STRIKE 3, BUT HOUTHIS ARE NOT OUT: The mission of Operation Prosperity Guardian, a coalition of 22 nations, is to defend commercial shipping against attacks from Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen. A small coalition of the willing, including the U.S. and the U.K., with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands, has embarked on a more ambitious goal — not just to defend commercial shipping but to deter future attacks by degrading their ability to launch missiles and drones.
So far, the effort has had limited success. A round of airstrikes last week targeted 30 locations in Yemen with more than 150 missiles and bombs, knocking out missile launchers, storage warehouses, and radars. That was followed up with a second strike a day later on a radar site and yesterday, a preemptive strike against four Houthi missiles that were locked and loaded after a U.S.-owned container ship was hit by a missile.
“These missiles were prepared to launch from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and presented an imminent threat to both merchant and U.S. Navy ships in the region,” the U.S. Central Command said in a statement.
On a conference call with reporters yesterday, the White House faced questions about whether the Houthis are actually being deterred.
“We believe by taking away some of their capability, degrading that capability, which we think we did on Friday, can have an impact on the effectiveness of future strikes by taking away, degrading some of their capability certainly makes it harder for them to conduct these strikes,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on the call. “While we won’t telegraph future punches, we’re not going to hesitate to take further action if needed.”
“I think it’s too soon to call this some sort of a trend that would lead us to believe that we didn’t have a good effect with those strikes,” Kirby said. “As you saw, we took additional strikes, knocking out four ballistic missiles that we believe were prepped and ready to be launched from Yemen. Took them out before they could do that.”
US CARRIES OUT STRIKES IN YEMEN TARGETING HOUTHI MISSILES
ESPER: TIME TO TARGET COMMAND CENTERS: “We’re trying to achieve deterrence. And I assume that given the breadth of the strikes, they hit over 60 targets, right, in one night, that they thought that would be sufficient to deter further attacks. It hasn’t so far,” former Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on CNN.
“[It] looks like the Houthis are going to continue to go at this until we keep knocking out their radar sites, knocking out their launchers,” Esper said. “I think we should go after their command and control; that’ll send even a stronger message about our seriousness as well.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to try to cut off the flow of weapons from Iran to the Houthi rebels. Yesterday, the U.S. Central Command revealed that last week, U.S. Navy SEALS boarded and seized a small dhow loaded with munitions for Yemen.
“U.S. Navy SEALs operating from USS Lewis B Puller, supported by helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles, executed a complex boarding of the dhow near the coast of Somalia in international waters of the Arabian Sea, seizing Iranian-made ballistic missile and cruise missiles components,” CENTCOM said in a news release. “Seized items include propulsion, guidance, and warheads for Houthi medium-range ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles, as well as air defense associated components.”
“Initial analysis indicates these same weapons have been employed by the Houthis to threaten and attack innocent mariners on international merchant ships transiting in the Red Sea,” the statement said.
US FORCES SEIZE IRANIAN WEAPONS INTENDED FOR HOUTHIS
HOUTHIS TO BE RE-DESIGNATED TERRORISTS: The Biden administration is expected to designate Yemen’s Houthi militia as a “specially designated global terrorist” group, one step below a FTO, or “foreign terrorist organization.”
Shortly after President Joe Biden took office, he removed the FTO designation imposed by former President Donald Trump, arguing it would help facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the people of Yemen.
But the attacks on commercial shipping and U.S. warships have prompted Biden to reimpose a terrorist designation. “The entire world rejects wholesale the idea that a group like the Houthis can basically hijack the world, as they are doing,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
US EXPECTED TO DESIGNATE HOUTHIS A TERROR ORGANIZATION
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HAPPENING TODAY: BIG FOUR SUMMONED TO WHITE HOUSE: With Congress deadlocked on a border security deal that House Republicans are demanding be settled as a condition for approving billions more in aid for Ukraine, President Joe Biden has summoned the big four congressional leaders to the White House in an attempt to find a way to delink Ukraine funding from the contentious border debate.
“President Biden will host congressional leaders from the Senate and the House, along with key committee leaders and ranking members, at the White House to discuss the critical importance of his national security supplemental request,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said yesterday.
The invited lawmakers include House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
The discussions come as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is scheduled to host another virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group next Tuesday, at which the U.S. will not be among the countries, including the U.K., France, and Germany, that will be pledging further aid.
AUSTIN 911 CALL: ‘WE’RE TRYING TO REMAIN A LITTLE SUBTLE’: Several news organizations, including CBS and the Daily Beast, have obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request the audio record of the 911 call made when Austin had to be rushed to the hospital on Jan. 1.
On the recording, an unidentified aide is heard asking the 911 dispatcher in Fairfax County, “Can I ask — can the ambulance not show up with lights and sirens? Uhm, we’re trying to remain a little subtle.”
“Usually, when they turn into a residential neighborhood, they’ll turn them off,” the dispatcher responded.
The aide asked if the ambulance could take Austin to Walter Reed Military Medical Center, and the dispatcher said to tell that to the ambulance crew when it arrived.
Austin was discharged this week and is still working from home.
KIM JONG UN: FORGET PEACEFUL UNIFICATION: In a speech Tuesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he plans to rewrite the country’s constitution to indicate the north is no longer interested in pursuing “peaceful unification” with the south.
“In my opinion, we can specify in our constitution the issue of completely occupying, subjugating and reclaiming the ROK and annex it as a part of the territory of our Republic in case a war breaks out on the Korean peninsula,” Kim said, according to an English translation posted on the media monitoring site KCNAwatch.org. “We have formulated a new stand on the north-south relations and the policy of reunification and dismantled all the organizations we established as solidarity bodies for peaceful reunification.”
“In my view, it is necessary to delete such expressions in the constitution as ‘northern half’ and ‘independence, peaceful reunification and great national unity,’” Kim said. “As the southern border of our country has been clearly drawn, the illegal ‘northern limit line’ and any other boundary can never be tolerated, and if the ROK violates even 0.001 mm of our territorial land, air, and waters, it will be considered a war provocation,” Kim vowed.
The declaration casts South Korea as a permanent adversary and ends years of efforts to find ways for the two Koreas to work together to ease tensions. “This is the present situation of the relations between the north and the south today caused by the heinous and self-destructive confrontational maneuvers of the ROK, a group of outsiders’ top-class stooges, and the true picture of the Korean peninsula just unveiled before the world,” Kim said.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
THE RUNDOWN:
Washington Examiner: Senate races to fund government before Friday deadline
Washington Examiner: US carries out strikes in Yemen targeting Houthi missiles
Washington Examiner: US expected to designate Houthis a terror organization
Washington Examiner: Shell suspends Red Sea shipments out of fear of Houthi attacks
Washington Examiner: US forces seize Iranian weapons intended for Houthis
Washington Examiner: White House: US can’t stop Houthis without help from American rivals
Washington Examiner: Israel indicates next phase of war is coming
Washington Examiner: Congressional staffers blast Johnson for calling for federal employees to be fired over Israel-Hamas war protest
Washington Examiner: Capitol police arrest Mennonite protesters demanding ceasefire in Gaza
Washington Examiner: House Republicans lay groundwork for second Mayorkas impeachment hearing
Washington Examiner: Rep. Andy Biggs seeks to protect border officials’ salaries as he calls for government shutdown
Washington Examiner: Chuck Grassley, 90, hospitalized for an infection and will miss Senate votes
Washington Examiner: Johnson-linked group launching $2 million ad campaign focused on border security
Washington Examiner: Boeing hires retired Navy admiral for independent investigation after door plug blowout
Bloomberg: U.S. Will Stay In NATO Despite Trump, Alliance Chief Says
USNI News: Two Missing Navy SEALs Helped Interdict Ship Transporting Weapons To Houthis
New York Times: Iranian Strikes in Pakistan And Iraq Inflame Tensions
Reuters: China Warns Philippines Not To ‘Play With Fire’ Over President’s Taiwan Remarks
Defense News: U.S. Navy’s Four Unmanned Ships Return From Pacific Deployment
New York Times: In a speech in Switzerland, the Ukrainian president asked for more sanctions on Moscow, but he did not appeal for weaponry for new offenses.
The Daily Beast: Lloyd Austin’s Secret Ambulance Request Revealed in 911 Call
AP: Analysis: North Korea’s rejection of the South is both a shock, and inevitable
AP: Davos hosts UN chief, top diplomats of US, Iran as World Economic Forum meeting reaches Day Two
AP: Ukraine needs money from the US and Europe to keep its economy running. Will the aid come?
New York Times: Senate Advances Stopgap Bill To Avert A Partial Shutdown
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Northrop Grumman Reports Successful Test of LGM-35A Sentinel Second Stage Rocket
DefenseScoop: US Cyber Command Looking at How to Utilize Tactical on-the-Ground Systems
Breaking Defense: While DOD Progresses on Innovative Tech, More Work Left to Be Done: Report
Air & Space Forces Magazine: 3 Firms to Split $2.5B for New Missile Warning, Tracking, and Defense Satellites
Air & Space Forces Magazine: B-2 Bombers Return to Red Flag, Joined by Australian F-35s and UK Typhoons
Air Force Times: These Air Force Jobs Have the Highest Turnover
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Quick Actions Earn F-15E Pilot the Mackay Trophy for Daring Secret Mission
Federal News Network: Another Possible Challenge for DOD’s $18B Moving Contract: No Movers
Military.com: Defense Department Expands ID Card Renewals by Mail to US-Based Retirees, Dependents
THE CALENDAR:
WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 17
8 a.m. — Atlantic Council virtual discussion: “Get it Strait: Digesting Taiwan’s Presidential Election Outcome,” with Shelley Rigger, professor of East Asian politics at Davidson College; and Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, China reporter at Axios https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/get-it-strait
9 a.m. — U.S. Institute of Peace virtual discussion: “What Taiwan’s Elections mean for Cross-Strait Relations,” with Vincent Chao, head of international affairs of the Taiwan Democratic Progressive Party; Alexander Huang, director of international affairs of the Kuomintang Party; and Evan Medeiros, USIP senior adviser https://www.usip.org/events/what-taiwans-elections-mean
9 a.m. — Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies virtual discussion of the policy paper: “Securing Cislunar Space and the First Island Off the Coast of Earth,” with the paper’s author Charles Galbreath, senior resident fellow for space studies at the Mitchell Institute; Thomas Lockhart Jr., director of capability and resource integration at the U.S. Space Command; former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine; Joel Mozer, former director of science, technology, and research at the Space Force; and retired Air Force Gen. Kevin Chilton, explorer chairman of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies Spacepower Advantage Center of Excellence and former commander of the U.S. Strategic Command https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/event/1-17-policy-paper
9:30 a.m. 211 Connecticut Ave. NW — Henry Stimson Center discussion: “Bias in Nuclear Security Implementation,” with Viviana Moreno, gender policy officer at the World Institute for Nuclear Security; Jack Brosnan, program officer for nuclear materials security at the Nuclear Threat Initiative and program officer at Gender Champions in Nuclear Policy; and Christina McAllister, director and senior fellow of the Stimson Center’s Partnerships in Proliferation Prevention Program https://www.stimson.org/event/bias-in-nuclear-security-implementation/
10 a.m. 562 Dirksen — Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing: “The Cyber Safety Review Board: Expectations, Outcomes, and Enduring Questions” http://www.hsgac.senate.gov
10 a.m. HVC-210, U.S. Capitol — House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing: “Examining the Flow of U.S. Money into China’s Military Might,” with testimony from Matthew Pottinger, chairman of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’s China Program; Jason Matheny, president and CEO of the RAND Corporation; and Peter Harrell, nonresident fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace http://foreignaffairs.house.gov
10 a.m. 2154 Rayburn — House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing: “The Biden Administration’s Regulatory and Policymaking Efforts to Undermine U.S. Immigration Law” http://oversight.house.gov
10 a.m. 2318 Rayburn — House Science, Space, and Technology Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee hearing: “Returning to the Moon: Keeping Artemis on Track,” with testimony from Catherine Koerner, associate NASA administrator for the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate; William Russell, director of contracting and national security acquisitions at the Government Accountability Office; George Scott, acting NASA inspector general; and Michael Griffin, co-president of LogiQ, Inc. http://science.house.gov
10 a.m. — Brookings Institution Foreign Policy Program virtual discussion: “The threat of hostage-taking,” with Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens; Jeffrey Feltman, visiting fellow in international diplomacy at the Brookings Institution’s Foreign Policy Program, former U.S. special envoy for the Horn of Africa at the State Department and former U.N. under-secretary-general for political affairs; Cynthia Loertscher, director of research, hostage advocacy and government affairs at the James Foley Legacy Foundation; and Suzanne Maloney, vice president and director of foreign policy at the Brookings Institution https://connect.brookings.edu/register-to-watch-hostage-affairs
12 p.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW — Hudson Institute discussion: “National Defense Implications of the Federal Budget Challenge,” with retired Army Brig. Gen. Mike Meese, president of the American Armed Forces Mutual Aid Association; and Harold Furchtgott-Roth, director of the Hudson Center for the Economics of the Internet https://www.hudson.org/events/national-defense-implications
2 p.m. HVC-210, U.S. Capitol — House Foreign Affairs Committee Indo-Pacific Subcommittee hearing: “Protecting Emerging Technologies for Peace and Stability in the Indo-Pacific,” with testimony from Nathaniel Fick, ambassador at large in the State Department’s Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy; C.S. Eliot Kang, assistant secretary of State for the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, U.S. State Department; and Thea Rozman Kendler, assistant Commerce secretary for the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation http://foreignaffairs.house.gov
3 p.m. Center for Strategic and International Studies webcast: “On the Ground in Israel — Expert Perspectives,” with Seth Jones, senior vice president, Harold Brown chair, and director CSIS International Security Program; Eliot Cohen, Arleigh A. Burke chair in strategy, CSIS; and Mara Rudman, former deputy envoy and chief of staff for the State Department Office of the Special Envoy for Middle East Peace https://www.csis.org/events/ground-israel-expert-perspectives
THURSDAY | JANUARY 18
9 a.m. — U.S. Institute of Peace virtual discussion: “Religious Actors and Peacebuilding in Ukraine,” with Denys Brylov, co-founder and director of the European Center for Strategic Analytics; Tetiana Kalenychenko, co-founder and director of the European Center for Strategic Analytics; Andrii Kryshtal, project manager of Conciliation Resources; Catherine Wanner, professor of anthropology and religious studies at Pennsylvania State University; and Nicholas Danysenko, chair in theology at Valparaiso University https://www.usip.org/events/religious-actors-and-peacebuilding-ukraine
9 a.m. — U.S. Institute of Peace virtual discussion: “Religious Actors and Peacebuilding in Ukraine,” with Denys Brylov, co-founder and director of the European Center for Strategic Analytics; Tetiana Kalenychenko, co-founder and director of the European Center for Strategic Analytics; Andrii Kryshtal, project manager of Conciliation Resources; Catherine Wanner, professor of anthropology and religious studies at Pennsylvania State University; and Nicholas Danysenko, chair in theology at Valparaiso University https://www.usip.org/events/religious-actors-and-peacebuilding-ukraine
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW — Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion: “The administration’s arms control agenda, including updates on U.S.-Russia and U.S-China engagement,” with Pranay Vaddi, National Security Council senior director for arms control, disarmament, and nonproliferation https://www.csis.org/events/armchair-discussion-pranay-vaddi
10 a.m. — Arab Center virtual discussion: “Gaza and the Crime of Genocide: Legal and Political Dimensions of Accountability,” with Michael Barnett, professor at George Washington University; Noura Erakat, associate professor at Rutgers University; Maria LaHood, deputy legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights; Raz Segal, associate professor at Stockton University; and Yousef Munayyer, Arab Center senior fellow https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register
11:15 a.m. — Brookings Institution virtual discussion: “A new maritime partnership for the Atlantic,” with Jessye Lapenn, senior coordinator for Atlantic cooperation at the State Department’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environment and Scientific Affairs; Daniel Hamilton, nonresident senior fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution’s Center on the U.S. and Europe; Ali Kamal-Dean, executive director of the Centre for Maritime Law and Security Africa, senior lecturer at the University of Professional Studies, Accra and adjunct professor at Nelson Mandela University; Bruce Jones, senior fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution’s Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology and the Brookings Institution’s Center for East Asia Policy Studies; and Melanie Sisson, fellow of foreign policy at the Brookings Institution’s Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology https://connect.brookings.edu/register-to-watch-maritime-partnership-atlantic
1 p.m. — Washington Post Live virtual discussion: “The record surge of migrants, border security and a possible government shutdown,” with Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live
4 p.m. — RAND Corporation virtual discussion: “What Americans Think About Veterans — And Why it Matters,” with retired Brig. Gen. Michael Meese, president of the American Armed Forces Mutual Aid Association; Melissa Bryant, former adviser for strategic engagement to the secretary of Veterans Affairs; Meredith Kleykamp, RAND senior sociologist; and Kayla Williams, RAND senior policy researcher https://www.rand.org/events/2024/01/what-americans-think-about-veterans
5 p.m. 1779 Massachusetts Ave. NW — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace book discussion: The Dissident: Alexey Navalny, Profile of a Political Prisoner, with author David Herszenhorn, Russia, Ukraine, and East Europe editor at the Washington Post https://carnegieendowment.org/2024/01/18/dissident-book-talk
8 p.m. 1212 Cathedral St., Baltimore, Maryland — Stevenson University “Baltimore Speaker Series,” with former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch https://baltimorespeakers.org/
FRIDAY | JANUARY 19
8:30 a.m. 11493 Sunset Hills Road, Reston, Virginia — Government Executive Media Group forum: “Doing Business with the Space Force,” with Jeremy Leader, deputy director of the Space Force Commercial Space Office https://events.washingtontechnology.com/wt-power-breakfast
9 a.m. — Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress book discussion: The Arms of the Future, with author Jack Watling, senior research fellow at RUSI in London https://www.addevent.com/event
10 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW — Brookings Institution discussion: “Navigating the uncertainties of U.S.-China relations over the next decade,” with Conor Seyle, vice president of operations at Pax Sapiens and senior strategic adviser at One Earth Future; Ren Libo, founder and president of the Grandview Institution; Dennis Wilder, adjunct professor at Georgetown University and senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues; Betty Sue Flowers, teaching professor emerita at the University of Texas; Patricia Kim, fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution’s Center for East Asia Policy Studies and fellow at the Brookings Institution’s China Center; Ryan Hass, director of the Brookings Institution’s China Center, senior fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution’s Center for East Asia Policy Studies and the China Center and chair in Taiwan studies at the Brookings Institution https://www.brookings.edu/events/navigating-the-uncertainties-of-us-china-relations
2 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW — Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion: “Tactically Responsive Space: A Holistic Approach,” with U.S. Space Force Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. Michael Guetlein; Bretton Alexander, chief revenue officer at Firefly Aerospace; Kurt Eberly, director of space launch at Northrop Grumman; Jason Kim, CEO of Millennium Space Systems; and Maj. David Ryan, program manager of the defense space portfolio at U.S. Space Force https://www.csis.org/events/tactically-responsive-space-holistic-approach
