US Deploys Powerful Bombers to Destroy Houthi Targets; Sends Message to Iran

WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan 24) Late on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin released an unusual statement: the U.S., he said, had attacked Houthi targets in Yemen with B-2 stealth bombers.

Usually, senior officials do not announce such attacks. Notification comes from CENTCOM. But this case was different—as CNN, among others, noted, it was a message to Tehran about the power and might of the U.S. and the readiness of the Biden administration to use it, if necessary.

Defense Secretary: Demonstration of “U.S. Global Strike Capabilities”

“Today,” Austin affirmed in his statement, “U.S. military forces, including U.S. Air Force B-2 bombers, conducted precision strikes against five hardened underground weapons storage locations in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.”

“This was a unique demonstration of the United States’ ability to target facilities,” he continued, “that our adversaries seek to keep out of reach, no matter how deeply buried underground, hardened, or fortified.”

The Defense Secretary then added, “The employment of U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit long-range stealth bombers demonstrates U.S. global strike capabilities to take actions against these targets when necessary, anytime, anywhere.”

Understanding Austin’s Statement: Message to Iran

“The United States’ use of one of its most important and costly weapons systems, the B-2 stealth bomber, against underground Houthi facilities in Yemen “sends a wider message that will be heard in Tehran amid Iran’s confrontation with U.S. ally, Israel,” CNN reported.

Each B-2 costs $2 billion. The U.S. only has 19 such planes. “At first glance,” CNN said, it might seem “like overkill” to use those planes to attack the Houthis, particularly as CENTCOM has considerable strike capabilities already in the area.

The B-2s flew from their base in Missouri directly to Yemen and then back again. They did not land anywhere. 

Thus, Washington does not depend on the support of any other country, including its willingness to provide facilities to U.S. warplanes, in order to carry out such strikes.

The U.S. action really only makes sense, if it has a broader purpose—like signaling Tehran, at a time when Israel is expected to retaliate for Iran’s Oct. 1 attack and Tehran has threatened to retaliate for any Israeli retaliation.

The Biden administration has already weighed in with Israel to ensure that it does not attack major Iranian targets, like its nuclear program or oil facilities. Washington fears that bombing such important sites might precipitate a strong Iranian response. In addition, an attack on oil facilities could precipitate a spike in oil prices at a sensitive time, just before the Nov. 5 presidential elections.

Thus, as CNN suggested, the Biden administration appears to have sent a parallel message to Tehran: keep your response limited or you may also face devastating strikes from us.

The U.S., CNN said, “is sending a signal to Tehran it will only tolerate limited further action against Israel.”

The last time the U.S. used a B-2 bomber for a combat mission was nearly eight years ago—in January 2017, in the last days of the Barack Obama administration, when the planes were used to attack ISIS camps in Libya.

ISIS only came into existence in 2103, when it was founded by Iraqis in the midst of Syria’s civil war. That was two years after Obama’s withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, and he may have been sensitive to the criticism that his hasty move had led to the emergence of yet another major terrorist group.