Strikes are 'extremely unlikely' to deter Houthis, experts say
The Houthis have long based their legitimacy on hostility toward the United States and Israel, and support for the Palestinian cause. Part of the group's slogan reads: “Death to America, death to Israel, a curse on the Jews.” Before Friday's strikes, the group's leaders had welcomed the prospect of war with the United States.
It is therefore “extremely unlikely” that strikes will stop the group's Red Sea attacks, Ms Porter said.
“The Houthis are very comfortable in a war environment,” she said. “They are more successful as a military group than as a government.”
The strikes could also help the Houthis with domestic politics, providing “a new pretext for a 'foreign enemy' to distract the public from their failing rebel government that is not providing services,” said Ibrahim Jalal, a Yemeni non-resident scientist at the Middle East Institute. Washington-based research organization.
Some U.S. allies in the region, including Qatar and Oman, had privately warned the United States that bombing the Houthis would only deepen regional tensions.
But U.S. officials and those from allied Western governments said the Houthis' continued attacks left them little choice but to respond. Pentagon officials said they were still assessing whether the attacks were successful, and stressed that they had tried to avoid civilian casualties. A Houthi military spokesman said five of the group's fighters had been killed.
Still, for Yemenis living under Houthi control, the bombing was a reminder of years of airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition, many of which were carried out with American weapons and aid.
Ali Abdullah Al Sunaidar, a Yemeni photojournalist living in the ancient city of Sana said his family was “terrified and worried.” They opened the windows as soon as the attacks started, knowing from experience that nearby bombings can damage old mud houses if the windows are closed.
“We hope that the war in general will end once and for all,” said Mr Al-Sunaidar, the father of two-year-old twins. “We have lived in tension, fear and horror for the past nine years.”