The Houthi militant group in Yemen made the bold claim that it drove away the United States Navy after the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) departed from the Middle East. CVN-72, which spent nearly three months in the region, was the latest in a series of U.S. Navy flattops to be sent to maintain a presence to deter increased aggression from Iran and its regional proxies.
On Saturday, USS Abraham Lincoln arrived at Port Klang, Malaysia for the second scheduled port call on its 2024 deployment. This left the U.S. without a carrier in the region for the first time in more than a year, apart from a brief period in June, and that allowed the Houthis to declare victory.
"Yemen has challenged America with its warships and fleets at sea after it declared aggression against us, and Yemen has stood firm and never retreated from its position," Sayyed al-Houthi told the Lebanese-based pan-Arabist news outlet Al Mayadeen. "Yemen targeted America's aircraft carriers, which terrorize many countries, regimes, and governments, using them to intimidate those who compete with it internationally."
However, while there is no denying that the U.S. Navy has been spread thin maintaining a presence in multiple regions – it remains the only service able to deploy its warships around the globe simultaneously. Instead of being driven away, the U.S. Navy was simply repositioning its warships, much like pieces being moved on a chessboard.
It could be argued the Houthis are playing checkers while the U.S. Navy remains a chess grandmaster, thinking multiple moves ahead. That point is clear as "USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), flagship of the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, is now in the Mediterranean Sea," USNI News reported on Monday, noting that ship spotters monitored the eighth Nimitz-class carrier as she transited the Strait of Gibraltar.
CVN-75 had departed Norfolk on September 23, and at the time, it was speculated the warship would join USS Abraham Lincoln. Instead took part in exercises in the North Sea, but now could be in the Eastern Mediterranean in just days.
Beyond the U.S. Navy's warships, the U.S. Air Force has increased its presence in the region by deploying additional aircraft, including B-52 Stratofortress bombers that were deployed earlier this month.
At the same time, it would be unwise for anyone to underestimate the capabilities of the Iran-back Houthi militants, which now control vast swaths of Yemen. Carriers deployed to the region should expect to come under fire from increasingly more advanced missiles.
"[Yemeni missiles] can do things that are just amazing," the U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Bill LaPlante told the Middle Eastern-based The Cradle. "I'm an engineer and a physicist, and I've been around missiles my whole career. What I've seen of what the Houthis have done in the last six months is something that – I'm just shocked."
As the U.S. continues to make moves with its warships, it must be careful not to make a mistake!
Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.
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