Bombing the Houthis Is a Good Start, but a Successful Strategy Must Be Broader

By Eric Navarro
AI Image from Grok

The March 15, 2025, U.S. strikes against Houthi targets reaffirm the Trump administration’s recognition of the Yemeni terrorist group’s threat to regional security and maritime shipping. While such actions are welcome, they represent just one front in a broader conflict with regional adversaries. Iran provides the Houthis with logistical, financial, and diplomatic support, using them as a proxy force to both undermine U.S. strategic interests and threaten Israel’s existence. While recent military operations degrade Houthi capabilities, only a sustained strategy will eliminate the threat altogether. Success demands a campaign that combines military force, aggressive diplomacy, economic warfare, and influence operations to systematically weaken and ultimately destroy the Houthis.

The United States must move beyond reactive airstrikes and naval patrols to implement a persistent military campaign.

The United States must move beyond reactive airstrikes and naval patrols to implement a persistent military campaign. Special operations forces must conduct sabotage missions targeting key infrastructure including missile stockpiles, drone assembly facilities, radar stations, and command-and-control (C2) nodes in Saada, Sanaa, Hodeidah, and key Red Sea coastal areas. Meanwhile, cyber and electronic warfare assets must disrupt Houthi encrypted communications, disable radar and targeting systems, and neutralize drone command centers—particularly those operating from Al-Hudaydah Port, Abs Airbase, and clandestine sites in Amran and Hajjah provinces.

Securing naval superiority remains essential. A bolstered U.S. and allied naval presence in the Red Sea must enforce maritime exclusion zones near Houthi-controlled ports of Hodeidah, Saleef, and Ras Issa, intercepting arms shipments and preventing attacks on international shipping. Advanced unmanned surface and underwater vehicles like MANTAS T38, MARTAC Devil Ray, REMUS 600, and Orca XLUUV will enhance maritime surveillance and interdiction capabilities, extending the U.S. operational reach across the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the Gulf of Aden, and the Arabian Sea.

Covert operations must complement conventional strikes. The Houthis sustain control through local alliances and illicit financial networks. U.S. forces and partners must strengthen the Yemeni government, the Southern Transitional Council (STC), and other anti-Houthi factions such as the tribes of Arhab, Nihm, and Bani Harith. Intelligence, logistical support, and direct funding will empower local resistance groups to disrupt supply lines, erode the Houthis’ authority, and prevent them from sustaining prolonged conflict.

An economic pressure campaign must dismantle the Houthis’ financial networks and block their primary revenue streams. Iran’s arms supply chain must be systematically disrupted by increasing intelligence sharing with regional allies and deploying more aggressive naval patrols in smuggling corridors such as the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. Expanded sanctions on Iranian entities funding Houthi operations will further isolate Tehran’s proxy forces.

The international community must redirect trade and humanitarian deliveries to alternative Yemeni ports … to reduce reliance on Houthi-controlled shipping hubs.

Redirecting trade routes is another critical measure to implement. The international community must redirect trade and humanitarian deliveries to alternative Yemeni ports, such as Aden and Mukalla, to reduce reliance on Houthi-controlled shipping hubs. Further, the State Department and Pentagon should encourage Gulf allies to expand infrastructure in other regional ports, including the Port of Berbera in Somaliland. Cutting off the Houthis’ ability to levy taxes on shipping will degrade their financial stability and limit their ability to fund their military operations.

The Houthis wield an effective propaganda machine, portraying themselves as defenders of Yemeni sovereignty while relying on Iranian backing and exacerbating Yemen’s humanitarian crisis. The United States must launch an aggressive information warfare campaign to expose their atrocities and delegitimize their rule. Global media initiatives must highlight their use of child soldiers, attacks on civilian infrastructure, and repressive governance, rallying international support against them. Cyber operations should dismantle their propaganda networks while psychological warfare targets internal divisions, encouraging defections and sowing discord among their ranks.

Defeating the Houthis requires a united regional effort. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates remain partners, and deeper intelligence and military cooperation will enhance counter-Houthi operations. Oman mediates, but it also must tighten border controls and disrupt smuggling routes in which it now appears complicit, especially at Al-Mazyunah. European and NATO allies must reinforce sanctions and secure maritime trade routes, further pressuring the Houthis and their Iranian backers.

Washington should integrate global shipping companies into a coordinated security framework.

The private sector also holds a crucial role. Washington should integrate global shipping companies into a coordinated security framework. Commercial vessels must receive enhanced defensive systems, including ship-mounted laser technology and electronic warfare countermeasures to neutralize drone and missile threats. Letters of Marque & Reprisal, under strict oversight, could authorize private security firms to defend commercial shipping, further fortifying trade routes.

A piecemeal approach will not suffice. The U.S. and its allies must execute a multi-domain strategy that eliminates the Houthis’ ability to operate. A combination of sustained military pressure, economic warfare, resistance support, and aggressive information operations will erode their power base and sever their lifelines. Any objective short of eliminating the Houthis as a fighting force and political entity will fail to curb Iran’s regional influence and to signal the consequences inherent with freedom of navigation.