Compass Points - Red Sea Reality
Aim at the right target.
Compass Points - Red Sea Reality
Aim at the right target.
February 7, 2024
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Compass Points sends prayers for the safety of 5 Marines onboard a CH-53 who are missing in transit from Creech Air Force Base near Las Vegas to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar Tuesday night.
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Recent US strikes have sparked a discussion about what the US should do to make the Houthis stop their attacks on Red Sea commercial shipping. Gary Anderson wrote an article, "Forget China, We Can’t Even Beat the Houthis." In his article, Gary Anderson observes that because of the extensive cuts to Marine Corps combined arms capabilities and amphibious support over the last several years, the US no longer has the capability or credibility to conduct large-scale amphibious operations in Yemen or anywhere else.
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Compass Points reader Polarbear commented on Gary Anderson's article. The comment has been edited for length and content.
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Polarbear:
. . . I cannot fully agree with Gary Anderson’s idea of a multi-month MEB size amphibious raid on Yemen to find and eliminate the Houthi missile/drone launch sights and supply points. I understand Gary is lamenting the loss of US Marine Corps capabilities, however, if you are going to conduct a raid it needs to be a RAID…go in (SURPRISE!), blowup something, and get out before they can respond.
In addition, our senior military leaders (and politicians) will lose the information battle by turning it over to our media that paints our Marines as murderers. The US media will take the enemy’s propaganda, true or false, and turn it into “Strategic Legalism” (https://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/strategic-legalism ).
It is only because of the scope of the Oct 7th massacre of civilians and hostage taking that Israel is barely winning the information war against Hamas. An amphibious raid needs to be a strategic eye-opener for everyone (i.e. Iran, Pakistan, and the CCP). Conduct an amphibious raid on Socotia Island at the southern entrance of the Gulf of Aden. There is also the Mayyun Island at the entrance of the Red Sea just off the western tip of Yemen. Both islands are strategically important. Either or both islands would get the Houthi’s and their supporter’s attention.You can go so far and call it an amphibious demonstration as long as we don’t keep them, and you get out quickly.
What is needed is something unexpected. By retaliating against the Houthi rocket launchers and drones, the US is doing exactly what Iran wants. What should be done is the unexpected. Plan A is a blockade of the Yemen ports in accordance with International Law. Running a blockade to stop the export of oil and the import of rockets and drones would be unexpected. A legal blockade would allow the import of items essential to civilian sustainment. Yemen’s oil accounts for over 52% of their exports and stopping the oil would hit them in the pocket. If you run an oil blockade, Yemen will continue to run their refineries until their storage capacity is reached.
If the blockade leaks, it is time for plan B; to attack the Yemen oil fields. Use precision guided munitions to take out the refinery’s distillers. The distillers are a key component of refinery operations. These large chimney-like structures are easy targets and are difficult to replace. Semper Fi
-- Polarbear
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Gary Anderson writes that the Marine Corps no longer has the ability to conduct a large-scale operation in Yemen. Compass Points reader Polarbear suggests a better way would be to conduct a blockade or a strike on Yemen's oil refineries.
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Many experts are saying the problem of Houthi missiles is so difficult the US has no way to stop it. CNN's Arlette Saenz reports that President Joe Biden says airstrikes on Houthi rebels will continue, but they will unlikely stop the attack.
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Perhaps the real problem is the US is striking the wrong targets.
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AP has quoted Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of the Navy’s 5th Fleet saying Iran is “very directly involved” in ship attacks that Yemen’s Houthi rebels have carried out. And the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Iran is using a spy ship in the Red Sea to give targeting information to the Houthis. Yet the US has conducted no strikes against Iran and have done nothing to impede or destroy the Iranian spy ship helping the Houthis.
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The Iranian spy ship could be sunk in seconds with the assets the US has in the Red Sea today.
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Why is Iran immune from US strikes?
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Compass Points thanks Gary Anderson for his fine article and thanks Polarbear and many others for great discussion about US strikes on the Houthis. If the US had more amphibious ships and more ARG-MEUs, the US would have more options in and around the Red Sea. But having options is no solution unless the best option is selected. The problem facing the US is not so much who is pulling the trigger on the Houthi missiles, but rather who is pulling the strings on the Houthis? There is no US system, force, or weapon that can hit the right target unless it is first aimed at the right target.
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The Defense Post (thedefensepost.com) 02/01/2024
Forget China, We Can’t Even Beat the Houthis
The US no longer has the capability or credibility to conduct large-scale amphibious operations.
By Gary Anderson
https://www.thedefensepost.com/2024/02/01/us-cant-beat-houthis/
In light of my previous comment, sent prematurely, I would suggest the US military return the concept of the Punitive Expedition. There is simply no way to separate the enemy from the swamp they dwell in. The scope is aways larger and the pin prick precision is wasted. Destroy their ports, the firing locations, their refineries, roads, electrical infrastructure, ships and boats, freeze their assets, sink ships at sea regardless of flag if proof exists they are targeting. Do not fear the media reaction. They are not on your side anyway and restraint is equated with weakness. Set the conditions for the population to turn on those who bring the misery to their door step.
We need not fear a “full blown war” with Iran. They have been at war with us since 1979 and will continue to use proxies. Make being an Iranian proxy a suicidal proposition. We have no obligation to fix what we break. Leave it broken.
Final thought. If we cannot deal with pirates and brigands while supplying Ukraine and Israel we need new leadership. Those who let our defense industrial base wither through neglect should be held accountable.
I concur in the remarks of Robert Mosher, but offer a thought - indeed, a frustration - expressed by Admiral J.O. Richardson in his "Treadmill to Pearl Harbor", as it relates to the U.S. public attitude toward the current Iranian matter: Self Indulgence. I see no effort being made by the current administration to enlighten & educate the public re this growing threat, and our relative weakness to face it on a global basis. I would think such public awakening a first step in us - particularly the USMC - getting well. Let our judgment be tempered by history! Offered as Food For Thought. Semper Fi!