--- title: The U.S. Has No Endgame in Yemen description: Even President Biden concedes that airstrikes aren't—and won't—stop the Houthis from launching further attacks in the Red Sea. canonical: https://time.com/6565533/us-no-plan-yemen-houthis/ author: Gregory Brew article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-01-24T13:31:05.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-19T07:30:15.686Z article:section: Ideas og:title: The U.S. Has No Endgame in Yemen og:description: Even President Biden concedes that airstrikes aren't—and won't—stop the Houthis from launching further attacks in the Red Sea. og:url: https://time.com/6565533/us-no-plan-yemen-houthis/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt20b61badcc39d00f/698a442316d884193ac3cae8/GettyImages-1953246187.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Yemen's Houthi Tribal Gathering-Parade Against U.S., U.K., And Israel og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The U.S. Has No Endgame in Yemen twitter:description: Even President Biden concedes that airstrikes aren't—and won't—stop the Houthis from launching further attacks in the Red Sea. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt20b61badcc39d00f/698a442316d884193ac3cae8/GettyImages-1953246187.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The U.S. Has No Endgame in Yemen > Sponsored content. 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A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=8a457879-fe59-45c9-9acd-d03957a5b55f&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: U.S. Puts Houthis Rebels Back on List of Global Terrorists [Watch (HLS stream): U.S. Puts Houthis Rebels Back on List of Global Terrorists](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/nsj4ziVI.m3u8) (4:04)  _Published 2024-01-17. The United States on Wednesday put Yemen's Houthis rebels back on its list of specially designated global terrorists, piling financial sanctions on top of American military strikes in the Biden administration's latest attempt to stop the militants' attacks on global shipping._ by [Gregory Brew](https://time.com/author/gregory-brew/) ## Gregory Brew Jan 24, 2024 1:31 PM UTC by [Gregory Brew](https://time.com/author/gregory-brew/) ## Gregory Brew Jan 24, 2024 1:31 PM UTC The U.S. has launched a new [long-term military intervention](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/01/20/us-military-yemen-houthis/) in the Middle East, as Department of Defense officials warn that plans to strike at Houthi positions in Yemen are open-ended. Yet these same officials acknowledge that the attacks won’t work—not least of them President Joe Biden—reflecting a more serious issue facing the U.S.: How to address the long-term challenge posed by the Houthis, even when the crisis in Gaza comes to a close. “Are they stopping the Houthis? No. Are they going to continue? Yes,” is how Biden [summed it up](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/19/us-says-not-at-war-with-houthis-biden-admits-strikes-not-halting-attacks) to reporters last week. His actions met his words when the U.S. and U.K. launched more airstrikes on Jan. 20 and again [on Monday](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/22/us-uk-continue-strike-houthi-yemen-military-biden-sunak) as part of the continued attempt to deter the [Iran-backed](https://time.com/6554861/yemen-houthi-rebels-history-cause-israel-hamas-war/) militants. As with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the situation in the Red Sea is not one the U.S. can resolve through sheer military force. From the moment the Houthis [began targeting](https://apnews.com/article/israel-houthi-rebels-hijacked-ship-red-sea-dc9b6448690bcf5c70a0baf7c7c34b09) commercial ships and [forcing a diversion](https://apnews.com/article/red-sea-shipping-houthi-attacks-drones-missiles-1acc4ca5ebcaf6fee932a2061d451f59) in shipping traffic around the Red Sea, a U.S. military response was always likely. The waterway handles more than [10% of daily shipping traffic](https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/econographics/the-long-shadow-of-the-red-sea-shipping-disruption/) and its disruption by a non-state actor, which the U.S. recently [reclassified](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/01/17/yemen-houthis-us-biden-terror-designation/) as a global terrorist organization, was an unacceptable affront to the free flow of international commerce. That’s why few observers—including, very likely, the Houthis themselves—were surprised when the U.S. and U.K. [first bombed](https://edition.cnn.com/2024/01/11/politics/us-strikes-houthis-yemen/index.html) Houthi targets in Yemen on Jan. 11 and have continued to do so since. But as many analysts—including [myself](https://time.com/6548968/houthi-rebels-shipping-attacks-red-sea-disrupt-global-economy-costs/)—expected, these strikes did little to deter the Houthis. In fact, the group appears emboldened. In the week following the first round of U.S. strikes, Houthi attacks on international shipping accelerated. They also became more successful—the Houthis [struck](https://twitter.com/CENTCOM/status/1747749078685872216)[ three ](https://twitter.com/CENTCOM/status/1747319317304361156)[ships](https://x.com/CENTCOM/status/1746913313932685597?s=20) from Jan. 15 to 17. **Read More:** [_How Biden Can Stop Houthi Attacks—Without Risking War_](https://time.com/6555620/us-strikes-houthis-yemen/) Besides strikes, the U.S. has also stepped up efforts to cut off the Houthis from their Iranian patron by [intercepting](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/navy-seals-found-iran-missile-parts-yemen-houthis-rcna134050) arms shipments—though one such operation resulted in the [presumed deaths](https://time.com/6564930/navy-seals-dead-missing-operation-iran-weapons-houthis) of two Navy SEALs. Now the U.S. is musing a more sustained campaign even as the Houthi weapons of choice—drones and ballistic missiles—are easy to hide and fire quickly. What is the U.S. endgame in Yemen? The Houthis have said they began their attacks in protest of Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Gaza, which has killed [at least 25,000 Palestinians](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/21/gaza-death-toll-25000-un-antonio-guterres). Significantly, [U.S. officials](https://t.co/fLp3ZFr9tu) have recently admitted a connection between the war in Gaza and the Houthi campaign against shipping, indicating that a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas would impact the situation in the Red Sea. It is likely that the Houthis will wind down their attacks in the event a ceasefire is reached in Gaza. But they likely won’t stop completely. The Houthis have various reasons for launching their attacks, beyond their desire to show solidarity with Gaza and pressure Israel. The group wants to be taken seriously. The show of force in the Red Sea accompanies [flashy social media displays](https://twitter.com/upholdreality/status/1749264285690212640) and regular announcements from Houthi spokespeople who [want to be acknowledged](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/19/world/middleeast/houthis-red-sea-yemen-israel.html) as the sovereign government of Yemen and a new force to be reckoned with in the region. The Houthi narrative belies some important context. While Saudi Arabia is on the [verge of departing](https://www.timesofisrael.com/saudi-arabia-in-tight-spot-as-us-uk-take-on-houthi-rebels-after-weeks-of-attacks/) the decade-old conflict in Yemen, the civil war is [not over](https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/war-yemen). The Houthis control roughly half the country, but they still face a largely Western-backed, albeit rather weak Yemeni government to the south. The Houthis are the dominant force in the country, but they are still jockeying with other militant groups for control. They face a raft of domestic problems such as [persistent famine and widespread poverty](https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/yemen-crisis), stemming from Yemen’s shattered economy and the Houthis’ [authoritarian governing style](https://www.brookings.edu/articles/who-are-the-houthis-and-why-are-we-at-war-with-them/). Meanwhile, events have likely played out as the Houthi patron, Iran, has expected. For years, Tehran supplied the Houthis with anti-ship armaments, outfitting the group to harass shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Iran likely doesn’t have to commit further assets to help them if they come under attack. Capable, determined, and resistant to pressure—the Houthis are Iran’s new perfect proxy. All in all, it’s a gloomy picture from Washington’s perspective. The U.S. has committed itself to fighting an enemy that can’t be deterred, with capabilities that will be nearly impossible to fully degrade, on a timeline with no clear endpoint. While a ceasefire in Gaza would certainly help, the Houthis are driven by motivations that stem from their domestic interests and those of their patron in Tehran. The Biden Administration will be hard-pressed to find a solution to the problem. The absence of one means we can expect more U.S. airstrikes, if for no other reason than to demonstrate Washington taking action, with or without results. ## Transcript Earlier today the Secretary of State announced the designation of the houthis as a specially designated Global terrorist effective February 16th for threatening the security of the United States since November at the numerous missiles and drones towards International Merchant ships as well as us and partner vessel Naval vessels defending the Safety and Security of commercial shipping across the Red Sea these attacks against international shipping have endangered Mariners and disrupted the free flow of Commerce and freedom of navigation for the past several weeks United States with allies and partners around the world has made clear that there must be consequences for those attacks designation follows on our military action last week to hold the houthis accountable for their actions. As always. We are working to mitigate any adverse impacts of this destination on the people of Yemen, including to the issuance of 50 licenses by the treasury Department designed to ensure that food fuel critical humanitarian Aid and essential commercial goods are able to continue flowing to vulnerable. How many civilians the United States as the world's leading donor of humanitarian assistance to yamit? We recognize the great humanitarian situation there which is why we are taking these steps to minimize harm to the civilian population at the same time. We will continue to make clear to the houthis that their attacks against commercial vessels must stop and we will remain we will remain prepared to take additional actions. If necessary the effect that we think it will have will be to allow us to deny the houthis access to the US Financial system. It will it will so I don't think they have a bank account at the Bank of New York, but people have ways of trying to get around and find access to the US Financial system. This will give us tools and thoughts, but also to enable the imposition of sanctions on any other Bad actors who support them something that we weren't able to do but now we're able to do because of this designation today don't know what attacks on those ships has has to do with Conflict in Gaza. In fact, I do know it has to do with nothing has nothing to do with that which is the point that we have tried to make clear and in Marshall and its International Coalition to make to to impose consequences on the houthis. So the message to Ron is the same as it was to the houthis, which is attacking unarmed civilian vessels that are just sailing through international waters has nothing to do with the conflict in Gaza. And we will do what we need you to deter those attacks. We do condemn those strikes. We seen a Ron violate the Sovereign borders of three of its neighbors in just the past couple days and I will say that the difference is the context very much matters. I think it is a little Rich for at 1 on one hand or on to be deleting funder of terrorism in the region of the leading funder of instability in the region and on the other hand claim that it needs to take this action these actions to counterterrorism. So when you seen us take action has been in a rock where we are forces are at the invitation of the yurok e-government. That's the only reason our forces are there and you've seen us take action against the houthis which we have done as part of an International Coalition and after a United Nations security Council resolution condemning the houthis for their attacks on commercial shipping. So I've certainly wouldn't want to speak for a run. I will say that we continue to deliver a message very loud and clear her to say it publicly and the secretary made it clear to a number of Partners in the region. When we are there including countries that have diplomatic relations with the wrong and have conversations with them. Then we do not want to see the conflict escalated and we do not believe they should want to see the conflict escalated but also said very clearly that we will defend us personnel and we will defend us interest and that will not change. So all I can do is speak for the United States and and make clear that. 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