:

Ships come through the Suez Canal, into the Red Sea, and eventually make their way to the Indian Ocean. One of the major shipping lines to use this route is A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S.

On Friday, Townhall reported the following:

“Container shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S instructed its vessels heading for the southern entrance of the Red Sea to pause their voyages after one of its carriers came under attack. The move threatens to undermine the global economic recovery and adds to pressure on the US to improve security along one of the worlds most important trade routes,” Bloomberg reports. “Disruptions in the area can snarl supply chains and world trade. Back in 2021, the grounding of the Ever Given blocked the Suez Canal for almost a week, throwing ships off schedule for months and tightening the available of cargo space. That accident was estimated to have cut capacity by 20% to 30% for several weeks.” 

The move comes after a Maersk ship was attacked by drones over the past 24 hours.

The article concludes:

Since October 7, when Hamas launched a brutal terrorist attack on civilians in Israel, the Houthis have been attacking ships and launching missiles at Israeli and U.S. targets. Many have been intercepted by U.S. military ships currently stationed in the region. 

In 2021, the Biden administration delisted the Houthis as a terrorist organization. 

By order of the President and as a direct result of a nearly 3-year policy of appeasing Iran and its proxies, the United States today utterly failed in a core mission of upholding freedom of navigation. The magnitude of the moment should not be understated. Beijing is watching.

— Richard Goldberg (@rich_goldberg) December 15, 2023

 

The boldness of the Houthis is a direct result of the Biden administration’s desperate attempt to broker a nuclear deal with Iran. They don’t want to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon–they just want to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon while the Democrats are still in power. As soon as they get out of town, they really don’t care.

Please vote this administration out of office in November.

Things Are Heating Up (Unfortunately)

On Monday, The Blaze reported that The USS Mason, a U.S. destroyer, was fired on from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen after responding to a distress call from a commercial vessel.

The article reports:

The USS Mason – which is an Arleigh-Burke class destroyer that is part of the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group – responded to a distress call from a commercial vessel. The tanker – M/V Central Park – was 35 miles south of Yemen’s coast in the Gulf of Aden, according to the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations.

The M/V Central Park sails under the Liberian flag and is managed by Zodiac Maritime, according to the Associated Press.

Zodiac Maritime said the tanker was carrying phosphoric acid. The crew of 22 sailors hail from Bulgaria, Georgia, India, the Philippines, Russia, Turkey, and Vietnam.

The M/V Central Park was under attack by unknown armed forces. Gunmen successfully boarded the commercial ship.

Once the USS Mason arrived, five gunmen debarked the ship and attempted to escape on a small boat. However, the USS Mason was able to track down the armed pirates and detain them. The crew of the commercial vessel were unharmed.

On Sunday, “two ballistic missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen toward the general location of the USS Mason and M/V Central Park,” the U.S. military’s Central Command said in a statement.

CENTCOM said the ballistic missiles landed in the Gulf of Aden approximately ten nautical miles from the USS Mason and M/V Central Park.

The article notes:

“The Yemeni government has renewed its denunciation of the acts of maritime piracy carried out by the terrorist Houthi militias with the support of the Iranian regime, the most recent of which was the hijacking of the Central Park,” the statement read.

“Maritime domain security is essential to regional stability,” said Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla – United States CENTCOM commander. “We will continue to work with allies and partners to ensure the safety and security of international shipping lanes.”

Zodiac Maritime said, “We would like to thank the coalition forces who responded quickly, protecting assets in the area and upholding international maritime law.”

According to Aljazeera in 2019,  around one-sixth of the world’s oil moves through the strait – 17.2 million barrels per day.  Pirate activity anywhere in that area could create a major problem for industrial nations.

The Friday Night News Dump

While the rest of us were recovering from Christmas, Hugh Hewitt was working. Today he posted an article at HughHewitt.com about some news the White House released on the day after Christmas (Friday) at 5 pm. The news was about President Obama’s desire to close Guantanamo.

Mr. Hewitt quotes a CNN New Story:

Once a detainee is deemed no longer a risk, they are either transferred back to their country of origin, or a third country that is willing to take them.

Sixty-four of the 132 remaining detainees have been ruled eligible for transfer.

Of the 64 eligible, 54 are from Yemen. But the United States is not willing, at this point, to send them back to Yemen because of concerns that the government — under pressure from al Qaeda and Houthi militants — cannot ensure they do not join al Qaeda elements there. The administration for the last several months has been trying to find a country that will take the Yemenis and provide security and human rights assurances for them.

If the sixty-four are not dangerous, why would there be a problem sending them to Yemen? (Because they actually are dangerous–there is a game being played here).

The article lists President Obama’s reasons for wanting to close Guantanamo:

“It is something that continues to inspire jihadists and extremists around the world, the fact that these folks are being held,” Obama said. “It is contrary to our values and it is wildly expensive. We’re spending millions for each individual there. And we have drawn down the population there significantly.”

Guantanamo is not the problem in creating jihadists. Our values do include locking up people who are dangerous to society. Guantanamo may be expensive, but how much is an American life worth? A large percentage of prisoners released have returned to the battlefield and killed Americans. The fact that we have drawn down the population does not mean that we have done the right thing,

On December 24, Hot Air posted an article with the headline, “U.S. offering $5 million reward for Al Qaeda capo…who was released from Gitmo in 2006.” Unfortunately, that story is not unique.

Mr. Hewitt’s article concludes:

In short, an absurd, serial set of non-sequitors, about par for this president’s command of logic and persuasive argument. Windy and without logic or fact to back it up.  The new Congress should block him not only from closing Gitmo, but from expending money to relocate prisoners –a classic appropriations’ rider.  Given the way the world is going, we are going to need the facility for decades into the future, and a full throated defense of the necessity as well.

I hope we have someone in Washington who has that much wisdom.