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☆ U.S. Strikes Hit Most of Targets in Iraq and Syria, Pentagon Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

American warplanes destroyed or severely damaged most of the Iranian and militia targets they struck in Syria and Iraq on Friday, according to the Pentagon, the first major salvos in what President Biden and his aides have said will be a sustained campaign. Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said on Monday that “more than 80” of some 85 targets in Syria and Iraq were destroyed or rendered inoperable. The targets, he said, included command hubs; intelligence centers; depots for rockets, missiles and attack drones; as well as logistics and ammunition bunkers. “This is the start of our response, and there will be additional actions taken,” General Ryder told reporters without elaborating. “We do not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else, but attacks on American forces will not be tolerated.”

Persons: Biden, Patrick S, Ryder, General Ryder, ” Organizations: Pentagon Locations: Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Iran

☆ McConnell staked his legacy on a border-Ukraine deal. He may be too out of step with the GOP to save it.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

He also joined with other top House Republicans Monday afternoon to implore Senate Republicans to kill it. McConnell is already facing one key defection: Sen. Steve Daines, who leads the Senate GOP's campaign arm, is lined up against the bipartisan deal. "This bill unites Senate Democrats and sharply divides Senate Republicans," Lee said in another post. Since then, a group of Senate Republicans has continued to be vocal about the difficulties of having a GOP leader who has an at best icy relationship with Trump. As of this writing, there's a chance a majority of Senate Republicans will stand against their leader.

Persons: —, Mitch McConnell, He's, Donald Trump's, McConnell, Mike Johnson, Trump, Sen, Steve Daines, doesn't, Jeff Flake, Bob Corker, Ben Sasse, Rob Portman, Roy Blunt, Joe Biden, Mitt Romney, Sens, JD Vance, Ohio, Josh Hawley, Kari Lake, Mike Lee of, Lee, McConnell's, Chuck Schumer, Eric Schmitt of Missouri, Jon Snow, Hawley, Alejandro Mayorkas, Biden, Rick Scott of, There's, Joe Biden's, there's Organizations: Service, Republican, Business, Democratic, Republicans, implore, Republican Party, Senate, Punchbowl News, Trump, GOP, Capitol Hill, Homeland Security, Senate Republicans, Capitol Locations: Ukraine, America, Asia, Sens, Utah, Missouri, Trump, Mike Lee of Utah, Washington, Rick Scott of Florida

☆ U.S. and U.K. Launch Heavy Strikes on Houthi Sites in Yemen
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Eric Schmitt | Helene Cooper | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The United States and Britain carried out large-scale military strikes on Saturday against multiple sites in Yemen controlled by Houthi militants, according to a statement from the two countries and six allies, as the Biden administration continued its reprisal campaign in the Middle East targeting Iran-backed militias. The attacks against 36 Houthi targets at 13 sites in northern Yemen came barely 24 hours after the United States carried out a series of military strikes against Iranian forces and the militias they support at seven sites in Syria and Iraq. American and British warplanes, as well as Navy Tomahawk cruise missiles, hit deeply buried weapons storage facilities; missile systems and launchers; air defense systems; and radars in Yemen, the statement said. Australia, Bahrain, Denmark, Canada, the Netherlands and New Zealand provided support, which officials said included intelligence and logistics assistance. “These precision strikes are intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities that the Houthis use to threaten global trade and the lives of innocent mariners, and are in response to a series of illegal, dangerous and destabilizing Houthi actions since previous coalition strikes,” the statement said, referring to major attacks by the United States and Britain last month.

Persons: Biden Organizations: Houthi, Iranian, British, Navy Locations: States, Britain, Yemen, Iran, United States, Syria, Iraq, Australia, Bahrain, Denmark, Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand

Roughly 40,000 American troops are stationed across the Middle East, mostly in countries with close ties to the United States. There were more than 160,000 American troops in Iraq alone in 2007, during the war that followed the U.S. invasion. Image Al Asad Air Base in western Iraq in 2019. Credit... Nasser Nasser/Associated PressWhy are so many troops there? A military coalition led by the United States, including forces in Syria and Iraq, defeated it. President Biden has retaliated with attacks on Iran-aligned militants, hitting groups in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

Persons: Jan, Al, Nasser Nasser, Biden, Israel —, Al Tanf, ” Gen, Hossein Organizations: U.S, Al Asad, Al Asad Air Base, Hezbollah, Army, Air Force, Washington, Operations, Navy’s, U.S . Central Command, Associated, Islamic, U.S ., Pentagon, ”, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps Locations: Jordan, Iraq, United States, State, U.S, Al Asad Air, Iraq’s, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Azraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Gaza, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Russia, China, American, Islamic State, Mosul, Raqqa, Israel, Yemen

☆ Widening Mideast Crisis Militia Blamed for Attack on U.S. Forces Says It Will Halt Military Activity
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Alissa J. Rubin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

His comment raised fears in Iraq about a possibly retaliatory U.S. attack on its territory. The militia, Kata’ib Hezbollah, or Brigades of the Party of God, is the largest and most established of the Iran-linked groups operating in Iraq. (Kata’ib Hezbollah is separate from the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.) The other two Iraqi groups that are believed to have been involved in strikes U.S. targets — Harakat al Nujaba and Sayyid Shuhada — have not announced they will halt attacks. Kata’ib Hezbollah and other groups had ignored the Iraqi government’s request to stand down, but once the attack in Jordan on Sunday took American lives, Mr. Sudani demanded a complete halt from Kata’ib Hezbollah.

Persons: Biden, Israel, —, Nujaba, Sayyid Shuhada —, Kata’ib, Abu Hussein al, “, Pat Ryder, ”, Mohammed Shia, Sudani, Hisham al, Sudani’s, Nuri al, Qais, Hadi, Esmail Qaani, Falih Hassan, Farnaz, Eric Schmitt Organizations: Pentagon, Hezbollah, Party of, Iraqi Army, Kurdish Syrian Defense, Islamic, Kata’ib Hezbollah, Defense Department, U.S, Sunday, Revolutionary Guards, Maliki, Quds Force Locations: Iran, Iraq, U.S, Jordan, Syria, Gaza, The U.S, Islamic State, Lebanon, Yemen, Islamic Republic of Iran, United States, Iraqi, Baghdad, New York, Washington ,

☆ Widening Mideast Crisis Mix-Up Preceded Deadly Drone Strike in Jordan, U.S. Officials Say
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Air defenses failed to stop a deadly attack on a U.S. military outpost in Jordan on Sunday because the hostile drone homed in on its target at the same time an American drone was returning to the base, two U.S. officials said Monday. The attack on Sunday killed three U.S. service members, the first known American military fatalities from hostile fire in the turmoil spilling over from Israel’s war with Hamas. At least 34 others were injured in the strike, which Biden administration officials say used a drone launched by an Iran-backed militia in Iraq. The one-way attack drone hit near the outpost’s living quarters, causing injuries that ranged from minor cuts to brain trauma, a U.S. military official said. It serves as a logistics and resupply hub for the Al Tanf garrison nearby in southeastern Syria, where American troops work with local Syrian partners to fight remnants of the Islamic State.

Persons: Biden, Lloyd J, Austin III, ” Mr, Austin, Jens Stoltenberg, “, Al Organizations: Sunday, Street, Hamas, Senior U.S, ., Defense, Pentagon, U.S, Army, Air Force Locations: Jordan, American, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Israel, Gaza, U.S, Germany, Al Tanf, Islamic State

☆ Widening Mideast Crisis U.S. Blames Iran-Backed Militia for Deaths of 3 Soldiers in Jordan
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +8 min

The attack happened at a remote logistics outpost in northeast Jordan called Tower 22 where the borders of Syria, Iraq and Jordan converge. The Pentagon declined to identify the service members who died or their units pending notification of family members. Central Command said it expected the number of injured to “fluctuate” as additional service members sought treatment. It was the latest in at least 164 strikes by Iran-backed militias against U.S. troops in Syria, Iraq and Jordan since the Oct. 7 attacks. It turned out to be a dud, but several service members would most likely have been injured or killed had it exploded, a senior military official said.

Persons: Biden, —, Mr, “, ”, Lloyd J, Austin III, ” Mr, Austin, Yemen —, Gen, Charles Q, Brown Jr, General Brown, Al, Charles Lister, Jordan, Al Tanf, Syria’s, Roger Wicker of Organizations: U.S, Hamas, ”, Pentagon, Command, Central Command, Resistance, Hezbollah, Joint Chiefs of Staff, ABC, Navy, Sunday, Army, Air Force, United, Operations, Middle East Institute, American, Troops, The Defense Department, Al Asad, Al Asad Air Base, Congressional Republicans, Republican, Armed Services Committee Locations: Jordan, Iran, Syria, Iraq, U.S, Israel, Columbia, United States, Lebanese, Yemen, Aden, Gaza, Erbil, Red, Al Tanf, Islamic State, Azraq, Washington, Jordanian, Baghdad, Damascus, Tehran, Lebanon, Al, Al Asad Air, Roger Wicker of Mississippi

☆ Widening Mideast Crisis Drone Strike Kills 3 U.S. Soldiers in Jordan, White House Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

The allegation, made by Israel, is a serious blow to the reputation of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, generally known as UNRWA. The agency looms especially large in Gaza, where most of the population of more than two million people are registered as refugees. “Behind the scenes Israel has often favored UNRWA’s work,” said Anne Irfan, an expert on Palestinian refugee rights at University College London. Many settled in refugee camps that the agency helped create, which have since become built-up, mostly impoverished urban areas. Palestinians are the only refugee group whose support is not handled under the global mandate of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Persons: Here’s, —, “, ” Hector Sharp, Benjamin Netanyahu, ”, Ahron Bregman, Israel, Anne Irfan, Megan Specia, Ben Hubbard Organizations: United Nations Relief, Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, Israel, United Nations, UNRWA, West Bank, Palestinian Authority, Department, King’s College London, University College London, Refugees, European Union Locations: Rafah, Gaza, Israel, United States, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria

☆ Families of Israeli Hostages Protest at Border Crossing to Block Aid to Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Julian E. Barnes | Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Hamas officials say they will only release the remaining hostages in Gaza, believed to number more than 100, as part of a comprehensive cease-fire. Israeli officials have suggested they might consider a permanent cease-fire if Hamas’s Gaza leadership leave the strip and go into exile, the two diplomats said. Hamas officials have rejected that idea. “Hamas and its leaders are on their land in Gaza,” Husam Badran, a senior Hamas official, said in a text message. Mr. Netanyahu has largely ruled out the return of the Palestinian Authority, in its present form, to ruling Gaza.

Persons: William J, Burns, Brett McGurk, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s, Husam, Netanyahu, “, Mahmoud Abbas, Abbas Organizations: Wednesday, Qatari, White, Gaza, Hamas, Biden, Palestinian Authority, West Bank, Fatah Locations: Tel Aviv, Gaza, Europe, Israel, Qatar, Egypt, Western, U.S, Palestinian

For years, the scrappy Iran-backed Yemeni rebels known as the Houthis did such a good job of bedeviling American partners in the Middle East that Pentagon war planners started copying some of their tactics. Noting that the Houthis had managed to weaponize commercial radar systems that are commonly available in boating stores and make them more portable, a senior U.S. commander challenged his Marines to figure out something similar. By September 2022, Marines in the Baltic Sea were adapting Houthi-inspired mobile radar systems. So senior Pentagon officials knew as soon as the Houthis started attacking ships in the Red Sea that they would be hard to tame. As the Biden administration approaches its third week of airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, the Pentagon is trying to thread an impossibly tiny needle: making a dent in the Houthis’ ability to hit commercial and Navy vessels without dragging the United States into a prolonged war.

Persons: Biden Organizations: Marines, Pentagon Locations: Iran, East, U.S, Baltic, Yemen, United States

☆ Widening Mideast Crisis U.S. Strikes 3 Sites in Iraq After Attack on Base
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

One of Israel’s war goals is to create conditions that will persuade Israeli evacuees that it is safe to return home. John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, repeated that objection on Tuesday, when asked at a White House news briefing about Israel’s moves to create a buffer zone. The majority of Gaza’s buildings have been damaged during the war, according to United Nations estimates, and more than 25,000 Gazans have been killed, according to Gazan officials. Israeli ministers have also hinted of plans to create such a buffer zone since the first weeks of the war. “No matter who you are, you will never be able to come close to the Israeli border,” Mr. Dichter said.

Persons: Israel, Gazan, Daniel Hagari, John Kirby, ” Mr, Kirby, Antony J, Mr, Blinken, we’ve, Balakrishnan Rajagopal, Rajagopal, “, Eli Cohen, Avi Dichter, Dichter, Gabby Sobelman, Rawan Sheikh Ahmad, Erica L, Green, Michael Crowley Organizations: State Department, National Security Council, White House, United Nations, Reuters Locations: Gaza, Israel, U.S, Nigeria, United States, ”, Palestinian, Geneva, “ Israel

☆ U.S. Strikes 3 Sites in Iraq After Attack on Base
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

☆ U.S. Strikes 2 More Houthi Targets in Yemen
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Eric Schmitt | More About Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The United States struck two Houthi anti-ship missiles in Yemen, the military’s Central Command said on Tuesday, resuming what U.S. officials said were short-notice attacks against the Iran-backed militia’s imminent threats to merchant vessels, as well as Navy ships in the Red Sea and nearby waters. The U.S. strikes — the ninth in two weeks — came a day after the United States and Britain carried out much larger military salvos against nine sites in Yemen controlled by the Houthis. Those strikes against multiple targets at each location hit radars, as well as drone and missile sites, and underground weapons storage bunkers. President Biden has signaled his approval for a sustained, if limited, air campaign, blessing a Pentagon strategy to put armed Reaper drones and other surveillance platforms up in the skies over Yemen, so that U.S. warplanes and ships can hit Houthi mobile targets as they pop up. “Are they stopping the Houthis?

Persons: —, haven’t, Biden, Mr, ” Organizations: military’s, Command, U.S, Pentagon Locations: States, Yemen, Iran, U.S, United States, Britain, of Aden

☆ U.S. Strikes 3 Sites in Iraq Linked to Militias Blamed for Base Attack
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Eric Schmitt | More About Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

The United States on Tuesday carried out military strikes against three facilities in western Iraq associated with Iran-linked militias that American officials say attacked a major base in Iraq on Saturday, according to the Pentagon’s Central Command, injuring at least four U.S. service members. “These precision strikes are in direct response to a series of escalatory attacks against U.S. and coalition personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-sponsored militias,” Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said in a statement. The attack against Al Asad Air Base in Iraq on Saturday was the latest and the most serious of about 151 such rocket and missile strikes directed at U.S. troops based in Iraq and Syria since Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza started. Al Asad Air Base, in Iraq’s western desert, is now primarily used by Iraqi forces but still has a U.S. contingent. At least 83 U.S. personnel have suffered injuries in the attacks by militias in Syria and Iraq, including traumatic brain injuries.

Persons: Lloyd J, Austin III, Biden, Austin, Biden “ Organizations: Pentagon’s, Command, Central Command, U.S, ”, Al Asad, Al Asad Air Base, Pentagon, Houthi Locations: States, Iraq, Iran, Iraq’s, Syria, Iranian, Al Asad Air, Gaza, United States, Britain, Yemen, Al, U.S, Kurdish Syrian, Islamic State

☆ U.S. Expands Attacks on Houthis With New Strikes in Yemen
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Eric Schmitt | More About Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The United States and Britain carried out large-scale military strikes on Monday against eight sites in Yemen controlled by Houthi militants, according to the two countries. The strikes signaled that the Biden administration intends to wage a sustained and, at least for now, open-ended campaign against the Iran-backed group that has disrupted traffic in vital international sea lanes. The strikes — the eighth in nearly two weeks — hit multiple targets at each site, and were bigger and broader than a recent series of more limited attacks against individual Houthi missiles that the Americans said popped up on short notice. Those missiles were hit before they could be fired at ships in the Red Sea or the Gulf of Aden. Those hit more than 60 targets in nearly 30 sites across Yemen in an expansion of the conflict in the Middle East that the Biden administration had sought to avoid.

Persons: Biden Organizations: Houthi Locations: States, Britain, Yemen, Iran, Aden, East

☆ U.S. Troops Are Injured in Attack on Air Base in Iraq
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-21 | by ( Eric Schmitt | Alissa J. Rubin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

Israel and Iran have been locked in a shadow war for years, long before the latest war in Gaza began. They have traded covert attacks by land, sea and air, as well as online. Israel has conducted targeted killings of key Iranian figures and strikes aimed at crippling Iran’s nuclear and military capabilities. Syria is a close ally of Iran and a conduit for Iranian weapons shipments to its proxies, especially Hezbollah. Iran and Pakistan Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza Clashes along Israel-Lebanon border Qatar Iranian strike targeting militants Saudi Arabia U.A.E.

Persons: Israel, Ebrahim Raisi, Israel —, SANA, Hojatallah Omidvar, Haj Sadegh Omidzade, General Omidvar, Sayyed Razi Mousavi, Ronen Bergman, Victoria Kim Organizations: Guards, Quds Force, Islamic, Hamas, Revolutionary Guards, Human Rights, SYria AFghanistan IRAQ Israel Iran Clashes, West Bank, Qatar, Qatar INdia Saudi Arabia U.A.E, Red Sea, TURKEY U.S, EGYPT Qatar Saudi Arabia U.A.E, SYria IRAQ Iran Israel Clashes, West Bank KUWAIT PAK, Qatar Iranian, Saudi Arabia U.A.E, Quds Forces, Brig, Senior Locations: Iran, Damascus, Israel, Gaza, Syria, Islamic Republic of Iran, Lebanon, Yemen, Gaza . Israel, Syrian, Britain, East TURKMENISTAN Syria, Iraq TURKEY Iran, SYria AFghanistan IRAQ Israel Iran, West, Gaza PAKISTAN KUWAIT Iran, Pakistan EGYPT, Qatar INdia Saudi Arabia, OMAN Red, YEMEN Sudan, Red, Red Sea U.S, Iraq TURKMENISTAN Iran, TURKEY, Gaza Iran, Pakistan KUWAIT PAKISTAN, EGYPT Qatar Saudi Arabia, Sudan YEMEN U.S, SYria IRAQ Iran Israel, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, OMAN, YEMEN, Iranian, Gen, Erbil, Kurdistan, Iraq, Israeli, United States

☆ Political Divisions Over Conduct of War Roil Israel
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Mr. Netanyahu said that Israel must maintain security control “over all the territory west of the Jordan,” referring to both Gaza and the occupied West Bank, despite American views. Mr. Biden and Mr. Netanyahu have known each other for decades, and the relationship between the left-leaning president and right-leaning prime minister has long been complicated. In the two and a half months between the Oct. 7 attack and their pre-Christmas conversation, Mr. Biden and Mr. Netanyahu spoke 14 times, or roughly once every five and a half days. President Biden has made clear his strong conviction that a two-state solution is still the right path ahead. Asked about Mr. Netanyahu’s comment, Mr. Kirby said, “It’s not a phrase that we recommend using because of that context.”

Persons: Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, John F, Kirby, Mr, that’s, Netanyahu, Jordan, “, ”, Netanyahu’s, “ We’re, “ We’ve, Rashida Tlaib, “ It’s Organizations: Israel, Hamas, National Security Council, West Bank, Palestinian Authority, Mr, “ Locations: Gaza, Palestinian, United States, Israel, Iran, Jordan, Michigan

☆ The U.S. Strikes More Houthi Sites in Yemen
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Eric Schmitt | More About Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

For the sixth time in 10 days, the United States on Friday said it had destroyed Houthi missiles in Yemen that were poised to attack merchant and military vessels in the Red Sea, a pattern of strikes that the White House says will continue for the foreseeable future to weaken the militia group. The U.S. military hit three Houthi missiles and launchers, John F. Kirby, a spokesman for National Security Council, told reporters on Friday. He did not say what weapons the United States had deployed in the attack, but previous strikes have used cruiser missiles and munitions dropped by fighter jets. President Biden said on Thursday that U.S. airstrikes against the Houthis will continue even though they have not halted the group’s attacks on Red Sea shipping. Yes.”Last Thursday, American and British attack planes and warships attacked more than 60 Houthi targets, including air defenses, command hubs and facilities to store and launch anti-ship cruise and ballistic missiles, as well as drones.

Persons: White, John F, Kirby, Biden, Mr, “, ” Organizations: National Security Council, Hamas Locations: United States, Yemen, Red, U.S, States, Gulf of Aden, Suez, Iran, Gaza, British

☆ House Committee Seeks Testimony From Austin on Hospitalization
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Eric Schmitt | More About Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mr. Austin was released on Monday from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and has been working at home while he recuperates. Mr. Austin, a 70-year-old retired Army general, was in severe pain and rushed by ambulance to Walter Reed on Jan. 1. But several top Pentagon officials did not learn of the secretary’s hospitalization until the next day, Jan. 2. The White House was not notified until Jan. 4, a major breach of protocol at the highest national security levels. Further complicating matters, neither Pentagon nor White House officials learned until Jan. 9 that Mr. Austin had been diagnosed with cancer in early December.

Persons: Austin, Biden, Walter Reed Organizations: Walter Reed National Military Medical, Pentagon, Congress, Defense Department, Army, White Locations: Bethesda, Md, Ukraine, Israel

The United States carried out a new military strike against Houthi ballistic missiles in Yemen on Tuesday, the U.S. military said, but the latest salvo against the Iran-backed group left the White House grappling with how to stop a battle-hardened foe from disrupting shipping lanes critical for global trade. The Houthis damaged a U.S.-owned commercial ship on Monday after attempting to hit an American warship the day before. President Biden could order another blitz of strikes against Houthi air defenses, weapons depots, and facilities for launching and producing an array of missiles and drone, but analysts say that would risk widening the war even more. Or he could settle for more limited tit-for-tat exchanges, like Tuesday’s strike, but that would not necessarily resolve the threat to commercial ships, analysts say. Mr. Kirby defended the strikes last Thursday and Friday that American and British attack planes and warships carried out against more than 60 targets using some 150 precision-guided bombs and missiles.

Persons: Biden, “, John F, Kirby Organizations: Houthi, U.S, White, Pentagon’s, Command, American, Kirby, National Security Council Locations: States, Yemen, Iran, U.S, American, Gaza, British

Two members of the Navy SEALs remained missing on Saturday after a mishap two days ago while they were attempting to board a ship off the coast of Somalia, two current and two former Pentagon officials said. As part of those missions, the U.S. Navy and allies have been responding to distress calls. Over the past two days, the U.S. and allies have struck Houthi-linked targets in Yemen, trying to damage the militia’s offensive capabilities. In the latest incident, the members of the SEAL team were dispatched on Thursday to approach a suspicious vessel off the Somali coast, the officials said. It was unclear on Saturday what prompted the commandos to single out the vessel for a closer investigation.

Organizations: Navy, Pentagon, U.S . Navy Locations: Somalia, United States, Yemen, Red, U.S, Somali

☆ Much of Houthis’ Offensive Capability Remains Intact After U.S.-led Airstrikes
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-13 | by ( Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The United States-led airstrikes on Thursday and Friday against sites in Yemen controlled by the Houthi militia damaged or destroyed about 90 percent of the targets struck, but the group retained about three-quarters of its ability to fire missiles and drones at ships transiting the Red Sea, two U.S. officials said on Saturday. The damage estimates are the first detailed assessments of the strikes by American and British attack planes and warships against nearly 30 locations in Yemen, and they reveal the serious challenges facing the Biden administration and its allies as they seek to deter the Iran-backed Houthis from retaliating, secure critical shipping routes between Europe and Asia, and contain the spread of regional conflict. A top U.S. military officer, Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims, the director of the military’s Joint Staff, said on Friday that the strikes had achieved their objective of damaging the Houthis’ ability to launch the kind of complex drone and missile attack they had conducted on Tuesday. But the two U.S. officials cautioned on Saturday that even after hitting more than 60 missile and drone targets with more than 150 precision-guided munitions, the strikes had damaged or destroyed only about 20 to 30 percent of the Houthis’ offensive capability, much of which is mounted on mobile platforms and can be readily moved or hidden.

Persons: Biden, Douglas Sims Organizations: American, military’s Joint Staff Locations: States, Yemen, British, Iran, retaliating, Europe, Asia, Gen

Neither Washington nor Tehran wants the conflict in the Gaza Strip to trigger a wider war in the region, officials in both capitals say. But in the seven weeks since the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Iranian-backed militias have launched more than 70 rocket and drone attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria. The Pentagon, for its part, has responded with four rounds of airstrikes, killing as many as 15 people, U.S. officials say. So far, none of the U.S. reprisal attacks have provoked an escalation, even the one last week in Iraq that killed several militants with Kataib Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed group. The Pentagon said on Tuesday that the attacks had subsided at least temporarily — the most recent being on Nov. 23, the day before an operational pause in the Gaza war began.

Organizations: U.S, Pentagon, Hezbollah Locations: Washington, Tehran, Gaza, Israel, Iranian, Iraq, Syria, United States, East, South Asia

☆ Senators want faster FAA approval for commercial spaceflights
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Kristin Fisher | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The top two lawmakers on the US Senate’s space and science subcommittee are pushing federal regulators to accelerate the approval of commercial space launches, arguing that the current pace could cost the United States its edge in the new space race. ‘Keeping pace with industry demand’The FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation is responsible for protecting public safety while simultaneously greenlighting a growing number of commercial space launches, which have quadrupled in just four years. The FAA has already licensed 104 launches this year, compared to 26 launches in 2019. We cannot be our own worst enemy when it comes to beating China to the moon and Mars,” Schmitt told CNN. The senators are now asking Coleman to respond to several questions, including what additional resources he may need to accelerate the launch licensing process, by November 28.

Persons: Kyrsten Sinema, Eric Schmitt, Kelvin Coleman, ”, “, Coleman, Senators Kyrsten Sinema, Al Drago, Eva Marie Uzcategui, we’re, William Gerstenmaier, Sinema, Schmitt of Missouri, ” Schmitt Organizations: CNN, United, Federal Aviation, FAA, Transportation, Senators, Bloomberg, Getty, Elon, SpaceX, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Regulators, Republican, China Locations: United States, Arizona, China, Beijing

That strategy has unfolded over the past three weeks as more than 40,000 Israeli soldiers encircled Gaza City, where Israeli officials say Hamas commanders were concentrated. The soldiers then attacked fighters and bunkers, all while targeting a vast tunnel network that Israeli officials say enables Hamas forces to hide and carry out operations. Israeli officials also assessed that striking so deeply in the heart of Gaza City would pressure Hamas to reach a deal on hostage releases. Al-Shifa became Exhibit A in this narrative, as the Israeli military claimed Hamas used a vast maze of tunnels underneath the hospital as a base. So far it is not clear that the Israeli strategy is working.

Persons: Shifa, Daniel Hagari, Yoav Gallant, Israel Organizations: Shifa, Israel, Hamas Locations: Gaza City, Gaza, Al, Israel

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