On November 27, the U.S. Navy had been busy patrolling the seas to guard against attacks by cruise missiles and drones on Israel. And in the midst of a busy patrol, the US Navy destroyer USS Mason encountered a little threat. A Liberian-flagged liquid cargo ship, the ** Park, sent a distress signal saying it had been hijacked while sailing. The Mason immediately went to the rescue, about 35 miles from the site of the hijacking, near the coast of Yemen. Upon arrival at the scene, the Mason demanded that the armed men release the hijacked cargo ship. However, when the five armed men tried to escape, the Mason sprang into action and successfully intercepted them. The hijacked cargo ship was carrying phosphoric acid, and a total of 22 sailors from Bulgaria, Georgia, India, the Philippines, Russia, Turkey and Vietnam were on board, but fortunately, all of them were safe and sound. The rescue process was no different from an ordinary anti-hijacking at sea, but just after the Mason successfully intercepted the armed men, a ballistic missile suddenly landed 11 nautical miles away from the US destroyer in the direction of Yemen. Initially, the United States claimed that it was the Houthis that fired ** anti-ship ballistic missiles against their destroyers, and these missiles were supplied by Iran.
Yemen** has accused the Houthis of piracy with the support of Iran. However, the Houthi chiefs have denied the accusation, claiming that they are concerned about the safety of navigation and respect global interests, which has been proven in real terms. He also stressed once again that the Red Sea is safe for all vessels, with the only exception of those engaged in criminal activities, until they cease their aggression against the oppressed Gaza Strip. Recently, there have been reports of Houthi attacks on maritime targets linked to Israel. However, the US Pentagon changed its position on the 28th, claiming that they could only confirm that the Houthis had fired at least one missile, and that there was no clear evidence as to whether a second missile had been launched. In addition, there were other ships on the route where the attack took place, so it was not possible to determine whether the Houthis were targeting American destroyers. In addition, since the wreckage of the missile was not found, it was not possible to determine the model of the missile. As for the five captors captured, they have been identified as Somalis, but it is uncertain whether they are linked to the Houthis in Yemen.
Therefore, the United States may finally state that this is not a confrontation with American ships, but only a merchant ship encountering Somali pirates. If so, Yemen**'s previous statement will look awkward. Why did the United States respond so cautiously to Houthi attacks?Personally, I think this may be to send a message to Iran that the two sides can save face with each other on the issue of Gaza. Some time ago, Iran said that Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7 had nothing to do with it, which is clearly different from Hamas's statement. This shows that Iran, although it has achieved its strategic goals, still wants to get rid of its responsibilities. At the same time, the United States is now preparing to provide aid to Ukraine, trying to get Congress to pass $60 billion in aid to Ukraine before Christmas. In this case, it is not desirable to let Israel, an ally, go overboard. In addition, it is necessary to push for an extension of the ceasefire in Gaza and to secure the release of more hostages from Hamas. In this case, it is necessary to give Iran a certain amount of face.
Just as the United States has fought the Taliban for a long time in Afghanistan but is reluctant to list it as a terrorist organization, this is because according to the requirements of domestic law, once an organization is added to the list of terrorist organizations, the White House and the Pentagon lose the right to negotiate with the organization. Therefore, the standard of true political correctness is flexible and changes according to political needs.