NORFOLK, Va. — A new video released by U.S. Central Command shows Naval Air Station Oceana-based F/A-18 E Super Hornet fighter jets launching from the Norfolk-based aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower — which deployed from Hampton Roads back on Oct. 15.
According to a news release, on Monday U.S. Central Command forces alongside UK Armed Forces, and with the support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands, conducted strikes on eight Houthi targets in Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist-controlled areas of Yemen.
The release said targets included missile systems and launchers, air defense systems, radars, and deeply buried weapons storage facilities.
Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder insisted Tuesday that the U.S. strikes were in "self-defense."
"These strikes were precise, proportionate, and intended to further disrupt and degrade the capabilities the Houthis have been using to threaten global trade and the lives of international mariners," he said.
Ryder continued: "Our goal here is to disrupt and degrade their ability to conduct those kinds of strikes and to put that kind of pressure especially when there's an imminent threat, I think does have an effect. They do maintain some capability so it's not out of the question that there could be additional strikes. So again, our goal here is to ensure that the Red Sea is safe and secure for international shipping and mariners. That is our only goal."
Ryder noted that the Houthis have not launched any new attack since Jan. 18, adding that "We are not at war."
Still, some members of Congress are raising questions.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia), a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, Sen. Todd Young, (R-Indiana), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia and Counterterrorism, and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) pressed the Biden Administration on its strategy in response to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.
In a letter, while the senators expressed support for smart steps to defend against and deter Houthi aggression, they also expressed concerns about the potential for escalation in the region and the risk of another war in the Middle East. They also raised questions about the extent to which the president’s constitutional authorities can be used to respond to attacks by the Houthis. They underscored that any offensive or sustained military action against the Houthis must require a vote of Congress.
“We strongly condemn the repeated Houthi attacks against international cargo ships and U.S. military assets protecting those ships in the Red Sea," they wrote. “These actions also put lives at risk, including those of U.S. servicemembers, and we mourn the loss of two U.S. Navy SEALs who tragically died while combatting these threats.”