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Source: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/08/07/houthi-yemen-defense-iran-airstrikes-00173096
Cost Rising for U.S. as It Fights Off Houthi Drones
(Politico) Paul McLeary - U.S. forces have launched 800 missiles and 7 rounds of air strikes against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen since November in the most sustained military campaign by American forces since the air war in Iraq and Syria that reached its height in 2016-2019. ice Adm. George Wikoff, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, said Wednesday that the Houthis are well armed and have strong and consistent supply lines into Iran, "and are looking for a reason to use it." While the group is claiming that its latest attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea are aimed at Israeli vessels, the reality is they're attacking anything they can hit. The Navy is knocking down most of those drones and missiles targeting commercial shipping, requiring the U.S. to deploy warships to the Red Sea for months. Day after day, the U.S. Navy has been fighting off waves of inexpensive, mass-produced drones launched by Houthis targeting shipping in the Red Sea. And the drones keep coming, forcing the American military to burn through hundreds of multi-million dollar missiles on a mission with no end in sight. The Red Sea mission has pulled in many high-end American assets including multiple aircraft carriers, destroyers, cruisers and air wings stationed in the region. "We are burning readiness to the tune of tens of billions of dollars for what really amounts to a ragtag bunch of terrorists that are Iran proxies," said Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), who chairs the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness. "Iran is the core of the issue."