West is united against Houthi threat, says Biden as Britain and US launch air strikes in Yemen
The TelegraphJan 12
US, UK Launch New Strikes on Houthi Targets in Yemen
The Facts
The US Department of Defense has confirmed in a joint statement with the UK, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, and Bahrain that an "additional round of proportionate and necessary strikes" against Houthi targets took place on Jan. 22.
Strikes by the US and the UK took place "with support from" the four other countries. The Pentagon's statement accused the Houthis of "illegal and unjustifiable" attacks on international commercial vessels in the Red Sea since November — including against two US-owned merchant ships.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
The strikes targeting the Iranian-backed Houthis have come after diplomatic efforts by the US and its allies failed to deter the rebels from further operations against international commercial shipping and US and UK warships. Decisive action against the militants proves that the West stands united in defense of international law and free trade. Since military power seems to be the only language the Houthis and Iran understand, the rules-based international order must not shy away from taking further action if necessary.
Establishment-critical narrative
With the US-British aggression against Yemen, the West's moral bankruptcy in defense of its so-called "rules-based order" is now on full display. While Washington supports Israel's genocidal Gaza campaign, it's now bombing Yemen for the Houthis daring to stand up for Palestinians by targeting Israeli-linked ships. As so often, the latest US aggression is a recipe for more, not less, violence and instability. The West has deliberately expanded the Israel-Hamas war to distract from Israeli war crimes and will suffer the consequences of its heavy-handed actions.
Nerd narrative
There is a 10% chance that the US and Iran will be primary actors on opposite sides of a war before 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.