Hey everyone Me: Kevin Here this is breaking news right now. the United States in coordination with it looks like the United Kingdom are striking Targets in Yemen Uh, it appears that airspace over Yemen has been cleared. You could see uh as of about 30 minutes ago, no flights uh over Yemen territory and now the United States has confirmed air strikes are taking place against to the positions in Yemen one of the locations Uh, these uh, these strikes is taking place is pictured here on screen. Obviously here you could see the Red Sea.

You could see the border of Yemen here. Uh, we could see that uh, this is one of the cities where strikes are taking place at the moment. These are clearly retaliation by the United States Uh along with uh others uh through uh through the Joint Operations to defend the Red Sea to Uh to retaliate against attacks on shipping vessels in the region. Well here's here's some of the updates that we have going on: Uh, these are Uh.

First of all, about 25 minutes ago we got reports that unknown aircraft were entering Yemen airspace from the north. So it looks like the Uh there is potentially a launch of a force from an Uh from American Uh bases in Saudi Arabia Uh and they cross the border from approx. Imately this this region here uh to uh uh to to Target Um locations within Yemen. The White House has reported that Congressional leaders uh have been made aware of strikes against the Houthi terrorist group uh and that they will begin very soon.

That was 15 minutes ago. Uh, however. uh. and then about 7 minutes ago we got an update that Uh sources in various different cities in Yemen are reporting evacuations at Houthi camps and military bases around the city as well as convoys and heavy equipment on the move out of Uh potential target areas.

obviously. I Suspect F35s are a little faster than trucks, but uh, a little bit of a poop storm breaking out right now. Uh, over in Yemen Us and British air strikes have begun confirmed four minutes ago Uh near one of the cities that I've described uh here on the map uh, airport city. We have more information coming in Now over a dozen Houthi facilities in Western Yemen are presently being targeted by both Us and British Uh aircraft.

and so that's going to be various different cities along the coastal region here. Uh, so if certainly, if you're in the coastal region of Yemen I would recommend Uh finding shelter. Uh, this is looks pretty. Uh, I mean it does look like right now the targets range from training facilities to military bases, potentially anti-air missile sites as well as anti ship sites basically anywhere where Rockets have potentially been launched from to attack shipping vessels.

Multiple air strikes are now targeting the Yemeni capital Uh, so looks like the it's the air strikes are going as deep as Uh SAA here Uh, which is actually off the coast? Uh, so somewhat a little bit more surprising. Uh, we've got Uh reports now that uh, let's see significant activity, try to get some more here by us and British combat aircraft reported over Western Yemeni airspace. Several more explosions along the Yemeni coast near the Uh near these cities have been heard. Us officials have now confirmed they've begun air strikes against Houthi targets.

to some extent. this is somewhat necessary in in responding to people attacking our shipping lanes. However, on on the flip side, we also have this risk factor of lighting a Tinder Box in the region and potentially facing retaliation from Iran or Uh or Houthis. As a a matter of fact, the Guardian this morning uh did prepare for this by indicating that Britain and the US are poised to launch strikes against Houthi military Targets in Yemen that is ongoing right now Western Defense sources have indicated preparations were intensifying on Thursday in response to a Houy attack of 21 missile and drones aimed at us and UK warships Tuesday night uh asked asked about a potential Us strike which is now occurring John Kirby said I'm not going to Telegraph our punches One Way Or Another We're going to do what we have to to counter and defeat these threats that the Houthis keep throwing up on commercial ships in the Red Sea Finally, Honestly, I mean I will say this this: Red Sea stuff has been going on now Uh for for probably somewhere around 6 to 8 weeks.

I mean certainly as early as the Uh counter response into Gaza by Israel but uh, more pressingly within the last month. I'm now getting reports from Refinitiv that the United, States and Britain have indeed started launching their strikes against Houthi. Targets In Yemen the Uh Houthi officials are now posting that there are enemy raids going on right now in Saana, which again is the capital. Uh, three explod, at least three explosions have been heard in the capital of Yemen.

We are looking for some more insight here. Okay, here we go. What is this? Uh, two two US officials in the UK are now striking Iranian backed houthis and signed Yemen and response to attacks on the warships. Yeah, we've seen that.

Yeah, a lot of reaction here is about damn time. Well, yeah, no kidding. Uh, it's why I mean how many times does Burks need to say? all right? I Guess we're not shipping again. We've got uh yeah, looks like quite a bit of Us activity.

F-35s were prepping over the last couple days here in the region, so we think, uh, some of our most uh, sophisticated Weaponry in the air over there. Uh, we've got a little bit more of a heads up here from The Guardian that on Wednesday Anthony blinkin, the US Secretary of State said there will be consequences following the Houthi attack while the British Defense secretary Grant shops told journalists to watch. This space Here are here's a map showing examples of Houthi rebels boarded uh from uh uh, you know basically uh uie Rebels using a helicopter to board a specific ship called the Galaxy leader that was November 19th that was just shows you on a map here as an example of um, you know what this might looks look like someone here says B2 bombers spotted flying in the United Arab Emirates Wow. Air attacks have indeed started.

Yeah, from from what we can tell here, air attacks have begun trying to see if I can get any kind of footage out there and so that's what I'm looking for right now to see if we can get a little bit of color on what we could see, but uh, it does look like these: these attacks are taking off right now I Don't know that any of the mainstream media is covering any of this yet. Uh, I've been flipping around between you know, the usual MSNBC Fox and otherwise. So I don't have um video footage yet here, but it does look like this is uh, escalating. We now have a Houthi stronghold City in Ties in the western Uh city of Yemen has now been also targeted.

This is, uh, obviously quite breaking and and uh has the substantial risk of causing more more further escalation, more and further escalation in the region. Uh Vladimir Putin is warning against American and uh English foolishness in in Yemen Some people are responding suggesting the US should just get out of the Red Sea Uh, don't mind the trade route I Suppose they if if they own it, maybe nobody should use the Red Sea Anyway, uh, of course this is amplifying the debate over Palestine in Israel. uh and uh, there are a lot of folks on one side who say look, uh, you know just because the Israeli Defense Forces are are uh, you know, conducting their strikes within Gaza which has led to a lot of uh, child loss of life, women, loss of life and and a lot of terrible atrocities there. Uh, you know this this idea that somebody's disagreement with what's going on in the Gaza Strip which by all means is is horrible.

uh, should not give somebody a license to attack Us ships carrying cargo or Us warships. and if somebody does, there would be consequences. And so it does look like there are those, uh, consequences occurring now. Yeah, multiple air strikes now in sauna and TI Reported looking for uh, looking for a little bit more so we can get a bit more color here on exactly what's going on.

Yeah, looks like uh Parliament to reconvene to approve US air strikes on Yemen Uh, the UK is bombing Yemen tonight without bothering to have Parliament approve it. Yeah, keep in mind usually you have these war power acts where uh, within you know, within 30 days or so you're able To uh, uh, conduct uh, any kind of military operations without the approval of parliament or think in the United States were at 60 days uh, via the War Powers Act Still no footage, uh or information from the region. It looks looks like I'm just now getting a photo in. um, this post says it's since been deleted so I'm not sure if this is an accurate post or what this is, but here's what looks like potentially one of the photos from the scene.

Looking for a little bit more information. Yeah, air strikes by Us and British aircraft has so far targeted the cities OFA I don't know how to pronounce that uh, Ta Zabid, and SAA and I probably don't know how to pronounce any of these. But anyway, uh, well, that's that's what's being reported right now again as retaliation for strikes against shipping vessels in the region. Uh, you could see the diversion of flights here.

how, uh, very clearly. uh or sorry. The yeah, well, the diversion of flights you? how very clearly flights are avoiding Yemen makes sense given uh, given the air strikes going on now. Uh, here's uh, what looks like another photo from an Un excuse me unverified Source here, but we can see what looks like uh, an explosion there in the distance.

Again, uncertain about the uh, the source of this uh, Houthi getting bombed, multiple explosions? uh in Yemen Now reporting uh through from some of these uh African Publications and Middle Eastern Uh Publications In the region looks like it looks like several different cities are the target. Specifically, the Houthi strongholds Go into a little bit more of the prep we got this morning from the guardian. Uh, the leader of the Uh Houthi group said on Thursday that if struck the Hou, these would fight back. Does look like the US has started preparing its uh uh, its weapons in the area for potential retaliatory strikes.

Whether those are Patriot missile defense systems or otherwise, any American attack will not remain without a response. The response will be greater than the attack that was carried out with 20 drones and the number of missiles. This is, uh, the Uh Houthi party essentially Uh. Addressing this, they say we are more than determined to Target ships linked to Israel and we will not back down from that.

It's a lot of talk that actually uh, shipping vessels carrying oil have not been as uh, affected as potentially the Goods Market Yeah. Looking for a bit more here? Uh, so going through? Yeah, Okay, all right, this is all just sort of breaking now. so we're trying to figure this out. Yeah, three large explosions being heard in the capital of Yemen as the bombing begins.

Boy, Reishi shun uh cabinet. He survived uh or or Beat leus Head who remembers lettuce head Anyway, Uh, Rishi's cabinet was meeting virtually on Thursday evening amid expectations of the UK involvement in imminent military strikes. Biden Also cancelled his press conference for Ler today. uh, there was there was an address expected and that has now been canceled in favor of probably uh, keeping a situational eye on air strikes presently taking place in Yemen Experts believe the US UK and other Western allies are most likely to Target Coastal radar and launch sites.

Well, we thought it' be Coastal but it's also going into Sauna the capital. The one added any intervention with SC Fra with with risk, right? Yeah, this is a little bit more of a heads up here. Uh, but I will say it's nice that maybe this will actually motivate some stability in uh, the red SE Because you know, look at that. you get a hot inflation report today and uh, some people blaming uh uh disruptions in December on the Houthi Group.

How politically popular is inflation going to be at the moment? Well, not very politically unpopular so just the activity of of responding here appears to be very important. Yeah, multiple photos Now it looks like uh, houth, uh, one of the Houthi generals has released a statement arguing in the name of God the most gracious, the most merciful message of the Muah Hadin on the west coast. and uh, may peace be upon you for your sons and brothers, the Muhaj Jadin and Uh God's mercy and blessings praise be God Lord of Words, the supporter of the oppressed and the vanquisher of tyrants and the Arrogant Oo uh as we engage in the Battle of promised Conquest and holy Jihad we renew our pledge to God and you to be in your hands the sword of God in which he may take the tyrants and the Arrogant among them. Oo yikes.

So uh. the Practical questions now as these strikes begin are uh as as there multiple strikes taking place now carried out by uh wow Okay, uh. The US officials are now telling Reuters that that these strikes are being carried out by Not Just Aircraft but also by ships and submarines. Let's listen in here.

Oh I Thought it all. There's major breaking news we're following right now: United States Official tell CNN the US military has carried out strikes on multiple houthi Targets in Yemen I Want to bring in our team for more information? Finally, they get to it. You're joining us from the Pentagon. Let's get the latest from you First, this is a big deal if the US is attacking targets inside Yemen The houthis are of course backed by Iran.

This war could be escalating big time. The US and the UK to a large extent have been telegraphing the fact that if aack on commercial shipping lanes in the Red Sea a critical Waterway continued the US would be compelled to act. We are now seeing those actions take place in real time. A Us official telling CNN that the US is hitting multiple Targets in Yemen controlled by the Huies.

We have seen reports of explosions in major Western Yemenite cities like Alhuda and several other cities there that the likely result of these Us strikes the strikes carried out by Us fighter jets as well as tomahawk missiles. those are land attack missiles launched from Navy vessels. There's also an expectation based on comments we've seen from the UK that they might be a part of these strikes as well. Crucially, this is not a strike on a single location.

these are multiple targets and apparently based on reports of explosions from Yemen across multiple cities, the US very much trying to send a message as it works to deter further attacks on commercial shipping lanes attacks that have forced some major shipping companies to entirely avoid the Red Sea adding thousands of miles to shipping routes. It is because of this threat to shipping that the US set up operation Prosperity Guardian with more than 20 other countries to defend the shipping lanes. but that was purely defensive. This is an offensive operation targeting the Houthis in Yemen.

The Houthis had vowed that they would respond to any sort of Us aggression with an even greater response. We saw them just on Tuesday launch 21 drones and missiles that were intercepted by Us and UK destroyers and aircraft. So you see over the course of the last 48 72 hours a potential major escalation in the Red Sea and the southern Red Sea Again, the US now carrying out strikes in Yemen using fighter jets as well as tomahawk missiles against Houy targets. They had warned this was a possibility and wolf we are very much seeing that possibility play out as we speak.

Yeah, this war could be expanding big time right now. MJ Lee you're over at the White House for us, has the bonds right now down about 1.3 basis points, oil jumping right now? about 2% commented yet. but I think it is worth noting uh how significant this action is given that the US had very much hoped uh, that things would not devolve to this point. Uh, this has been a huge priority for the administration to essentially try to keep things in the Middle East contained and not have a broader regional conflict.

given uh, the existing volatility uh in the region. Uh, it has also been a priority for the administration to not disturb the current truce in the Yemen Civil War Uh, Now this action that we are now reporting out of the Pentagon clearly signals uh that the situation in the Red Sea had become completely intolerable for the US and its allies. And we did see a bit of a turning point last week when a Us official said following the weeks and weeks of provocations and the attacks from the houthis in the Red Sea on these tripping vessels uh, that they were essentially giving the last warning that there would not be another warning. And so, given that we have seen these attacks and these provocations continue in some ways, we were very much preparing for a different kind of response from the US and its allies.

Again, we haven't gotten an official word from the White House but Wolf, as Orin was saying, given the Uh significance of this kind of action by the US uh in Yemen, we should expect to hear from the President in some way tonight. Wolf: Yeah, very significant development indeed. Uh, Colonel Leon you're our military analyst. Uh, these strikes certainly do carry a real risk of escal alation right now.

Give us your reaction. Yeah, well. the uh, the big Uh situation here with these strikes is that first of all, they are going to hit some of the targets as Orin mentioned. Huda the main port in Western Yemen is a highly likely Target uh.

there are a lot of anti-aircraft and anti- ship missiles that are located in that area. Uh, as far as the escalation, the possibilities of escalation are concerned. Uh, what can happen here is that the Houis are going to RIS respond first to the ships. the US ships and British ships in the Red Sea Uh.

Then they could possibly Target uh situation. You know, installations in Saudi Arabia Uh, that could very much inflame tensions uh throughout the southern Arabian Peninsula at this particular point. So I think we're going to see uh, some major activity uh in the next 24 hours or so? Yeah, I think you're absolutely right. Orin I Know the US had sought to avoid this escalation this development, but it's clearly happening uh as we speak right now.

And I know the US was prepared for this. There's a US aircraft carrier battle group not too far away, right? Correct The USS Dwight the Eisenhower is I Believe at this point in the Red Sea If not very close by, there are some four US destroyers in the Red Sea There's a British Destroyer there as well. In addition as I believe other warships from from other countries those PRI of operation Prosperity Guardian to try to protect international shipping there. but it's exactly these kinds of ships you need to shoot houy launches out of the sky and these same types of ships that can use for example, tomahawk missiles to carry out strikes on land targets.

It is worth noting uh that we can now say a senior Administration officials briefed Congressional leadership that earlier today that these strikes were imminent. So Congress this is what we did Cover a little bit ago I Just want to get some other quick updates here. We got a um, these, uh, these strikes, uh, are uh, potentially uh. missiles that are being launched not only from the warships, but the submarines.

So basically surfacing submarines. Uh, and and they're launching missiles from the submarines. I mean think about how Eerie that would be if you were on the coastal town and then oh hello, start seeing the Rockets come up. Uh, but anyway, uh um yeah I I'll I'll put up a screen here in a moment too of the ships that are in the area.

the Gulf of Oman earlier today Yeah, very very significant. Looks like this war as I said is escalating big time. and Colonel lighton as you know these uh, this aircraft carrier battle group has a lot of war planes ready to go if uh if given the order. uh what do you think? How like here's a I think a decent Source on this.

By the way, you could see operation Prosperity Garden Uh partners and the ships that are present there, the various different Uh ships part of the flotilla on board the USS DD Eisenhower They are going to be used to strike targets that are more complex uh, than what you would normally strike with a Tomahawk missile. Uh, some of the areas that they mind strike would include radar installations. Uh, they will also probably go after some of the command and control Uh nodes that the hotties have. Uh, so that is basically what we're looking at here.

I see I think a lot of activity in the northern part of Yemen and in the western part which are the areas that the hoodis currently control. I Want to bring in CNN's Chief National Security correspondent Alex Maror he's getting more information, Tell us more about the US allies and their involvement in what's going on Alex Well, wolf, it was a major consideration in carrying out the military operation that we are now seeing unfold. the US not do this alone. There is a belief uh that the British would also have a hand in this and potentially others as well.

Uh, the US really wanted to have Global support when it came to retaliating uh against the Houi rebels in Yemen Uh, you have this Coalition of 22 country's operation Prosperity Guardian that was set up uh late last year in order to protect ships in the Red Sea and then just last week uh, the Us and other countries warning of consequences uh to the Houthis if they consider continue to carry out attacks against commercial shipping in the Red Sea That was a warning that was issued by the White House alongside 11 other countries wol if there was a real sense that this was imminent. As soon as that statement was put out, a senior Administration official saying that there would not be another warning. Uh, we have seen several attempted attacks and attacks by the Houthis in the past few days and here we are seeing the response. So as Orin and the Colonel have been alluding to the the the question now is what does what do the Houthis do? What does Iran do In reaction to tonight's strikes, we heard from a senior Houie leader uh, just earlier today who said that they would confront America and make it kneel down.

I've been told by numerous Us officials uh, that it is clear, uh, that that Iran's hand is clear in all of these operations and attacks, Uh, that the Houthis carry out. So of course, there's a real uh, concern over what Iran will do here. I will tell you: the US officials don't think that Iran necessarily wants to escalate and open up any kind kind of fullscale war or or major front with Iran Uh, but they're certainly eager to stir the pot. So what we're seeing here now is an attempt to deescalate the situation.

Essentially, give the Houthis a bloody nose and and and give them a message, uh, to back down and stop carrying out these operations in the Red Sea Wolf You know I'm just curious or and you're there at the Pentagon Uh, clearly an operation like this would would have been planned for sometime. You don't just go ahead and expand this war and it comes as the Defense Secretary Lori Austin is apparently still in the hospital. Update us on that and the connection, if any, to what's going on. A lot of people really upset that he kept that a secret.

By the way, that he was in the hospital. There was a point where apparently Biden says he didn't even know that his defense secretary was in the hospital which was crazy Hours perhaps not even in the coming days here. So the Pentagon has been adamant and so has the White House that Austin can do his job from. Walter Reed It is a military Medical Center that has the facilities necessary to conduct secure Communications and this affect effectively is their opportunity to prove it.

Now we don't know yet. his extent of involvement. Is he able to monitor this in real time? What are the communications like between him and the President at this time? Was this strike pre-authorized In other words, did he have to give a final sign off while in the hospital? These are all frankly questions that we have right now. The bottom line is this: this entire process and the National Security perspective was able to move forward.

So Alex What should we be looking for? Okay, by the way, a lot of the photos that we're getting aren't actually like. some people are starting to use photos from uh, uh, other uh, conflicts and Wars So it's really difficult right now to figure out what what actual footage is real, uh, relative to now. But what we do know is that air strikes are taking place. So if you're just now joining air strikes have been taking place, they've been targeting cities uh and again.

sorry I don't I've never pronounced these in my life but cities like Hoba Tais Zabid as well as the capital Z anyway, the capital of Yemen Okay So we've got a lot going on. At least four different cities hit, uh, so far. uh and uh, we can see those here on a map just so you can see those a little bit better. We'll throw those up here.

so we're getting Coastal attacks on the side here. Uh, and but we're also going as far inland as the capital here. Uh, so a lot of strikes again. We believe these air strikes were launched not only potentially from uh, the aircraft carrier that we have uh, the uh, uh, Eisenhower aircraft carrier, but also uh, potentially from airports in Saudi Arabia where uh, us defensive weapons are also now on high alert for retaliation.

Uh, let's go, let's go take a get a slightly let's see what they're talking about here. Hold on. We do begin out front tonight with the breaking news: the United States striking the Z Okay, thank you, a Us official telling CNN that right now the US military is carrying out strikes with fighter jets and tomahawk missiles on Yemen their target Iranian backed militia houthis and these strikes come after an emergency cabinet meeting in the United Kingdom America's closest Ally Uh. To be clear, these strikes in the Middle East are very significant.

United States is now finally taking action and it could change the Israel Hamas War into something much bigger. The Houthis have been relentlessly attacking ships in the Red Sea since November reports today of another attack the 27th by the group in the area under two months according to the Pentagon. Now, the Houthis are already vowing to retaliate to any strikes a senior member moments ago saying and I quote, we will confront America make it kneel down and burn its battleships and all its bases and everyone who cooperates with it no matter the cost. And as we said, a very significant moment here.

the United States launching multiple strikes in Yemen Tonight So much to get to with this breaking development. I Want to start with MJ Lee out front, live outside the White House and MJ a tense situation tonight. it is of course the darkest hours of the night. uh, just coming.

uh, Before Dawn in Yemen and now a series of strikes. What are you learning? Yeah. Aaron We are certainly waiting for That official word from the White House on these attacks in Yemen against these Houie positions. but Us official telling me and confirming uh that this isn't just the US military, but it these are actions that are being taken uh with other countries including uh the UK uh.

What we should make clear is that Us officials have telecast and recent days very clearly uh that the situation in the Red Sea had become intolerable and unacceptable and in recent days uh, Us officials had gone as far as to say that they were issuing their final warnings uh, to the Houthi, so it was certainly expected. Uh, that in the coming days, given that the Houthi provocations and the attacks had continued on these shpping vessels in the Red Sea, that some kind of a different response could be coming again from the US and its allies. Now, Uh, striking in Yemen is something that the Us had hoped that it could very much avoid. This was almost a last resort situation given that the US is so uh set on trying to prevent the situation in the Middle East from escalating.

They also just do not want to disturb. uh, the current truth in the Yemen Civil War Uh, but again, I think it's very much expected given the gravity of the situation and the significance of this action by the US and others. Uh, that we should be hearing in some form from the President directly later this evening. Aaron All right, thank you very much.

MJ Lee Yeah, the escalation risk here is pretty huge. mostly because uh, there, there's going to be some kind of retaliation every time something like this happens, civilians end up getting hit as well. Uh, I mean I I would pretty much say almost every single time. Uh.

and and the problem is then you, You get responses. and at one point does Iran potentially get involved in this? Uh, hopefully never. But this is a Tinder Box and this is how in the Middle East you can start uh World War III I mean I Just met with Ark and Vas Brett Whitton and I asked him I go, what's you know? what's the what's the risk for 2024, he goes. something's going to break.

He's not very optimistic about something not breaking and War could be a way of pushing our Uh economy to the edge uh or or to across Uh, the level of Uh breaking 12 or more than 12 I I should say different sites in Yemen Belonging to the Houthis, those targets included radar sites as well as storage and launch sites for ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and Uavs. That's significant because it's those three types of weapons that the Houthis have used to. Target International Shipping in the Red Sea Obviously one of the world's most critical waterways, so the US and the UK very much trying to send a message here that this needs to stop. We have seen according to the US 27 times where Uh, the houthis have launched attacks on shipping in the Red Sea At first they were trying to Target ships that had some sort of connection to Israel either coming or going from or part ownersh ship.

but according to the US Navy's fifth Fleet which operates in the region, many of the last dozen attacks had no connection at all to Israel the US feeling compelled because of the threats to international shipping to set up operation Prosperity Guardian and protect shipping in the Red Sea but that was purely defensive. This obviously goes well beyond that. After multiple warnings to both the Houthis and to Iran the Houthi of course an Iranian proxy that these attacks had to stop the US and the UK feeling compelled to take action here. So again, more than a dozen targets struck, including radar systems as well as Uh storage and launch platforms and sites for ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and Uavs and the US using not just fighter jets but also surface ships and submarines to carry out what app appears to also keep in mind the White House apparently and reportedly gave Congress members about a 15minute heads up that these reports were about to begin.

Uh, we did see Yemeni Uh airspace clear out and not only did Yemeni airspace clear out before this, but then there were reports of of aircraft entering uh Uh that were not showing up on flight. Radars Rock R is our political and Global Affairs analyst and retired US Army Major General James Spyer Marks also joins me. So General here we are finally 27 strikes Uh on on shipping Uh, many of them Us ships targeted the US now tonight responding hitting more than a dozen Houthi targets uh in Yemen the houth of course an Iranian back Uh militia Iranian proxy Uh and coming from the air coming from under the sea, coming from Uh ships on the your reaction I Think it's well overdue that the timing of this is important. Yes, the United States has previously been very, very precise in its attack against the hoodies.

It's kind of been a tip for tap. this is an escalation and I think that's a yeah. this is like what Israel did to Gaza what's turning into that potentially which is bad that I think this would exceed. Certainly, at a minimum, would meet those prescriptions for proportionality and you have to to go after as Orin has just reported both The Archers as well as the arrows.

In military terms, go after the inventory, go after the capabilities, go after the leadership, go after the launch capabilities as well. That's what we're seeing right now and important the message needs to be. There's no Sanctuary for the Htis where where they are in Yemen The only Sanctuary that exists is with within the border of Iran. Nobody's going to conduct operations across the border into Iran, but the hoodies need to understand.

Unacceptable. This needs to be a crushing blow. Well, that's the Cru The Crucial question. Brock Uh, Is it a crushing blow? Obviously, there's a statement being made in the fact that there's an emergency cabinet meeting in the UK and the UK is involved and it's more than a dozen targets and it's coming from three different sources.

There's a statement being made there. Uh, but how will it be received? Well, it's definitely not a crushing blow. Uh, it's a beginning. It's a first step.

Uh, yeah, Well, we. We also don't know how long this is going to keep going and what kind of retaliation there's going to be. So I I Don't know. I Of course it's too soon to talk about a crushing blow, but the question is we the crushing just started.

Bro, How do you know? Come on man. uh. And they're going to respond. It's pretty clear they said that they're going to respond.

They will do it. And now the question is, how far will they go? Will they just attack us? us vessels in the Red Sea Or are they going to start worried about how far we're going to go? General That's the that's the question here. So the statement from the senior member of the Houthis tonight and this statement came just before we learned the strikes were launched. So there was anticipation that it was going to happen.

You know, we knew about the cabinet meeting. We knew it was imminent. Uh, and then they happened. The quote we will confront America Make it kneel down and burn its battleships and all its bases and everyone who cooperates with it no matter the cost.

Yeah, we've heard the same quote like four times. Let's jump in over here for a moment, being able to confirm that two US officials uh telling us that the US and the UK have already begun. Uh, these strikes. but this comes after Uh, you know the National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby earlier today warned the Houth of uh, any attacks on any ships.

and of course, uh, the White House has repeatedly issued that warning, but up until now really hadn't uh had much of an effect. Now, the US and the UK had been considering this uh for some time and the the US Uh had already responded by shooting down missiles and drones in the region. The US Navy also recently sank Um. Houthi boats that had file fired on commercial ships.

But this is an escalation. Uh, going to these landbased targets Again, we don't have confirmation on exactly how many targets were hit. Uh, we expect to learn more from that in just a short time. Uh from the White House but again, no confirmation yet.

official confirmation from the National Security Council. But the breaking news are as youve been reporting that those two two Uh Us officials do confirm that these strikes are underway inside Yemen we've been. Yeah, no kidding. Well, uh, not only that, I want you to see this.

There's now talk about the US uh, Us bases, a US ship being attacked, and potentially Us Uh, US base is currently under attack in Iraq by Iranian backed sources. This is per the Uh Iran Observer. Let's look at that. Iran Observer.

Let's let's see if we can try to get a little a little bit of uh Intel over here. Iran Observer Yeah, look look at this. look at this. Uh so I I don't I don't know how credible uh this Iranian news uh company here is uh, whatever this is breaking us bases are under attack in Iraq Well, it says by Iraqi resistance forces Okay, well that's a little different.

Uh Yemen launched cruise missiles towards US Navy ships 21 minutes ago I'm not Again, sure if we can verify any of this. Yemenis have launched dozens of ballistic missiles towards several targets. Uh, air strikes on uh, Yemeni capital I Do think I have some footage now that I is coming through that seems legitimate of uh, some of the air strikes on the Uh Capital uh in Yemen So standby for that. Here we go.

Wow. and that's at least three. Yikes! All right, let's keep listening here that are putting our Personnel at Great risk. That appears to be what this attack was about as a defensive attack, but is reaching in uh to attack those forces.

But before they attack us, that's number one. Number Two is making sure that we don't let this escalate into a broader conflict so that it's it's proportional that it's controlled that we're looking very closely What Iran is doing okay David Sachs Uh, just tweeted at a time when the US is plunging into another Middle East war and radical groups throughout the region would like to retaliate against us. It's a good thing we have an airtight border so no terrorists can get in. rip.

Uh, okay. Uh. US Military officials say strikes against Yemen Uh, the Yemen's houthis have successfully hit their targets. So I wonder if that's an implication that the attack is uh or or or the mission is is uh, complete at this point? I'm not sure if this is uh, get in and get out.

uh, trying to get more information on exactly this we'll listen in here for America Make it kneel down and burn its battleships. Uh. tonight. dude, she's quoting the same quote again.

Do you Congressman take that seriously. Do you think they have the ability to do any sort of an action that would cause this to escalate into something significantly bigger? Well, I Don't take seriously those who are mounting criticism saying that we should strike back that we should be more aggressive, nor do I take those folks seriously. Uh, on the other side, the terrorists and the houthis that are saber rattling and saying things that they don't have the capability to do. The simple fact of the matter is, these are challenging things.

That's why you have cleare eyed, smart, intelligent National Security Professionals At the administration making sure that we are smart that we have a proportionate response that we are defending ourselves. but we're not escalate escalating either. Uh, and that takes calculation that takes Uh intelligence that takes the ability to look at the various streams of intelligence and risk that we are facing and that we're responding in a proportional way. Uh, so that's what they're doing I Have a great confidence in this this.

Administration To do that in the the right and and reasonable way. And and and and have you gotten any briefing for them or understanding about where this is? You hear more than a dozen targets? Is that your understanding of? that's it And then you see what they do and then there's going to be more or what's your understanding about where we are in this well? I Sit on the House Intelligence Committee and that the House Intelligence Committee has briefed regularly on the conflict in the Middle East Uh, the the threat from Iranian proxies, Iranian militias, houthi militias uh, and everything going on uh in Gaza as well. So we CL We pay very close attention to this. These strikes, of course just happened.

so we haven't been briefed on the specifics of these strikes. but I expect that we will be in the days ahead. All right. Well, I appreciate your time.

Congressman Okay, I I'm hearing now. Air Strike Sirens Uh, potentially being reported uh from the US Embassy compound in the international green zone of Baghdad So in other words, uh I mean attacks being launched on America uh in multi multiple different areas now. Uh, including initial reports here of potentially a barrage of anti-ship missiles being launched against uh, uh, the um uh, us warships in the region. this is, uh, potentially a um I mean obviously it's a it's a Counterattack uh but there is a report here that potentially one sh one US ship may have been hit uh at this point? uh, still waiting to get uh some more footage from the region, but does look like Us bases or embassies or otherwise may be getting hit uh in retaliation.

Let's keep listening in here, capable of launching as the US carried out a strike along with the UK on uh, more than a dozen or so Targets in Yemen So interesting that now too we learn about the operations of a US submarine as it relates to this very significant moment and this significant attack. ER Orin thank you very much and Brock R Major General spider marks are back. Let's pop for a moment just to see if we can get another perspective. Okay, yeah, not from forensic file sorry, it was supposed to be the other way was pointing out some of the chaos that we're seeing in the country right now, not just domestically, but internationally.

and this is a really serious situation. I Mean, it's a serious situation that the Houes have been bombing shipping routes and that that affects so many things. Something needs to be done about this, but we've also been in Conflict either in proxy way or otherwise with these people for quite some time now. This is the third Administration and you want to have good communication with the American people.

You also want to do things in a constitutional Manner and again, Biden is not the first president to violate what the Constitution says about how Congress should be involved when launching air strikes. But this is a good example of why Congress should be involved because we do need to think about to the point that what's next? Yeah, well, and and also uh, how we're going to deal with this being involved in a global conflict in multiple Parts when we're broke? Yes, and uh, it. But but it it matters to people and how we do, it matters and it doesn't seem like a lot of our defense industry or that are okay. So I'm just hearing now that uh, the Pentagon says it may have by the way, I'm throwing these updates uh as my sort of like little notepad on Ec.com If you want to see them there, go to Ec.com uh and then that way you can catch up.

So if you're just now joining this, you could type Eac.edu Hearing that the Pentagon saying they've bombed 10 Targets in Yemen including a UAV production facility uh, unmanned aerial vehicle uh, waiting to get uh some more content here? Uh, or updates rather two to three weeks. Um, I think the White House was very hesitant. Uh. when the Pentagon first uh brought the initial plans for Uh military retaliation to what the Houis have been have been doing since uh, mid November and Uh, Us officials told me in recent days that what was important to the White House was first to try and mobilize some sort of an International Coalition so that it won't be seen as the US going at oil up 1.7% The UK and behind the US and UK strike are at least uh, two dozen other countries that are involved in this task force in the Red Sea and that signed the this statement warning the Houis uh so I think uh uh, this was the main point to to start this air strike after you have some sort of international support for it.

and we also saw the Security Council resolution just yesterday condemning the Houis calling them to stop those missile strikes. And now we saw those Uh air strikes. And one interesting thing that I hear now from Israeli officials. uh is that they got uh an early notice from the US uh about this Uh operation in Yemen and now they are preparing for some sort of a retaliation from Yemen against Israel not only against US forces in the region and Brock you just said uh two or three times there in that sentence.

A word we haven't said so far but is at the core of all of this in general. That's Israel right? Uh, this? This is this is all happening because of the Uh, conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza And yet uh, you had America and the UK striking an Iranian back group in Yemen and the response of that group is we will confront America make it kneel down and burn its battleships. Here's a uh, little bit of video footage from what looks like the impact of a tomahawk, uh. cruise missile.

Tough to see. Intense. Yeah, it's the same clip there a few times. Okay, very very clear.

Nor should we be surprised by any declaration by the hoodies. or by Iran which means Israel Now is it greater risk I Mean this isn't a Black Swan event. This is a white swan swimming in a pond of white swans. This is totally predictable.

Yeah, this needs to be done and we understand the cost. Barack I Want to play for you? Uh, some video that we just have in of one of these strikes isn't Oh well. we're GNA Get in a moment, I'll explain what it is and we get it. I'll play it.

but uh, we do have video. Uh, coming in of a strike uh Barack north of Sana of course. uh, the capital of the S Yemen uh in the S Province So we're going to show that as soon as we get it. Uh, but that show here it is.

So you go ahead and and watch this Brock show that we actually have video of these. Obviously this is taken from the ground because you can hear the dogs. Okay, the air strikes just ended. Apparently pull plumes of smoke and fires.

uh, looks like it's being shot on a you know, basically like on an iPhone uh, up and down that's in s Province Brock uh take a look at this and and tell me what you see again I Want to emphasize this isn't coming from the UK or the US Uh, you know in the actual strike, this is coming from the ground. You hear someone speaking in Arabic and uh, and you hear the dogs. Yeah I I Think what we'll have to see is uh, how this looks in the morning. uh meaning uh, when the sun comes up, we'll be able to see exactly what was hit, how big is the damage, and we will also know if there are any casualties among the houis.

um just last week, um, the US helicopters fired at uh, some uh, small boats that the Ki sent to try and uh, kidnap, uh, a commercial ship 10 HTI Rebels uh were killed. uh and the and the interesting question to me is whether the US uh did this strikes on targets that had uhi uh, militants in them or it was just empty targets that, uh, only had weapon cachets or missile positions and I think this is a big big question because this will determine what will be the Hthi response to this. General marks what do you see in this video that we have yeah quickly as well. It's worth noting that we're going to get responses here, not just in Iraq but in Israel Saudi Arabia There going to be more attacks on on Americans and Israel here.

Uh, in sort of retaliation for our retaliation, it's a Tinder Box those are that looks like these are secondary explosions That's significant. Frankly, if there aren't any hoodie Fighters collocated with where those Ammunition Depot might be or some of their capabilities might be located I'm okay with that. Let's get rid of all of their inventory so that they have a much diluted capacity to do what they've been doing. Let's go after their helicopters so that they can't raid the ships that are in the that are cruising in through the Red Sea Let's go after their ability to launch Over the Horizon their drones, their ballistic missiles, their cruise missiles.

Let's get rid of all of those. and then you end up with a formation of hoodies with no capability, no kit to do anything that they want to try to do. This is a long process. We can't view this as a video game.

We don't turn it on and there are no consequences and then it's over. When we want it to be over, this is the matter of diligence and presence. That's what the US Navy That's what the Air Force That's what I mean. That's what our services do.

We shouldn't. Yeah, let's quickly get some updates here from Al Jaer. So Us official expected attacks uh, on Houthi targets uh in Yemen Reuters Uh, Okay, so we got the strikes. We saw that that's fine.

Okay, recap of the latest. Here we go: So uh nine? Palestinians uh have been killed in Rafa after a residential building they were taking uh, refugee collapse this is from Israel Then we've got obviously the strikes happening here. I'm looking at coverage from Al Jazer to try to see if I can get a little bit of update or Intel on this. Uh, it doesn't look like they're giving much more.

Okay, I thought they might. All right, we'll get some more here. Uh, let's listen here for a moment while I get some more. There may be second secondary explosions there.

You can see obviously one explosion, but also the like, the flash bulbs almost going off of what appear to be other explosions. In which case that's an indication that the US may have well hit their taret. Targets in going after stock. piles of weapons and the weapons listed are those that the Houthis have used to Target international shipping and that's been the point of this.

Not to defeat the okay Us statement, we hit them pretty hard. Pretty good. Uh, regarding tonight's strikes force that the attacks on international shipping uh, either will stop or these attacks were a possibility and in the future remain a possibility So given the reports of explosions we have seen coming out of Yemen again these are just social media reports, but given the number of reports we have seen, it wouldn't surprise me if we see more of these videos coming out. giving us a better sense of the scale and scope of the US and UK operation here and perhaps other countries participating as well, right we? And and important what you say there, we don't know uh, other countries at this point, if and if so, who.

and we also don't know at least as far as I Understand or in correct me if I'm wrong the exact number of targets we know more than a dozen, but that that that? That's the the description at this point. I I Just want to follow up with you on on a couple points also with Brock and the general. But you you talk about the specificity of these strikes and it looks like those could be secondary explosions indicating that they had hit some sort of weapons uh, Depot or something along those lines. Or how good is the US Intel When you're striking more than a dozen precise targets, it would indicate it is very good.

Is that right? Do they feel that they really know where every single thing is there? Certainly we'll get a better sense of that if and when we get briefed by uh, senior Administration officials and then hopefully at some point us Central Comm to understand how they knew what they were going for how long they'd been monitoring it. the US has known this is a potential flash point. It's also worth noting, but that because this is a multinational operation, the US, UK and and perhaps others, there is the potential of sharing. Yeah, the Department of Defense just uh, stated that they it's actually between the US, the UK with support from Australia Canada.

The Netherlands and Bahrain worked sort of both on and off with the Saudis as they had a yearslong war with the Houth. So there is a there is certainly knowledge of the capabilities that The Houth Have and that perhaps gave them a picture of where exactly the hoies have it to know where to strike. Obviously, the Uhas has all sorts of other way we. We don't know if this is true here, but there's a comment here.

My nephew lives in Iran. He just told me Iran is scrambling their aircraft picture here and then in the course of the next hours and days we'll get a better sense of of what they hit, what they didn't hit. Perhaps of course Intel is imperfect and it has holes in it and gaps in it so we'll get a better picture of that. These are all questions as we see the First videos of these explosions here and and as we're watching this when you talk about, we'll find out what they did hit and what they didn't hit.

Uh Barack Rid Let me ask you about that because you had indicated that even if we're talking about more than a dozen strikes and and I understand that that is not as precise as many viewers may want to hear, it's not as precise as we want. We want more information, but that's what we have right now. Um, that that would uh, you didn't use the word tip the iceberg but you did seem to indicate that. that's that's that's a little bit.

There's a lot. can you contextualize this as everyone tries to understand this war. This a significant strike. It's a significant step, but as it as it could escalate, how much more is there? Yeah, I think there's much more Again, the Kis are a well equipped, well-trained uh uh militia.

Uh, they have I think uh equipment that uh, only several uh, non-state actors around the world have. Maybe the the other actor isbal in Lebanon Both of them are supported and backed uh by Iran and but Erin just I think just an update. An interesting update because President Biden just issued the statement uh, about uh uh, this air strike and he says there's something uh, interesting that while the US and the UK were the ones who actually conducted the strike, they they had uh uh, support of uh, several kinds of support from Australia Bahrain Canada and the Netherlands uh, something that we did not know uh until now. and President Biden says in his statement that the main goal of those air strikes were to try and uh end this Threat by thei rebels to freedom of Navigation in the Red Sea General Um, try and end Uh seems to be at hopeful at best.

I Mean it appears very clear that's not what this is. this is actually uh, while it is the first yeah. Also worth noting that there are a bunch of uh Patriot uh, serviced air missile systems uh in Saudi Arabia and other Us assets that are now on high alert for potential retaliation. obviously from Iran Iranian Iranian backed for or whatever.

Perfect. We will find out that there will be some damage that was absolutely spot on and there will be other. There will be misses in this attack, which means that you're going to be there for a while. And the second part is that we do have a coalition of the we do have other partners as Barack has indicated that's important and not every one of those needs to be a shooter.

Look, when you have operations like this, you have folks that have to support. They have to watch your back. They got to make sure that nobody's trying to conduct these little small Patrol boats that are going to try to Ram or or go after the main Shooters So the fact that the UK and the US probably conducted these strikes the other players the other participants had a significant and important role, but they may not have have brought the damage of against the Um, the shore targets that the hoodies have and and Orin What do you understand in terms of how broad this may be? Uh, going off of what Barack just said, Brock mentioned Australia and and others as as some sort of a coalition to use the word we expected there were other countries involved and we're now seeing effectively. the White House confirm that and say it wasn't just the US and the UK.

Here there was International backing and that was very much something the US was looking for and you can see it not just in this operation. The UN Security Council resolution condemning the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea That's part of this as well. It gives International legitimacy to the need to protect international shipping and if the threat continues to respond to that threat and that's what the US is trying to do here. not start a war with the Houthis, but try to send a message that these attacks have to stop, it's a message not just directed at the Houthis, but also one directed at Iran as we see them seiz another vessel.

uh, earlier today, according to both the US and Iranian media, it is that threat to commercial shipping that has been one of the big goals here because it's such a a critical Waterway the US was looking for and as we learned now got International backing for how critical of a threat this was. Backing this action tonight by the US and the UK General, you've talked about how obviously their threats to Uh to burn battleships and Destroy uh, burn us bases uh Express that as a bit of Hyperbole and certainly we've seen obviously them launch missiles at ships that have been repelled by US Air Defense. But have we seen their full capability In the context of what we know and what Barack is speaking of, that they have the capability that uh, that they and perhaps only hasola have as non-state actors. Yeah, they have some tremendous capabilities.

so we we've seen those. What we're not going to see is what I would describe as any form of that's a terrorist organization. We're not going to see any operational art at play here. We're not going to see some synchronized type of operations.

What we're going to see is terrorist activity, pinpoint targeting. They're going to go after the moral of yeah we're getting also updates. It looks like Biden is releasing a statement I'm not exactly sure where but US Military forces together with the United Kingdom and support from Australia bin Canada and the Netherlands successfully con conducted air strikes against the number of Targets in Yemen. These strikes are in direct response to the Houthi attacks for the Uh against International Maritime vessels in the Red Sea is those organizations are going to say I'm going to go elsewhere.

Which means the Co you're going to bear the cost of my rerouting my distribution requirements, will not hesitate to direct further measures after air strikes on Houie targets, but there is not going to be a magnificent change in terms of their capabilities. We're not going to have the images that we have right now of what we see in Gaza and Orin H as as we look at this video and there's going to be more we understand here from uh who the official posting on Twitter which is where where some of this plays out uh that there were raids in four places uh, in uh at least this is what they're saying uh, one of which we're looking at right here in s in Yen uh, north of Sana uh, Sana itself Oda govern it and Damar So when when you you think about uh Yemen itself and and where we Now understand, these strikes were at least coming up from the Houthi side where they're saying they were struck. What does that say to you? Well first, it speaks to the level of planning that went into this. This wasn't Let's compare to Iraq and Syria When the US carries out a strike there, that's normally one target or just a couple of targets.

This was on a much broader scale than that, which requires a level of coordination, especially when you're doing this with an ally and with other partners backing you up. This isn't something you can plan on your own. You can try to plan it quickly, but that, of course all takes time knowing where your targets are, knowing what kind of assets you have to use, then coordinating that between different assets launching your your attack. And that is, uh, fighter jets, surface vessels, as well as submarines, and uh, using an ally to attack on that as well.

There is a a tremendous level of coordination required to carry out a strike like this and having the confidence to do that. And and perhaps we'll get a better sense of how much planning went into this. How much monitoring? But but that's a key part of this here. The level of preparation, The level of of integration.

Frankly, that was required to carry out a widescale operation on on multiple targets like this. It is not a strike against all of the Houthis. It is specific intended to try to limit their ability to threaten international shipping. But of course, now we see how the Houthis respond here and and where this goes.

The Hou's promising very much to respond to any American action. All right. Well, the White House breaking its silence now Uh with a formal uh statement updating. uh MJ Lee is at the White House and MJ What are you learning? Yeah, Aaron We've gotten that official confirmation from Uh President Biden himself.

Uh, confirming these air strikes on Uh, Houthi controlled areas in Yemen Uh He says as a part of this lengthy statement, uh, that at my direction US military forces together with the United Kingdom and with support from a number of other countries he names Australia Bahrain Uh, Canada and the Netherlands Uh successfully conducted strikes against a number of Targets in Yemen used by Houthi rebels to endanger freedom of navigation in one of the world's most vital waterways. Uh. The statement Uh goes on to say Uh and lists some of the ways in which the President said says these attacks by the Houthis have endangered us: Personnel civilian Mariners and other partners jeopardized trade and threatened freedom of navigation. Uh uh.

The end of this statement that we just got from the President is also worth highlighting Uh because he talks about the potential for future action from the US and other Allied Nations. He says the these targeted strikes are a clear message that the United States and our partners will not tolerate attacks on our personnel or allow hostile actors to imperil freedom of navigation in one of the world's most critical commercial routes. He says I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of inter of international Commerce uh as necessary Uh Aron as we've talked about in a lot of ways. Uh, this kind of action though we didn't know again, uh, until in real time until the attacks had happened.

Uh, that these attacks had been led by the US and the UK targeting Houi assets. Uh, in Yemen In so many ways, us officials had been warning publicly. Just also got an update that the Royal Navy will continue patrolling in the region Royal Navy and Royal Air Force participated of attacks that we saw on Tuesday. That sort of served as the final warning.

Uh, and the final straw for President Biden who greenlit his team to go ahead and go into Uh preparing for these air strikes that we are seeing on our screen right now. But again, those preparations in many ways have been underway for a while now. Given uh, for how long for how many weeks these Houi attacks have been ongoing in the Red Sea Aaron. All right, MJ Thank you and and General Marks Just as MJ's going through the broader Uh list here of who's in this: Coalition Canada the Netherlands, the UK Australia, uh, Bahrain Bahrain obviously the home of the fifth Fleet Um, and yet in the context of this and where this came from of course, which originated uh with the October 7th attacks and then the Israeli response and the war in Gaza the the Hamas Israeli War, you don't see the UAE or Saudi on that list.

Um, of course you see Bahrain a home of the US fifth Fleet But what do you make of this list of countries and who is and who is not on it, especially in that region. Well, the fact that Bahrain's on it I mean that's a good sign. And before they agreed to join this Coalition in some capacity and it's not described what that looks like, right? I would guarantee you it. It probably includes a level of intelligence sharing.

Um, and they're They have a capability that allows them to provide what I wo